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諸葛亮 is the name Zhuge Liang, written in Chinese.
Zhuge Liang lived from 181 to 234 A.D.
He was a military leader and prime minister of Shu Han (蜀漢) during the Three Kingdoms period.
He was the main hero of the fictional Romance of Three Kingdoms.
He is considered a famous sage, philosopher, and military genius.
寧靜而致遠 is five characters from a longer ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.
诸葛亮 Zhuge Liang
The proverb means “Your inner peace/tranquility/serenity will help you see or reach far (into the world).”
The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.
The school of hard knocks
挨一拳得一招挨十拳變諸葛 is a Chinese proverb that literally translates as: Receive one blow, [and one] learns a lesson; Receive ten blows, [and one] becomes a great Zhuge [Liang].
You must first understand that a man named Zhuge Liang was one of the great strategists and philosophers in Chinese history. He's known as a man of great wisdom.
Figuratively, this phrase means:
One can learn much from failure or “hard knocks.”
淡泊以明志寧靜而致遠 is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago.
This is a Chinese proverb that means “Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind, and having inner peace will help you see far (into the world).”
What I have translated as “simple life” means NOT being materialistic and NOT competing in the rat race.
The last word means “far” but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.
The whole phrase has a theme that suggests if you are NOT an aggressive cut-throat person who fights his way to the top no matter how many people he crushes on the way, and instead seek inner peace, you will have a happier existence and be more likely to understand the meaning of life.
See Also: Serenity