The poem "If you are not indifferent, you will not be able to make your ambition clear; if you are not tranquil, you will not be far-reaching" comes from the poem "Book of Commandments" written by Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, an outstanding politician, strategist, essayist, and calligrapher during the Three Kingdoms period.
The literal translation of this poem is: If you are not calm and have few desires, you cannot clarify your ambitions, and if you do not eliminate external interference, you cannot achieve lofty goals.
The extended meaning of this poem is: Zhuge Liang taught his son to be "indifferent" and self-sufficient, and to live in "tranquility". He encouraged his son to study diligently and be inspirational, and to work hard on self-cultivation of 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; if you do not study hard, you cannot grow. and develop your own talents; without an unwavering will, you cannot succeed academically.
Source
"The Book of Commandments"——Zhuge Liang
Original text
The journey of a husband and a gentleman is to cultivate one's moral character in tranquility and to nourish oneself in thrift. Virtue. Without indifference, there is no clear ambition; without tranquility, there is no far-reaching goal. Learning 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. If you are coy and slow, you will not be able to inspire your energy; if you are impetuous, you will not be able to cultivate your nature. Years go with the times, thoughts go with the sun, and they become withered and withered. Many people do not take on the world, and they stay in the poor house with sadness. How will they be able to get back to you! (Indifferent one: indifferent; shy and slow one: lustful and slow)
Translation
The conduct and ethics of a gentleman improves his self-cultivation through tranquility and cultivates his character through frugality. 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. Time flies by with time, and will with time. 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?
Keyword Notes
Admonition: warning, admonishing people to be vigilant.
Fu (fú): The word at the beginning of a paragraph or sentence leads to the discussion below and has no real meaning. Gentleman: A person of high moral character. Refers to ethics, moral character, and conduct.
Self-cultivation: personal moral cultivation.
Nurture morals: cultivate moral character.
Dan (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.
Tranquility: This refers to quietness, concentration, and no distraction. Zhiyuan: achieve ambitious goals.
Talent: Talent.
Guangcai: Increase talents.
Cheng: achievement, achievement.
慆(tāo) slowly: carelessly. Slow: Lazy, lazy. Energize: be dedicated, concentrate, work hard, be inspired.
Impetuous: adventurous, impetuous, narrow-minded and impetuous, as opposed to the "tranquil" above. Governing nature: "Government" connects with "Ye" to cultivate one's temperament.
With: follow. Chi: Speeding, here means growth.
Day: time. Go: disappear, pass away.
Sui: So, just. Withered: withered branches and fallen leaves, this refers to falling like dead leaves, describing the passing of a person's time.
Too unconventional: It means not making any contribution to society. Receive the world, contact the society, undertake affairs, and be beneficial to the society. It means "using the world".
Poor house: dilapidated house.
How can it be restored: How can it be too late?
Sexy and conceited: excessive enjoyment, laziness. Kinky: Excessive.
Creative background
This article is dated to the twelfth year of Jianxing of the Shu Han Dynasty (AD 234). It is a family letter written by Zhuge Liang to his eight-year-old son Zhuge Zhan in his later years. . 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.
Appreciation of works
Most of the ancient family mottos condensed the author’s lifelong life experience, life experience and academic thoughts. Not only his descendants have benefited a lot from it, but also today’s There is much for people to learn from it.
Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, was hailed as the "incarnation of wisdom" by later generations. His "Book of Commandments" Zhuge Liang's Ancient Poems can also be said to be a family motto full of wise words and a masterpiece among ancient family mottos. The article expounds the profound principles of self-cultivation, study and conduct, which is thought-provoking. It can also be regarded as Zhuge Liang's summary of his life, and later became a famous article on self-cultivation and determination.
The main purpose of "Book of Commandments" Zhuge Liang's Ancient Poems is to encourage his son to study diligently and be determined, and to cultivate his character and cultivate his character through indifference and tranquility. The most important thing to avoid is laziness and impatience. The article summarizes the experience of being a person and studying, focusing on the word "quiet", and at the same time attributes failure to the word "impetuous", which is in sharp contrast.
In "The Book of Commandments", Zhuge Liang's Ancient Poems, Zhuge Liang educates his son to be "indifferent" and self-sufficient, and to live in "tranquility". He encourages his son to study diligently and be inspirational, and to cultivate himself in indifference and tranquility. Work hard. 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; if you do not study hard, you cannot grow. and develop your own talents; without an unwavering will, you cannot succeed academically. "Zhuge Liang taught his sons 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.
This "Book of Commandments" Zhuge Liang's Ancient Poems not only explains the ways and methods of self-cultivation, but also points out the relationship between determination and learning; it not only explains the importance of tranquility and indifference, but also points out the indulgence The dangers of neglect, extreme impatience. Zhuge Liang not only had strict requirements on his sons in terms of general principles and was persuasive, but he also showed his subtle care for his children in some specific matters. In this "Book of Commandments" Zhuge Liang's Ancient Poems, there is the power of tranquility: "Quietness cultivates one's character", "Without tranquility, one cannot reach far"; there is the power of frugality: "Frugality cultivates virtue"; and there is the power of detachment: "Without indolence, there is no way to make one's ambition clear"; with the power of being eager to learn: "To learn, one needs to be quiet, and only to learn is to learn"; with the power of inspiration: "Without learning, one cannot broaden one's talents, and without one's ambition, one cannot achieve learning"; with speed Strength: "If you are too conceited, you will not be able to stimulate your energy"; The strength of character: "You cannot cure your nature if you are impetuous"; The power of cherishing the time: "The years keep pace with the times, and the thoughts will go with the years"; The power of imagination: "Then Withered and withered, many people will not be able to take on the world, and they will stay in a poor house with sadness, how will they be able to recover?" It has the power of simplicity. This article is just a few words long, and the message conveyed is much more effective than a long article.
The article is short and concise, the words are concise and concise, the writing is fresh and elegant, and the reasoning is approachable. These are the outstanding features of this article.
Modern poetry writer Nan Huaijin's "The Analects of Confucius": "This "Book of Commandments" also fully expresses his cultivation of Confucianism. Therefore, later generations talked about the principles of cultivating one's character and self-cultivation. To be honest, None of them jumped out of Zhuge Liang's hands. Later generations put the thoughts in Zhuge Liang's letter into Confucianism, so this letter is a very famous work and a literary realm. It is very high, and the organization is very beautiful. When writing poems, it is easy to compare the spring flowers to the autumn moon, and the mainland to the sky, but it is most difficult to compare the academic and ideological things. Zhuge Liang literaryized this idea."
About the author
Zhuge Liang (181-234), courtesy name Kongming, also known as Wolong (also known as Fulong), Han nationality, was born in Yangdu, Langya, Xuzhou. (now Yinan County, Linyi City, Shandong Province), was the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, an outstanding politician, strategist, essayist, and calligrapher. He was named Wuxiang Hou when he was alive, and Zhongwu Hou after his death. The Eastern Jin Dynasty regime named him King Wuxing. In order to support the Shu Han regime, Zhuge Liang worked hard and dedicated his life until his death. His representative works of prose include "Chu Shi Biao", "Book of Commandments", etc. He invented the wooden cow and flowing horse, the Kongming lantern, etc., and modified the repeating crossbow, called the Zhuge repeating crossbow, which can fire ten arrows with one crossbow. He died in Wuzhangyuan (now Qishan, Baoji) in 234. Zhuge Liang was greatly respected in later generations and became a model of loyal ministers and the embodiment of wisdom. There are Wuhou Temples in Chengdu, Baoji, Hanzhong, Nanyang and other places, and Du Fu wrote "Prime Minister of Shu" to praise Zhuge Liang.