Corporate Culture | Internal Learning Sharing
Accompanied by morning light, reading aloud sparks thought. Morning reading has always been a regular learning habit upheld by Shanghai Gaopeng. From Monday to Friday, through daily morning reading, we settle our minds and align our understanding within the written word, integrating learning into daily work and embodying cultivation in every word and action. Since last week, the company's morning reading has launched a new study of the classic *The Great Learning*. Many may think *The Great Learning* refers to a modern institution of higher learning, but in ancient times it meant the learning of great adults—a complete set of practical wisdom for cultivating oneself, establishing the mind, accomplishing tasks, and achieving success. It is also the first of the Four Books of Confucianism, traditionally attributed to Zengzi, carrying more than two thousand years of wisdom as an action guide for self-cultivation and conduct in ancient times.
What is *The Great Learning* | Background and Core Concepts
The core ideas of *The Great Learning* can be condensed into the 'Three Guidelines' and the 'Eight Entries.'
The Three Guidelines are: manifesting bright virtue, loving the people, and resting in the highest good.
• Manifesting bright virtue: awakening the inherent goodness and clarity within, learning self-reflection, and not being carried away by emotions or impatience;
• Loving the people (renewing the people): after self-improvement, extending to others, motivating each other, and progressing together;
• Resting in the highest good: striving for appropriateness in all things, pursuing excellence, and upholding the original intention and standards.
The Eight Entries provide a clear path of growth: investigating things, extending knowledge, making intentions sincere, rectifying the mind, cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. From exploring the essence of things (investigating things and extending knowledge), to achieving sincerity and fairness within (sincere intention and rectified mind), with self-cultivation as the foundation, then extending outward to handle teamwork, business work, shoulder responsibilities, and accomplish undertakings.
The book emphasizes: 'From the Son of Heaven down to the common people, all must take self-cultivation as the root.' Regardless of one's position, self-cultivation is the foundation of everything.
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💡What does studying *The Great Learning* mean for our work?
Classical Chinese wisdom is not empty doctrine detached from reality, but a work mindset that can be applied to business, communication, and teamwork.
✅ Investigating things and extending knowledge corresponds to pragmatic work
Investigating things means thoroughly understanding matters. When facing market conditions, customer needs, and business challenges, we should reject subjective assumptions, respect objective facts, see the underlying logic, and work realistically.
✅ Sincere intention and rectified mind correspond to professional mindset
Sincere intention means not deceiving oneself in work; rectified mind means not being disturbed by selfishness, anxiety, or impatience. When encountering problems, do not make excuses; face shortcomings directly, dare to reflect, and maintain an honest and pragmatic work attitude.
✅ Self-cultivation as the root means fulfilling one's duties
Self-cultivation is not empty talk of morality, but doing every small task in one's position well: being rigorous and responsible in work, respecting and tolerating colleagues, practicing empathy when conflicts arise, managing oneself first, and then influencing others.
✅ Resting in the highest good means pursuing continuous improvement
'The highest good' does not mean absolute perfection, but doing everything in a proper and adequate manner. For customer service, internal collaboration, and business reviews, we should continuously optimize and iterate, pursuing better results.
Within a team, individuals first cultivate themselves, then achieve mutual success. Only when personal character is settled can the team have cohesion, and the company can go far and steadily.
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✨In Closing
Morning reading is not about the form, but about the reflection and unity of knowledge and action after reading aloud. According to the arrangement, after each morning reading session, the leader briefly shares personal insights based on the text.
The value of classical wisdom lies in daily immersion. May we internalize the principles in our hearts and externalize them in our actions—cultivating ourselves inwardly and working pragmatically outwardly—to jointly build a positive, pragmatic, and virtuous team atmosphere.