From it, we can read about the people and things that spread among the people in ancient China.
Zheng Banqiao, who understands the big things and is careless about the small things, is a classic folk story.
Zheng Banqiao, whose real name is Zheng Xie, whose real name is Kerou and whose real name is Banqiao, is from Xinghua, Jiangsu. He was a famous painter and writer in Qing Dynasty. His poetry, calligraphy and painting skills are excellent, outstanding and unique. He is known as the "three wonders" in the world, especially good at painting bamboo. He is the most famous and individual figure among the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou.
Zheng Banqiao was a scholar in Kangxi period, a juren in Yongzheng period and a scholar in Qianlong period. He once served as a magistrate in Fan County and Wei County, Shandong Province, but was dismissed for being honest and serving the people. He returned to Yangzhou to sell paintings for a living. He lived in poverty for a long time, but he survived three dynasties and died at the age of 73. In that era, "people are over 70 years old and things are rare", it is really long. What is the secret of Zheng Banqiao's longevity?
It is rare to be confused, and it is a blessing to suffer.
Zheng Banqiao once wrote many famous inscriptions, the most popular of which are "difficult to confuse" and "suffering is a kind of happiness". There is another legend about the origin of these two plaques.
When Zheng Banqiao was appointed magistrate of Wei County, his cousin wrote him a letter. It turned out that his cousin and neighbors had a dispute over the ownership of the wall foundation of an ancestral house, which led to the office of Xinghua County Government. His cousin hopes that Zheng Banqiao can inform Xinghua county magistrate so that he can win the lawsuit. After reading the letter, Zheng Banqiao immediately wrote a poem back to the book: "A thousand miles of books are walls, why not let him be a few feet?" "The Great Wall of Wan Li is still there today, and Qin Shihuang is not seen." Open-minded optimism is obvious.
Later, he wrote down the words "it is difficult to be confused" and "it is a blessing to suffer losses", and said "it is difficult to be smart, it is difficult to be confused, and it is even more difficult to change from smart to confused. Let it go and take a step back. Now you feel at ease, and it will not be a good thing to get rewards in the future." "Losing is a blessing" bet: "Those who are full lose the opportunity, and those who lose gradually gain. If they lose themselves, they will gain more, and everyone will gain half of their mood, so that they will have peace of mind and happiness. " The postscript of these lines is not only Zheng Banqiao's explanation of these two words, but also a summary of his spiritual cultivation and philosophy of life.
Throughout Zheng Banqiao's life, his life was not smooth. He experienced many misfortunes in his life, including his mother in childhood, his wife in middle age and his son in his later years. Because he was an upright official, honest and clean, he ran into a wall everywhere in the dark officialdom at that time, and because the people were dismissed from office for violating the powerful, they returned to Yangzhou to sell paintings for a living. But he has never been upset and depressed because of his bumpy fate, frustrated officialdom and poor life. Instead, it is very important for one's physical and mental health to stick to a tolerant and generous attitude towards life, such as "it's hard to be confused" and "it's a blessing to suffer", adjust oneself well, get rid of unnecessary troubles and maintain a good attitude.
Modern medicine shows that if people are in the whirlpool of troubles and worries for a long time, they will frequently stimulate the "stress response" of the body, which will not only accelerate people's aging, but also cause diseases such as hypertension and peptic ulcer. And proper "confusion" can help people eliminate psychological pain and fatigue. It is worth noting that the "confusion" mentioned in health care is by no means confused about everything and everywhere. Of course, we can't be indiscriminate in the face of right and wrong, let alone talk about principles and bottom lines. In daily life, understanding the big things and being confused about the small things is the best way to cultivate the mind.
Be happy and sensible, and help others from within.
Zheng Banqiao's genius is praised by the world, which is the result of his hard work all his life. However, he believes that the more important role of reading is that it can be "happy and sensible, and it can be used to cultivate self-cultivation and prolong life". This is a very important way to keep healthy.
There is a saying that writing is a way to keep mental state, and reading is a way to live. When reading, body and mind are immersed in the book, abandon other thoughts and stick to unity. Although the purpose is not to cure diseases and strengthen the body, it has inspired the soul and soothed the soul in a subtle way, thus achieving the effects of reconciling yin and yang, cultivating self-cultivation, strengthening the brain and improving intelligence, eliminating diseases and prolonging life.
Zheng Banqiao's study is spontaneous and independent, and he doesn't stick to the rules. He used to study on the boat, on horseback and under the quilt. He once "traveled to the Western Hills with his master every day, lit a lamp to make tea at night, and joined the bamboo house, almost forgetting that he was on earth, unlike a sea of people." Zheng Banqiao still has his own views on reading. He believes that reading must be chosen, otherwise it will be "like a broken kitchen cabinet with smelly oil and bad sauce". He also warned his younger brother to be good at reading, to "know that there are books in the book and books outside the book, so that his mind is clear and reasonable", to have his own opinions, and not to copy mechanically or follow the trend.
Open the book, he can temporarily forget the hardships and troubles in the world, and constantly broaden his mind in purifying his mind. In his eyes, all kinds of human feelings in the world are also readable books, which can also make him take it lightly, be open-minded, relieve depression and be difficult to invade. Just like the public service advertisement of CCTV now says: "If you want to live, you should also let go of your soul. Reading is related to the latter. " Indeed, reading can not only enrich our knowledge and increase our knowledge, but also help us form an independent personality and broaden our horizons and minds.
Danqing calligraphy and painting is an elixir of life.
Zheng Banqiao has "three unique skills" in poetry, calligraphy and painting. In terms of poetry and prose, he loves and writes poetry all his life, "sometimes he writes poetry, sometimes he writes Syaraku and mourns", and advocates "writing straight and bloody articles", which is often written in laughter and scolding to show his true feelings. During his tenure as magistrate of a county in wei county, Shandong Province, he wrote 40 poems about wei county's bamboo branches, which vividly described the local conditions and customs of wei county and made no secret of his dissatisfaction with the dark forces at that time and his deep sympathy for the working people. His poems are well-known and widely circulated among the people. * * * After being dismissed for the people, he didn't stop writing poems, but lived longer under the influence of poems.
In painting, he especially likes painting bamboo and orchids. "He has painted orchids for more than 50 years and has never painted anything else." He has created many excellent works, which are unique in China's traditional painting art. What is more commendable is that his paintings and calligraphy are not for dignitaries, but for ordinary people. He said: "I paint orchids, bamboos and stones to comfort the working people in the world, not to enjoy the people on earth."
Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy is exquisite in art and free and easy in style. His own Six Books and a Half is even more shocking. It often gives people the image of littering all over the street and lightning chopping empty space, showing his frank and frank soul, which has always been praised by calligraphers. There is another interesting legend about the origin of this font. According to legend, for a time, Zheng Banqiao was obsessed with copying all kinds of calligraphy posts, practicing calligraphy during the day and at night, almost to the point of forgetting to eat or sleep. One night, in his dream, he took his wife's back as a piece of paper and scratched it with his fingers. The wife woke up with a start and scolded him: "You have your body and I have my body. Why don't you use my body yourself? " Zheng Banqiao suddenly woke up, realized the word "self", destroyed all legal posts, and finally created his own.
As we know, writing and painting are artistic activities that combine physical strength with mental strength. First of all, we should concentrate, eliminate distractions and give full play to the thinking and creative ability of the brain. Then you need to correct your posture, use your whole body's strength to lift your elbow and hang your wrist, so that all the muscles of your body are exercised, relax and activate your muscles, and the bones and muscles of your brain and body need to be well mobilized and coordinated, thus playing a role in fitness. In addition, poetry, calligraphy and painting are all good ways to vent their emotions. This should also be one of the secrets for Zheng Banqiao and many poets, painters and calligraphers to live a long and healthy life.
Visit the scenery and make friends with the world.
Zheng Banqiao likes to make friends. He once proudly declared: "Banqiao has walked a lot of mountains and rivers, although not many" and "there are not many celebrities who make friends with the world." He loves mountains and rivers and often travels to famous mountains and rivers. When he climbed Mount Huangshan, he felt "bathing in spring and smoothing his bones and muscles" and "the sea of clouds shook his lungs". During Emperor Qianlong's eastern tour, Zheng Banqiao was ordered to be the history of calligraphy and painting, and stayed at the top of Mount Tai for more than forty days, and he was always proud of it. Poetry and painting among thousands of mountains, mountains and places of interest are really open-minded, relaxed and happy, and it is easier to stimulate a profound understanding of life.
He also likes to make friends, attaches importance to friendship, and has many contacts with scholars, celebrities, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and officials. After he was dismissed from office for more than ten years, he often sang with some friends and celebrities at that time, gave each other calligraphy and painting, and wrote poems as postscript, and enjoyed it. I once wrote a picture of nine flowers and orchids, and wrote a long paragraph, describing in detail the scene of nine friends making a table and "each taking 100 yuan for eternity".
Traveling to famous mountains and rivers can make people relax and forget their troubles; Making good friends can talk to each other and drive away loneliness. All these can make people free from the complicated secular world temporarily, keep a pure and quiet mind and enjoy the comfort of spiritual stretching, which will naturally contribute to health and longevity.
Vegetables and carrots, rough tea and light rice
On the kitchen door of his hometown in Jiangsu, Zheng Banqiao personally wrote such a couplet, which read "green vegetables, radishes and brown rice" and "pot of water and chrysanthemum tea" below. A few numbers tell him the way to keep healthy.
Although Zheng Banqiao was born in a water town in the south of the Yangtze River, due to his poor family background, he developed the eating habit of simple meals at an early age. Even if life improved later, the diet structure was mainly vegetarian, such as cereals, vegetables and fruits. He believes that "pasta is easy to digest, can increase strength, and is most suitable for the elderly", or "occasionally eat pancake noodles for a change and benefit the spleen", and advocates a light diet, conforming to the season and returning to nature, as his poem says: "Three-spring shepherd's purse is rich in flavor, and nine-ripe cherries are the most famous"; "Sprinkle bamboo shoots and autumn pears in the forest to get ganoderma lucidum and fairy grass"; "The chrysanthemum water in Nanyang is old and it is a kind of flower that prolongs life. Eighty-year-olds sip it frequently, and the frost will turn into crows ",and" the ears of rice are yellow, filling the hunger; Green leaves make soup. It tastes dull and has a long taste. " Zheng Banqiao wrote in his letter to his younger brother: "It's delicious to take fish and shrimp, build a net by propping up a boat, eat chaff in a broken house, sip wheat porridge, take water chestnut leaves, cook them with ginger and pepper, and stick buckwheat pot cakes next to them."
Zheng Banqiao likes tea, too. In Shi Tian Cave, Qingcheng Mountain, guanxian, Sichuan, there is a couplet with his title: "Sweep bamboo leaves to cook tea, chop loose roots to cook vegetable roots". In the poem "Lee's Garden", Zheng Banqiao described the life scene of a family like this: "My brother began to sweep the yellow leaves and my brother began to cook autumn tea. The stars are still in the tree and the sky is rotten. Xuande porcelain is used for the cup and Yixing sand is used for the pot. " Although the artifacts are not precious jade, they are pure and self-produced. "It can be seen that drinking tea has become an indispensable part of Zheng Banqiao's life. He loves drinking tea itself, not the complicated forms and luxurious utensils attached to drinking tea.
Zheng Banqiao's eating habits not only come down in one continuous line with his philosophy and aesthetics, but also reflect the simple and natural qualities of others, which is an important reason for his health and longevity. Huangdi Neijing has a regimen of "five grains for nourishment, five fruits for help, five livestock for benefit, five vegetables for filling, and the smell is combined to replenish essence". Let's look back at Zheng Banqiao's couplets and eat whole grain vegetables, radishes and cereals. After dinner, treat them with rootless water and chrysanthemum tea in casserole. Although these diets seem tasteless, they can provide a variety of nutrients needed by the human body.
On his 60th birthday, Zheng Banqiao wrote an interesting birthday couplet for himself to hang in the living room. The first part is: "If you have always been a guest, why ask Corning? But let there be more money in the bag, more wine in the urn and more food in the kettle. Take a few leaves to enjoy the old paper and let the waves sing. " Broad-minded, opinionated, and smart-featured, it is better than a thousand fingers. After 60, it is still rare. "The bottom line is:" Determined to be immortal, there are troubles in the air, which will only make the ears have no vulgar sounds, eyes have no vulgar things, and the chest has no vulgar things. You will put a few new flowers in the air at will; "If you go to bed late and get up early, one day is like two days of leisure, which means you are over 100 years old."
The main purpose of Shoulian is: although I am in China, I often regard myself as a guest in a foreign country, optimistic and open-minded, open-minded about everything, treat money and fame as things outside my body, scrimp and save, and only seek food and clothing in material life. Don't bother yourself, put your feelings in pen and ink, and sing poems loudly or arrange flowers deliberately with your good friends and enjoy it. Spiritual life should be enriched day by day. Zheng Banqiao's life couplets are humorous, vivid and interesting, which not only states his open-minded attitude towards life and interest in life, but also highly summarizes his life-long regimen, which is a "regimen medicine" worthy of our future generations to learn.
This is Zheng Banqiao. He knows big things, but he makes a mess of small things. Welcome to share the story with your relatives and friends!
Confusion and understanding, Zheng Banqiao.