It means that as a gentleman, you should cultivate yourself without being affected by the outside world and cultivate your own character through frugality.
From "The Book of Commandments", it is a family letter written by Zhuge Liang, a politician during the Three Kingdoms period, to his eight-year-old son Zhuge Zhan in his later years.
This article is dated to the 12th year of Jianxing of the Shu Han Dynasty (234 AD). Zhuge Liang served his country his entire life, dedicated himself to it, and died. He worked day and night for the cause of the Shu Han country and could not take care of educating his son himself, so he wrote this letter to warn Zhuge Zhan.
The full text, through intelligent, rational, concise and rigorous words, expresses the love of fathers all over the world for their children very deeply, and has become a famous article for students of all generations to cultivate themselves and aspire. The article is short and concise, concise and concise, the writing is fresh and elegant, it is not polished, and the reasoning is approachable. These are the outstanding features of this article.
The full text is as follows:
The conduct of a gentleman is to cultivate one’s character through tranquility and to cultivate one’s virtue through frugality. Without indifference, there is no clear ambition; without tranquility, there is no far-reaching goal. The husband must be quiet to study, and the talent must study. Without learning, there is no way to expand talents; without ambition, there is no way to achieve learning. If you are impatient and slow, you will not be able to stimulate your essence, and if you are dangerous and impetuous, you will not be able to cure your nature.
The years go with the times, the thoughts go with the sun, and then they become withered and withered. Many people do not take on the world, and they stay in the poor house with sadness. How will it be possible again! (Indifferent means: indifferent; lustful and slow means: shy and slow)
The translation is as follows:
The conduct of a gentleman is to improve one's self-cultivation through tranquility, and to cultivate one's own character through thrift. . If you are not calm and have few desires, you will not be able to clarify your ambitions, and if you do not eliminate external interference, you will not be able to achieve lofty goals. Learning requires concentration and concentration, and talent comes from learning. Therefore, without learning, you cannot increase your talents, and without ambition, you cannot achieve success in learning. Indolence and laziness cannot inspire the spirit, and impatience and risk-taking cannot cultivate the temperament.
The years fly by with time, and the will passes with the years. In the end, they were withered and scattered. Most of them had no contact with the world and were not used by society. They could only sit sadly in their poor homes. How could they regret it at that time?
The annotations of the words are as follows:
⑴Comment: Warning, admonishing people to be vigilant.
⑵夫 (fú): The first word of a paragraph or sentence, which leads to the discussion below and has no real meaning. Gentleman: A person of high moral character. Refers to ethics, moral character, and conduct.
⑶ Self-cultivation: personal moral cultivation.
⑷Nurture morals: Cultivate moral character.
⑸Dan (dàn) Bo: also written as "indifferent", quiet and not greedy for fame and wealth. He is calm at heart and does not seek fame and fortune. Be pure and have few desires. Mingzhi: express one's lofty aspirations.
⑹Quietness: This refers to quietness, concentration, and no distraction. Zhiyuan: achieve ambitious goals.
Extended information:
Zhuge Liang (181-October 8, 234), courtesy name Kongming, alias Wolong, was born in Yangdu, Langya, Xuzhou (now Yinan County, Linyi City, Shandong) , the Prime Minister of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period, an outstanding politician, strategist, diplomat, writer, calligrapher, and inventor.
Zhuge Liang taught his son to be "indifferent" and "peaceful" to himself. He encouraged his son to study hard and be motivated, and to work hard on cultivating himself in indifference and tranquility. He said, "Study requires tranquility, and talent requires learning. Without learning, there is no way to expand talents, and without ambition, there is no way to achieve learning."
It means that if you are not stable and quiet, you cannot study hard for a long time to realize your lofty ideals. To learn true knowledge, you must make your body and mind study and explore in tranquility. People's talents are accumulated from continuous learning. Without hard work, you cannot grow and develop your talents; without unwavering will, you cannot succeed in school.
Zhuge Liang taught his son not to be impetuous and behave absurdly. In the second half of the letter, he earnestly taught his son in a fatherly tone: If a young man does not work hard, an old man will be sad. This may seem like a cliché, but it was taught by a loving father to his son. Every word is the truth in his heart and a summary of his life, so it is particularly cherished.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Book of Commandments