Zeng Guofan: He was humiliated five times at the beginning of his life and determined to be a saint.

0 1 ? Scholars' exams were publicly criticized by examiners.

The first time was "born in the year of Renchen, learning to be listed on Taiwan, blaming its shallow arts and sciences."

The year of Renchen is the twelfth year of Daoguang (1832). This year, Zeng Guofan, 2 1 year-old, took the scholar exam again. Perhaps the talent is really dull, or maybe there is something wrong with Zeng Linshu's education as a father and teacher. Zeng Guofan failed after taking five Jinshi examinations in Sun Shan. This is the twelfth year of Daoguang. Zeng Guofan carefully prepared before the exam and consciously played well after the exam. As a result, on the day when the list was published, it was suspended by the learning platform, accusing it of being "too shallow in arts and sciences" and registered as a student ("student" refers to a person who failed to get a scholar but achieved good results and chose to be the person who performed ceremonies and dances in the Confucius Temple. If you are qualified as a "student", you can avoid the county administration exam in the next exam and only go to college, so you are called "half a scholar").

In the eyes of ordinary people, getting the qualification of "being a student" is also a small gain, which deserves congratulations. Zeng Guofan felt that it was a great shame to be criticized for listing in public. When he got home, he stayed at home and gritted his teeth. I didn't expect this "hanging card criticism" to sound the alarm. /kloc-Zeng Guofan, who had not studied for 0/6 years, fell like a bucket, and suddenly broke through the rigid writing ideas formed under his father's rigid education, and his arts and sciences made great progress. In the past year, he took the exam for the seventh time and finally won the top prize. The first humiliation in life actually became the opening ceremony of Zeng Guofan's life fame, and another year, he won a prize; I have been a scholar for another four years, and I have ordered the Hanlin. Since then, I have made great achievements.

02 "Poor painting" was ridiculed by colleagues.

Daoguang died in the first month of 30 years. At the age of 20, passionate Xianfeng acceded to the throne, deposed Zhang Mu, and wrote "Begging for the Word". At this time, "the world is fast", up and down in the ruling and opposition circles, which makes people feel refreshed.

Zeng Guofan was so excited that he wrote "I should write a letter to Shu", denouncing the officialdom style of "taking fear as fear and taking softness as a gift" at that time, and made an ugly face of officialdom at that time. Zeng Guofan mercilessly criticized those in power, criticized the shortcomings of the times, and told the truth that Zeng Guofan was not afraid to offend those in power at that time. It can be described as both loyalty and courage.

Zeng Guofan suggested that the emperor hold a "day class", that is, "strengthen study", to reverse the wind of bureaucratic slackness with his own uplifting spirit, and at the same time reform the method of selecting officials, so that enterprising members have a chance to stand out.

This commemorative activity is very popular. The emperor spoke highly of him. The emperor was most interested in his suggestion of "speaking Japanese" and ordered him to explain it in detail. So Zeng Guofan carefully prepared the lecture notes and drew a chart to illustrate the layout of the lecture hall. But he is not good at drawing, and he draws very ugly.

After this passage was circulated in Jiuqing, Zeng Guofan became the center of discussion in Beijing officialdom. What everyone is talking about is not his sincerity, but his "poor painting". At this level, there is no need to be a saint disciple!

Zeng Guofan's "jokes" soon rose to the crowd and spread all over the city. When people saw him, they all "laughed" and made Zeng Guofan feel ashamed. This is what Zeng Guofan called "the second biggest rift in life".

Criticizing the emperor was reviled by "Shi Jing dignitaries"

Zeng Guofan thought that if we want to save the Qing empire, we must wake up the confused emperor. Zeng Guofan, who is famous for his prudence, made an extremely rare move in the officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty under the control of a strong sense of responsibility: criticizing the emperor bluntly. He appeared in "Respecting Virtue and Preventing Diseases" and pointed out three shortcomings of Emperor Xianfeng.

The emperor flew into a rage and Zeng Guofan was not surprised. But the emperor's defense made him realize that it was impossible for him to wake up and turn over a new leaf through well-meaning advice.

04 reviled by powerful people.

Zeng Guofan recalled in a letter to his family in his later years, "I have been in Beijing these years, and I am enemies with all famous and powerful people. I have no intention of being afraid of being strong."

One of the great names and positions is Cezanne. At the beginning of the second year of Xianfeng, Cezanne and others were "handed over to the Ministry for resolution" because of poor scheduling in the process of suppressing Taiping Army. Many people in the DPRK tried to be lenient. Only Zeng Guofan "takes military affairs as the most important thing, and those who should be severely punished should not make an example."

But the meeting decided to be lenient. Zeng Guofan refused to accept it. "Please discuss it strictly after the meeting." Cezanne was eventually dismissed for this.

Zeng Guofan was very popular among kyou-kan. But these two challenges to "fame and status" have made a huge hole in his interpersonal network. Because Qishan's protege is an old acquaintance all over the world, he has a deep relationship with Zhang Mu.

Zeng Guofan broke the hidden rule of "officials protect each other" and became an anomaly in officialdom. "After the trial, many people distanced themselves from Zeng Guofan and even stopped talking to him. His situation in officialdom is becoming more and more isolated. " If you see or avoid, you won't be at the same table. "Of course, there are countless slanderers behind this. The impeachment of Cezanne offended a large number of people. Therefore, Zeng Guofan almost became a reviled figure in the capital in Xianfeng two years.

05 Changsha "tooth extraction and blood swallowing"

Zeng Guofan said: "I was troubled all my life, but I was absent-minded in June." It seems that Changsha's humiliation is insignificant in his memory. The fact is far from it: it was this strong stimulus that pushed him to overcome the difficulties that could not have been overcome and became the Xiang army.

In all the difficulties, Zeng Guofan wanted to retreat more than once. But at the thought of Changsha's humiliation, he regained all his fighting spirit.

After many hardships, Zeng Guofan finally developed a team of 17 thousand people. In the battle of Xiangtan in the fourth year of Xianfeng, the Xiang army was less than 10 thousand people on land and water, and it fought to the death with the Taiping army of 30 thousand people. Ten battles and ten victories, and more than 10,000 people were wiped out. This is the only major victory of the Qing army since the rise of the Taiping Army.

Zeng Guofan finally won by biting his teeth and swallowing blood. He worked hard and succeeded in saving face.

It can be said that without the humiliation of Changsha, there would be no fame and fortune for Zeng Guofan's later life. The success of this setback gave Zeng Guofan an impressive self-education, which further strengthened his character characteristics of being more frustrated, more brave and indomitable.

From this experience, Zeng Guofan realized that humiliation is the greatest motivation and blow is the best help for people with will. Grit your teeth and eat the humiliation alive, which becomes the nutrition to nourish your will and determination. This constitutes the core part of Zeng Guofan's life experience.

Decades later, he taught his son in his family letter that "there are very few people who do nothing in the world, those who do useful things are semi-successful, and those who are motivated and persecuted are semi-successful", "When a hundred people rebel", "Obedience to the law" and "the so-called good way for heroes to bite their teeth and swallow their blood is also a good way to be in adversity".

How did Zeng Guofan "reinvent himself"

Thirty years old is the most important watershed in Zeng Guofan's life.

Zeng Guofan's greatest significance to later generations is that he proved with his own practice that a middleman can become a superman through "revision". In other words, if a person is sincerely committed to self-improvement, his skills can be increased tenfold, his knowledge can be improved tenfold, his thoughts can be expanded tenfold and his temperament can be purified tenfold. Stupid people, through self-sharpening, can also see through, stand firm, speak out and do it. People who float around can also become as calm as a breeze. Paranoid people can also be open-minded and not arrogant.

Daoguang's 20 years as an official in Beijing is not only the beginning of Zeng Guofan's official career, but also an important starting point for his lifelong self-improvement.

As the national political and cultural center, Beijing gathered the top talents at that time, and the Hanlin Academy was the cradle of elites. As soon as he entered Hanyuan, Zeng Guofan met people with good temperament and often enjoyed the cool. In a letter to his brothers, he excitedly introduced: "The capital is the source of humanity. If you don't ask for it, you will have it. Be responsive. " The more friends we have now, the more people will talk about their practical experience, including Mr. Tang Jinghai and Mr. Woren, as well as Wu Zhuru, Dou Lanquan and Feng Shutang. Poor scholars are Wu Zixu and Shao Huixi; Those who teach poetry and literature and are proficient in Taoism have no virtue; Talented and unrestrained, there is Tang Haiqiu; The heroic spirit is compelling and the ambition is calm, so Huang Zishou was born. There are Wang Shaohe, Zhu Lianfu, Wu Xinyi and Pang Zuoren. "

Zeng Guofan found that the spiritual temperament of these people is very different from that of their former friends. They are all followers of Neo-Confucianism and have the moral enthusiasm of Puritanism. They are strict with themselves, sincere and serious, and firm in the face of the world of mortals.

Before the age of 30, Zeng Guofan's life goals were only fame and glory. After knowing these good friends, he deeply reviewed himself and felt ashamed of himself, because he resolutely decided to turn over a new leaf:

"Those who think they are rehabilitated are the filial sons of their parents and the pioneers of their brothers."

It is in these 30 years that Zeng Guofan has made the ambition of "learning to be an excellent official".

"Sage" is the highest life goal of Confucian believers.

Zeng Guofan's method of self-discipline is as simple and ingenious as his method of dealing with everything in his life: if you can't bear it, you must bear it and support the past with strong brute force. He used calligraphy as a metaphor to explain what people should do in the face of difficulties, burnout and numbness: "The more clumsy (writing), the more ugly they are, the lower their interest, and the so-called' sleepy'. Don't stop when you are sleepy. Get through this, you can make small progress, get sleepy again, endure again, and you will have your own prosperous and progressive day. If you don't learn Chinese characters, everything will become extremely difficult and difficult. If you can make it, you are a hero.

This is of course extremely bitter. However, Zeng Guofan said: "If you are extremely hard-working, you are a great man." In fact, Zeng Guofan's life is so bitter. He went from perseverance to perseverance and experienced numerous mental hardships.

Zeng Guofan's life is a life of constant self-attack and self-tempering. Therefore, it is also a life of constant reinvention, changing temperament and growing skills.

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