The Ming Dynasty literary scholar Chen Jiru wrote in the "Little Window Youji": The stubborn person is blessed lightly, and the mellow person will be thick. It means that people with a stubborn personality are very lightly blessed, while those with a harmonious personality are blessed.
In real life, we also see that people with a straight-forward personality and more stubborn personality are easy to offend people, difficult to get along with, and have a light blessing; while people with a harmonious personality, and drizzle, left and right, are easy to succeed.
Comparing the two personalities, I believe that everyone hopes that they have a harmonious personality. But what do we have to do to become mellow? In fact, more than a thousand years ago, Yan Shu used his wonderful political experience of more than fifty years to explain for us the way of harmonious treatment of the world - people do well, things are right, and words are beautiful.
Speaking of Yan Shu, some people may be strangers, but mention these few poems, "Last night the west wind withered the bi tree." Go up to the tall building alone, look at the end of the world", presumably no one will not know.
Yan Shu, a native of Jiangxi, lived in the dynasty that modern people want to cross- the Northern Song Dynasty, was not only an excellent lyricist, but also a famous minister during the period of Song Zhenzong and Song Renzong, who was once an official to the prime minister, and was known as the "Taiping Prime Minister".
Harmony lies in people doing well
Lao Tzu said: "The big husband is thick and not thin, and in fact he is not in his glory." ”
The eldest husband behaves in a thick way, and does not do flashy things. Kindness is the foundation of being a human being and the bottom line of being a human being.
It was precisely with his honest and generous character that Yan Shu won the emperor's appreciation and reuse.
At that time, the fourteen-year-old Yan Shu entered Beijing to participate in the scientific expedition, which can be described as a genius teenager.
During the scientific examination, there were top candidates from all over the country in the examination room, but Yan Shu was not afraid of the stage at all, calmly answered, wrote in one go, and the final result ranked among the best, and was rewarded by Song Zhenzong, given the same jinshi origin, and entered the temple examination interview.
During the temple examination, Song Zhenzong personally presided over the interview as the chief examiner. When it was Yan Shu's turn, Song Zhenzong took a look at it, and a baby-faced teenager stood calmly in front of everyone, which made him very interested.
Emperor Zhenzong of Song asked the chancellor to give the title to Yan Shu. After Yan Shu looked at the question, he found that he had studied and solved it before.
Yan Shu thought in his heart, although it is a high score to do the question directly, but he cannot show his own level, like knowing the answer in advance, it is no different from cheating. So Yan Shu told Song Zhenzong that he had done this problem before when he was studying and reviewing, and hoped to re-produce a problem.
As soon as Yan Shu said this, everyone sighed, thinking that he was too stupid and confused, and he did not steal pleasure when he got cheap, and he directly explained it thoroughly, pushing the opportunity at his fingertips outward.
However, Yan Shu had a sincere face and calmly stood on the court, waiting for the emperor to give the question.
Song Zhenzong felt that this doll boy was very unique and honest, and also wanted to see his true level, so he ordered someone to immediately re-write the question.
After Yan Shu got the question again, he thought about it a little, quoted the scriptures, learned from history, based on the present, and looked forward to the future, and the words of defense attracted a lot of applause.
After the temple examination, Song Zhenzong believed that Yan Shu had an honest quality and was a rare talent, so he gave him the status of secretary of the provincial government and left him to study in the secret cabinet.
Yan Shu has since stepped into his career and began to go to the peak step by step.
Yan Shu's honesty and kindness in the examination hall were outwardly stupid, but in fact they showed his noble qualities as a human being, established a good image for himself, and won the admiration and respect of the emperor.
Being honest and generous is not a manifestation of wisdom. Because in life, being honest and generous, it seems that eating is a loss, but the actual harvest is a great blessing.
Harmony is about doing things right
Some people say that smart people can understand and shrewd people can see accurately.
Undoubtedly, Yan Shu is a shrewd person who can always grasp the direction and do things right in the face of big things.
Emperor Renzong of Song ascended the throne at a young age, and Empress Liu was ordered to obey the government. In the imperial court, there was collusion between ministers and gangs. People of every faction want to control the regime. Factional struggles are constant and endanger state power.
The chancellor Ding Zhi and the privy councillor Cao Yu both wanted to see the empress dowager alone and play a role in the empress. The two competed for favors and expressed themselves, hoping to specialize in government affairs.
In the face of this situation, everyone did not dare to speak out. Because no one came out to dominate the situation, the mother and son of the young emperor and the empress dowager were helpless.
At this time, Yan Shu stepped forward and proposed that "the empress dowager should bow the curtain to listen to the government", and the empress dowager met them with the curtain hanging down, and they spoke to the empress dowager through the curtain, so that no one could see the empress dowager, and there was no need to fight.
As soon as this strategy came out, the dispute between the prime minister and the frame immediately stopped, and the situation in the dprk and politics was suddenly stabilized. Although on the surface it is a simple curtain, this represents the return of imperial power. Yan Shu's proposal suddenly woke up those who were swaying left and right in the power struggle. The chaotic situation was immediately clear.
Yan Shu is shrewd in major national affairs, knows how to distinguish between right and wrong, and understands the situation. Knowing that the country is in danger, it is precisely the time when someone needs to stand up, stand for the emperor and the empress, and set an example for others, so it is time to choose the great righteousness of the country.
Later, because of her merits in stabilizing the government, the empress dowager promoted Yan Shu to a higher rank. Yan Shu is doing the right thing to add color to his career.
Those who become big things know how to do things right. Because doing things right is good for oneself and others, not only can justice be done, but also can add points to one's own life.
Harmony lies in the beauty of words
There is an old Chinese saying that "a good word is warm in three springs, and a bad word hurts people in June." Good words make people's hearts warm, and bad words make people chill.
In the official arena, interpersonal relations are intricate, divided into factions, sometimes a little careless, a sentence offends people, and even offends a gang or a group, thus laying obstacles for themselves in their careers.
Of course, Yan Shu was also well versed in the unspoken rules of this officialdom and understood the importance of speaking skills.
At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the people were peaceful and stable, and the people were rich, so the whole court sang and danced, and the hundred officials and ladies were busy feasting and drinking.
Because Yan Shu had no money, he could only stay at home and study diligently and study hard.
After Song Zhenzong knew of Yan Shu's unique behavior, he thought that he studied diligently, did not like fun, and had good character, so he let Yan Shu be the prince's teacher.
Yan Shu thanked the emperor for his promotion, but also sincerely said: "It's not that I don't like to have fun and entertainment, but I really don't have any money at home."
In addition to honestly telling the truth, Yan Shu also put himself in the same camp as the emperor and the hundred officials who liked to have fun, brought them closer to each other, and clarified that he was not a maverick person, and also showed everyone that he could also ask me about me when there was a banquet in the future.
Yan Shu speaks in the official arena, makes good use of empathy skills, has a good relationship with colleagues, and speaks for younger students in their shoes.
Yan Shu had a student named Li Jian, who was a fellow yan shu.
One summer, Yan Shu returned to his hometown and relatives, and many officials came to see him, but they did not see Li Jian coming. Yan Shu's nephew looked dissatisfied and said to Yan Shu: "Li Jian was reused mainly because of his uncle's promotion, and now that his uncle has come home, he has not even come to show his face, which is too much!" ”
Yan Shu smiled and said, "That's because you don't understand Li Jian anymore!" Li Jian did not come to avoid suspicion, if he came, it would make people think that I was pulling a gang, he was thinking about me. Besides, there is a plague of locusts now, and he should be busy dealing with it. Isn't it just to add light to my teacher when he's doing a good job now? ”
Yan Shu spoke from the perspective of Li Jian, explaining the idea that Li Jian did not come, and also showing that the people who prefer their own attention can add glory to themselves with excellent results in their posts, from another point of view, the horse ass shoots less, use the work achievements to prove to the world, they do not see the wrong person.
Yan Shu waited for his colleagues to lead and students to speak skillfully, so that the world could see the flexible and flexible side of Yan Shu's handling of things.
Indeed, who doesn't like to hear good things? Words are beautiful, everyone loves to hear, and everyone uses them.
To survive in the official arena, being able to speak is a science, and speaking beautifully is a technology. Because beauty is the lubricant of interpersonal communication, it can be the icing on the cake, and it can also be achieved smoothly.
Ouyang Xiu once commented on Yan Shu: "Fifty years of rich and noble travel, always wise and protective of their own health. Ouyang Xiu believed that Yan Shu's fifty years of smooth and prosperous life were mainly because he was wise to protect himself.
However, it is not so much that Yan Shu Mingzhe protects himself, but rather that he is well versed in the wisdom of the world in the official arena. Yan Shu's wisdom in dealing with the world is summarized in the "Book of Solutions to Evil" he wrote. He believed that the success and achievements of his life were not given by God, but mastered the way of dealing with the world.
It is precisely because Yan Shu knows the way of dealing with the world. In his career, he was a young man, smooth all the way, and the prime minister, after the death of the sixty-fifth year old, Emperor Renzong personally went to pay tribute, extremely honorable; in literature, he created a gentle style of words, known as the "first ancestor of the Northern Song Dynasty", achieving a double harvest of career and literature, and is a rare perfection in the long river of history.
There are few good times on the road of life, if you want to be smooth sailing, there is no secret decision, only like Yan Shu, be a harmonious person, have a good attitude, people do a good job, do things right, say beautiful words, everywhere can bloom a perfect flower!
*Author's Profile: Rethinking, a writer who likes to read ancient literature and history and follow the footsteps of historical figures.