I accidentally flipped through "A List of Yongzheng's Calligraphy" and found this couplet in Yongzheng's handwriting: "You are worthy of heaven and earth, and praise and criticism have their own spring and autumn." After reading it, I couldn't calm down. My father told me this couplet when I was very young, and it remains unforgettable to this day. What he said was slightly different from this couplet. What he said was "Be worthy of heaven and earth, and praise and criticism have their own spring and autumn." At that time, he asked me to find the source of this couplet. Because I was still young and my experience was limited, I searched for a long time but could not find the source of this couplet. I found it by chance yesterday. It really took no effort to find it.
The first couplet of this couplet comes from "Mencius: Heartfelt Speech": "Look up and be worthy of Heaven, bow and don't be ashamed of others." It means to be upright and magnanimous. Do anything dishonorable. The second couplet originates from the preface to the Chunqiu Guliang Biography by Fan Ning, a classical scholar of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, who praised the Spring and Autumn Annals: "One word of praise is more than a gift from Hua Gun; a few words of disparagement is more than an insult to the city and the court." It means that one word is more than a favor to the emperor. The praise given by a king is more than a dress given by a king; the humiliation caused by a few words of disparagement and criticism is worse than being flogged in public. This is the Spring and Autumn writing style, with subtle words and great meaning.
This couplet talks about this principle. A person must be upright and magnanimous, and have a clear conscience. After all, the world's praise and criticism are fleeting, and future generations will comment on the merits and demerits of the ages. Thinking of Yongzheng's mood when he wrote this couplet, he must have great ambitions, great determination, and big plans. He would forget all favors and disgrace, and he would have a plan in his mind. He would make great achievements and go down in history, so he would not be afraid of notoriety after his death. The fact is exactly the same. He worked hard to govern, worked hard and worked diligently for thirteen years. He did what a generation of emperors could not do for decades. However, he continued to be infamy before and after his death, and received mixed praise and praise. Nearly three hundred years have passed, and people's evaluation of him today is more praising his keen innovation, diligence and prudence, and punishing corruption and establishing systems. He is worthy of a generation of British masters. It should be said that history has given him a correct evaluation. And those treacherous villains who maliciously slandered and slandered have long since become withered bones in the graves.
Reflecting on myself, when I was young, I was ignorant and fearless. I dared to speak and act, and occasionally made shocking remarks and remarks. Nowadays, he is getting more and more mature, but he is becoming more and more cautious in his speech and composition. He does not seek merit, but seeks no faults. He tends to be tactful and sophisticated in his conduct, thinking that being prudent and self-preserving is the foundation of his life.
Now I understand that in ancient times, it was difficult for one person to defeat the heroes of the world, and the power of one person was extremely small. Yongzheng was able to penetrate through the three levels and gain great freedom. Why can’t we realize that “making a king, proclaiming an emperor, ascending to immortality, and becoming a Buddha all depends on our own mind”? What is missing is the courage to have a clear conscience and not be surprised by favor or disgrace.
I like what Er Yuehe said about Yin Xiang: "The sky cannot be restrained, the earth cannot be restrained, wherever the heart goes, the body will follow it, and the actions must be carried out. This is the style of the country's scholars." Yin Xiang In the end, the Yongzong and Qian dynasties continued to be honored and favored. Although he was not the "chivalrous king" who was good at military affairs as described by Yuehehe, he was indeed a well-deserved unparalleled national warrior. Now, if you can be as diligent and self-reflective as Yinxiang, you will be very satisfied if you are loyal to the public and the country, and you should be like this!
PS: Due to the prejudice of historians against Yinzhen, the historical materials of the Qing Dynasty that have been handed down to this day mostly leave the impression to future generations of a tyrant who established a literary prison. People have all heard that "weimin only stopped ", Yongzheng has no head", but his great achievements in implementing the New Deal and purging officials are rarely praised.
Yinzhen was the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi. He was named Baylor in the thirty-seventh year of Kangxi, Prince Yong in the forty-eighth year, and ascended the throne in the sixty-first year of his reign. The next year, 1723, the country was renamed Yongzheng and ruled for thirteen years. Yinzhen is actually a leader who is determined to reform. The Qing Dynasty he took over from Kangxi had an empty treasury and people were in dire straits. He was forced to follow the saying "Kangxi's prosperous age" and had to knock out his teeth and swallow it in his stomach to clean up the mess of "gold and jade on the outside, but ruins on the inside". . He worked diligently to implement the New Deal, and all he did was to rob the rich and give to the poor, which harmed the interests of his own class. Normally we imagine that the emperor has wealth all over the world, three palaces and six courtyards, but Yinzhen only has one word, which is "hardship" ". The tax reform he carried out aroused strong dissatisfaction among the royal brothers and even Manchu and Han officials. They all alienated from him and nearly faced annihilation. But he never looked back and moved forward courageously. Yinzhen was strict in governing officials and had clear rewards and punishments. He could be called a wise king.