One Life, Three Uses - [Use Heart. Use Wisdom. Use Strength]

Author: Fang Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: Emphasizing the avoidance of lofty ideals without practical action means advocating that reading must be combined with reality, rather than "reading dead books, studying dead books." Gu Yanwu expressed his views by saying, "Travel ten thousand miles and read ten thousand books." Zhu Xi also proposed, "First, one must read thoroughly until the words seem to come from one's own mouth, then follow with deep thought until the meaning seems to come from one's own heart." Reading should focus on understanding and application, not rote memorization of dogmas detached from reality. The combination of Marxist theory and the practice of the Chinese revolution, along with its creative application, led to the success of the Chinese revolution, demonstrating this point. Every one of us must master this reading method, read more books within limited time, and flexibly apply them in practice to achieve greater gains. Some may ask why reading must be connected to reality. The reason is:
(1) It is necessary to test whether the knowledge in books is correct or not. The knowledge in books must be connected to reality. If it succeeds when connected to reality, then the knowledge in books is scientific and reasonable. If it fails when connected to reality, then the knowledge in books is unscientific and unreasonable.
(2) The purpose of reading is application, to guide people's lives and work. Reading without connection to reality is useless. Reading connected to reality is an extremely effective reading method.
(3) If you want to turn the knowledge in books into your own true insights, you must combine it with your own life (work) experience to become comprehensive knowledge. If you only have book knowledge without applying it, it is one-sided and useless. People learn and master knowledge to benefit humanity. However, if knowledge is not combined with practice, even the best knowledge becomes a pile of waste.
During the Qing Dynasty, there was a scholar named Zhang. When he lectured on ancient books, he could speak eloquently and convincingly. But when it came to handling affairs, he seemed very rigid. One day, he obtained a military manual and considered it a treasure, locking himself in his home to read it for several days, believing he had mastered military tactics. Just then, a group of bandits gathered to cause trouble, so he gathered local militia to suppress them. However, after following the battle plan in the manual, he was defeated in the first encounter by the bandits and nearly captured himself. Later, he obtained a book on water management. After studying it for several days, he believed he could turn all the land into fertile soil, so he had people start water conservancy projects according to his plans. But as a result, water flowed from all directions into the village, nearly flooding the entire village. Therefore, no matter how much one reads, it cannot guarantee success in practical application. Only by considering the actual situation thoroughly and flexibly combining book knowledge can one avoid messing things up.
The famous Southern Song Dynasty poet Lu You once encouraged his son in Winter Night Reading to My Son with the lines:
"An ancient scholar never stops striving,
Their youthful efforts only bear fruit in old age.
What one learns from books feels shallow,
True understanding requires personal experience."
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