Striving Continuously to Strengthen Oneself

“Striving continuously tostrengthen oneself，” or ziqiang bu xi in Chinese，comes from The Book ofChanges . The original text goes，“Just as heaven keeps movingforward vigorously， a man of virtueshould strive continuously tostrengthen himself.” Ancient Chinesebelieved that heavenly bodiesmove in a perpetually forwardmovingcycle， manifested in thealternation of the four seasons，and of day and night. A man ofvirtue should follow the law ofheaven， and be in a highly motivatedstate and work diligentlyto strengthen himself. The termcontains a troika of meanings： “zi”（oneself） represents one’s initiative，“qiang” （strengthen） demonstrateswillpower， and the notion of “buxi”（continuously） emphasizes perseverance.

“Zi” （oneself） in the term refers"to people’s initiative. The Chinesenation has always embraced thespirit of independence. For example，when we encounter difficulties，the first thing that comes to mindis not to ask others for help， but torely on our own strength to solvethem as much as possible. Evenif sometimes we need help fromothers， we should still mobilize ourown personal initiative. Others mayhelp， but in the end， we are the protagonistsof our lives. As it is said inChapter 33 of the Tao Te Ching ： “Hewho conquers others is strong， andhe who conquers himself is mighty.”In other words， the highest criterionfor evaluating a person’s successis not in comparison with others，but with oneself. A person who candefeat others can only be said to bestronger than others; a person whocan achieve self-transcendenceachieves greatness.

“Qiang” （to strengthen） denoteswillpower. A man’s aspiration isnot easily changeable， and he must"have perseverance. In the freezingwinter when the grass withers，the pines and cypresses stand talland straight， and plum blossomsare in full bloom. These plants areoften mentioned in ancient poemsand articles precisely because theancient Chinese appreciated theirfortitude and perseverance. Whenwe encounter difficulties and hardshipson the road of life， we needto face them head-on like pinesand cypresses face the harshest ofcolds， be faithful， never back down，and turn pressure into motivation.As Mencius said， when Heaven isabout to grant a man great responsibilities，it always first frustrateshis spirit and will， exhausts hismuscles and bones， exposes him tostarvation and poverty， and harasseshim to hone his spirit， toughenhis nature， and enhance his abilities.Therefore， a strong-willed person is not corrupted by riches， norswayed by honors. Neither povertynor hardship can make him waverupon principle; threats or forcecannot subdue him.

“Xi” in the term means to restand stop， while “bu xi” emphasizes“never stop.” As heavenly bodiesmove in a perpetual forward-goingcycle， be it day or night， a man ofvirtue should be fully motivatedand work diligently to strengthenhimself. It may not be difficult todo it for one day or two， but trulystrengthening oneself requirespersistence. Mencius said： Doing ajob is like digging a well. If you stilldo not reach the spring water afterdigging a dozen meters deep andgive up， the act is in vain. Xunzisaid： When you carve somethingwith a knife， if you can’t persist andend up stopping midway， even arotten piece of wood cannot be cut"through. But through persistence，beautiful patterns can be carvedeven on hard metal and stone. Overtime， drops of water can carve theirpath through rocks and ropes cansaw through wood. This is becauseonly through culmination of effortday after day can we achieve thefinal victory. In other words， if wegive up halfway， we will achieve nosuccess.

Since ancient times – whetherit be emperors， generals， ministers，or saints and sages – their greatachievements cannot be separatedfrom their efforts to continuouslystrengthen themselves. Confuciuslost his father when he was youngand lived in poverty in childhood.In order to make a living， he workedas a small official managing warehousesand raising livestock. Later，he traveled to other vassal states topreach his ideas. Unfortunately， he"repeatedly encountered obstaclesand was displaced， but he persistedwith the ideal of spreading benevolenceto all under heaven and nevergave up. In his own words， a man ofvirtue will never leave benevolenceand virtue aside. Even when he isin a hurry， or lives a vagrant life， hewill always bear benevolence andvirtue in mind.

Once， Confucius and several ofhis disciples were trapped in thewilderness between the vassalstates of Chen and Cai， and severaldays of hunger brought starvationupon them. His disciples all fell ill，but he still gave lectures with evengreater passion， played the ancientstringed musical instrument qin ，and sang along. Throughout his life，Confucius practiced the spirit ofself-strengthening. He was a diligentstudent and a devoted teacher， andleft all worries behind when he feltjoyful， even in old age.

According to the records inclassics such as Confucius’ FamilySayings ， his student Zigong wasonce weary of studying and toldConfucius that he hoped to rest fora while. Confucius told him thathelping the monarch to govern thecountry， supporting parents， takingcare of wife and children， makingfriends， and farming， etc. all requiredlife-long learning. Therefore，there was no room for rest otherthan in death. Put in another way，only death should halt the struggle.Another student of Confucius， ZengZi， also said that scholars shouldbe firm and perseverant， take therealization of “benevolence” for allunder heaven as their own responsibility，and strive for it for theirentire lives.

Su Dongpo， a great writer and"poet in the Song Dynasty， experiencedmany ups and downs inhis career as a politician. He wasdemoted many times， but remainedunfazed by either favors orhumiliations. He once said， “Thosewho accomplished great things inancient times not only had extraordinarytalents but must also havehad great perseverance.” When hewas in his forties， he was imprisonedand then sent to Huangzhou（present-day Huanggang in HubeiProvince）， where he began cultivatingwasteland to support hisfamily. In his later years， he wassent off to the remote Danzhou（present-day Danzhou in HainanProvince）， where he faced a lack offood， warm clothes， and access tomedical treatment. However， heregarded this place as his secondhometown， established a schoolhere， and taught local people howto turn wasteland into farmland.Despite the many ups and downsin his life， he always maintaineda positive attitude towards life.Wherever he went， he not onlybenefited the people， but also leftbehind countless famous poemsand anecdotes that have beenpassed down through the ages.

In the traditional Chinese classicJourney to the West ， the protagonistTang Sanzang went from Chinato ancient India to learn Buddhistscriptures. It was because of hisefforts to continuously strengthenhimself that he was able to “treadbumpy mountain paths and overcomedifficulties before setting offagain.”

Zeng Guofan， a famous statesmanand military general of thelate Qing Dynasty， was exposed tomany dangers throughout his life，but he faced them head-on andachieved great things.

No one’s life is always smooth. Inthe face of adversity， some fall down，while others become more courageous.The difference lies in whetherthey have the spirit of self-strengthening.People who know how toconstantly strengthen themselves"will temper their will in difficultsituations， rise from the ashes， andgo beyond their limitations. The roadmay be long， but can be covered stepby step; the task is difficult， but canbe accomplished if done patiently.With the spirit of self-strengtheningand unremitting efforts， we believethat there is no road longer than thedistance our feet can carry us andno mountain taller than the heightpeople can climb.

President Xi Jinping once said，“Human ideals are not easy toachieve， but need hard work. Ourcountry has come step by step frompoverty and weakness to today’sprosperity， which relies on the sheertenacity of generations， and theChinese nation’s spirit of continuousself-strengthening.” The CommunistParty of China has led the peopleof all ethnic groups in the countryto become self-reliant and strivefor betterment， and the Chinesenation has ushered in a great leapfrom standing up， getting rich， andbecoming strong.

For China， its self-strengtheningis like that of a strong and righteousman. It will not engage in powerpolitics. As the largest developingcountry， it not only develops itselfin the spirit of self-strengthening，but also actively embraces the worldand contributes to global development.On the international stage inthe 21st century， China will continueto strive for self-strengthening，paving roads over mountains andbuilding bridges over rivers towrite a new chapter in the cause ofhuman progress with the Chinesepath to modernization.