Self-cultivation
Zeng Guofan repeatedly mentioned diligence, humility, perseverance, tenacity and self-reflection in his letters. Pay attention to studying in Germany, and get rid of arrogance, arrogance and grumbling. During the Xianfeng period, Yuan Fu, the ninth brother, once said in his letter that "if the interest is not here, the meeting will be dull", and he warned in his reply that "this is a big deal. When a mortal does something, he must pay full attention to it and persevere from beginning to end. Don't change your mind, think like this, sit on this mountain and look at that mountain. " It was after reading this passage that Mao Zedong, a young man, strengthened his principle of dedicated study. On the other hand, in today's academic circles, impetuous spirit prevails, academic fraud happens from time to time, and teachers and students can't concentrate on learning, which directly affects academic innovation. The corruption of the style of study will inevitably lead to the corruption of the world style, which in turn will affect the style of study, which should be a concern of the whole society, and only by rectifying the style of study can the world style be promoted.
"Harmony leads to auspiciousness, and good temper leads to hostility", and the way of a gentleman is nothing more than being kind to others. "The children of rich families are more arrogant, and the children of your family are more arrogant." Zeng Guofan repeatedly warned his brothers in his letters to be "arrogant" and "not arrogant and lazy" and "not to criticize and laugh at others."
be a man and strive for strength, not compete with others. In his letter to his ninth brother, Zeng Guofan quoted allusions, recounted the tragic endings of some powerful people from ancient times to the present, and warned his brothers to strengthen their self-cultivation instead of competing with others. "Since ancient times, such as Reese, Cao Cao, Dong Zhuo, and Yang Suzhe, their intelligence has been completely lost, and their failure has been unusual .... Therefore, we can strive for strength in self-study, but not in winning. " This reminds me of a sentence in a poem by the English poet Rand translated by Yang Jiang, "I don't argue with anyone, and I don't care who I argue with." Not competing with others is not striving for progress, but an open-mindedness, forbearance and self-protection. "Don't express your opinions" is not a lack of opinions, but a kind of "modesty" and tolerance.
Reading
Zeng Guofan has always emphasized the importance of reading, thinking that reading can change a person's temperament. In his letters to his brothers, he repeatedly mentioned the importance and methods of reading. Educate sons and brothers and nephews to study diligently, be content with studying hard at home, insist on getting up early and have perseverance.
When talking about how to study, he wrote in a letter that "Gai scholars should be ambitious first, knowledgeable second and persistent third when studying. If you are ambitious, you are not willing to be dirty. If you have knowledge, you will learn endlessly. You are not willing to be self-sufficient, such as Hebo's view of the sea and the frog's view of the sky. If there is constancy, nothing is impossible, and all three are indispensable. " He encouraged his brothers to take independent courses, and set up a curriculum for them, from morning till night, from reading to writing, from history to classics, from reading to self-cultivation, which was extremely detailed.
Many people send their children to study in order to get them into official career, but Zeng Guofan didn't want their children to be an official. In a letter to his son Ji Hong, he said, "I don't want to be a big official, but I hope to be a gentleman who studies and understands. Diligence and self-control, hard work and hard work, you can have fun and make appointments. This gentleman is also. "
Many parents let their children study in order to let them pass the exam and enter the "official career", so as to save face for themselves and their families and seek benefits. As everyone knows, our concept of reading has cultivated a lot of educated and uneducated selfish people. Paying attention only to academic scores and ignoring the education of being a man has made many children lose their ability of self-planning and self-management and self-restraint. It cannot be said that this has become a social sorrow.
governing the family
As the ancients said, "a family can rule the country and level the world". Zeng Guofan is well versed in the truth that "everything is prosperous at home". In his letters to his parents, he repeatedly asked his younger brother to "put kindness first". In a letter to his parents, he wrote, "A husband's family is blessed with peace. If a brother in a family has something to say, his brother will do whatever he wants, and his brother will do whatever he wants. Those who are peaceful and steaming and have no family will have nothing."
From Zeng Guofan's Letters, we can see that Zeng Guofan showed great concern for the lives of his younger brothers, from their daily life and dealing with others, to their marriage and career prospects, the renovation of family ancestral temple and the reburial of graves. Zeng Guofan believes that "the blessing and the curse are from God, the good and the evil are from people, and the god is the one. There is nothing to do but listen to it. Those who are in charge of the people, one point counts as one point, and one day counts as one day. My brother can't help but wash his heart and wash his mind, so as to help his family. "Zeng Guofan thinks that there must be three conditions for his family to prosper Hengtong. One is that brothers are harmonious, but filial piety and thrifty.
Zeng Guofan mentioned the eight-character family precepts left by his grandfather several times in his letters: pig, vegetable, fish, book, morning, scanning, examination and treasure. Reading, growing vegetables, raising fish, and feeding pigs are home-based things; Getting up early, cleaning up, sincerely practicing sacrifices and being kind to relatives and neighbors are the laws of managing the family. How many simple eight-character family precepts can be done?
Treating others
Helping the neighbors is the traditional family tradition of the Zeng family.
Although Zeng Guofan was once embarrassed to live in Beijing and spent the New Year by borrowing money, he still sent money to help his people. When talking about why to help relatives and people, Zeng Guofan wrote, "Although the debt at home is not repaid today, it can be repaid later. If you don't do it today, you will regret it later!" "When a gentleman is in prosperity, he often feels that the sky is too thick for me. I should make up for the shortcomings of others. When a gentleman is in Qiang, he often feels that the sky is thicker than me, and it is not as thick as fruit. I think that compared with you Qiang, I am already thick. The ancients said that the situation must be inferior to ours, which is also called. " During the Daoguang period, Zeng Guofan rose to the fourth level, and asked his uncle to send 12 ounces of gold to the closest and most bitter people. Save money, set up a righteous field to help the poor, and donate money to repair the ancestral temple.
Zeng Guofan taught his children and brothers in his family letters that they should be diligent and thrifty, and have a little surplus. Some officials "have to be a little loose in their neighborhood, but their families have to be conservative." Compared with the behavior of many bureaucratic children and rich children who are rich and heartless, showing off and even running amok everywhere, what a heaven and earth it is!
In p>214, one of the most popular words "local tyrants" entered the BBC program and the Oxford Dictionary. More and more people are striving to be "local tyrants", and Chinese people are not ashamed, but proud. No wonder the Rand Company of the United States commented on the Chinese people that "China people only care about the well-being of their immediate family members, but turn a blind eye to the suffering of people who have nothing to do with themselves." This selfishness, indifference and ruthlessness will undoubtedly hinder the development of society.
Making friends
As the saying goes, "Money is hard to buy, but friends are easy to walk with." Zeng Guofan attached great importance to the principle of making friends and treating others, especially his "eight friends and nine friends" which is worth learning.
Eight religions refer to making friends with the following eight kinds of people: those who win over themselves; Virtuous person; Go around; Willing to suffer; An outspoken speaker; Broad-minded people; Hui is a servant; Physical person. Nine don't make friends means avoiding making friends with the following nine kinds of people: those with different aspirations; Flatterers; Those whose grievances are reversed have no temperament at all; Fool; A person who falls when he is down; Virtuous person; Those who take advantage.
Zeng Guofan, an official in Beijing, never refused to treat others lightly, preferring others to take advantage of him, and never taking advantage of others. In Letters from Home, he repeatedly warned his sons and nephews to be close to good friends, to treat friends with sincerity, not to leave regrets when they are in trouble, not to associate with powerful people, and not to take talents lightly.
To some extent, what kind of people you are, what kind of friends you will make, and what kind of life you will have. In the critical period of the formation of teenagers' values, it is very important to grasp the principle of making friends, and careless making friends will delay your future.
keeping in good health
Zeng Guofan was weak all his life, but his morality, military achievements and writing were immortal, which mainly benefited from his way of keeping in good health. His regimen has a wide range of practical values so far.
His nine health-keeping tips include: sleeping and eating regularly, avoiding anger, washing feet with hot water before going to bed every day, abstinence, walking thousands of steps after two meals, not taking medicine easily, sitting still regularly, riding and shooting to exercise your bones and muscles, and planting flowers and raising fish to improve your temperament.
Zeng Guofan wrote to his fourth brother: "Don't buy land, don't mind business, it's just a second language. In the prosperous times, I often think about it when I am in decline. When I go on stage, I have to remember these two words. " He advised his ninth brother not to be annoyed and angry. When he was sick, he should give priority to self-support and self-treatment, and should not take too much medicine.
Although the material and medical conditions are constantly improving, these health-preserving concepts are still worth learning from.
French writer Roland said, "Life is not an individual who can grow up in isolation. As it grows, it collects flowers and leaves along the way. It is also like a sensitive camera, taking in what it sees and hears along the way. Every minute and every inch of everyday things are the fibers that weave personality. Everyone's words and deeds in the environment are building materials that are integrated into the growth process, which infects this person's thoughts, feelings and behaviors and influences this person's attitude towards life. The influence of the environment on a person is more important than tangible imitation. " It is better to leave material wealth to children than spiritual wealth. As the old saying goes, "Morality is handed down for more than ten generations, followed by farming and reading, followed by poetry and books, and wealth is handed down for three generations". The Letter from Zeng Guofan was written by Zeng Guofan to his parents and brothers, and also to the people of later generations. Reading the Letter from Zeng Guofan, we can see the sage Si Qi, be cautious and introspective, establish morality, stand firm, make a statement, cultivate self-cultivation, and cultivate children, so as to build a family style that can be passed down from generation to generation.