let's continue to say "Qian chong". This lecture also said "modesty".

Look at a pair of Mr. Yang Yisun (1812-1881):

Good is like a valley on the water, generous and boundless, and an elephant is invisible.

"Being good as water" in the first part of the couplet comes from the eighth chapter of Laozi's Tao Te Ching, and the original text is:

Being good as water. Water is good for all things without dispute, and it is evil for everyone, so it is a few words.

This sentence means that the best goodness (virtue) is like water. Water is good at moistening everything without competing for fame and fortune. It always stays in places that no one likes to stay, so it is closest to the Tao.

In the first part, "Shangde is like a valley" and in the second part, "Generous elephant without corner is invisible" come from the 41st chapter of Tao Te Ching. The original text is:

Staff sergeant hears the Tao and works diligently; The sergeant heard that if you survive, you will die; The corporal heard this and laughed. It is not enough to laugh. Therefore, there are suggestions: Ming Dow is ignorant; If you retreat; If the road is awkward; Shangde ruogu; If Guangde is insufficient; If Jiande steals; The quality is true; If the white is insulting; Generous; A late bloomer; Great voices and happy voices; Elephants are invisible; Tao is hidden and nameless. The husband is the only way, and the loan is good.

This passage is all about the dialectics of right and wrong. "Virtue is like a valley", "generosity has no corner" and "elephant is invisible" mean that lofty moral character is often as broad and tolerant as a deep valley; Because the shape is too square, you can't even see the edges and corners; Because the image is too high, but even the outline can't be seen clearly.

Then look at Mr. Pu Ru (1896-1963):

It's beneficial to be famous for being afraid of people, but it's inferior to Desong.

This couplet is similar to Laozi's dialectical theory in the last couplet, so I won't elaborate on it.

many proverbs handed down by the ancients also tell this truth, such as "deep water is silent, and the sound is not deep"; "The head of the full grain is facing the ground, and the head of the flat grain is facing the sky"; "Say long is short, know short is long"; "The rafters in the early days always rot first" and so on.

Let's look at Mr. Chen Xiuyu (life is unknown):

If the water is good, it can become a sea, and the mountains are not arrogant.

This couplet "The water is only good and the sea becomes below, and the mountains are not proud of their heights." Taking the mountains and the sea in nature as an analogy, it makes the virtue of "modest benefit" too "faithful and elegant", so it has spread very widely.

Then look at a pair of poems by Mr. Tie Bao (1752-1824):

Let people restrain me and benefit me, and read poetic poems with wine.

Let's not talk about the bottom line. We only look at the top line "Let people restrain me and benefit me". The meaning is roughly-the more people, the better people; The lower your head, the more you stand out. It's very much like the "Destrong from the bottom" in the previous couplet-the less you praise virtue, the more it will haunt you.

? In Zi Zhi Tong Jian, there is a story that the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, Lou Deyi, did it himself:

Lou Deyi's younger brother kept the history of Daizhou, resigned as an official, and taught him to endure things. The teacher's morality said, "I am a prime minister. If you are a state shepherd again, you will be too proud and pampered, and people will be ill. Why will the whole ancestors get angry?" His brother knelt down and said, "Since now, although some people spit on a certain face, some people just wipe it, so I don't worry about my brother." Teacher's morality worries: "This is why I am worried! People spit on your face and anger you; You wipe it, it is against its will, so you are angry. The husband spits, does not wipe himself dry, and accepts it when laughing. "

Although the Lou brothers can't help being melodramatic, it's commendable that you can be so modest and self-abased when you are famous. Loude's life was full of worship, and he died with wealth. After his death, he was listed among the heroes of the Lingyange Pavilion in Datang, along with Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Wei Zhi and Guo Ziyi. It can also be regarded as "being humble, a gentleman has an end".

Let's look at a pair of Mr. Liu Yong (1719-184) (the ink is missing, so it's temporarily replaced by a book):

It's really rich to have no cutting and no pity, and it's a temple to have something to do and keep.

The first part of the book "It's really rich without cutting and boasting", where "cutting" and "boasting" both mean "showing off and boasting". This sentence means that people who are really rich don't need to show off and brag. On the other hand, people who show off and brag all day are inevitably extremely poor in heart, and always want to gain some recognition from others by showing off and boasting.

The bottom line "Doing something and keeping it is a temple" means-you must be proactive (doing something) and stick to the bottom line (keeping it), and this is the temple man who is determined to survive in the world and make contributions to the country.

Then look at Mr. Zuo Zongtang (1812-1885):

Current events should also be considered as ancient gifts, because people dare not rely on their natural merits.

the "current events should also be considered as ancient gifts" in the first part of the book, which is a bit archaic and should not be advocated.

The bottom line of "people dare not rely on natural merits" is to warn themselves that it often takes many conditions, such as weather, geography, people and so on, to accomplish a thing. People who take credit for themselves often want to take all the credit for themselves. This is the "greed for heaven".

Let's look at Weng Tonghe (183-194), the number one scholar:

The industry is too high to be full of people's will, and it benefits others.

this pair is so well written that "the industry is too high to be full of common aspirations, and it is not enough for others to contribute", and they are never satisfied with their efforts and never care about their returns. In the words of Comrade Lei Feng, human life is limited, but serving the people is infinite. I will devote my limited life to serving the people infinitely.

Mr. Lu Zuofu, who is known as "an unforgettable person in the modern history of China", can also be regarded as a model in this respect:

Mr. Lu Zuofu was born in Hechuan County, Sichuan Province in 1893, and his lifelong career spanned three major fields: saving the country through revolution, saving the country through education and saving the country through industry. He joined the League at the age of 17 and joined the revolution. He founded schools, libraries and museums in his youth, popularized culture and education, and engaged in theoretical exploration and social practice of rural construction. At the age of 32, he joined the shipping industry and founded Minsheng Company, which gradually became a banner of national enterprises.

In the autumn of 1938, the Japanese army marched up the Yangtze River and pushed Wuhan. Mr. Lu took over Yichang, and it took him 4 days to transport more than 1.5 million people and 1 million tons of materials, saving the national industry of China during the Anti-Japanese War. This move is called "Dunkirk retreat in China" by historians.

In this process, 116 people were killed, 61 people were disabled and 16 ships were damaged and sunk. In the face of soaring prices of coal and engine oil, Minsheng Company only charged one-tenth of the cost of normal transportation.

—— Excerpted from the Internet.

Then look at Mr. Tan Yankai (188-193):

Holy words show that I am really to be feared. Virtue makes people indescribable.

The first part of the book "Holy Words Show Me I Should Be Feared" comes from The Analects of Confucius. The original text is as follows:

Confucius said: A gentleman has three fears: fear of fate, fear of adults and fear of the words of saints.

To put it bluntly, the meaning of this sentence is-a person should have a bottom line.

The bottom line "Virtue makes a man indescribable" means-the level is too high, the contribution is too great, and what kind of "fame" means nothing to him.

Zhuangzi said, "To a man without himself, a man of God is useless, and a saint is nameless.". That's what it means. The so-called "fame and fortune" in the world has no meaning at all in front of "the supreme man", "the divine man" and "the saint". These people may also pursue fame and fortune at first, but they often go beyond sublimation because they get too much profit and too much fame.

For example, Bill, who was the richest man in the world for more than ten years? Gates, in 28, announced that he would donate $58 billion of his personal property to charitable foundations (reference: in March 219, Ma Yun ranked 21st in the Forbes list of billionaires in 219 with a wealth of $37.3 billion). In our opinion, it is "the virtue makes people indescribable".

Finally, look at Shi Zhiguang (1752-1828), the number one scholar:

Fu Hui's double cultivation of both necessities and things, and his fame and fortune are both too good to be left behind.

in the first part of the book, "Fu Hui Shuang cultivates what is necessary and what is tangible" means that we should really serve the people, and we should avoid exultation and bravado.

From this sentence, I think that many retired old people have knowledge, experience, time and energy, and do nothing every day. The main content of life is to point out the country with their mouths and rub their bodies with the air. It is suggested that the government and society should give more guidance and create more opportunities, so that this part of human resources can exert a little residual heat. At the same time, the more useful a person feels, the better his mental state will be, and it will be more conducive to good health and longevity.

I remember once in the National Museum, I found an old lady standing beside the big tripod of Simuwu. When I walked to the front, the old lady asked me if I wanted to explain it. After I promised, she explained it happily and seriously. Her explanation is vivid and rich, much better than the standard explanation.

I chatted a few words after I finished. Auntie said that she had loved history since she was a child, and now she has time to retire. As long as there is nothing at home, she will come here to explain it voluntarily. It's great to exercise my body and my brain, and to serve the society.

I remember that Wuhou Temple once had such a couplet: The heart is in the people, regardless of major issues; Profit belongs to the world, why fight for more? That's really good.

The bottom line "fame and fortune are all important" means-retreat before fame and fortune, don't get everything you can, leave no room. As the saying goes: leave a line in everything, and meet each other later. Besides, who can objectively and fairly evaluate their contributions? Perhaps many people are still dissatisfied with the return you get.

in today's society, it's hard to get ahead alone. If a person wants to achieve something, he must take the initiative to join the social cooperation network. And a high-quality collaborative network must be the fate of a group of people with high self-esteem. It will never waste time and energy on the distribution of benefits. Therefore, it is not important for those who "join in" to have superior ability, but also to have high moral character.

If you always want to get a little more than others, or say that you want a penny less, even if you are lucky enough to join such a high-quality cooperation network, you will soon be eliminated. Don't haggle over every penny, and don't allow yourself to be measured. In the end, you may be trapped like a silkworm with the cocoon of interests.

Therefore, working harder and taking less is sometimes not only a virtue of humility, but also a kind of wisdom.

(Note: All the pictures in this article are from the Internet. If copyright is involved, please leave a message. )