Zeng Guofan's skill of knowing people: 40 words to understand a person

Zeng Guofan believes that "nothing more than employing people, employing people must have prophets." In other words, prudent employment must be based on the premise of fully understanding people, and we must have an eye for observing the essence of people.

Zeng Guofan's method of identifying talents is considered by many people as "physiognomy". Zeng Guofan's eight formulas, which are widely circulated, can be said to be Zeng Guofan's summary of physiognomy, some of which are obviously beyond the scope of traditional physiognomy, but incorporate some new methods of investigating and observing people.

The first sentence is "evil is looking at the eyes and nose".

Loyalty and betrayal are the two most important aspects of China people's outlook on people. If you can't tell the good guys from the bad guys, what about employing people? Therefore, Zeng Guofan defined the first sentence in the formula of knowing people as "evil eyes and nose". If the nose and eyes are not straight, that is, as the saying goes, the eyes are crooked and the nose is crooked. In Zeng Guofan's view, this person must be evil.

The second sentence is "true and false look at the lips."

Being a cashier is not too big. Mouth virtue and mouth thief are completely different poles. A square, wide and thick mouth is the most important. There is also a saying that "the desire to open is great, but the desire to close is small".

The third sentence is "fame depends on spirit".

Whether a person is famous or not, Zeng Guofan said, depends on his spirit. Some people just drive everyone up as soon as they appear, like falling in love at first sight, being awed by each other's temperament, and having a feeling of following.

The fourth sentence is "Wealth depends on spirit".

The "spirit" here means vitality. Zeng Guofan said that even if you deliberately cultivate some talents, because they can't enjoy wealth forever, you may end up drawing water with a sieve. When talking with him privately, he said with great regret that Hu Linyi was the first bad karma of Xiang. Although he has extraordinary heroism, it is a painful experience, that is, he lacks vitality, so he cannot last long.

The fifth sentence is "Creativity depends on fingers."

People don't know anything about it, he said. It mainly depends on fingers and claws. Thick and soft hands are the most important thing. People with long fingers are smart and thoughtful, while people with short fingers are stupid. Zeng Guofan said, "Those who have clear and shallow palm prints are calm and carefree." This mind has been made up, so don't panic when something happens. "Those who have shallow and messy palm prints are confused and confused."

The sixth sentence is "Look at the hamstring in the storm".

When people are old, they also start with their feet, so he said, "The storm looks at their hamstrings." Some people just have no smoke without fire, no disasters and no difficulties, and their positions have risen very high; And some people have a rough life before they finally achieve something. This belongs to the kind of person who has a storm.

The last two sentences are "if you want to see order, it is all in language."

These two sentences are not about looking at people, but observing people. Zeng Guofan attached great importance to organization and regarded it as one of the four most important aspects of employing people. He often said that what the ancients said is very applicable, that is, two people can speak clearly and coherently, and if they grasp each other, they can see whether they are coherent or not.

But just remembering these eight sentences is not enough. In the book Zeng Guofan, the King James version of Mr. Tang Hao Ming tells the essentials of Zeng Guofan's teaching his lover Li Hongzhang blind date. Zeng Guofan's dating experience will definitely benefit Li Hongzhang, who will become a pillar of the late Qing Dynasty.

"Teacher, everyone says that you will know each other. My protege would like you to teach me some ways to identify soldiers. I went back this time and chose many promising officers and men. "

"When people know their faces, they don't know their hearts. There are many secrets and they are very complicated. It's not clear in one or two sentences. Some of them can't be explained in words. The key lies in the experience of the people you know. I have compiled several formulas to read to you. " Zeng Guofan said with a smile: "Evil is to look at the eyes and nose, true and false lips, fame and wealth, wealth and spirit, full of ideas, and want to see order, all in the language."

Li Hongzhang recited it gently and said, "These formulas are concise and to the point, but my students are ignorant and feel a little vague. For example, what kind of lips are real and what kind of lips are fake? "

Zeng Guofan laughed: "It's hard to say. What I just said can only be understood but not expressed, that is, I have to think for myself. Dongpo said that there are many things in the world that can only be kept in mind, not in writing. This is especially true when you know people. However, what you require is to identify the courage of soldiers, which is the simplest technique in physiognomy. I'll tell you a few words in detail! "

Zeng Guofan stroked his long gray beard and said seriously: "At first glance, facial features are inseparable from eyes, straight nose and thick lips. Second, look at the skin, with thick and dark skin color and more cocoons on both hands as the best; Third, when you speak, you'd better be plain and taciturn. Mainly these three articles, others are secondary. "

Zeng Guofan's three standards of mutual encouragement have greatly inspired Li Hongzhang. He respectfully said, "Pupils must select 5,000 capable Huai troops according to the teacher's instruction."