Look at Mr. Yang Yisun (1812-1881):
Goodness is on the water, virtue is on the valley, and elephants are invisible.
The first part of the book "Good as Water" comes from the eighth chapter of Laozi's Tao Te Ching, and the original text is:
Good as water. Water is good for all things, indisputable, and evil for all, just a few words.
This sentence means that the best goodness (virtue) is like water. Good water moistens things quietly, and does not strive for fame and fortune. It always stays where no one likes to stay, so it is closest to the Tao.
In the first part of the couplet, "Virtue is like a valley" and in the second part, "A generous elephant is invisible without horns" come from Chapter 41 of the Tao Te Ching. The original text is:
Staff sergeant listened and worked hard; The sergeant heard that living is death; The corporal smiled. Just laughing is not enough. So there are suggestions: Ming Dow is ignorant; If you flinch; If the road is awkward; Suntech is like a valley; If Guangde is insufficient; If Jiande steals; Quality is true; If white is insulting; Generous; A late bloomer; Great voices and voices; Elephants are invisible; Tao is hidden and nameless. Husband is the only way, and the loan is good.
This passage is all about dialectics of right and wrong. "Virtue is like a valley", "generosity has no horn" and "elephant is invisible", which means that lofty moral character is often as broad and inclusive as a deep valley; Because the shape is too square, even the edges and corners can't be seen; Because the image is too high, but even the outline can't be seen clearly.
Then look at Mr. Pu Ru (1896- 1963):
It is better to fear fame than to restrain it.
This couplet is similar to the dialectical theory of Laozi in the last couplet, so I won't elaborate on it.
Many proverbs handed down from the ancients are also telling this truth, such as "deep water is silent and the sound of water is not deep"; "The full grain head is facing the ground, and the flat grain head is facing the sky"; "Say long is short, know short is long"; "Early rafters always rot first" and so on.
Let's look at Mr. Chen Xiuyu (life is unknown):
Good water can make a sea, and mountains are not arrogant.
This couplet "The water is good, but the sea is below, and the mountain is not proud of its height" takes the mountains and seas in nature as a metaphor, and makes the virtue of "modesty and benefit" too "loyal and elegant", so it is widely spread.
Then look at Mr. Tie Bao (1752- 1824):
Let people restrain me and benefit me, drink and read poetry books.
I won't say the second part. Here, I only look at the first part, "Let people restrain me and benefit me". The meaning is roughly-the more people, the better; The lower the head, the more prominent it is. This is very similar to the "bottom-up destruction" in the couplet above-the less you praise virtue, the more it will haunt you.
? There is a story of "Do it yourself" by Mr. Lou Deyi, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, in "Learning from Your Own Experience":
LouDeDe's younger brother guarded the secretariat of Daizhou, resigned and taught him to be patient. The teacher's morality says, "I am the prime minister. If you become a state shepherd again, you will be too proud and pampered, and people will get sick. Why is the whole ancestor angry? " His brother knelt down and said, "From now on, although some people spit on a face, others just wipe it, so I'm not worried about my brother." Teacher's morality is worried: "This is the reason why I am worried! People spit in your face and get angry with you; You are against your will, so you are angry. Husband vomited, did not dry himself, and accepted it with a smile. "
Although the Lou brothers are inevitably melodramatic, it is also commendable that you can be so humble and inferior when you become famous. Lauder was full of worship all his life and died rich. After his death, he was listed as a hero of Lingyange in Tang Dynasty with Fang, Du Ruhui and others. It can also be seen as "humility, a gentleman has an end."
Let's look at a pair of Mr. Liu Yong's (17 19- 1804) (for lack of ink, temporarily written):
It is really rich to be merciless, and it is a temple to have something to do and keep.
In the first part of the book, "You are really rich if you don't cut and boast", where "cutting" and "boasting" both mean "showing off and boasting". This sentence means that it is unnecessary for a really rich person to show off and brag. On the other hand, people who show off and brag all day must be extremely poor in heart and always want to gain some recognition from others by showing off and boasting.
The bottom line "Doing something is a temple" means-you must be proactive (doing something) and stick to the bottom line (keeping something). This is the temple man who has the ambition to survive in the world and make contributions to the country.
Then look at Mr. Zuo Tang Zong (18 12- 1885):
Current events should also be used as gifts, because people dare not rely on merit.
The first part of the alliance, "current events should also be regarded as ancient gifts", is a bit old-fashioned and should not be advocated.
The bottom line of "people dare not rely on the merits of nature" is to warn themselves that to accomplish one thing, many conditions are often needed, such as weather, location, people and so on. People who are proud of themselves often want to take all the credit for themselves. This is the "greed for heaven".
Let's look at the top scholar Weng Tonghe (1830- 1904):
The industry is too high, full of people's will, and not good for others.
This pair is so well written that "the career is high but not profitable, and others make insufficient contributions", 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 indefinitely.
Mr. Lu Zuofu is called "an unforgettable person in the modern history of China", and his virtue and behavior can also be regarded as a model in this respect:
Mr. Lu Zuofu was born in Hechuan County, Sichuan Province, with the age of 1893. His career spanned three major fields: saving the country through revolution, saving the country through education and saving the country through industry. /kloc-join the league at the age of 0/7 and join 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.
1in the autumn of 938, the Japanese army went up the Yangtze River and pushed for Wuhan. Mr. Lu was in Yichang. It took 40 days to transport more than1500,000 people and10,000,000 tons of materials, which saved China's national industry during the Anti-Japanese War. This move is called "Dunkirk retreat in China" by historians.
In the process, 1 16 people died, 6 1 people were disabled, and 16 ships were damaged and sank. Faced with soaring coal and engine oil prices, Minsheng Company only charged one tenth of the normal transportation cost.
-Excerpted from the network, with sporadic deletion.
Then look at Mr. Tan Yankai (1880- 1930):
The holy word shows that I should be afraid, and the supreme virtue makes people unspeakable.
The first part of the book "The Holy Word shows that I really should be afraid" comes from The Analects of Confucius, and the original text is as follows:
Confucius said: a gentleman has three fears: fear of destiny, 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 second couplet "Virtue makes people indescribable" means that the level is too high, the contribution is too great, and what kind of "name" means nothing to him.
Zhuangzi said: "For a person who has no self, God is useless, and saints are nameless." . That's what it means. The so-called "fame and fortune" in the world has no meaning in front of the "Supreme Person", "God Man" and "Saint". These people may also pursue fame and fortune at first, but they often go beyond sublimation because they get too many benefits and too much fame.
For example, Bill, who has been the richest man in the world for more than ten years? Gates, in 2008, announced that he would donate $58 billion of his personal wealth to charitable foundations (reference: 20 19. In March, Ma Yun ranked 2nd1on Forbes' list of global billionaires with $37.3 billion in wealth). In our opinion, "virtue makes people indescribable."
Finally, look at the top stone (1752- 1828):
The double cultivation of Fu Hui must be transitive, with a good name.
The first part of the book, "It is necessary to cultivate both wealth and wisdom", means-truly serve the people, and avoid exultation and bluffing.
From this sentence, I think many retired people have knowledge and experience, time and energy, and do nothing every day. The main content of life is to point out the country with your mouth and rub your body with 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 play a little residual heat. At the same time, the more useful a person feels, the better his mental state will be, and the more conducive to good health and longevity.
I remember once in the National Museum, I found an old lady standing next to the cauldron of Simuwu. Walking to the front, the old lady asked me if I wanted to explain. After I promised, she explained happily and seriously. Her explanation is vivid and rich, much better than the standard explanation.
After the speech, I had a few words. Aunt said she liked 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's great to exercise my body and brain and serve the society.
I remember there is such a couplet in Wuhou Temple: the heart is attached to the people, regardless of major events; Profits are all over the world, so why fight for them? That's really good.
The second part of this book, "fame and fortune are important", means-be modest in front of fame and fortune, don't get everything you can, and don't leave room. As the saying goes: leave a line in everything, see you later. Besides, who can objectively and fairly evaluate their contributions? Maybe many people are still not satisfied with the return you get.
In today's society, it is difficult 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 is bound to be the fate of a group of people with strong self-esteem. It will never waste time and energy on the distribution of benefits. Therefore, it is not important for people who "join" to have superior ability, but also to have high moral character.
If you always want to get more than others, or want a penny less, then even if you are lucky enough to join such a high-quality cooperation network, you will soon be eliminated. Don't haggle over every ounce and don't let yourself be measured. In the end, you may be trapped by interests like a cocoon.
Therefore, getting less with more work is sometimes not only a virtue of humility, but also a kind of wisdom.
(Note: The pictures in this article are all from the Internet. Please leave a message if copyright is involved. )