The wisdom of I Ching

Chapter 117 Be Good at Discovering Your Own Insufficiency——Looking at My Life, A Gentleman Has No Blame, Watching His Life, A Gentleman Has No Blame
【Original Code】

Ninth five, watch my life, the gentleman is not to blame.

"Xiang" said: Watching my life, watching the people.On the ninth, watch its life, a gentleman is not to blame.

"Xiang" said: Watching his life, his ambition is not peaceful.

—— "Book of Changes View"

【Interpretation】

"Guan" hexagram nine and five lines say: By observing, understanding oneself, and examining one's own behavior, a gentleman will certainly not be blamed.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: If you want to observe, understand yourself and reflect on your own behavior, you need to examine yourself by observing the reactions of people around you.

The nine lines on the hexagram of "Guan" say: Observing the living conditions of others, a gentleman will have no disasters.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: Observing the living conditions of other people shows that one's moral cultivation is not at ease and relaxed.

"Viewing My Life" includes many contents, such as one's own life, family, expertise, hobbies, friends, career and so on.Only after understanding oneself can one behave correctly in society, advance when advancing, and retreat when retreating. "Viewing my life" also means "people are valuable to have self-knowledge".

The aforementioned "observing one's life" can be understood as drawing experience and lessons from observing other people's lives, work and actions, learning beneficial experiences, and avoiding detours. "Looking at one's life" is actually using people as a mirror to understand one's own gains and losses.Everyone should strive to cultivate this kind of habitual virtue in themselves, it will bring you wisdom, bring harmony to your interpersonal relationship, and inject new vitality into your career!
【Category】

Story [-]: People are valuable with self-knowledge
Jie Zitui followed Chong'er in exile abroad, went through untold hardships and made many contributions. Nineteen years later, Chong'er returned home and became king. He rewarded and promoted many meritorious officials, but he forgot about Jie Zitui.

Someone said to Jie Zitui: "Chong'er is a man who can share hardships but not sweets." After hearing this, Jie Zitui said: "A king is too busy to take care of everything every day. It is impossible to think about everything so thoughtfully. Besides, I am People with little culture may still be able to use some strengths when they accompany the lord through difficulties, but now my ability to govern the country is not as good as others. I am a self-aware person and never like to blame others."

When a certain cause is successful, every participant in the cause has a share of credit, which is beyond doubt.However, different people have different views on credit.People who think that they have both credit and ability to continue to develop their careers are valuable, and those who can find out in time that they lack the ability to carry out work and retire after success are even more admirable.

Story [-]: Taking people as mirrors
After Prime Minister Wei Zheng died of illness, Tang Taizong Li Shimin was so sad that he couldn't eat, and ministers came to comfort him one after another and wanted to relax.Li Shimin said: "How can I not be sad? Only Wei Zheng knows my heart. A mirror made of copper can make us dress neatly; using history as a mirror can let us know the reasons for the rise and fall of various dynasties. ;Using people as a mirror, you can see your own gains and losses and faults from others. Now that Wei Zheng is dead, I just lost a mirror." Hearing these words, the ministers were ashamed.

Mirrors exist objectively. Everyone has the potential to be a mirror for another person. It depends on whether you are willing to take a picture or not.

Since it is a mirror, it is real, and it may reflect your beautiful side or your ugly side; if you only want to reflect your beautiful side, then it is not a mirror.The real thing is to look in the mirror, so that you can see yourself more comprehensively.

Story [-]: "I am not as good as" can make up for the deficiency
Gu Yanwu, a famous modern Chinese scholar, has laid a solid foundation of knowledge under the influence and education of his family since he was a child. Later, he finally became a famous scholar all over the world.Gu Yanwu believes that the ocean of knowledge is vast and endless; the gains of the past are not enough to be proud of; the achievements of the future cannot be self-limited.Therefore, Gu Yanwu always learns from his teachers and friends with an open mind, learns from others' strengths, and makes up for his own weaknesses.

The article "Guangshi" written by Gu Yanwu vividly shows his noble character of humility:
I am not as good as Wang Yinxu if I study heaven and man, and I am not as good as Wang Yinxu; I am not as good as Yang Xuechen when I study for myself, and I am not as good as Yang Xuechen; Mechanics, made without a teacher, I am not as good as Li Zhongfu; prepared for dangers, flexing and stretching with the times, I am not as good as Lu Anqing; Zhu Xilu: I am not as good as Wang Tongshi who is eager to learn and is devoted to friends; I am not as good as Zhang Zhangchen who is meticulous in six books, faithful and fond of ancient times.

If everyone can feel that they are "not as good as" like Gu Yanwu, they must also feel that they are still "not enough".Only such a person can have the moral character of humility.As the saying goes, "Know what you know, don't know what you don't know".In the vast universe, society and the profound ocean of knowledge, everyone will have a lot of knowledge that they don't know or can't master.Even if you are a university scholar, your mastery of certain knowledge is probably just a drop in the ocean, a drop in the bucket.Those who don't understand "I don't know" are truly ignorant.

Zhuangzi, who we are familiar with, once told such a story: One autumn, when there was a heavy rain, the river was full, and the river god began to be complacent, thinking that all the water in the world had gathered in his own river, and no one could beat him.However, when it unintentionally went down the river to the North Sea and saw the endless sea that was many times wider than it, it realized how insignificant it was.

Fang Xiaoru, a famous person in the Ming Dynasty, once said: "There is nothing more unfortunate than self-sufficiency." No gold is pure, and no one is perfect.My insufficiency is to know my own insufficiency.Even if you do a good job, there may still be many shortcomings that you can't discover.Only by knowing your own shortcomings can you know the goal of progress, and in the end it is a great success.

Story [-]: Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang learned the skills of barbarians
After the failure of the Opium War, many people of insight realized that China needed reforms in all aspects, otherwise it would be difficult to grow.However, the conformist society, arrogant scholar-bureaucrats, and the corrupt and incompetent Qing government formed an insurmountable moat on the way forward, and any reform action seemed to be impossible.In the last years of Daoguang, Wei Yuan took the lead in putting forward the slogan "Learning from the barbarians to control the barbarians" in his compiled "Haiguo Tuzhi", which aroused strong repercussions at the time.

In the 11th year of Xianfeng (1861), Prince Gong Yi and others asked to use the foreign drug tax to buy foreign ships and guns to encircle and suppress the Taiping Army and quell the civil strife as soon as possible.So Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Guan Wen and others were ordered to discuss it first and then implement it.In the second year, Zeng Guofan started to manufacture China's first steamship in Anqing. In July, the first steamship independently designed and manufactured by China was successfully tested.In order to further develop China's modern industry, Zeng Guofan realized that it was necessary to rely on his own strength to manufacture machinery, so he sought talents in many ways and recruited Rong Hong, the first overseas student in modern China.

Yung Wing and Zeng Guofan met twice. Zeng Guofan believed that this young man was capable and reliable, and immediately sent him to the United States to purchase some "machines for making machines". Zeng Guofan planned to set up a general machine factory in the future, specializing in the production of ships and firearms.In the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865), Li Hongzhang established the "Jiangnan Machine Manufacturing General Bureau" in Shanghai.Zeng Guofan was overjoyed after receiving the report and expressed his full support.Later, Yung Wing purchased more than 100 kinds of machines from the United States, and all of them arrived in Shanghai.

Yung Wing suggested that Zeng Guofan set up an ordnance school under the Manufacturing Bureau to recruit Chinese young people to study mechanical engineering knowledge and train various engineers. Zeng Guofan adopted and implemented Yung Wing's suggestion.There is also a "Translation Institute" in the bureau, which specializes in translating Western books related to manufacturing machinery, ships, and guns.Most of the translation methods are spoken by Westerners hired by the bureau, and then written by Hua Hengfang, Xu Shou and others who are proficient in drawing and calculation.The translated books will be handed over to the Bureau for mass printing and provided to those in need.

By the end of Tongzhi, dozens of books had been translated, and by the end of Guangxu, there were more than 170 kinds.The scope of translation has also expanded from weapons, ships, and guns to books on science, military affairs, and medicine.At the same time, various parts of the country began to understand Western culture.These seeds of knowledge were sown by Zeng Guofan and others.

In the ninth year of Tongzhi (1870), Zeng Guofan suffered a great blow because of the Tianjin teaching case. Under such circumstances, he still couldn't forget to cultivate talents for China and lay the foundation for the future.This year, Yung Wing proposed to him another excellent plan: for a period of four years, 12 smart children aged 14 to 30 will be selected each year, a total of 120, to study in the United States.It is planned that each person will study abroad for 15 years, and after completing their studies, they will return to serve in China one by one.If the first batch of students who returned from studying abroad have good grades, this will be regarded as a rule in the future, and they will be dispatched in this way every year.In this way, the talents of pillars who will make the country rich and the army strong in the future are reserved.Zeng Guofan immediately agreed and suggested to the Qing court.When Zeng Guofan returned to Liangjiang, the Qing court had approved his plan to send overseas students.

Therefore, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, Yung Wing and others jointly determined twelve regulations for studying abroad, listing in detail the recruitment of students, teaching steps, management and funds.Although Zeng Guofan passed away in the spring of the 11th year of Tongzhi, the first batch of 30 students to study in the United States was still led by Yung Wing and Chen Lanbin in the summer of the following year to study abroad.Among the 120 overseas students, many outstanding talents have been produced, such as Tang Shaoyi, Zhan Tianyou, Liang Ruhao, Liang Dunyan, etc., who are the best among them.

In the following days, under the auspices of Li Hongzhang, the "Self-Strengthening Movement" gradually deepened, opening the door to modernization in the fields of science and technology, culture, and thought. Although the movement did not achieve the desired results due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, it Its groundbreaking contributions are indisputable.It can be said that the "Self-Strengthening Movement" has influenced the future historical process and is of great significance.Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang were also the promoters of China's modernization.

The fact that Zeng and Li actively started Westernization was forced by the situation.Because the strength of the West is far above ours, we must learn humbly to catch up. Only when we are on the same level of strength as others can we compete with them and finally surpass them.

To learn the strengths of the enemy is to surpass the enemy.Therefore, we must be good at learning the strengths of the enemy, this is the only way to strengthen ourselves.

【The Heart of the Book of Changes】

If you want to understand yourself, you must first learn to examine your own behavior from time to time, because those who can seriously examine themselves have very few faults, because they will always consider: How much power do I really have?How much can I do?What should I do next?Where are my shortcomings?Why did I fail?Why did it work?etc.In doing so, you can easily find out your strengths and weaknesses and lay a solid foundation for your future career.

Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, but it doesn't matter whether they are strengths or weaknesses. The important thing is that people have self-knowledge.This is a manifestation of personal quality, and it is also a kind of wisdom in life. Those who show off their abilities, boast, and praise themselves will inevitably suffer.

We often want to improve ourselves by discovering the shortcomings of others. In fact, this method is a manifestation of incompetence.The smarter and kinder a person is, the more strengths he sees in others; on the contrary, the more stupid and vicious a person is, the more shortcomings he sees in others.

Tang Taizong Li Shimin once said: "With copper as a mirror, you can straighten your clothes; with history as a mirror, you can know the rise and fall; with people as a mirror, you can understand gains and losses." It shows that we must know how to use people as a mirror and listen to others Opinions, willing to accept help from others.Not conceited, not complacent, not assertive, not stubborn, humbly learn the strengths of others, reflect on your own shortcomings, and overcome them, only then can you become a talent.

(End of this chapter)