Liuzhi Lane, in the southwest corner of the hometown of the "Tongcheng Faction", present-day Tongcheng, Anhui Province. There is a cobbled laneway about 180 meters long and 2 meters wide, known as Six Foot Lane. To the south of Liu foot Lane is the Zai Chancellor Zhang Mansion, and to the north is the Wu Family Residence. The roadway was formed during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and many people know its origin.
According to the "Tongcheng County Chronicle", there is a gap next to Zhang Wenduan's public residence, which is adjacent to the Wu clan, and the Wu clan uses it more. The family wrote in the capital, and the public approval poems were sent back later, Yun: "A paper book comes only for the wall, let him be three feet and why bother." The Great Wall is still there today, and Qin Shi Huang was not seen in that year. "The family got the book, so they withdrew three feet, and Wu felt his righteousness and also gave up three feet, so six feet lane was named after him."
Roughly speaking, during the Qing Dynasty (Kangxi Dynasty), the old family of Zhang Ying, a scholar of Wenhuadian University and a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, had a dispute with the neighbor Ye family over the issue of homestead. The dispute between the two families is justified, the mother-in-law is reasonable, and neither of them will give in the slightest. The Zhang family had no choice but to tell Zhang Ying about this matter in a family letter. Zhang Ying was then the head of the Rebbe Shangshu equivalent to the current Minister of Central Propaganda, Foreign Affairs, and Education, with height and weight. Zhang Shangshu read the letter, but he just smiled with relief, waved a large pen, and replied to the poem:
A piece of paper comes only for the wall,
Why bother letting him be three feet.
The Great Wall is still there,
I don't see Qin Shi Huang that year.
The family saw the reply and knew that Zhang Shangshu was tolerant and courteous, and it was better to take the initiative to be humble for a while. So they immediately mobilized to tear down the wall three feet, and everyone praised Zhang Ying and his family's open-minded attitude. Zhang Ying's behavior echoed the old saying: "The prime minister can hold a boat in his belly." "The neighbors were still fighting for righteousness, but now when they saw that Shangshu's family had actually given way three feet, they were greatly moved for a while, and the high-ranking officials could do so, and the people were not beautiful, so they also retreated the wall three feet. The dispute between the two families was quickly settled, and between the two families, there was an empty alley, six feet wide, half of the Zhang family, and half of the Wu family. Although this alley is short, it leaves people with a long way to think. So there was an alley six feet wide between the courtyard walls of the two houses. Villagers can pass freely through this, hence the name Six Foot Lane.
Time flies, and the Qing Empire prospered for a hundred years, but gradually declined. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rose, a large number of poor people rebelled, heroes emerged from the chaotic world, and the Xiang army led by Zeng Guofan rose. Zeng Guofan also became the first major minister of the Qing Dynasty, and Gui was the governor of Liangjiang.
Zeng Guofan
Coincidentally, Zeng Guofan also encountered this kind of thing, their family wanted to build a new house in their hometown in Hunan, and they also quarreled with their neighbors because of the homestead. Zeng Guofan's second brother Zeng Guofan, who was in charge of household chores at that time, was a very domineering person, because this matter almost had to go to the county court to fight a lawsuit, and at the same time repaired a letter to Zeng Guofan to let him "level" the local yamen. After Zeng Guofan read it, instead of Zhang Ying only replying with a poem, he wrote a long letter to educate his brother that he should take this as a warning and not fight with his neighbors for profit. At the end of the letter, Zeng Guofan attached This poem by Zhang Ying. Later, Zeng Guohuang still accepted the education of the eldest brother after seeing it, and the Zeng family took the initiative to shrink the foundation by three feet. The neighbors looked embarrassed, and heard that Zeng Guofan had specially written a family letter of "let him three feet and why bother" to come back, and he was even more moved, but he took the initiative to give up some foundations and let the Zeng family expand the new house.
The allusions of these two celebrities can be seen that blindly competing for the work of daily life may be counterproductive, and principled concessions will become a good thing. Although concession is a word, retreat and concession are very different, and the realm embodied in it is also very different.
I think that when Zeng Guofan was studying at Yuelu Academy, one of his classmates flew high, often quarreled with people, and everything was mainly self-interested, and one day he said to Zeng Guofan at the side table, you blocked my light, we must change. Zeng Guofan was angry, but he didn't bother to deal with such a brash, so he changed seats with him. A few days later, one night, the man caught Zeng Guofan again and said that you were reading so loudly at night that it disturbed my sleep. Zeng Guofan once again chose to be patient, no longer reading aloud and reading silently. Later, Zeng Guofan was very happy, but the man said that he had given up the feng shui treasure to Zeng Guofan, otherwise it would be himself. Zeng Guofan laughed and said nothing, leaving it behind. This is an example of Zeng Guofan's choice to retire, the so-called enduring humiliation and bearing the burden. To sum up: do not argue with villains, but with yourself for a long time. Comparing people with themselves is a manifestation of progress.
But there is an old Chinese saying: "If you can't bear it, you don't have to endure it anymore." Therefore, blindly relenting is not the most effective way to resolve contradictions. Therefore, taking the initiative to actively resolve the contradiction is the most effective way, which is to let go. Speaking of six feet lane, if you don't let three feet, this is to stop at retreating, and let three feet take the initiative to resolve contradictions. Zeng Guofan once said, "When you encounter troubles and rebellions, you should be less patient and wait for it to be determined; when you encounter a situation of glory and profit, you should give in to defend your female." The way of concession is the principle of selflessness and willingness to give that we now preach. Zeng Guofan also said, "To enjoy the great name alone, the way of actually folding blessings; to share names with people is the way to be blessed." "So let the benefit of the public, the achievement of the world's staff." Out of the Zeng Mansion", Zeng Guofan also spared no effort to recommend his staff, many of whom had had festivals or opponents, to Zuo Zongtang, zeng guofan although he had fought with him for most of his life, but still tried his best to recommend that he "take the momentum far away, the opportunity is very small, can be alone." In the end, there was a saying that "the world oversees, half out of the door". What is this concept, the position of governor is equivalent to a provincial-level official, which shows that Zeng Guofan spared no effort to make profits, and achieved the title of the first heavy minister of the late Qing Dynasty. Now, and some officials or leaders have to think deeply about it, some unconscious leaders, have good thinking about themselves in advance, have fame and fortune and want to dominate, think of such people, it will not last long. Those who really want to work must first establish their own groups, and this is also the truth that it is difficult to become a forest alone.
To borrow the words of Zeng Guofan, the end is: Life does things, and it is the mind that is fought.