As a kind of "metaphysics" with both superstition and science, xiangshu has been circulating in China for at least a thousand years. It is said that a powerful master of xiangshu can see at a glance the merits of this person's life, whether it is good or evil, how lucky it is, even marriage, and life expectancy. Say it's superstition, it's not all. For example, in physiognomy, it is often said that the blessing phase is "full of heaven". The size of fresh leaves is to some extent linked to IQ. The heavenly court is full, the anterior lobe of the brain is relatively large, and the IQ will be high, which is beneficial to creating a good life.
In ancient times, there were many people studying xiangshu, and the more famous one belonged to Zeng Guofan, who belonged to the four ministers of the late Qing Dynasty. He once wrote a book, "Ice Book", which is dedicated to the art of physiognomy. Some of them are traditional views, and some are summaries of life's experiences. Unfortunately, this book has been lost, and what is currently sold on the market is basically fragments plus their own supplements, which is not the same as the original version of Zeng Guofan.
So is Zeng Guofan a person who knows people accurately? It was horrible. At that time, when Zeng Guofan founded the Xiang Army and fought against the Taiping Army, he already had a reputation in the imperial court and almost became a vassal of the Qing Dynasty. One day, his student Li Hongzhang brought three people to see Zeng Guofan and said that he wanted to appoint these three people and ask Zeng Guofan to give him an opinion.
After Zeng Guofan heard the news, he rushed over. Those three people were cautious, and did not dare to enter the hall where the guests were treated, just standing at the door, when Zeng Guofan entered the door, he quickly saw the right side from the left, and he had a number in his heart, and went into the hall to tell Li Hongzhang: The person in the middle can be used, the person on the left can be used small, and the person on the right is not available.
Li Hongzhang asked why, Zeng Guofan replied: The one on the left, when I look at him, he immediately lowered his head, did not dare to look at me again, this person is introverted, unstable, but an honest person, can be used small, can not do big things, will be flustered. The one on the right, when I looked at him, he also looked down, but when I wasn't looking at him, he was peeking at me again.
This man has a heavy heart and a strong desire, which is a curse. The one in the middle, I look at him, he also looks at me, and he looks up with his chest up, not humble, he can see that his heart is frank, he is a gentleman, and he can use it.
According to Zeng Guofan's suggestion, Li Hongzhang promoted the person in the middle, and sure enough, this person was a big man, and once became Li Hongzhang's right and left arm, a big member of the Qing Dynasty, who? He was Liu Mingchuan, a famous general of the Huai Army, the first inspector of Taiwan, who was a meritorious minister in suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
Another time, a friend from Li Hongzhang's hometown came to him and said that he was hard-working and that he would first find a way out. Zeng Guofan then arranged for someone to prepare a meal for him, let him sit alone in the hall to eat, and he hid behind the screen to observe, and when this person finished eating, Zeng Guofan did not even want to see him, and directly sent this person away.
When asked why, Zeng Guofan replied: This man said that he was hard-working and hard-working, so I asked people to put a lot of miscellaneous grains and some bitter vegetables in the meal. When this person was eating, he picked out all the miscellaneous grains and put them aside, and the bitter vegetables did not move a single chopstick, and it was clear that he was a pampered person, and this kind of person could not be used, and it was better to send them away.
Zeng Guofan, as a heavy minister, his vision is still very old and spicy, he single-handedly pulled Li Hongzhang, you know, Li Hongzhang is the last pillar of the Qing Dynasty, almost the hope of the Qing Dynasty! He also made achievements in psychology, creating a very intuitive identification method, that is, to let a person be alone, then his actions will expose the nature. Therefore, Zeng Guofan often said "cautious independence", which is what it means. Readers, what do you think?