On this day, Wu Zixu, a friend of the same year, visited Zeng Guofan and talked with him about his academic experience: Confucianism is the knowledge of defending the country and defending the country, Taoism is the knowledge of seizing the country and the world, Confucian morality is self-defense, and Laozi is a hidden danger.

Zeng Guofan agreed with Wu Zixu and praised his analysis for being reasonable.

According to legend, Tao Te Ching was written by Lao Zi Li Er in the Spring and Autumn Period, also known as Lao Zi, which is the main source of Taoist philosophy. The book ***8 1 chapter, the first 37 chapters are the Tao Te Ching, and the 38th chapter is the Tao Te Ching, which is full of dialectical materialism.

Tao Te Ching takes "virtue" in the philosophical sense as the key link, and discusses the ways of self-cultivation, governing the country, using troops and keeping in good health. Known as the "inner sage and outer king", it is profound in arts and sciences and has a wide range of meanings. Known as the King of All Classics, it has a profound influence on China's traditional philosophy, science, politics and religion. According to statistics, Tao Te Ching is also a cultural masterpiece that has been translated into foreign languages and published the most besides the Bible.

Reading through the full text of Tao Te Ching, the most talked about in it is really taking the world, governing the country and loving the people. The words are simple, but they are saying some great truths:

Therefore, taking the world often has nothing; There are still some, not enough to take away the world.

Rule the country with righteousness, use troops with strangeness, and take the world with nothing.

Those who govern a big country, if cooked small and fresh.

If you want to take it away, you must first.

Laozi advocates that the weak is better than the strong; If goodness is like water, there is no dispute between husband and wife, so we can't argue with it in the past; Let nature take its course and retire if you succeed.

The concept is far-reaching and the pattern is very high and wide. Laozi is the book of the ruling class.

Zeng Guofan's thought and acting style in his life have gone through three periods. The first period was the years when he was a scholar, booked a forest and became an official in Beijing. At that time, he was soft-blooded, a little cynical, outspoken and dared to oppose the emperor. In the second phase, I just trained as a team for several years. I bear the burden of humiliation, and the brave lose their teeth and swallow their blood. Using the method suitable for Korea, he led the Xiang army to fight with the Taiping Army in troubled times, and he was defeated repeatedly. After coming out of the mountain for the second time, after some hard thinking, I handled all kinds of relations with the way of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and finally defeated the Taiping Army, made great contributions and achieved great things.

The way of Zhuangzi had a great influence on Zeng Guofan's later period. At first, Xiang was suspected by the imperial court, excluded by local officials and constrained by his colleagues when he was fighting against Taiping Army, and suffered psychological torture and repeated blows. Later, the way of Laozi and Zhuangzi was adopted, which won the trust of the court and the support of local officials and colleagues. The Xiang army fought more and more smoothly and finally captured Tianjing.

The highest realm of Taoism is inaction, where inaction is not doing nothing, not "inaction", but reaching a very comfortable state without any intention. If it is a skill, it can reach the same proficiency as a cattle expert. If you govern a country, you will adopt the method of lax legal system and people's autonomy to achieve the goal of governance.

Inaction is a state higher than deliberate. The more you want to do nothing, the more difficult it is to achieve.