The world usually pays more attention to and favors smart people, while ignoring those with mediocre qualifications. However, Zeng Guofan, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty, explained to us perfectly with his own life that stupidity is actually an advantage.
Zeng Guofan was regarded as a "generation of fools" from an early age. Zuo commented on Zeng Guofan: "Only a little less developed." To put it bluntly, I don't think his brain is bright. Even Zeng Guofan himself admitted: "Redundancy is dull." In a word, Zeng Guofan's talent is really mediocre.
But in the end, he proved to the world with practice that a person with mediocre qualifications can also become an extraordinary saint and hero through self-improvement. Since ancient times, sages can be admired but not learned. Only Zeng Guofan can make people admire and learn!
Clumsy: Do things step by step.
Only the most clumsy person in the world can win the most skilled person in the world!
Zeng Guofan thought that Heaven should avoid cleverness, take shortcuts, and play tricks on everything, which will only be self-defeating. He hung the word "clumsy" in his study, constantly reflecting on himself and warning himself.
This unique philosophy of life comes from Zeng Guofan's reading experience. His father's teaching method is very simple, that is, he is asked not to understand the previous sentence or read the next sentence. Don't touch the next book until you have finished reading this one. Never go to sleep until you finish your study task for one day.
There is a widely circulated story:
One night, 13-year-old Zeng Guofan went into the study to light the oil lamp and recited a 300-word essay. Before he entered the study, a thief entered the room. When he heard someone come in, he hid on the beam, hoping to steal something valuable after Zeng Guofan fell asleep. I wonder if Zeng Guofan can recite it until midnight. The thief waited and waited, but he didn't go to bed. Finally, he couldn't bear it. He flew down the beam and pointed angrily at Zeng Guofan and said to him, "You have read it so many times that I can recite it backwards. You still can't recite it. I have never met such a stupid person as you. " Later, the thief recited the article word for word and then swaggered away. Zeng Guofan was ashamed after hearing this, and studied harder from then on.
It can be seen from this story that Zeng Guofan is really not smart, but he is very persistent. He believes that persistence is the most important thing for people, and perseverance can achieve everything. It is with this clumsy and lifeless spirit, coupled with the efforts of others several times, that I finally became a "semi-saint" who is virtuous, meritorious and outspoken.
Zeng Guofan/kloc-started to participate in scientific research at the age of 0/6, and was only admitted to the Jinshi in the seventh exam, which was still the second from the bottom. However, Zeng Guofan won an award in his second year as a scholar. Four years after winning the jury, he was admitted to high school. However, none of his classmates who were admitted to the scholar's early stage was a juren. Zeng Guofan relied on all idiots along the way. I don't know how to be tricky because I'm all thumbs. When you encounter problems, you only know how to drill hard, so as not to leave a dead end. Therefore, Zeng Guofan said: "It seems to be slow, but it is actually the fastest."
Not only reading, but also fighting. Zeng Guofan, as a literati, did not have the ability of ancient famous soldiers to foresee the enemy's situation and strategize like gods. His operational essentials are only six words, that is, "fight hard and stay in the battle", and he never seeks whimsy. Zuo made fun of Zeng Guofan many times and said he was a fool. However, Zeng Guofan succeeded in quelling the rebellion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in this stupid way.
Doing things "step by step, one step at a time" can be said to be Zeng Guofan's greatest feature. He changed himself from a very clumsy person to a person with superior wisdom and virtue. Among them, the key role lies in his "modest" wisdom and cultivation. Clumsy people don't play tricks, step by step, but walk more steadily and further than others.
Diligence: Being a man should have "five diligence"
"Everything in the world is mediocre, and all times are defeated by a lazy word"!
All kinds of ills stem from laziness. Zeng Guofan put forward "rule by diligence". He said that officials should have five diligence:
One day, be diligent: the dangerous road is far away, and the body will test it; When you are in a difficult situation, you can taste it yourself. That is, practice and do things in person.
Second, be diligent: when you meet someone, you must look closely; After another article, it will be reviewed repeatedly. Be diligent in reading and reading.
Third, diligence: things that are easy to discard, pick up at will; Things that are easy to forget are recorded in essays. Write letters frequently, including diaries and letters from home.
Fourth, be diligent: treat colleagues and persuade each other; Treat subordinates and then discipline them again and again. That is, to exercise eloquence, but not to hurt people.
5. Diligence: When you are sincere, the stone is also open; Thinking hard will bring miracles. That is, always reflect and exercise your mind.
This is not only the way to be an official, but also the way to be a human being. I have five diligence, which is available all over the world.
Such as hand service. Zeng Guofan developed three good habits in his life:
The first is the habit of introspection: Zeng Guofan keeps a diary every day, through which he cultivates himself and reflects on his own shortcomings in dealing with others.
The second is the habit of reading: he stipulates that he must insist on reading not less than ten pages of history every day and writing not less than half an hour after meals. Zeng Guofan said, "People's temperament is hard to change because they are born. Only reading can change their temperament. "
Third, the habit of writing letters home: It is said that Zeng Guofan wrote no less than 253 letters home only in 186 1 year. By writing letters from home, he constantly guides and educates his younger brother and children. Under the example of Zeng Guofan, the descendants of the Zeng family came forth in large numbers.
Another example is diligence. Zeng Guofan asked himself to get up early in the army. No matter what kind of weather or environment, he will "smell the chicken and dance", train the supervisor and handle all kinds of affairs. Zeng Guofan said to the soldiers in the army: "The way of training soldiers must be day and night, but it can be gradually familiar. If a chicken hatches an egg, like an alchemist, you can't leave for a moment. "
Example is better than precept. This is how Zeng Guofan influenced his staff and generals. Whether it is personal practice or management team, this is very important, and it is necessary to set a good example for people around and subordinates.
Sincerity: be sincere enough to make your opponent trust you.
Only the sincerity in the world can overcome the falsehood in the world!
Zeng Guofan told us that only the most sincere people in the world can win the most hypocritical people in the world. Not according to the logic of fighting poison with poison, but fighting fire with water and hard with soft. Because hypocrisy can only win the favor of others for a while, but not for a long time. What really lasts is sincerity!
In the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan and Zuo were both from Hunan, only one year apart, and they were the four famous ministers of ZTE in the late Qing Dynasty. However, the feud between these two people is very dramatic. As we said before, Zeng Guofan's talent is very general, while Left is just the opposite. He is a peerless genius with outstanding talent.
Zuo/kloc-a scholar at the age of 0/5, promoted at the age of 20. However, since then, Zuo has been in Beijing for three times in a row, and failed to take the exam again. Zeng Guofan is precisely the contrast of the left. After Zeng Guofan was promoted to the imperial examination, the road to the imperial examination was very smooth. He is a scholar, and his life is Hanlin. He rose seven times in a row in 10, and his official position is far above the left. Therefore, when left looked at Zeng Guofan, there was a kind of hostility subconsciously.
Because Zeng Guofan's talent is not too high, Zuo looked down on Zeng Guofan and often ridiculed Zeng Guofan's "lack of talent" and "dull soldiers". Even his student Li Hongzhang said to his face that he was too "slow to learn Confucianism". In the face of these sarcasm, Zeng Guofan just laughed it off and generously admitted that Zuo's ability was indeed once in a hundred years, and he was ashamed of himself. Every time I met Zuo in the imperial court, Zeng Guofan also took the initiative to say hello, and his attitude was very respectful. Zuo once asked others, who do you think is stronger or weaker than Zeng Guofan? Others replied: Ceng Gong has Zuo Gong in his heart, but Zuo Gong has no Zuo Gong in his heart!
Finally, the arrogant left was impressed by Zeng Guofan's measurement. After Zeng Guofan's death, Zuo sent an elegy: "It is better to know the wisdom of people and seek the loyalty of the country; Unity is like gold, attacking the wrong stone, and never interacting with each other. " Behind the elegiac couplet, Zuo wrote the word "born late", but he never claimed to Zeng Guofan that he was born late. In particular, the phrase "shame" has put an end to the "Yu Liang Complex" of Zeng Guofan.
When talking about business, Li Ka-shing also said: If you are sincere and even your opponents believe you, what else can you do badly?
Introspection: Repeat every day and reflect on everything.
Zeng Guofan quoted Zhu's famous saying in his family letter: "Repentance is like spring, and the vitality of all things with savings begins to sprout."
Repentance and introspection, like spring, contain infinite vitality. If a person can often reflect on his wrong behavior, then his life will be full of vitality!
When he was young, Zeng Guofan was an angry youth. "He is very conceited, and he is not every time he sees others." At the age of thirty, I realized my shortcomings and decided to learn to be a saint. But how can we become a saint? His method is to keep a diary. I kept writing until he was 62 years old. Introspection may not be difficult, but it is difficult to introspect every day!
Zeng Guofan's diary is not long, and most of what he wrote is a description of life: from the time he got up in the morning, he recorded all the meals he ate, what he said to whom, and even the dreams he had at night, and then recalled his words and deeds of the day. When he found out what didn't meet the requirements of the saint, he blamed himself and deeply reflected. In short, we should reflect on what is done well and what is not. Through daily reflection and reflection on everything, always remind yourself to get rid of your own problems.
More importantly, he copied many copies of his diary and circulated it in a circle of friends for relatives and friends to annotate. For example, once he complained in his diary that Luo was cold to him, and his brother commented, "My brother always looks embarrassed." This reminds him that he has always been conceited, and there is always no doubt about reporting his work or speech to this senior, so he suddenly wakes up.
Zeng Guofan's talent is not good, but he can become a "saint inside and king outside" and a "minister of ZTE" in the late Qing Dynasty, which is inseparable from his continuous self-improvement. In his long life, keeping a diary and making it public to relatives and friends is his most important way of introspection.
Lack: leave room for everything.
Leave room for everything and be proud of it!
Zeng Guofan has always used this truth to warn himself. To this end, he also named his study "Seeking Que (Lack) Zhai" to warn himself that everything is lacking and that "the blessings are endless".
Laozi said in the Tao Te Ching: "If you don't have enough achievements, you can use them." It means that the perfect thing seems to be flawed, but its function will never fail. Usually, we have expectations and expectations for things that are not completely open and round; If there is a little deficiency, there will be room for continuous improvement and inexhaustible motivation.
The whole world wants perfection, but few people are wary of the consequences of perfection. Once things are perfect, things will go to extremes. Zeng Guofan knew this law well so as not to be violated perfectly.
Therefore, being a man should "seek for the lack and cherish the blessing". There is no such thing as dzogchen. People who demand perfection are doomed to be incomplete, and the so-called perfection is only a psychological satisfaction. There are imperfections in perfection, unsuccessful in success and imperfect in perfection. This is the law of things!
People who have become famous since ancient times often start from clumsiness! We can't do Zeng Guofan, not because we are stupid, but because we can't do his clumsy kung fu.
There are always a few talented people in the world, and the rest are ordinary people with average qualifications! For us ordinary people, Zeng Guofan's "stupid kung fu" is worth learning from!