The following is the educational thought and inspiration of Zeng Guofan that I have prepared for you. I hope it will be helpful to you.
Zeng Guofan (1811-1872, originally named Zicheng, courtesy name Bohan, nickname Disheng, a native of Xiangxiang County, Hunan, now Shuangfeng County) was a "famous official of Zhongxing" in the late Qing Dynasty. At that time, he was He is known as a perfect man who has established virtues, meritorious services and words and is immortal. Although his political evaluation is still very controversial, and even more derogatory, the huge traditional cultural value contained in his life's achievements and knowledge has had a profound impact on modern Chinese history, especially his tree. The method of cultivating talents and recognizing and employing talents has had a particularly huge impact on the cultivation of a large number of military and political talents in modern China, and it still has great enlightenment significance and reference effect to this day. This article intends to make a preliminary analysis of Zeng Guofan's method of cultivating talents.
1. Generals and ministers have no kind? What is valuable is determination and perseverance?
Throughout his life, Zeng Guofan attached great importance to the importance of talents in the rise and fall of the country's governance. He has clearly pointed out many times:? A country is strong by winning over its people. ?①?For any country to be strong, it must have more wise ministers. For a family to be strong, it must have many virtuous children. ?② Where do talented people come from? Zeng Guofan believes that talents are neither born nor destined, but come entirely from people’s hard work and hard work. He deeply realized from his own growth experience: "There is no seed for generals and generals, and there is no seed for saints and heroes. As long as people are determined, everything can be achieved." ?③The couplet he wrote for Xiangxiang Dongzhi Academy once again expresses this idea: Lianshui and Xiangshan Mountains all have spirits, and their elegance must be worthy of Yingzhe; sages and heroes have no kind, and Confucian scholars know where to go. ?④ This idea is an open denial of the "destiny theory" and "bloodline theory" that have long been popular in Chinese feudal society (such as "dragon gives birth to dragon, phoenix gives birth to phoenix, mouse gives birth to burrow in the ground, etc."). According to historical records, Zeng Guofan's original talent was not very high. In Liang Qichao's words, Zeng was said to be the most dull and clumsy among the sages at the time of the merger. However, his strength in life was determined, freed himself from the customs, and learned when he was trapped. Go forward with courage, go through thousands of dangers and obstacles without setbacks; accumulate a lot of money, accept it with emptiness, use diligence to cultivate it, cultivate it with integrity, be loyal with perseverance, lead with diligence, be heroic and diligent, and work hard?⑤ . Zeng's success in life is indeed due to "persistence of determination". He regards this as the first step for anyone who wants to become successful. He said: "Like a tree, if the ambition is not established, the root will be uprooted." There are thousands of words to say, but nothing comes before determination. ?⑥ In his youth, he encouraged himself with the motto "If you are not a sage, you will be a beast; don't care about harvest, but about hard work", and determined to be a person who is not dissatisfied with the birth of his parents and worthy of being a perfect man in heaven and earth. 7. To this end, he vowed to completely cleanse himself of all kinds of selfish desires, distractions, shortcomings and mistakes in the past, such as death yesterday, and everything in the future, such as life today, and changed his name to "Desheng". That means "cleansing and rebirth". In order for all his disciples and nephews to become talented, Zeng Guofan taught them sincerely: "For a scholar to study, the first thing is to have ambition, the second thing to be knowledgeable, and the third thing to be perseverant." If you have ambition, you will never be willing to be inferior; if you have knowledge, you will have endless knowledge, and you will not dare to be self-sufficient in one thing. You are like a river boy looking at the sea, like a frog in a well peering into the sky. They are all ignorant; if you have perseverance, you will never be able to accomplish anything. All three are indispensable. ?⑨ He also said: There are endless ways to learn, but perseverance is always the main thing. ?⑩?Human beings have no perseverance and achieve nothing throughout their lives. ? When I was young and strong, I started to work hard on the word "youheng". ?
Zeng Guofan believes that the fundamental elements for cultivating talents are determination and perseverance. The second requirement he mentioned above is knowledge, that is, the accumulation of knowledge and knowledge is also based on perseverance. Mainly, it can be seen that he attaches great importance to eternal life. At the same time, he also advocated that talents must have many virtues such as diligence, modesty, frugality, honesty, stubbornness, and understanding. He once specially carved a seal of "A Lao Qian Gentleman" and gave it to his ninth brother Zeng Guoquan, encouraging him to be as diligent as a farmer. It was under his direct and careful cultivation that Zeng Guoquan became a famous poet. A powerful general of the Hunan Army, he made great achievements in conquering Tianjing and rose to the position of governor and governor. Zeng Guofan also repeatedly taught his brothers Zeng Guohua and Zeng Guoquan: "To teach the younger generations, always take "diligence" as the body and "humility" as the purpose. Those who are modest are the opposite of arrogance; those who are diligent are the opposite of arrogance. "Arrogance, extravagance and adultery" have four characters, but only the first and last two characters, which are especially suitable to be strictly warned! As for the rules for domestic and foreign households, the eight characters "kao", "bao", "zao", "saw", "book", "vegetables", "fish" and "pig") are the basis. Don’t forget!?
?Everyone in the family, young or old, always considers hard work as the first priority and modesty as the second priority. If you work hard, you will not be wasted, if you are humble, you will not be arrogant, and all good things will come from this. ?
Before his death, he also left these last words to his sons Ji Ze and Ji Hong: Study hard and you will be divine. Is it true that mortals are not content with leisure and hate to work? The clothes a person wears and the food he eats in a day are commensurate with the strength used in the things he does in a day. Then others will look at him, ghosts and gods will promise him, thinking that he is self-reliant. If a farmer and a weaver work diligently all year round to turn several stones of millet into several feet of cloth, and if a wealthy family lives happily all year round and does not run a business, then the food will be rare, the clothes will be beautiful, and the sleep will be sound, and a hundred promises will be made. This is the most unfair thing in the world. It is not allowed by ghosts and gods. How can it last?
This shows that the "hard work" advocated by Zeng has initially included "workers get food" and "those who don't work don't get food". Eat?, and resolutely oppose the idea of ????"eating without working" as a social parasite.
Although this is Zeng's idea of ??tutoring, the family is the cell of society and the first environment for the growth of talents. It is undoubtedly closely related to the cultivation of talents in the entire society. It was under the long-term cultivation of Zeng Guofan's strict family education that the Zeng family not only produced famous Hunan generals like Zeng Guoquan who were good at fighting, but also famous diplomats like Zeng Jize who defended national sovereignty, and famous diplomats like Zeng Jihong. Mathematician, as well as a group of famous educators, scholars, professors, etc. among Zeng's descendants.
Zeng Guofan also advocated that people must be stubborn and "based on being strong". He said: "My grandfather taught people, and he also regarded "cowardice and lack of strength" as a great shame. Therefore, in order for a man to stand on his own feet, he must be stubborn. ?
He also said: ?As for taking on important tasks, it all depends on the word Ming Qiang. "The Doctrine of the Mean" refers to the five aspects of learning, inquiry, thinking, discernment, and practice. Foolishness must be clear, and softness must be strong. Everything must be done without Qi, and without hardness, it must be based on Mingqiang. ?
He also gave such a dialectical expression of the principles of hardness, softness, strength and humility: Recently we have seen that in the way of heaven and earth, hardness and softness are mutually beneficial and cannot be neglected; Then fold. Being strong does not mean being tyrannical, it is just force and correcting; softness does not mean being humble and weak, it is just humility and retreat. If you are seeking public service, you should be strong and correct; if you are striving for fame and profit, you should be humble and retreat; if you want to start a family business, you should be strong. If you want to be correct and maintain peace and happiness, then you should be humble and retreat? If on the one hand you make achievements and gain a great reputation externally, and on the other hand you seek land and property, and you have a solid internal plan, both of which have the appearance of being full and have no intention of retreating at all, then you will not be able to last long. ?
Although Zeng Guofan strongly advocated that "generals and ministers should have no kind", he did not encourage people to pursue fame and wealth, promotion and wealth, but mainly encouraged people to "cultivate morality and advance career". As he himself said Said: "Since I was thirty years old, I have considered it shameful to become an official and make a fortune, and it has been shameful and hateful to accumulate money in an official's pocket and leave my children and grandchildren. Therefore, I have sworn selfishly that I will never make a fortune through being an official and leave it to my descendants." ?This is because he realizes that: ?If his son is a virtuous son, he will be able to find his own food and clothing without relying on the eunuchs; if his son is unworthy, if he accumulates one more money, he will commit one more crime. Later, he will commit adultery and do evil. And it will greatly disgrace the family reputation. ?
Therefore, he firmly maintained: "We can only rely on improving our morality and cultivating our profession." Advancing virtue means being filial to one's brothers, benevolence and righteousness; cultivating one's profession means writing poetry and prose. I am the master of these two. If I get a ruler, I will use it. If I get an inch, I will use it. If you earn one point of virtue today, you will have accumulated one sheng of grain; if you cultivate one point of deeds tomorrow, you will have one penny left over. When virtue and karma increase, the property will flourish. As for fame, wealth and honor, they are all determined by fate and cannot be controlled at all. It is all up to me and left to God. Never have any delusions. ?
Here, Zeng once again emphasized the subjective effort of "improving morality and cultivating one's profession". What he pursues is the self-improvement of personality and the continuous accumulation of knowledge, and whether he can obtain "fame, wealth" is at stake. Yu Tian, ??although this reveals that the "view of destiny" still remains in his thoughts, it more strongly reflects Zeng Guofan's political ambitions and ideal pursuits of "sage inside and king outside", "common people and things", and "benefiting the world". .
2. Military administration, with the selection of talents as the first priority
As the supreme commander of the Hunan Army, Zeng Guofan, whether when he founded the Hunan Army and trained the navy, or later When he was promoted to governor and managed local administration, he attached great importance to the selection and appointment of talents. When talking about the way to use the army, he pointed out: The way to run the army always takes the ability to fight as the first priority. ?How can the army be able to fight? He further pointed out: The method of leading courage is to understand the talents first, rectify the camp rules, and pay attention to the tactics of warfare secondly. ?
It can be seen that he placed the selection and use of talents as the most important position in the use of troops. Of course, this is mainly for senior commanders. Zeng Guofan believes that: There are four major principles for a general: first, knowing people and being good at assigning tasks; second, being good at understanding the enemy's situation; third, having courage in battle; fourth, keeping the camp in good order. First, , The second end cannot be found in Benmoku Sanyong, and the third and fourth ends are even without talent in the last Bendzhong. ?
This shows that the first and second conditions are mainly requirements for senior generals; while the third and fourth conditions also have talents in this field among lower-level soldiers with practical experience. This also reflects that Zeng Guofan expanded the scope of selecting military talents to include the vast number of soldiers. Therefore, he further pointed out: There are no ready-made talents in the world, and there is no outstanding knowledge. Most of them are acquired through hard training. ?
This is to cultivate talents through practical training. He encouraged the vast number of scholars and soldiers who wanted to become talented, saying: "Today's scholars all want to see how to use themselves in the world, but they lack the tools to use them in the world." If you are sincere, you can test your trust in the written records, ask the way in your own scriptures, think hard to find out the truth, practice it to test its effect, and encourage it again and again, then the knowledge can be gradually improved, and the talent will be gradually enriched. Only then can the knowledge be enough to help the world, so why not worry about the world? You know it?
It is with this view of selecting talents and employing people that Zeng Guofan said in a letter to his ninth brother Zeng Guoquan: Those who do great things should choose multiple substitutes as their first priority. If a satisfactory choice is not available, Gujie should choose the second best, waiting for gradual education. ?
At that time, Zeng Guoquan, who had experienced hundreds of battles, had become the commander-in-chief of the Hunan Army, a direct descendant of Zeng Guofan, and was in the midst of the strategic decisive battle to besiege Tianjing, the capital of the Taiping Rebellion. It was the time when a large number of capable helpers were needed. At this time, Zeng Guofan warned him to "choose multiple substitutes as his first priority", which fully demonstrated that Zeng Guofan attached great importance to promoting and using a large number of military talents. He knew very well that "no gold is barefoot, and no man is perfect", so he advised his younger brother in this way.
He also said: Talents are cultivated and cultivated. Don’t set your eyes too high, as if no one can use them. ?
This not only involves the selection and use of talents, but also the education and training of talents.
Zeng Guofan also raised the issue of "legislating to cultivate people" from the strategic perspective of using military force to govern the country. He said: One is to cultivate people, and the other is to legislate. A thoughtful person should not be ashamed of being unable to defeat and attack, but should be ashamed of being unable to cultivate people and legislate. There are two ways to cultivate people: one is to know people well, and the other is to build them with pottery. ?
It can be seen that Zeng regarded the ability to cultivate people and legislate as an important condition for politicians and military strategists. "Legislation" mainly refers to the formulation of laws, regulations, and military regulations; "Treatment of people" mainly refers to the cultivation and selection of talents. The main principles of "nurturing people" are, first, "Knowing people well and assigning them well", and second, "Cultivation and creation". The former is about identifying and appointing talents, and the latter is about cultivating and creating talents. The selection and appointment of talents mainly include the following three aspects: inspection, education and supervision. Interviewing is like a bird of prey or a ferocious beast seeking food, or a businessman seeking wealth. After interviewing someone, you can discern whether they are virtuous or not, and check their authenticity. The teacher teaches people to be good and guides them to do what they cannot do; the converter leads them to obey and make them obey without knowing it. For those who are responsible, Shang Yang's method of erecting a tree is like Sun Tzu's method of killing a beautiful woman. It is said that a thousand pieces of gold are in front and a tiger is behind. ?
"Inspection" mainly talks about the search and inspection of talents, and you must have the spirit of thirsty for talents, that is, just like birds of prey and beasts looking for food, like merchants looking for wealth, And they must have a high degree of identification ability to distinguish whether they are virtuous and whether they are true or false. "Education" refers to the education and training of talents. We must be diligent and tireless in teaching others, especially setting an example and setting an example for subordinates to follow and follow them unconsciously. "Supervision and responsibility" means that there must be rules and regulations with clear rewards and punishments, military disciplines and thunderbolt means. For example, Shang Yang issued an order to move the wood and reward the bounty, and Sun Tzu ordered to kill the concubine of the King of Wu who did not obey the order, so as to achieve the implementation of orders and prohibitions, strict military discipline, and political governance. If the wind is clean and tidy, no battle will be won and no rule will be wrong.