So I couldn't wait to buy the Kang Zhen Series published by Zhonghua Book Company. As soon as I moved home, I immediately opened the book Kang Zhen on Ceng Gong, just like a hungry person suddenly got delicious food, plunged into it and "ate" it in one breath. I haven't felt this way for years. Now that I think about it, I still feel really enjoyable!
From afternoon till dark, I finally finished reading Kang Zhen on Ceng Gong. After reading it, I was even more moved, and I couldn't calm down for a long time: among the eight people, Ceng Gong was the only one who studied hard and took on the responsibility of supporting his family; Among the eight great scholars, Ceng Gong was the latest to enter the DPRK, but he also had the largest family in the same exam. Among the eight masters, Ceng Gong is the only one who became famous in the world before he was admitted to Jinshi. Among the eight great men, Ceng Gong's brilliance may be the least, but he is a shining star who stubbornly relies on his own energy, and he seldom sets himself off with the brilliance of others. Therefore, among the "Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties", Ceng Gong is the closest to us and has the greatest reference value for us. That is, as long as you persevere, as long as you work hard and never give up, you will surely achieve one or two things, and you will surely leave your own memories in the history books.
In the Ming Dynasty, Mao Kun advocated learning the ancient prose of Tang and Song Dynasties, and compiled the notes of eight masters of Tang and Song Dynasties. Since then, Ceng Gong, along with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi and others, has joined the ranks of the best essayists in ancient China and spread for hundreds of years. Why did Mao Kun choose Ceng Gong? Is it to make up the number, just put a little-known ordinary literati in? Of course not! That's because Ceng Gong is an excellent essayist and essayist.
At that time, several other great writers in the literary world had their own characteristics: Su Shi's articles were natural and mixed; Su Xun's article Wang Yang is arrogant and vigorous; Wang Anshi's article is steep and powerful; Ouyang Xiu's articles are free and easy, soothing and natural; Su Zhe's article Wang Yang is cool, mellow and clean. Compared with them, Ceng Gong's articles set a new example, which is pure in thought, correct in attitude, elegant in language, rigorous in layout, solid in style and practical in purpose. This is also the beauty of an article, an aesthetic style and standard. The big names in the Northern Song Dynasty admired Ceng Gong so much because they admired the beauty of this new style and article, which is also the main reason why Ceng Gong became Ceng Gong and was able to gain a foothold in the literary world of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Ceng Gong's articles are correct, pure and simple. Later generations admire him because he has very pure and elegant Confucianism. So, why did Ceng Gong have such an idea and write such an article? There is no doubt that there will be what kind of articles if there is what kind of personality, and Ceng Gong's personality is tempered from this difficult life. Ceng Gong is a great essayist, but first of all, he has a strong sense of responsibility. He has the courage to take responsibility and practice: he not only has to support his family, but also finds a way out for his younger brothers and sisters, and does not relax his education.
Life in Ceng Gong is relatively simple. He began to study in his teens and spent 2 1 year in his hometown until he took the imperial examination at the age of 39. Later he went out to be a local official for more than 20 years. He did not participate in or experience major political events like Ouyang Xiu and Wang Anshi, nor did he spend his life in stormy waves like Han Yu and Su Shi. His life experience is not very rich and simple, so he gradually developed a quiet and introverted personality.
Twenty-one years of "house" is actually a joke and not accurate. To be exact, for a big family, I studied hard at home for 2 1 year. During this period, all kinds of difficulties and setbacks made Ceng Gong breathless: Ceng Gong's eight-year-old mother died, and she has been studying with her father since she was 14 or 15. At the age of eighteen, their father lost his official position and they returned to their hometown of Nanfeng. From then on, Ceng Gong began to shoulder the burden of family life. How heavy is this burden of life? Ceng Gong has an 80-year-old grandmother, a 50-year-old father, a stepmother, a brother, four younger brothers and nine younger sisters, while Ceng Gong's father and brother are not good at managing the family. The problem of clothing and food for dozens of people in the whole family depends entirely on Ceng Gong. His stepmother is in charge of housework, while Ceng Gong makes a living outside. He has a poem "Reading", which describes the difficulty of making a living: "... how many years have passed, and the family has become independent. There are a sea of people in business, wandering around. Suits fly like clouds, flying with the wind. Mountains and rivers are boundless and dangerous. Sunset Tiger Leopard, I haven't parked the car yet. Waves move dragons, and we set sail. ……"
However, the other side of the truth is really like this: In the second year of Jiayou, 39-year-old Song Renzong was admitted to Ceng Gong Jinshi. At the same time, his younger brother Zeng Mohe, his cousin Zeng Bu, his brother-in-law and Wang also won the Jinshi in the same scientific examination, with six people in the same subject; In the next ten years, my brother Zeng Zai, my brother-in-law Guan Jinghui, my brother's son Zeng Ye and my brother Zeng Zhao were all admitted to Jinshi. In the past ten years, poets in the Zeng family have been admitted to Jinshi. I have to say that Ceng Gong is the creator of this miracle.
So, how did Ceng Gong overcome difficulties in such a difficult life, persist in reading and studying, and lead his brothers on the road to success in the imperial examination step by step?
First of all, in a difficult environment, Ceng Gong persisted in studying and took part in the imperial examinations. Tried again and again, but you didn't care! At the age of thirty-five, my brother and I both failed in the exam. When I returned to my hometown, I was laughed at by my fellow villagers: such a poor family can hardly eat, and I still want to be a twins all day! However, Ceng Gong's attitude towards this is "Nanfeng doesn't mind, and advises brothers not to be lazy."
Second, Ceng Gong is brilliant and has been appreciated by many great writers, such as Ouyang Xiu. Therefore, although Ceng Gong feels pain in the face of reality, it is more important for him to gain the appreciation and respect of Ouyang Xiu and others. You know, great pain is also a kind of strength for people with unique ambitions and tenacious will.
Compared with the villagers in Ceng Gong, these people completely belong to another world, another realm. Therefore, in the past twenty-one years, Ceng Gong has been studying hard and achieving success while supporting his family, because he is in Nanfeng and his heart is in another world.
Third, always maintain a correct and healthy attitude. When he failed in the exam at the age of 24, Ouyang Xiu felt worthless for him and wrote to comfort him. But Ceng Gong himself didn't even complain. He didn't criticize the candidates in the exam, nor did he blame the imperial examination authorities. He just told Ouyang Xiu that he would go home, continue to broaden his knowledge, and stick to his ambition for the exam next year.
I think it is very common for a person to encounter setbacks and failures. The key is to find out that the problem is not from society and others, but from yourself. The purity and correctness of Ceng Gong's articles are of course related to his Confucian cultivation, but more importantly, he can always maintain a correct and healthy attitude in the process of studying, working and making friends. What is a correct and healthy attitude? Is to keep an understanding attitude towards society and others as much as possible. If a person can do this, then society, people and even the whole world will become more brilliant, more hopeful and more promising in his eyes. A person whose team world is full of expectations and hopes has a bright future. The more knowledge such a person has, the richer, better and more open his thoughts will be. Ceng Gong is such a person.
Therefore, among the eight masters in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Ceng Gong's personality is not as distinct as Han Yu's, his birth is not as prominent as Liu Zongyuan's, his rank is not as good as Wang Anshi's, his talent is not as outstanding as Su Shi's, and his influence is not as good as Su Xun and Su Zhe's. However, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Su Zhe, etc. all admired Ceng Gong. Why? It relies on Ceng Gong's own real skills-kind quality, honest morality, pure articles, and a sincere heart of diligence and simplicity.
After reading Ceng Gong, I don't think that if an ordinary person wants to achieve something, he should calm down and do it persistently, and he will finish it slowly.