Who are the four great sages of Confucianism?

Confucianism is the mainstream thought in our country. Such achievements are related to the fact that Confucianism has given birth to many saints. So who are these saints? Below is an introduction to the four major Confucian saints that I have compiled for you. I hope it will be useful to you!

Confucian saints: Confucius

The first one must be Consider Confucius, the sage who carried forward Confucianism.

When Confucius was in his twenties, he was already very famous. Everyone in Lu knew that Confucius was very knowledgeable in etiquette. When Confucius' son was born, the then king of Lu sent a carp, so Confucius named his son Kong Li. At that time, Confucius was a scholar, the lowest level in the ruling class. It was such a great honor to receive a gift from the king.

Kong Li died before Confucius, so there are two things that cannot be used to offer sacrifices to Confucius. One is carp, which comes from Kong Li; the other is tofu, because it was his mortal enemy? Liu An, the inventor of tofu, always scolded Confucius.

From the age of 50 to 55, Confucius successively held the positions of Zhongdu Zai, Xiao Sikong, and Da Sikou, and finally served as a photographer. It is an agent who exercises various administrative powers. After the governance of Confucius, the state of Lu was in great power and its national strength increased, which shocked the officials of the neighboring state of Qi at that time.

During the alliance between Qi and Lu, Confucius followed Lu to establish the Guild Alliance. He said: "Those who have civil affairs must be armed", so he brought the Lu army with him. During the alliance meeting, he argued hard and allowed Qi Jun to return the Wenyang land he had previously occupied. (When Yang Hu rebelled, he dedicated the land of Wenyang to Qi State)

A man of good temperament

To his disciples , he is gentle, persuasive, and sometimes humorous.

Yan Hui was Confucius’ favorite disciple. When traveling around the country, Yan Hui encountered danger and fell behind. When Yan Hui caught up with Confucius's army, Confucius said, "I thought you were dead." ?Yan Hui replied: ?Teacher, you are still alive, how dare I die first!?

Unfortunately, due to long-term malnutrition and overuse of the brain, Yan Hui is still alive. Confucius left first, and Confucius was in great mourning. When Confucius was educating students, he often said that joy, anger, sorrow, and joy should be controlled. Some disciples asked the teacher whether this was too sad. Confucius said: If you don't feel so sad about Yan Hui, then under what circumstances do you feel sad? In fact, when Yan Hui passed away, Confucius was more sad than when his own son Kong Li died.

Confucius was particularly fond of Yan Hui. Confucius once said that Yan Hui was the most learned among his disciples. Yan Hui also had a very good understanding, and Yan Hui was much younger than Confucius. The other disciples were all older than Yan Hui. Confucius hoped that Yan would come back and inherit his mantle.

Zilu was also a disciple that Confucius particularly liked. Because Zilu had a straightforward character and could not be flexible, Confucius often reminded Zilu and tried every means to hope that Zilu could learn to be flexible. It is a pity that Zilu died in the civil strife in Wei because of his integrity.

Ziyou served as the chief of Wucheng, the chief of Wucheng. Use the rituals and music taught by Confucius to educate the people. When Confucius and other disciples came to Wucheng and saw all this, they said: "How can you kill a chicken with a bull's knife?" Ziyou explained to Confucius seriously. Finally, Confucius said, "What I said before was a joke."

Archery masters and driving masters

Archery and driving were both skills that the nobles at that time should master. Did they belong to it? Martial arts are also two subjects in the Sixth Arts.

At that time, Yang Hu (or Yang Huo), a retainer of the Ji family, was also a master in these two areas. Confucius competed with him, and Yang Hu finally lost. I think it must have been quite a sensation when two people competed.

Music expert

Confucius once studied piano with Shi Xiang. One day Shi Xiang gave him a piece of music. Let him practice by himself. He practiced for more than ten days and still had no intention of stopping. Shi Xiang couldn't help it and said, "You can change the song and practice." ?Confucius replied: "Although I am familiar with its tunes, I have not yet touched its rules." After a while, Shi Xiang said again: "You have figured out its rules. You can change the song and practice it." ?Unexpectedly, Confucius replied: I have not yet understood its musical image. ?After a period of time passed, Shi Xiang found that Confucius had a solemn expression and his body was in full harmony. He seemed to have changed his appearance. This time, without waiting for Shi Xiang to ask questions, Kong Liao said first: "I have already realized the musical image. He is dark, tall, with far-reaching eyes, and seems to have the air of a king. This person must be King Wen." After hearing this, Shi Xiang was shocked because the song happened to be called "Wen Wang Cao" and he had not told Confucius beforehand.

Confucius can also be said to be a first-class music connoisseur. It is said that "Shao" is the music and dance of Yao and Shun. Confucius never had the opportunity to listen to it in the state of Lu, and later in the state of Qi. I finally saw it during a palace banquet. Confucius was completely fascinated by this solemn music. In March, he didn't know the taste of meat and said, "I don't want to do it just for fun."

He is also good at hitting the rock, and the sound of the rock is very emotional. Confucius heard the news of the death of Jin officials Dou Mingdu and Shun Hua on the bank of the Yellow River. He returned to Zou Township and composed the music "Zou Cao" to express his grief. Confucius liked singing very much. He often asked others to sing. If he sang well, he would let him continue singing, and then he would follow suit. On the seventh day before his death, he sang to Zigong.

Know how to be flexible

The State of Lu stipulates that any Lu people who see their own people being sold as slaves abroad can redeem them. Return to the treasury to report accounts. A Confucius student redeemed a slave but did not pay the debt. Everyone praised the student as a noble man. Confucius was very dissatisfied. Wouldn't it be nobler for a student to ask for help and not pay the debt? Confucius scolded: You idiot, if someone else redeems a slave and pays the debt in the future, he will be scolded as not noble; if you don't pay the debt, doing good deeds will become a loss. Gradually people will pretend not to notice anyone being a slave, and gradually no one will do good things. Zilu, a disciple of Confucius, saved a man from drowning. The man rewarded him with an ox, and Zilu accepted the ox. When Confucius learned about it, he said to Zilu: "Thank you! In this case, the people of Lu will definitely save people from drowning."

Zilu, Zigong, and Yanzi were discussing how to treat others. Zilu said: "If others treat me kindly, I will treat them kindly; if others treat me badly, I will not treat them kindly." ?Confucius commented: ?This is the practice between Yi and Di without morality and etiquette. ?Zigong said: ?If others treat me well, I will treat them well; if others treat me badly, I will guide them to be kind. ?Confucius commented: ?This is the way friends should behave. ?Yan Zi said: ?If others treat me well, I will treat them well; if others treat me badly, I will treat them well. ?Confucius commented: ?This is the way relatives should behave. ?

Confucian Sage: Mencius

In 370 BC, Mencius was born in Fu Village at the foot of Ma'an Mountain between the capitals of Lu and Zou. More than two thousand years have passed, and we are still deeply moved by the great maternal love we once had while wandering in the Mengmu Forest with dense cypress trees. A widowed mother and her orphans moved from Fu Village to Miaohuying, a market town, and then to a school in Nanguan, Zoucheng, just to create an ideal learning environment for her son. Her son could finally go to school, but this great mother who had worked so hard would ruthlessly cut off the cloth she was weaving with a knife in order to educate her son who was playing truant until Meng Ke finally woke up and determined to study hard.

In this land with stories of "Meng's mother moving three times" and "Meng's mother breaking up", there is a person whose surname is Meng, whose name is Ke and whose courtesy name is Ziyu. , it is about to make the winding holy vein suddenly surge into a magnificent river.

Meng Ke, who was concerned about the country and the people, and had the ambition to carry on the past and open up the future, walked on the land of Qilu and asked Haotian: It is not so far away from the saint's era, and it is so close to the saint's hometown. , who is his successor? He announced to the world: "In five hundred years, a king will rise, and during this period there will be a famous person. If you want to rule the world peacefully, in today's world, who else will be better than me!"

This person who was passed down by Confucius was like a dazzling superstar, rising on the ideological and political stage in the middle of the Warring States Period, with the backbone of an intellectual and a man. His heroic spirit is accompanied by a passionate love for the people and a majestic and prosperous brain boiling with people-oriented ideas. Especially after China's intellectuals have endured more than two thousand years of manipulation, coercion, oppression, inducement, torture, alienation and reshaping by the autocratic machine, with their cartilage and servility (the selfishness that is most contrary to the nature of intellectuals) When he was humiliated by the world, Mencius, with his awe-inspiring righteousness, became even more precious.

He not only inherited the holy path opened by Confucius without hesitation, but also expanded this path of humanistic spirit wider and longer. Although he was ranked runner-up and became the second sage, and even received some kind of neglect in today's world where champions are worshiped, the annual tourist ticket revenue of Qufu Confucius Temple, Confucius Mansion, and Confucius Forest Hall, the birthplace of Confucius, is as high as more than 23 million yuan. The ticket revenue of Meng Temple, Meng Mansion and Meng Lin in Zoucheng, Mencius's hometown, is only more than 200,000 yuan per year. However, looking at the long history of history, Mencius inherited and carried forward Confucius' thoughts and enriched Confucius' thoughts. Mao Zedong founded Confucianism and became famous for generations. He praised Confucius: "Since the beginning of the world, there has never been anyone more prosperous than Confucius". "After Confucius, no one will be as successful as Yu." He said: Confucius was a saint in his time. Confucius called it a great achievement. ?

Like Confucius, he also has a free soul and independent personality, and his life is even more masculine and full of tension. Confucius said: "Three armies can seize the commander, but an ordinary man cannot seize the will?"; Mencius, on the other hand, "Stay in the broadest place in the world, establish the right position in the world, walk the great road of the world; achieve the will, and follow it with the people (move forward together with the common people)" ; If you don’t have your ambition, you will go your own way. Riches and honors cannot lead to sexual immorality, poverty and lowliness cannot be removed, and power and authority cannot bend. This is called a true man. He even declared to the world: "Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want. You cannot have both. You must sacrifice life for righteousness." ?While the autocratic rulers of the past dynasties were complacent that the majority of scholars succumbed to the temptation of violence and wealth, Confucius and Mencius had already established a majestic image of a man at the source of Chinese history!

With the ambition of "governing the country and bringing peace to the world", Confucius traveled around the world, and Mencius also traveled around the world. Although they were useless, they left a passion for the world in future generations and a majestic personality. Show it to future generations. They were not at all servile to the princes of various countries who held money and power. Mencius even acted condescendingly psychologically, with natural confidence and advantages, upright and majestic. He said confidently: "He is my husband; I am my husband; why should I fear him!" He talked about his experience of traveling around the world like this: "When you speak of a great person (advising the princes), you should despise him, and don't look down upon his majesty." Of course. ?The King of Qi gave him a hundred yi of fine gold, but he proudly refused: ?How can there be a gentleman who can buy it with money? (Where can a gentleman be bought with money)?

Concerning the core of the feudal principles, "the king, the king, the ministers, the ministers", Confucius clearly put forward that "the king entrusts his ministers with propriety, and the ministers entrust the king with loyalty". When it came to Mencius, he further proposed: "If the king treats his ministers like grass, then the ministers will treat the king like a bandit." No wonder Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just become emperor, was furious after reading this. He suddenly revealed the ferocious face of a feudal ruler, and immediately dismissed Mencius's qualifications to enjoy Confucius and drove him out of the Confucius Temple. Yes, they have not escaped from the rule of the rulers, but after all, they dare to stand up and stand up to the rulers.

Mencius clearly saw that since the Spring and Autumn Period, all the princes and big countries have fought for land and killed people to fill the fields; fought for cities and killed people to fill the cities; and the people have languished and tortured Politics is nothing like this.

?Thus, he openly issued the cry of "There are no unjust wars in the Spring and Autumn Period" and "Those who are good at war shall serve their sentences (those who are belligerent should serve the heaviest punishment)", and fundamentally denied the annexation wars since the Spring and Autumn Period.

Really, when you search for the corners of history, you often come across gold that has long been ignored. There is such a thing that we should not forget. At that time, the state of Lu had a conflict with the state of Zou. Thirty-three officials of the state of Zou died, but none of the people died. Instead of dying, the common people stood idly by while watching their superiors die. Mencius looked at this matter this way. He said to Duke Zou Mugong: You deserve it! Who told you and your subordinates to treat the common people cruelly on weekdays? In ancient times and today, it is as far as it is far, and it is as close as it is near. Just think about it, if something bad happened to the current officials, the common people would not just stand by and watch, but there might be many who would take pleasure in their misfortune. Why, these drunken people in power are really outraged by what they have done. I remember that there seems to be such a sentence in "Shu Tang Oath": "When the sun is mourning, I will perish with you." This is what the subjects of the Xia Dynasty pointed at the sun and cursed Xia Jie, which means: "When will you perish, I am willing to perish with you." If the rulers of a regime are so corrupt and outrageous that they are not far away from collapse.

This? Yasheng? is indeed brilliant. He has set a rule that the interests of the common people should prevail and not the interests of the oppressors. Can't we hear resounding historical echoes from the modern standard of "everything is based on the interests of the people"? Although this slogan was used to seize power, it was forgotten or even deviated from this slogan. In particular, perhaps the people-oriented thinking of Confucius and Mencius is of great benefit to future generations, right? Mencius was the first to put forward the idea of ??"having fun with the people": "Those who enjoy the happiness of the people will also enjoy it." Happy, if you care about the people's worries, the people will also worry about their worries. If you are happy with the people, you will be king. On the basis of Confucius' teaching without distinction, he more systematically put forward the idea of ??teaching and enriching the people: "Using without teaching is said to be a disaster for the people"; And the idea of ??valuing the people and despising the king is the essence of his people-oriented thinking. He said that the world of the princes was given by the people. The eyes of the people are the eyes of heaven, and the ears of the people are the ears of heaven. The most unforgettable thing among the people of Tian is this famous saying that contains the ringing voice of truth: "The people are the most precious, the country is the second most important, and the king is the least important." ?Actually, it doesn't matter whether a saint is a saint or not. The sentence "The people are more valuable than the king", doesn't it make Mencius immortal through the ages? I once wrote this in a poem "Mencius": ?Dongye *** and I read "Mencius" / People are also moved / Heaven is also moved / Heart and the universe / Dancing snowflakes / Wait until the grass is luxuriant / Missing friends is as thirsty / Then cross the road of time / Go to meet Yasheng / Du Fu is here / There is also Lao Jiao from Lankao / *** sitting and drinking tea / drumming the sun and playing the moon / singing generously - the people are the most precious, the country is second, and the king is the least. ?

China can also be proud. It was China’s Confucius and Mencius (and the hundreds of schools of thought who argued incessantly in their time) who were the first to light up civilization for mankind. A lamp of progress; being a Chinese can also be proud. Among the high mountains of human thought, there are the spiritual mountains built by our two great intellectuals, Confucius and Mencius.

Confucian Sage: Zhu Xi

Zhu Xi (1130.9.15? 1200.4.23), also named Yuanhui, also named Zhonghui, nicknamed Hui'an, later called Hui Weng, posthumous title, Shi Wen He is called Zhu Wengong. A famous Neo-Confucian, thinker, philosopher, educator, and poet in the Song Dynasty, a representative of the Fujian School, and the master of Confucianism, the World Honored One called him Zhu Zi. Zhu Xi was the only one who was not a direct disciple of Confucius and was worshiped in the Confucius Temple. He was among the twelve philosophers in the Dacheng Hall who received Confucian sacrifices. Zhu Xi was a student of Li Tong, the third disciple of Ercheng (Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi). Together with Ercheng, he was called the Cheng-Zhu School.

Neo-Confucianism

Neo-Confucianism, also known as Taoism, is a doctrine whose purpose is to study the principles and principles of Confucian classics, the so-called principles and principles. The study is divided into the theory of Li Qi, the theory of movement and stillness, the theory of studying things to achieve knowledge, and the dualism of human nature.

Principle is the metaphysics that precedes natural phenomena and social phenomena. He believes that reason is more fundamental than qi, and reason logically precedes qi; at the same time, qi has the initiative to change, and reason cannot be separated from qi. He believes that all things have their own reasons, and the principles of all things are ultimately the same.

Principle is the law of things.

Principles are the basic principles of ethics.

Reason is human nature in people.

Educational Thoughts

Zhu Xi has been engaged in lecturing activities for a long time, carefully compiled a variety of teaching materials such as "Annotations on the Four Books", and cultivated many talents. His educational thoughts are extensive and profound. Among them, the most noteworthy ones are his discussion of "primary school" and "university" education and the second one about "Zhu Xi's reading method".

On the basis of summarizing the educational experience of predecessors and his own educational practice, Zhu Xi divided a person's education into "elementary school" based on his preliminary understanding of human physiological and psychological characteristics. and "university" are two stages that are both different and related, and they propose different educational tasks, contents and methods.

In terms of educational methods, Zhu Xi emphasized the importance of prioritizing teaching and early teaching; striving to be vivid, vivid and able to stimulate interest; and cultivating children in the form of "Instructions" and "School Rules" Ethical behavior habits. Regarding university education methods, Zhu Xi firstly valued self-study, and secondly advocated mutual exchanges between different academic viewpoints. Zhu Xi's opinions on primary school and university education added fresh content to ancient Chinese educational thought.

Zhu Xi’s reading method? There are six principles, namely, step by step, read carefully, reflect with an open mind, observe personally, work hard, and be respectful and persistent.

Scientific Thought

When Zhu Xi elaborated on the study of things to achieve knowledge, he said: The top is Wuji and Taiji, and the bottom is one. Grass, trees, and insects all have their own reasons. If you don't read a book, you will miss the truth of a book; if you don't read anything, you will miss the truth of a thing; if you don't read a thing, you will miss the truth of a thing. You need to go through each of them with him one by one. It is believed that everything such as astronomy, geography, biology, agriculture, meteorology and so on should be studied.

Zhu Xi was involved in the ancient medical classic "Huangdi Neijing", the famous astronomer Zhang Heng's "Lingxian" and astronomical geography knowledge of the past dynasties, especially the famous works of Shen Kuo, a natural scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty. "Mengxi Bitan" is particularly deeply studied, making "Mengxi Bitan" one of the sources of his scientific thoughts.

Rebuilding the Academy

Zhu Xi is a famous thinker in Chinese history and a famous educator. He was enthusiastic about education throughout his life, worked tirelessly to teach apprentices, and made great achievements in education. When Zhu Xi was still alive, he reorganized some county schools and state schools, founded Tong'an County School, Wuyi Jinghan Academy, Kaoting Academy, rebuilt Bailudong Academy and Yuelu Academy, and also personally formulated academic rules and compiled Received textbooks for primary schools and universities. He cultivated a large number of intellectuals for the feudal country, including many famous scholars, and formed his own school, the "Zhu Xi School".

Main achievements

In literature: representative works include "Bodhisattva Man" (1), "Shui Diao Ge Tou" ( 1), "Nanxiangzi" and "Recalling Qin'e" (2)

In terms of calligraphy: Zhu Xi was also good at calligraphy and was famous for a long time. Ming Tao Zongyi's "Shu Shi Hui Yao" says: "Zhu Xi continued the Taoism, entered the holy realm, and was also good at calligraphy and calligraphy." He is good at cursive writing, and is especially good at large calligraphy. His writing is calm and elegant. ? He tried to learn Cao Mengde's calligraphy, and later studied Zhong Yao's regular script and Yan Zhenqing's cursive calligraphy. He continued to practice calligraphy all his life, with superb calligraphy skills, majestic pen and ink, and unparalleled elegance.

Personal works

Zhu Xi has 25 existing works, more than 600 volumes, and a total of about 20 million words. The main ones include "Original Meaning of the Book of Changes", "Enlightenment", "Correction of the Hexagram", "Collected Poems", "The Doctrine of the Doctrine", "Four Books or Questions", "Analects of Confucius", "Collected Annotations of Mencius", "Explanation of Tai Chi Pictures", "Interpretation of Tongshu", "Xi Ming" "Explanation", "Korean Language Test", "Elementary School Book", etc. There are one hundred volumes of "Collected Works", eleven volumes of "Sequel", ten volumes of "Part Collection", and one hundred and forty volumes of "Zhu Xi Yu Lei" compiled by Lin Ren.

Confucian Sage: Wang Yangming

There is a saying that in Chinese history, only Confucius and Wang Yangming can reach the standard of saints, and Zeng Guofan can only be counted as half.

"Zuo Zhuan": "The supreme leader has established virtues, followed by meritorious services, and the third has established words. Even if they are not abolished for a long time, these are called the three immortals." ?

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the "Three Immortals" proposed by Shu Sunbao, a doctor of the State of Lu, became the standard for later generations to evaluate sages.

To "establish virtue" means to establish noble morals; to "make merit" means to establish merit for the country and the people; to "make speech" means to make remarks with true knowledge and insights. These three will last for a long time and will be famous throughout the ages.

Later generations compared Wang Yangming and Zeng Guofan. Most of them believed that Wang Yangming's pattern was more impressive. Even Zeng Guofan himself imitated and admired Wang Yangming everywhere. He once said: "Ming Dynasty" When discussing learning, it is always empty talk, but only Yang Ming can make achievements. ?Yangming’s writings are bright and majestic!?

As a master of mind science, Wang Yangming has a complete ideological structure, integrating the essence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and creating original Yangming's philosophy of mind, which takes "mind as reason", "unity of knowledge and action" and "conscience" as its three major propositions, has an influence not limited to China, but the entire East Asian Confucian cultural circle, especially Japan and the Korean Peninsula. In modern times, Zhang Taiyan pointed out: ?Japan’s Restoration was spearheaded by Wang Xue. The "Wang Xue" here refers to Wang Yangming's philosophy of mind that was introduced to Japan.

Zeng Guofan’s idea of ??“reconciling the Han and Song Dynasties” was an acceptance of the academic trends of his time. ?("Reconciling Han and Song" refers to using both the textual research of Han Dynasty learning and the principles of Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism.)

Zeng Guofan also emphasized "equal emphasis on the four gates" and "four gates". It is theory, textual research, poetry, and economy. This statement is also synthesized from the Song Dynasty school at that time.

Zeng Guofan’s thoughts were synthesized from his predecessors and contemporaries, and cannot be compared with Wang Yangming in depth.

In terms of the standard of "Liyan", Wang Yangming is far higher than Zeng Guofan. Yangming's theory of mind created a school of thought and was a profoundly enlightening theory. Zeng Guofan did write a lot of books, but he mostly stayed at the level of moral discussion and dealing with people. The philosophical level was far behind Yangming.

In terms of self-cultivation, Wang Yangming is free and easy and pure. On his wedding night, he met a Taoist priest and meditated with him all night until he was found by his family. To study things to gain knowledge, He really spent seven days and seven nights scratching a clump of bamboo until he fell ill; when he led troops to fight, he used all kinds of deceitful means; when he gave lectures, he devoted himself to promoting the knowledge of conscience.

Wang Yangming has an extremely strong heart. Throughout his life, no difficulty can stump him. His belief has been completely strong to the extreme, and in his mind, he believes that There is no need for unimportant things, and he doesn't care at all, such as merit and official position.

Even if everyone doubts him, he can still say: There are heroes from all over the world, each with their own similarities and differences. There are many discussions, but it is useless to talk too much. ?He said he didn’t care, and he really didn’t care.

Zeng Guofan endured it and had his teeth knocked out and his blood swallowed. After his defeat, he also committed suicide by drowning in anger, but in the end he still suffered repeated defeats until he finally succeeded. .

This kind of forbearance is often regarded as cowardice. His student Li Hongzhang once bluntly said that his teacher was "extremely cowardly", that is, he was timid, overly cautious, slow, and inefficient. Zeng Guofan did not blame him for being rude, but readily agreed. Zeng Guofan also had the habit of reflecting on his own shortcomings.

In general, Zeng Guofan had a lot of troubles in his life.

Regarding the Qi family, Wang Yangming had been childless in his early years. He adopted an adopted son, Wang Zhengxian, and had a biological son, Wang Zhengcong, in his later years. When Wang Yangming died, Wang Zhengcong was only five years old, two years old. Later, Wang Zhengxian started a family separation. Later, Wang Zhengcong's descendants made a fuss over the title of their ancestor. It can be said that none of Wang Yangming’s descendants are great people.

Zeng Guofan is very different. Not only his family motto is spread all over the world, but his descendants also have many important figures. The descendants of the entire Zeng Guofan family are still influential today. Powerful.

In terms of achievements and military, Wang Yangming selected and trained militiamen without any expense to the court, and put down the large-scale rebellion that caused harm to the four southern provinces. ; Under the constraints of the senior officials of the imperial court, he led a militia with no actual combat experience and defeated tens of thousands of elite soldiers of Ning Wang Zhu Chenhao in just 35 days, shattering his decades-long plan to usurp the throne in one fell swoop; while Southern Jiangxi suppressed bandits and conquered Guangxi Sitian embodies Wang Yangming's military thought of using both support and suppression, as well as civil and military training, and elevates the military strategy to a state where "the unyielding mind is the skill".

Zeng Guofan led troops to fight, which was indeed very ordinary. The battles he personally commanded were basically defeated. It was only thanks to the help of a group of knowledgeable people that the final victory was achieved. Although Zeng Guofan was not a general, he was a very good commander. He could lead a group of influential people and make great achievements. This was Zeng Guofan's greatest talent.

In addition to being busy with military affairs, Wang Yangming also gave lectures to a group of disciples from time to time. Zeng Guofan's shogunate gathered a group of scholars who often discussed classics and history.

Zeng Guofan may have weaker military and administrative abilities than Wang Yangming, but his circumstances were different after all. As an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty, he quelled the Taiping Rebellion, participated in launching the Westernization Movement, and had great political influence. Therefore, judging from the standard of meritorious service, the two of them are almost the same.