Zeng Guofan has done a lot of research on health preservation, and combined with his own actual situation, summed up many ideas and methods of health preservation. In many books, he publicized his regimen to his younger brother and sons.
Now, it seems that some of his health preservation methods are still of certain reference significance to us.
In Hong's way of keeping in good health is to let nature take its course, Zeng Guofan put forward an important concept of keeping in good health, that is, "let nature take its course".
This concept can be said to be a summary of various health preservation methods mentioned in his previous letter. For example, don't get angry, pay attention to diet and sleep, don't take medicine easily, and don't be too tired. In fact, they are all talking about letting the body conform to nature.
"Although I am weak and sick, I should only lead an honest and clean life and recuperate, and I should not act rashly."
This is Zeng Guofan's consistent proposition. He emphasized treating diseases with his own resistance instead of taking more medicine.
Later, he listed some ancient people's understanding of health preservation, such as Zhuang Sheng, Su Dongpo, Liu Zihou and Lu Wuguan, hoping that his son could learn more about the beauty and essence of health preservation.
"I study hard from both ends of sleep and diet, which seems superficial, but it is natural. I will not take it lightly in the future, I will be strong and natural. "
Zeng Guofan hoped that his son would work hard on sleep and diet, and thought that as long as he mastered these two points and did not take medicine easily, his body would gradually grow stronger.
Zeng Guofan mentioned the idea of "rest" in his letter.
China's ancient medical book Huangdi Neijing said that if you use too much spirit, you will be tired. This kind of fatigue will accumulate in your heart and you should rest peacefully.
"Rest" means don't think too much, don't worry too much, so that your spirit will not be damaged and your spirit will gradually get better.
Modern medicine also found that meditation and rest can regulate insomnia and relieve neurasthenia, because meditation can make the brain rest and relax and regulate the nervous system.
Therefore, Zeng Guofan's "clean and nursed back to health" can really play a role in health preservation.
Retreat has three principles:
First, based on inner purity, we should relax our mentality, eliminate all distractions and emotions in our hearts, and reach a state of indifference and nothingness, so that our vitality will slowly recover.
Second, don't overdo it, think less and worry less, and don't be overworked.
Third, keep an optimistic attitude, don't have evil thoughts and delusions, and make your attitude stable and happy.
Since ancient times, the spirit of recuperation has been regarded as the fundamental way to preserve health and prolong life. If you don't know the beauty of conditioning, only relying on various diets and drugs will not play a role in prolonging life.
In Yu Jize, flowers, bamboo, mountains and water are used to nourish the body and mind. Zeng Guofan said to his sons, "Cong Xun Zhai Yu written by Zhang (English) teaches his sons' words. Among them, health care, choosing friends, sightseeing and flowers and bamboos are pure vitality and should be seen often. "
He suggested that his sons could often keep some flowers and plants at home or go out for sightseeing, thinking that this would not only make them feel comfortable, but also play a role in maintaining their health.
"In the future, when you grow flowers and bamboo at home and go out to see mountains and rivers, you can travel hundreds of miles inside and outside Jinling. Never read math books again. Read his books for half a day. After the moment, you should take a break and have a tour. "
He believes that keeping flowers and plants at home and going out to see mountains and rivers is a way to cultivate sentiment. You can't study all the time, you should learn to combine work and rest, and you should stand up and relax after reading for a while.
The traditional literati in ancient China attached great importance to the role of nature, and believed that landscapes could cultivate sentiment.
When human beings enjoy sightseeing in nature, their body and mind will be integrated with celestial bodies, breathing the fresh air between heaven and earth, and all the depressed gas in their hearts will be swept away, leaving only a clear and quiet place. When you feel better, your body will naturally get healthier and healthier. Therefore, learning to control emotions and being close to nature often can not only improve personal cultivation, but also be an important way to keep fit.
"The secret of the ancients to punish suffocating health desire. Punishing anger means I believe in being less angry, and killing desire means I believe in caution. Too much attention and desire for fame and competitiveness. Although the medicine is beneficial, the harm will follow, and it should not be taken lightly. "
Zeng Guofan believes that there are two main secrets of keeping in good health. The first is to control anger, and the second is to control desire.
Everyone has worldly desires, just like the change of seasons, people's mood will have different emotional expressions, which is a very normal phenomenon.
But if a certain emotion is too rampant, such as great joy and great sorrow, or great anger, it will damage the body.
Therefore, controlling your emotions, not being overly excited or sad, and always keeping your mood calm and comfortable is one of the important ways to keep healthy.
Desire is innate, including material and spiritual pursuits. It is understandable that people have desires, but if they let their desires get out of control, they will indulge their bodies and minds and get out of hand. So people must learn to control their desires.
Restraining desire is a kind of ability, but also a kind of quality. Zeng Guofan's restraint desire is to keep "frugality".
In addition to paying attention to diet, don't work too hard. Zeng Guofan also mentioned two desires in his letter, namely, pursuing fame and fortune and being competitive. He asked his son to learn to give up these two desires.