We say that Zeng Guofan can become Zeng Guofan because of his lifelong belief and belief in Confucianism. Therefore, only when a person is strong in the spiritual world can he be strong in the real world.
In fact, Zeng Guofan turned out to be just an ordinary child. Of course, many people later told him how smart he was when he was a teenager. In fact, people become famous. When a celebrity becomes famous, people will talk about how talented he was when he was a child and what kind of genius he was. Where did you get so many geniuses? There is little difference in the qualifications of ordinary children, but why can Zeng Guofan, who is very ordinary, cultivate a firm belief and belief in life? This will start with Zeng Guofan's imperial examination. We know that the imperial examinations in Ming and Qing Dynasties were very difficult to take, so we all know that the most famous Fan Jinzhong took the exam for many years. He didn't get into Juren until he was in his fifties, and he went crazy to take the exam, and the lowest provincial exam was considered a pass.
But there is one person who is more difficult than Fan Jinzhong. who is it? Zeng Guofan's father is called Zeng Linshu. Although the name is elegant and Lin Shu looks learned, this imperial examination can kill him. Not to mention, after obtaining the rural examination, I have not passed the 16 scholar-level examination. He finally got 17 times, which is probably his lucky number, and finally got in. By this time, he was in his 40 s and Zeng Guofan was in his 20 s. So I really can't pass the exam, and I have a long way to go. Xiu Yuan Xi, who didn't take the exam, put all his hopes on his son and went home.
Zeng Guofan is superior to his father. Why did his father pin all his hopes on him? Because he is obviously better than his father. At the age of 23, he was admitted to the scholar, 20 years earlier than his father. Then he took the provincial exam, but I don't know why he was so lucky. He passed the exam the first time, and as soon as he passed the exam, he got a juren. At this time, stupid children who used to study badly are always scolded. As a result, he didn't do well in the exam at ordinary times, and he did very well in the first exam. Zeng Guofan's confidence increased greatly, so he packed his bags and went to Beijing to take the final exam the following year. I arrived in Beijing six months ahead of schedule. At that time, I found a very cheap place, Hunan Beijing Office. Unlike now, it is funded by local chambers of commerce or celebrities in Beijing. It was called the Guild Hall at that time, and he lived in Changsha Guild Hall. At that time, the emphasis was on the friendship of fellow villagers, but whenever a fellow villager came, the fees were low. I once lived in Changsha Guild Hall, but unexpectedly, the inevitable exam gave him a blow, and he failed the exam. If you don't pass the exam, you should go home, because it only happens once every few years. To say that Zeng Guofan is lucky, the Queen Mother's 60th birthday in the second year was added as usual to celebrate Cohen's birthday. That's great, another chance, isn't it? Zeng Guofan did not go home when he saw it. I studied hard in Beijing for a year. I still can't believe I didn't pass the exam the next year. Therefore, I used to have only half a year's money in Beijing, but now I have lived frugally for a year and a half. If it weren't for thrifty children, it really couldn't be done. Zeng Guofan lived in a strange place in Beijing for another year. In the second year, Cohen felt that he was all there, thinking that he had suffered a loss, didn't he? If I try harder, good things will come naturally. Why else would God let me stay in Beijing for another year? He thinks it will be all right this time. As a result, this time it fell off the list like last time.
So what should Zeng Guofan do if he fails again? What made Zeng Guofan make up his mind to insist on not reading every day?
With no money, others must suffer, but Zeng Guofan was painful and happy, packing. Supposedly, he should go home. As a result, he went from Tianjin, Shandong, along the Canal to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and then to Hunan. Head southeast. It is absolutely impossible to have no money. Halfway through, there is no money. After Xuzhou, he went to Suining to borrow money. The magistrate of a county is called Yi Zuomei, and he has friendship with Zeng Guofan's father. When Zeng Guofan got there, Yi Zuomei asked him to stay. Seeing that he was promising in the future, he took the initiative to borrow one hundred and twenty pieces of silver. At that time, Yi Zuomei was just a magistrate of a county, with an annual salary of forty taels of silver. This is not a small sum. Zeng Guofan was happy and made a fortune soon. My heart is full of confidence and I plan to travel well and go to Nanjing. Travel everywhere and spend all your time. Zeng Guofan worked diligently all his life. Why did he spend it so fast? Only one thing is willing to spend money. Confucian scholars love to buy books and laugh at themselves as bookworms. Read to the point of blindness. My left eye is blind. Take the book with you when you are ready to commit suicide. So (money) is spent quickly in Nanjing. If you have money, you like to buy books. Twenty-three histories, very many. This hardcover edition is only 120 silver. It's so expensive. I borrowed it and bought it.
When he got home, his father must be very angry and want to teach him a good lesson, but from then on, he developed a good habit of not reading books every day. I regretted it when I got to the door. I didn't pass the exam twice and spent all my money. I was ashamed at first, but now I borrowed 120 yuan and spent it all. My family is not rich, so I have to repay the money I borrowed. This is now, near my village, meeting people. Go home and tell me everything. Waiting for his father to scold him, his father was unusual. Good dad. When I heard my son crying, I only said one thing: It is a good thing to borrow money to buy books, and I am willing to repay it, but I hope you will not forget your original intention, study hard and don't waste it. There are three points worthy of praise. First, I didn't pass the exam twice. This kind of frustration is painful in Zeng Guofan's heart. He didn't say anything. This is four Liang. Second, this is not a small sum. It's not easy to pay back 120. He would complain if he didn't scold, but he didn't. Praise this matter without complaint. This was unexpected and shocked people's hearts. Zeng Guofan often recalls this matter, which is the starting point of his reading history books. Third, the most important thing about education is that the original intention of buying books is to study and study hard. That's all that matters. Most of us like to buy books, but they are not easy to read. The father is worthy of the name and has established the habit of reading for his son. Zeng Guofan vowed to finish reading this set of books. Sometimes, an ordinary sentence has a much greater impact on children. For the next two years, I kept reading history books and taking notes every day. It took me two years to read the history of twenty-three carefully. These two years have been very hard. The exam is coming in two years, and I have to borrow money to take it. All the way to Beijing and Changsha Guild Hall, there were only three dollars left. However, this strong belief made Zeng Guofan a blockbuster and became the first person in the Zeng family in Hunan to be admitted to Jinshi. He also became the first person in the Westernization Movement. Zeng Linshu's father Zeng Yuping had a great influence on Zeng Guofan. He is a playboy and is laughed at for his ignorance. This became an opportunity. From then on, he repented and became a local small rich man. But he didn't study. He was rich, but his family was not. So he made up his mind to study hard and pass it on to his family. Therefore, instead of training my son to take the imperial examination, I trained my grandson. Zeng Guofan later said: "I don't want wealth from generation to generation. I hope that there will be scholars, scholars and seeds for reading from generation to generation. " Being rich is not necessarily a good thing, but a generation has a scholar. This is the seed of reading. Therefore, Zeng Jiaxun believes that reading can change people's destiny.
Ceng Jize, the most famous diplomat in Qing Dynasty, did not take the imperial examination. It was a shock to tell my father that he didn't like studying for the imperial examination. Several uncles said he was crazy. Zeng Guofan was born in the imperial examination. When he heard that his son was like this, he asked him what he wanted to learn. Western learning. Not many people knew at that time. Ok, I support you. Later, Ceng Jize became one of the few people who knew the West in the early days. Zeng Ji Hong didn't like imperial examinations, especially literature and history, but liked mathematics. Zeng Guofan also supported it. Later, Zeng Ji Hong pushed PI to more than 100 by himself, which is remarkable. Therefore, Zeng Guofan said that reading can change fate, not just to cope with the imperial examinations. He said: "There are only two things we have to study. One is to enter Germany in order to have no worries; " A person studies to protect himself. "First, entering morality can help people build their life beliefs. Because they have strong Confucian beliefs, they have to study to cultivate their outlook on life and values. Second, we should base ourselves on the society, have specialties and majors, and form a foothold by reading. This view is forward-looking. The experimental results of Swedish scientists show that the factors related to heart disease are surprising, and the biggest social factor is the education level. People with higher education are 32% less likely to suffer from heart disease. You study at such a young age. You have a heart attack. He also said: "people's temperament is inherently difficult to change. But reading can change temperament, the ancients were good at reading, and reading can change bones. "People's temperament is difficult to change, only reading can change people's temperament. The question is how to read it? " There are only two things we have to learn. One is to enter Germany in order to have no worries. A person studies to protect himself. "Reading can establish a correct outlook on life and values, acquire professional skills, learn from modern speed reading methods such as speed reading to improve reading volume and reading efficiency, accumulate knowledge, and let knowledge change fate.
There are many ways to read. To sum up, he values three points: first, he should read classics, which are the thoughts and wisdom of predecessors who can stand the test of time. Knowledge will be renewed, but thoughts will be precipitated. The second is to read extensively and then read specially, read extensively and then read intensively, and the new book will never stop after reading the last book. An easy-to-understand immersion reading method. We are the easiest to turn pages, but the problem is that we don't understand. You have to read the wisdom things thoroughly before you can read them well, otherwise you can't turn them into your own. This method is not rote learning, he can't recite well. He said: "When reading, you don't have to memorize. You just need to steal and swim. Reading a few articles today and reading a few articles tomorrow will naturally benefit you for a long time. " He advocates taking notes, doing things, and writing down feelings and thoughts when reading. Later, Hu Shi admired this method of reading most. Third, we should cultivate personal reading interest and direction. A son is not necessarily the same as his father. Both sons are different from him. He even found relevant books to read. At that time, there were many talents around him, and all the famous scientists were in his home. So Su Dongpo said, "You can't live without meat, and you can't live without bamboo", and Zeng Guofan said, "You can't live without reading for a day". This is his only pride. This is landing. It takes a lot of perseverance.