Hype in the Internet age is everywhere, but in fact, the ancients also attached great importance to hype. Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty was a hype master, he wrote dozens of poems to Li Bai in his lifetime, showing his unusual relationship with celebrities, and Li Bai gave him a poem in return. In the late Qing Dynasty, the literati and doctors advocated clean talk, talking about current affairs, military affairs, and foreign affairs to show their cleverness, and the hype was extremely popular. But these techniques are only pediatrics in the eyes of a person, he is Zuo Zongtang, if you want to evaluate the first hype master of the Qing Dynasty, it is not Zuo Zongtang.
Zuo Zongtang, this person, is undoubtedly a big celebrity, however, a careful combing, but can only come to a surprising conclusion: Zuo Gongzhi's violent fame is due to his good at hype.
At any time, the best way for a person to become famous early is to have a story. Zuo Gong is a man with a story.
As early as his student days, Zuo Gong "spoke loudly, and every time he became an art, he first thought of himself." Every time Mr. Zuo finishes writing an article, he must first be surprised by himself: how to write so well! Did I really write it? The scene is rather muted.
Later, when Zuo Zongtang went to work at the military aircraft department and read Li Hongzhang's recital, "Every page was displayed, and every time he was handed over to the West Because of the matter of coastal defense, he praised himself for the wonderful measures, and he forgot that he was the one who discussed this fold, and even laughed at the case, and the sound shook the side room." Tomorrow, if you review a leaf, it will be like this again... Everyone who discusses half a month, and the whole sparse has not yet been read." Reading a page is deliberately shooting a case and laughing, and I haven't finished reading it for half a month. This situation is the same as when I was a student.
As an adult, Zuo Zongtang is even more familiar with this truth: making up stories.
The first story, Daoguang Ten Years (1830), Jiangsu Envoy He Changling Ding worried back to Xiangxiang, only 18 years old unknown rural intellectuals young Man Zuo Zongtang visited him, that is, he was shocked by his talent, "treated as a national soldier", circled with him for many days, talked about poetry papers, and personally climbed up and down in front of the bookshelf, selected his own collection of books to lend him to read.
This matter is contained in the "Zuo Wen Xiang Gong Genealogy", the problem is that the two people met, how did others know? Without him, Zuo Gong created or spread it himself.
He Changling was a scholar of the late Qing Dynasty, and it was very common for his fellow villagers to be praised as a "national scholar", plus He Changling's brother He Xiling was Zuo Zongtang's teacher at Chengnan Academy, and he was very fond of Zuo Zongtang, saying that he was "able to stand on his own feet, but he did gain something from his studies", and that was all.
In the second story, in the seventeenth year of Daoguang (1837), Tao Shu, the governor of Liangjiang who returned home to his relatives, met Zuo Zongtang, a man in his twenties, who was "a wizard at first sight" and "talked at night, and parted ways with engagement". Soon after, he made a marriage with him.
This story is more "ulterior motives" than the previous one. Tao Shu loved Cai, and Zuo Zongtang learned that Tao Da's return to his hometown must pass through Liling, so he wrote a couplet in advance: "The Spring Temple is calm, and the Twenty-Year Family Mountain Seal Heart Stone is there; the great river flows day and night, and the children of The Eight Prefectures are eager to return." The Shanglian "Imprint Stone" implies a proud story of Tao Shu, seeing this link, Tao Shu naturally blossomed and was introduced as a confidant; the Lower Link even more nakedly slapped Tao Shu's comfortable ass. In short, a couplet gently hit the soft underbelly of a traditional scholar-bureaucrat, and even married him regardless of age and generational differences, which in itself has the intention of leaving a story.
In the third story, in the twenty-ninth year of Daoguang (1849), Lin Zexu, the governor of Yungui, was on his way home, and because he heard Zuo's name, he specially invited Zuo to the Xiang River. Lin Zexu "fell at first sight, surprised by the world's wizards, feasting on DaShu is goodbye."
This story is not known to those who are even more relishing, Lin Zexu, this name has read the primary school everyone knows, in our textbooks can be described as a person. In fact, Lin Zexu saw Zuo Zongtang, not to "hear" his name, but because of Tao Shu. Tao Lin and Tao Lin are not shallow in relationship, Zuo is Tao's relatives, Tao has already introduced many stories to Lord Lin in the letter. Zuo Gong met Lord Lin, also because of the instructions of the Tao family. Lord Lin was happy to give Tao Gong a face, and naturally did not hesitate to speak kindly.
Then, the three stories all focus on Zuo Zongtang's "wizards", and we don't know what wizards Zuo Gong has revealed at this time. Judging by common sense, it is nothing more than Zuo Zongtang's eloquence. As for the talent of poetry, Zuo Gong is not as good as Li Hongzhang, and so far zuo Gong has not left a famous poem. As for other talents, it is difficult to judge by the first acquaintance.
In order to elevate the characters in the story, Zuo Zongtang also did not hesitate to lift up the celebrities he had seen, such as Lin Zexu, who was regarded as a "heavenly person" in Zuo Zongtang's mind.
More critically, these stories are generally limited to the interaction between the two people, and the reason why outsiders know it is nothing more than the external dissemination of the parties. So the true and false, the virtual and the real, anyway, have become stories.
Therefore, the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty" is very straightforward: "(Zuo Gong) is happy to be a surprise to the public, and his name is among the secretaries of state." Try zhuge liang compared himself, people are crazy. Hu Linyi urgently called it, saying that he had crossed Kyushu, and there was no one who was on the right. ”
There are many madmen in history, and Zuo Gong is undoubtedly a leader. He calls himself "This Bright", and he himself is well versed in a principle of hype science, and if he wants people to remember, he must give himself a label. It's as if someone today advertises himself as a "master." Simple, memorable, amazing!
As for Hu Linyi's praise of Zuo Zongtang, it was even more common. Because Hu Linyi is Tao Shu's son-in-law, plus Hu Gong is very good at being a person.
There is also a classic passage that tells that there was an inferior incident in Changsha, Zuo Zongtang was denounced and tracked down, and a man named Pan Zuyin gave a piece of music to the emperor, saying: "The country cannot go without Hunan for a day, that is, Hunan cannot go without Zongtang for a day." "Even more, he lifted Zuo Gong into the sky."
Pan Zuyin is just a masterpiece, is his piece of music really so effective? The reason why Zuo Zongtang was pardoned was entirely due to the protection of Zeng Guofan, Hu Linyi, Guo Songtao and others. And Pan Zuyin's sentence may be true, but also exaggerated for the sake of protecting Zuo Zongtang, and it is not contained in the "Qing History Draft", but it is widely circulated in the folk, are Hunan people not embarrassed? Where will this put so many Hunan people? Therefore, the circulators are nothing more than Zuo Gong's intentional hype. This is extremely compatible with Zuo Gong's "happy to be amazing" disposition. Therefore, Zuo Zongtang later completely obliterated Zeng Guofan's life-saving grace, even if the people of the time felt unfair and held unfair.
Zuo Gong is good at hype, and his technique is actually easy to see through at a glance. What Hunan Inspector Zhang Liangji sent three people to Gu Maolu; what "the army is in the military plot everything, special commissions for me; and all the prefectures and counties are ticketed, and I single-handedly approve the answer" and other words are out of the zuo gong's letter. Fortunately, several Hunan governors are still generous, otherwise where would these words put a local official? Is this unclear whether it is a vegetarian meal to report the inspector's corpse?
Zuo Zongtang has talent and strategy, but he actually has a big problem in knowing people. He climbed he Changling, Tao Shu, Lin Zexu and others, and although he could rely on their great names to achieve his fame, these people did not help his career much. On the contrary, the Zeng Shilang who he despised who was "slightly underdeveloped" was his true Bole and benefactor.
Zeng Guofan saw this very clearly, and in his later years he once said to his staff member Zhao Liewen: "Zuo Ji Gao xi is out of line with flattery. Mere mortals are more than rewarded. This is a simple and good deception. "In a word, the sky is broken!
Source of the manuscript | "History Only Shows Half of The Face"
This article is written by | Liu Xuyi
WeChat Editor | Late note