The main content of "University" is to expound the political thought of Confucian sage inside and king outside. It contains profound ideological content and has a far-reaching influence in the history of China's academic thought.
The University was written by Ceng Zi, a disciple of Confucius, with a history of more than two thousand years. It is an essay on the Confucian thought of self-cultivation, governing the country and calming the world. It is also called "Four Books" with The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius and Mencius.
I first knew that I was studying Chinese classics with my son, which belongs to the thinner kind in a lot of books.
I was attracted by its short and easy-to-understand words.
At the beginning, I said that "Mingde is close to the people and stops at perfection", and a sense of closeness arises spontaneously. The foundation of being kind to others is to stop at the best. How can we "stop"?
What I saw later was "discipline, knowledge, honesty, honesty, self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world". A more advanced word can make me feel excited and have a passionate voice. After that, I began to reflect. What should I do?
Later, I read a lot, and I also understood that the "Eight Items" emphasized that self-cultivation is the premise of governing people, and the purpose of self-cultivation is to govern the country and level the world, and to be a saint inside and a king outside, and to help the people.
For your better understanding, I will explain it in three stages. What is Neisheng? What is a foreign king? How to be a saint inside and a king outside?
Let's take a look at what "inner saint" is.
The so-called inner sage is the wisdom of exerting one's potential through study and practice. Let your heart be full and powerful, which is the embodiment of self-cultivation and morality.
Wang Yangming, a master of psychology, angered eunuch Liu Jin, and after forty years of treatment, he was demoted to Longchang, Guizhou. At that time, the Longchang in Guizhou was full of thorns, infested with insects and beasts, and malignant diseases prevailed. Wang Yangming still can't talk to the locals. Eunuch Liu Jin, on his way to be demoted, also sent someone to follow him and went through all the hardships. At this time, Wang Yangming, who has not yet surpassed life and death, is dignified and respectful, working day and night, in order to be calm and single-minded.
After a while, I felt open-minded and calm. Finally, one night, I realized my success. I understand that the way of being a saint lies in one's own heart, and all external requirements are wrong.
After realizing Tao in Longchang, Wang Yangming put forward a series of theoretical systems, such as "nothing outside the heart, unity of knowing and doing, conscience", and embarked on Wang Zhidao.
What is a "foreign king"?
A foreign king is to tap his own potential and talents, and at the same time, play a role in and serve the society. Become a leader in the industry and even in society. Is that I can adapt to any environment and do anything.
Zeng Guofan, one of the four famous ministers in the late Qing Dynasty, suffered many setbacks when he first entered the officialdom. After his second comeback, he changed his previous lifestyle, and was no longer harsh and angry with local officials, nor was he a condescending gesture. Instead, I began to lower my body and began to "go with the flow."
After suffering setbacks and freezing, Zeng Guofan began to learn the philosophy of saints, demanding himself with the realm of "inner saints and outer kings". I understand that when dealing with the emperor and the "central ministries", I can't be one-sided, and the second is the truth. I understand the true meaning of "seeking in the middle of the song". I don't want the fish to be clear, but I want to be practical and understand the world.
Zeng Guofan's way of life tells us: be sage inside and king outside, be turbid outside and clear inside, and stick to your conscience. Self-cultivation and moral cultivation are the foundation, stick to your own personality bottom line and adhere to principles. There is a saint in my heart, who has a fixed mind and doesn't care about others. In order to achieve the goal, we must compromise, balance and mobilize all forces to assist in the completion, and finally achieve great things.
How to be a saint inside and a king outside? What does the inner saint and the outer king depend on?
Wealth gathers with virtue, and virtue cooperates with it.
Only by combining the inner sage with the outer king can we achieve ambitious and useful people.
Being a saint inside and being a king outside means having the talent and virtue of a saint on the one hand and exercising kingliness on the other. Inner holiness is the foundation. Without inner holiness, it is impossible to help the people, govern the country and achieve good political achievements, and it is impossible to achieve the goal of being a foreign king.
With the inner saint, we can better listen to our hearts; With a foreign king, we can better follow the way of the world and realize the pursuit of this life.
Being sage inside and being king outside is also the basis of strengthening self-cultivation and cultivating morality.
Learning "The University" and understanding the inner sage and the outer king can cultivate our integrity, integrity and honesty, and we can also learn from it the way, purpose and attitude of being a man. Let modern people pursue interests, but at the same time, don't forget morality, face the world openly and don't be greedy for profits.
Let people take responsibility spontaneously, consciously, since the enlightenment, self-improvement, positive and enterprising.
The inner sage and the outer king can only show the true colors of the outer king if they are strong inside.
That is: when a person succeeds, teach people humility and always be alert; When you fail, give people strength, push them forward and inspire them to fight.