This couplet is:
Make a first-class wish, make a first-class love, and enjoy the next blessing;
Choose a high place to stand, find a flat place to live and walk to a wide place.
In his life, Zuo experienced major historical events such as the Xiang Army's movement to pacify the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Westernization Movement, the rebellion against Tongzhi in Shaanxi and Gansu, the recovery of Xinjiang and the maintenance of China's reunification. Deeply admired by Lin Zexu, Liang Qichao called him "the first great man in 500 years".
Zuo's poems and calligraphy are excellent. When he got married at the age of 23, he wrote his own couplet in his new house: "I don't have half an acre, and my heart is worried about the world;" Read through thousands of books and be friends with the ancients. " Thirty years later, in March of the fifth year of Tongzhi, Zuo wrote this couplet hopefully when he was writing family instructions for his children in Fuzhou apartment.
This couplet has only 24 words, but it condenses the philosophy of life of ancient sages, that is, "be broad and subtle, be extremely clear, and be moderate."
"Make the greatest wish, pay the greatest blessing and enjoy the greatest blessing", that is, be ambitious, only seek the greatest blessing and live an ordinary life;
"Be far-sighted, be prepared for danger in times of peace, and be tolerant of others" means looking at problems with a far-sighted vision, keeping a low profile and leaving room for things.
It is simple and easy to say "aim high" and "stand high" in couplets.
However, why "plunge into the middle ground" after "choosing the high station"? It is not easy to associate with people of different social status.
As for enjoying inferior happiness, it is a simple and simple life after wealth.
The word "frugality" is the focus of Zuo Jiaxun. As he said, "you are rich and expensive, but you can't rely on it." Only the word' frugality' can last long. "
Why are these 24 words favored by successful entrepreneurs such as Li Ka-shing and Rong Desheng?
Because it contains profound philosophy of life. Look at the top, middle and bottom, look at the height, flatness and width, think about the bottom when you are at the top, and find the width when you stand high. Therefore, no matter how complicated the contradiction is, it can be changed without being surprised, and it is not chaotic in distress, which not only creates a career, but also defends it.
If you hang it at home or in the office, it will cultivate your self-cultivation and teach you how to be a man. This is thought-provoking and absolutely classic.