How did Zuo learn and use Mencius vividly in those years?

Ancient Confucius and Mencius also said that Confucius and Mencius had different facts. The most fundamental difference is that Confucius advocates "benevolence", advocates distinguishing the order of "benevolence and love" according to the ethical level, regulates the order with etiquette, warms people's hearts with morality, and realizes "making the world full of love"; Mencius advocated "righteousness" and "righteousness". Mencius advocated eliminating behaviors that did not conform to ethics and etiquette, and warming people's hearts with benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and wisdom. In other words, Mencius made up for the defects of Confucianism in all aspects. Mencius (data source network) began to study Confucius and Mencius at the age of five, and both of them were eclectic. But Mencius seems to have a greater influence on the Left. The late Qing Dynasty, in which Zuo lived, and the Warring States Period, in which Mencius lived, were times of people's interests, moral distortion and ideological confusion. Zuo picked up Mencius' "righteousness" and creatively developed it according to the characteristics of himself and the times, so as to cultivate one's morality, nourish one's heart and govern the world. First, determination: Mencius' concern for the country and the people has the deepest influence on Zuo's life, which can be found in Mencius' special chapters and sentences. Mencius said: "People with virtue and wisdom will always suffer from consumption. As an orphan, his worries are also dangerous, and his worries are also deep, so it is achieved. " Solitary minister, refers to the alienated minister; An evil son, not the son of his first wife. Translating this passage into vernacular Chinese, Mencius said: "A man with virtue, wisdom, strategy and insight is often because he lives in a difficult situation. Only those who are lonely and evil, with fear and anxiety, think that suffering is far-reaching, so they are sensible. " The basic mental state of Zuo's life is written in the letter to his son, which is exactly what Mencius said here: "sense of hardship, sense of hardship". Zuo's mentality has not changed all his life, which is related to his marginalized social status and cultural mentality for many years. Zuo was born in a declining gentry family in Xiangyin, Hunan. His parents died before the age of 65,438+08, and his family was forced to join the Zhou Jia family in Xiangtan, which strengthened his "evil son" mentality. From the age of 17, I began to learn unorthodox knowledge such as geography and agronomy, and it didn't come in handy until I was 40 years old. My lonely mentality always lingered. The mentality of being a lonely minister and evil son makes the wild folk spirit of the left primitive more obvious. At the age of 24, he decided to write a self-titled "I don't have half an acre, and I am worried about the world" in Xiangtan Westinghouse. Reading through thousands of books and making friends with the ancients "is the product of these two mentalities. "Mencius said," although there are ten thousand people in Qian Qian, I will go! """I don't have half an acre, and I'm worried about the world", which is the left version. ""Although there are ten thousand people, I will go! Neo-Confucianism prevailed in the Qing Dynasty, and there was a poem in the academic circles that mocked Neo-Confucianism: "There is nothing to say, and I am not afraid to report to you when I am in danger." "Zuo's first-class processing ability and extraordinary sense of responsibility are different from those of his contemporaries. Tracing back to the source, the left pattern and weather are inspired by Mencius' sentence. Second, self-cultivation: self-cultivation has ambition and handsome Mencius, "knowing words and cultivating nature." What do you mean by "knowing words"? Know all the learning principles in the world, know what their ideas are and where their shortcomings are. Now he is a top master of Chinese and western learning. What is "nourishing qi"? Always cultivate a full spirit and fill your heart with strong and upright integrity. How do scholars "cultivate their spirits"? For the methodology, see Mencius Gongsun Chou Zhang Sentence: "The husband is handsome; Gas, the body is full. Far-reaching ambition, gas is not as good as people. So say, "Hold on to your ambition and you won't get angry." Return what? As the saying goes, "if you are determined to move, you will be angry, and if you are determined to move, you will be arrogant." If you want to be angry today, it will be against your heart. " . Now people often call it "ambition", and Mencius pointed out that "ambition" and "qi" are two different concepts. "ambition" refers to people's ideals and goals, and "qi" refers to people's heart and spirit. Mencius saw it at that time. Energetic people, if they don't pay attention to their behavior, will mutate into "rage", and "rage" is the easiest to turn the tables on customers and disturb their attention. Zuo is a man who is ambitious and cares about the world. His ideal is to become a contemporary Zhuge Liang. He is also an energetic man. In his early years, he once called it "a person's career." Zuo combined with his own experience, and gradually got a prescription for self-cultivation from Mencius' sentence: "Being handsome with ambition". This concept can be found in Zuo's letter to Zhong You, a subordinate magistrate: "There are also people who have devoted themselves to Taoism, and they know something. However, I can't help thinking about other ideas. If my heart suddenly loses something, it is unprofessional to be pulled by something else. This is no different, ambition is overwhelming; The use of Qi is induced by the practice of dyeing, which will win friends and observation will help my mind. Therefore, the harp makes its heart exclusive, and if it is not as pure as it is, consider eliminating it. The ancient people's desire for this is deeply rooted in the old and the new, so their hearts are caught, and they should not be carefree, but complacent. After all, this desire for profit is useless, but I think my way is restrained, and I am against the old rule, so I should lead it away. If you want to win Qi, you all want to benefit your ears, but the sage knows that the three have many friends, so it is fun to have friends from afar. If you care about this, you will not care about the old habits, but will be responsible for the good, thinking that you are absorbed in the Tao! Obviously, Zuo showed himself here and taught his subordinates why Zhong Yue should be handsome and ambitious. Ambition and qi are a pair of contradictions: ambition is fixed and qi is flowing. Because "Qi" is always flowing, people's hearts are always full of distractions. Energetic people, to a certain extent, beyond the control of willpower, will be overwhelmed by ambition. Ambition will be defeated by energy, and all bad habits will come out. Talented people can achieve "winning by ambition", that is, they can control their emotions and moods with willpower and let them serve their goals and ideals. But how to "win by ambition"? It is no good to suppress emotions and moods with willpower, and it can also lead to heart disease. What shall we do? By playing the piano and exchanging ideas with friends, I can concentrate on enjoying my study and make my distracted heart single-minded. Mencius's "being handsome with ambition" is a general concept, while Zuo has worked out practical and concrete methods to guide personal cultivation, which is exactly where he is smarter than ordinary bookworms who seek chapters and sentences. Three. Westernization: Different from the ancients in history, Zuo lived in an era when the door of globalization was open. Talking to teacher He Xiling about western countries for the first time. 1839 also taught in the Xiaoyan classroom in Anhua. After hearing about the First Opium War and the Second Opium War, Zuo was worried about "the collapse of the West in China". Therefore, in 1866, after Zuo took command of the military forces in Jiangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces and finally wiped out 300,000 remnants of Taiping Army, the first important thing he did was to follow Hu Xueyan's suggestion and prepare for the establishment of Fuzhou Shipping Bureau. From 1866 until his death, and from then on 19 years, Zuo represented that the Qing Empire always stood at the forefront of the times and struggled with westerners. Before Left, Wei Yuan's "Hai Tu Zhi" had the saying of "learning from foreigners and mastering foreign skills". As a generation of politicians, he needs to define his fundamental international outlook and cultural outlook and put it into practice. Mencius, which Zuo read as a child, reappeared in his mind. "On the chapters and sentences of Mencius Teng Wengong" said: "I have heard that it has changed in summer, but I have never heard of it." Chen Liang, born in Chu, welcomed Duke Zhou and Zhong Ni in the north and learned from China. Scholars in the north failed to rank first. He is also a so-called hero. My son's brother has worked for decades, and the teacher's death has doubled! Mencius' original intention is different at home and abroad. He used China culture to change foreign countries and turned them into China. Mencius said this when China's culture was full of vitality. In the left era, the west has far surpassed China in military strength, and copying Mencius can only be a method of spiritual victory and self-deception. In fact, Zuo spoke in the era of passive globalization, and after thinking, he reached his own fundamental point of view: comprehensively learning from the West, taking western culture as a reference, systematically transforming China culture, and pursuing "the China of western culture". Based on such a global vision, in the spring of 1866, Governor Zuo of Fujian and Zhejiang played the court like this: "I can't be proud of what I have; I can't be proud of being smart. "We all benefit from the sea, and each has something, and I have nothing but it. For example, if you cross the river, people will operate the boat and I will make a raft; Like a horse, people straddle the horse and I ride a donkey. How can it be? As the earliest advocate of the Westernization Movement, Zeng Guofan actually proposed to learn from the West in 186 1. But as a master of Neo-Confucianism, he can't break through the traditional shackles of "righteousness, textual research and ci" and bring economy into the category of righteousness. To sum up, his basic view is "the end of the West". As China's first ambassador to Britain and France, Guo Songtao, a contemporary of Zuo, began to study Westernization from 65438 to 0858. He put aside the dispute between China and the West, put forward the idea of "total westernization" of China system, and gave a 300-year timetable. Left is neither in favor of "westernization" nor against "total westernization". As a politician with a practical background, he actually promoted his "Westernization" practice of western culture. In 1866, Zuo expressed his opinion to the imperial court: "Everyone is human and smart enough to know similar properties, but what he has learned cannot be different. "China's wisdom is based on the virtual, while foreign wisdom is based on the real. China is based on righteousness and reason, and artistic things are the purpose; In foreign countries, art is the most important, while justice is the least important. Each has his own, and the two phases are no more than one. It is said that the performer gives up his essence, and the scholar keeps his coarseness. If you say that I am not as good as a foreign country, you can guide me first; They say that I am not as good as foreign countries, so foreign countries can't be good at it. This matter is more important than the author. " Zuo wisely put aside the "ratio of Chinese and western advantages and disadvantages" that was all the rage at that time. Judging from China's cultural standard, he advocated learning from the West, not limited to weapons technology. He founded the first people's livelihood light industry factory in China-Gansu Weaving General Administration, and the first civilian park in China-became attached. When he was governor of the two rivers, he vigorously promoted the practice of "commercial supervision and commercial management" in Jiangsu. These actions have actually broken through the limitations of the imperial system, and they were initiated by China in the areas of people's livelihood and civil rights. Even if we learn western technology purely, Zuo can not only connect with the international community, but also protect national interests in international rules. He hired a Frenchman, Dacker Monnet, to teach shipbuilding and driving in Japan and Italy. This is purely based on the money relationship in the contract. When it expires in five years, all the property rights and technologies of the Maritime Bureau will be owned by China. In contrast, if Zeng Guofan, who advocated "learning western learning at the end", exchanged summer for foreigners, Guo Songtao, who advocated "total westernization", exchanged foreigners. Later, Zhang Zhidong, who advocated that "Chinese style should be used in the west", did not "exchange summer for foreign countries" or "exchange foreign countries", but "distinguish between primary and secondary, and make the best of it". Among these people, the only one who advocates "China-ization of Western culture" is an exception with the strongest vitality. This view of Zuo can't be found in Mencius. This is also in line with his consistent reading characteristics, that is, learning to be excellent is to be an official, based on predecessors, adapting to the times and innovating in time. Chi Pin said that Mencius, as the first debater in China during the Warring States Period, could always see the essence of the problem at a glance, with steady argument, rigorous logic and incisive conclusions. Mencius' thought of kingship and democratic concept can still inspire people today. Compared with Confucius' values of "respecting morality and carrying things", Mencius' integrity is enough to make people feel refreshed in a listless era, such as bathing in the sunshine in May. Among the pre-Qin philosophers, Mencius is probably the closest to the present. Zuo was born in a gloomy era and made great achievements, which is closely related to his private life of Mencius. Text: Xu Zhipin's picture comes from the left: a word from home is worth a ton of gold. Related reading: Left: A letter from home is worth a thousand pounds. From 160 letters spanning 32 years, it reveals the mental journey of Xiuqi Zhiping, a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty. Tang, a famous writer, prefaces himself and is recommended by Professor Yang from the Institute of Qing History of China Renmin University. Zuo's first great-grandson provided a lot of precious pictures to learn more. Click to read.