Anyone who has achieved something is half-hearted and gives up easily. Concentration and perseverance are essential conditions for learning and being a man.
Zeng Guofan's great academic achievements are inseparable from his good summary of research methods and perseverance. Some history books record Zeng Guofan's last time like this:
In the first month of the eleventh year of Tongzhi, the Zeng family was like a candle in the wind. On the 23rd, he suffered from liver wind, and his right foot was numb, but he recovered for a long time. On the 26th, Su Tingkui, the former river chief, went out to meet him. On the way, he "recited four books" in the car. Suddenly, he pointed to Goshha and wanted to say something, but his mouth was silent. Knowing that he had run out of oil and the lights had gone out, he seized the last time in his life to do his favorite thing-reading. In those ten days, he read "two complete works" every day to cultivate his self-cultivation, hoping to draw a satisfactory end in his physical and mental cultivation.
On the second day of February, I had another attack. "Because I told my second son that the funeral was held according to ancient rituals, so don't use monks and Taoism." I still watch "Two Complete Works" in the evening.
On the third day of February, after breakfast, I tidied up my papers, read Biography of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties, and read a volume of Zhang Zi after dinner. The Biography of New Confucianism was the last book I ever read and died the next day.
With this last point, we can fully understand the reasons for such great achievements. "Persistence"
There are not many strokes, and it is not difficult to say, but how many can you really do it? Love without concentration can't be called love, nor can ambition by halves be called ambition.
Zeng's scholarship emphasizes ambition, knowledge and action. He believes that as long as you are a scholar, you must have ambition first, knowledge second and perseverance third. People with lofty ideals are unwilling to lag behind and strive for strength; A knowledgeable person will learn a lot of knowledge and will not be as self-righteous as a frog in the well; Nothing is impossible for a persevering person, and all three are indispensable.
Zeng Guofan also has his own understanding about the specific reading methods. He said in a letter at home:
"Reading methods, reading, writing and writing are indispensable every day. Audiences like Moore saw the Korean versions of Historical Records, Hanshu and Jin Lu Si last year, and this year they saw Zhouyi eclecticism. Readers, such as Four Books, Poems, Books, I Ching, Zuo Zhuan, Zhaoming Wenxuan, Du Li's Poems and Han Ou's Zeng Wang's Works, can't get the outline of their great biographies without reading aloud, and can't explore their far-reaching charm without reciting them quietly. For example, if you have money at home, you will go abroad to do trade when you study, and earn three times. Reading at home is not too expensive; For example, when reading a book, you will attack the city. Reading is a deep ditch and a solid foundation, and those who can keep the land are also. Reading is similar to' knowing the death of the sun' in summer, and reading is similar to' getting carried away'. Both should not be neglected. As for writing, it's really good to stamp the official seal, and I can't stop for a day. It requires good and fast. I suffered a lot because I wrote slowly. You should try to be agile and write 10 thousand regular script every day. As for writing Zhu Wen, it is also appropriate to set a scale for twenty or thirty years old; After thirty, it is extremely difficult to grow. Writing four books, trying to paste poems, writing rhymes, writing ancient and modern poems, writing ancient prose and writing parallel prose should be emphasized and tried one by one. Teenagers are not terrible or ugly, but they must have enterprising interest. If they don't try to be outdated, they won't do it in the future. "
In addition to reading and writing, it has also been said that the essence of job hunting lies in specialization, as mentioned in Daoguang's letter of September 22 18, to the effect that job hunting lies in intensive reading, and there is no other way but to concentrate every day. There is a saying in the proverb that "being versatile and not keeping fit" is the disadvantage of not being single-minded.
Many methods of digging wells do not have spring water to drink, which is an unspecific result. All your younger brothers should try their best to study specially. If Jiu Di is interested in practicing calligraphy, he doesn't have to ignore others, but he should concentrate on practicing calligraphy every day. I don't know if Brother Si Liu is careful, but if he is determined to be righteous, he will definitely stick to the classics; If you are determined to do justice, you will read the words of one family; If the goal is to write ancient prose, then read only one anthology, as well as write poems and try posts. Don't do it all at once, it will only lead to nothing. When you write letters in the future, your younger brothers should write their majors clearly and tell their experiences in detail, so that I can know my ambitions and opinions as soon as I read the letters. Any single-minded person must have some ideas and questions. Brothers' ideas can be shared with me or analyzed together. Writing a detailed letter is like communicating face to face with family members thousands of miles away. Isn't this a pleasure? In another letter from home, Zeng Guofan introduced the specific methods of reading classics and history: emphasizing both singleness and perseverance. Reading classics is based on textual research for meaning, and textual research for famous things is the purpose. Reading classics has a "constancy".
Word formula, one sentence doesn't make sense, don't look at the later stage; I can't see through it today, but I will see it tomorrow; This year is not good, I will study next year. This is called perseverance! The way to read history is to put yourself in others' shoes. Anywhere, if I were, I would entertain people and ask them questions. Remember, but remember a person, just like picking up that person; You don't have to remember everything, but remembering one thing is like kissing it. Learn from poverty, learn from history and learn from both.
In addition, Zeng Guofan put forward an inherent requirement: swim with an open mind and observe yourself. He said in Yu Jize, the third day of August in Xianfeng eight years: You have little experience in reading four books, so you can't swim with an open mind and observe yourself. Zhu Yu is best at teaching people how to read. I am reading Li Lou now, just like the first chapter of Li Lou, "There is no way to cross, but I can't keep it". I saw it a few years ago, and my vigilance was not very high. Working outside these years, I know that the people above will help others and the people below will abide by the law. Everyone slaps himself on the road, and if he doesn't follow the rules from his heart, he will go down to the top. I read the chapter "Love is not close" a few years ago, which is not very kind. In recent years, I have experienced a long time, but I know that people who save lives can't be cured, and my wisdom is not enough. One end of the incision was also observed. The word "Hanyong" is the most difficult to recognize, and I have tasted it meaningfully. Day: "culvert" is like the embellishment of spring rain, such as the irrigation of rice. Rain moistens flowers. If it is too small, it will be difficult to penetrate. If it is too big, it will be taken off. If it is moderate, it will nourish and nourish. Irrigation of rice in clear canals will wither if it is too little, hurt if it is too much, and flourish if it is moderate. A "swimmer" is like a fish swimming in the water, just like a human foot. Cheng Zi said that he jumped into Yu Garden and was very lively on the ground. Zhuangzi said that it is not fun to know what he knows. This fish and water are fast. Zuo Taichong has the saying that "Wan Li is a mere foot", while Su Zizhan has the poems "Sleeping at Night" and "Bathing", and he is also one of the people who enjoy water. A good reader must regard the book as water and the heart as flowers, rice, fish and feet, then the word "swim" can move from meaning to expression. My reading can easily explain the meaning of the text, but it is not very in-depth. I can ask Zhu to do swimming observation.
Zeng Guofan thought that reading should be learned. If not, it means that you have no open mind to experience and have no contact with your own thinking. Learning in this state, even if you only learn one kind of learning, will have a weak effect if you stick to it. Before reading, you should correct your learning mentality, and at the same time, you can relate what you have learned to yourself, explain the meaning of the text, reflect on yourself deeply, and try your best to make up for the shortcomings.
The learning of the ancients is the learning method that people often say today. Good methods can make people get twice the result with half the effort; It will get twice the result with half the effort. As the saying goes: learn from it, get it, learn from it and get it. This set of learning methods summarized by Zeng Guofan, whether it is learning attitude, learning spirit or specific methods, has reference significance for us today.