-Excerpt from (Song) Wang Anshi's Shang
There is a citizen named Fang Zhongyong in Jinxi County whose family has been farming for generations. When Zhong Yong was five years old, he didn't know writing tools. Suddenly one day, Zhong Yong cried for these things. His father was surprised by this and borrowed those things from his neighbors. Zhong Yong immediately wrote four sentences and wrote his own name. This poem aims to support parents and unite people of the same clan for the whole town to watch.
From then on, when he was assigned to write a poem, Fang Zhongyong could finish it at once. The literary talent and authenticity of this poem are worthy of appreciation. People in the same county were very surprised by this, and gradually regarded his father as a guest, and some people paid for Zhong Yong's poems. Fang Zhongyong's father thought it was profitable, so he led Zhong Yong to visit people in the same county every day and wouldn't let him study.
I've heard a long time ago. In the era of Ming Dow, I followed my late father back to my hometown and met Fang Zhongyong at my uncle's house. He is twelve or thirteen years old. I asked him to write poems. His poems are not as famous as before. Seven years later, I came back from Yangzhou and went to my uncle's house again. When I asked Fang Zhongyong, I replied, "His talent has disappeared. He is no different from ordinary people."
Wang Anshi said: Fang Zhongyong's intelligence is innate. His talent is much stronger than that of ordinary talented people; But in the end, because the education he received the day after tomorrow did not meet the requirements, he became an ordinary person.
His talent is so good that he has become an ordinary person without normal acquired education; Then, can those who are not born smart now, but ordinary people, who have not received the education of the day after tomorrow, become ordinary people?
2. Jiang Lang is exhausted
Poems by Zhong Rong (Wei and Jin Dynasties)
Jiang Yan of the Southern Dynasties became a famous writer when he was young, and his poems and articles were highly praised at that time. However, with the growth of age, his articles are not as good as before, and they have also regressed a lot. His poems are plain, and he still can't write a word after a long time. Occasionally, I was inspired to write poems, but the sentences were dry and the content was unremarkable.
In fact, it's not that Jiang Yan ran out of talent, but that after he became an official, on the one hand, he was busy with government affairs, on the other hand, he was proud of his official career and didn't need to write by himself, so he didn't write again. Over time, the article will naturally become inferior and lack talent.
3. Liu Chan
Liu Chan, the son of Liu Bei, succeeded to the throne after Liu Bei's death and became the emperor of Shu. Military affairs were entrusted to Zhuge Liang, Jiang Wan and others. After Zhuge Liang and other wise ministers died one after another, they were unable to control state affairs, and eunuch Huang Hao began to monopolize power, and Shu gradually declined. After attacking Shu on a large scale, Wei surrendered, moved his family to Luoyang, named him an Le Gong, and died a few years later.
Liu Chan is mediocre and incompetent. In the early days of his rule, he mainly relied on Zhuge Liang to govern state affairs. He sent troops to the Northern Expedition several times and attacked Wei, all of which were defeated. After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi assisted the court. They follow Zhuge Liang's established policy, unite internally and don't fight easily. At one time, Shu maintained a relatively stable situation.
After Jiang Wan and Fei Yi, Jiang Wei came to power and fought against Wei repeatedly, consuming national strength. Since Zhuge Liang's death, Liu Chan has become more fatuous and hedonistic, regardless of state affairs. Eunuch Huang Hao took advantage of favoritism, monopolized power, formed a clique for his own interests, and failed in Japanese politics. Even Jiang Wei invited himself to the stack (now northwest of Zhouqu, Gannan Prefecture, Gansu Province) to plant wheat to avoid disaster. At this point, the foundation of Shu has been greatly shaken.
What did the above deeds bring to people:
The acquired education is very important for a person's success. Child prodigies and geniuses, without proper environment and continuous efforts, cannot become geniuses or even degenerate into mediocrities. Even if you are not a genius, as long as you work hard enough the day after tomorrow, you will eventually become a talent, surpass those so-called geniuses and win people's respect.
Talent is important, but without good acquired efforts, even the best talent can't be exerted. It also tells us that hard work and education are very important for the cultivation of talents. Whether a person can become a useful person is related to his talent, as well as his acquired education and his own efforts.