The Philosophical Reasoning of Zeng Guofan's Family Letters

Zeng Guofan is a political figure who has left deep traces in modern China and is also recognized as a typical representative of traditional Chinese culture. In his military and political career of ruling the country and leveling the world, he paid great attention to self-improvement of his personality, and at the same time, he also governed his family and clan with great dedication.

First, the main content of Zeng Guofan's family rules and family style

Under the cultivation of Zeng Guofan's family rules and family style, for more than a hundred years, Zeng's family has a lot of talents, and will continue to flourish. Zeng's family rules advocated by some of the main contents of the family style are as follows:

Filial piety. Filial piety, that is, the elders should be respectful and obedient. Friendship, that is to say, to the peers to be kind and benevolent. If a family can get along with filial piety and friendliness, then the family can prosper for a long time. After comparing the three kinds of families: official, merchant and scholar, Zeng came to the conclusion that a family of filial piety and friendliness can last for ten or eight generations. Therefore, he listed filial piety as the first of the three factors that can lead to family peace.

Thrift and frugality. Diligence and thrift in Zeng's family book appeared very often, he said: the rise of the country's family, are due to diligence and thrift, and its decline is the opposite. State or family, to prosper, the only thing you can rely on is diligence and thrift. Hard work to achieve the cause of wealth creation, thrift can program the heart of the treasure to raise the body of integrity.

Reading. In this regard, Zeng's most insightful place is not only to read the children to read the eight-legged essay and other books for the examination, it is more important to read in the physical and mental cause of the actual role of the book. Moreover, reading is important to do, if you can not do, reading is also useless. Zeng's disciples said: "University" of the program has three: Mingde, new people, stop to the best, are my part of the matter. If you can not read to the body to stick to the body, that these three and my body has nothing to do, then what is the use of reading? Even if you can write and poetry, Bo Ya self-proclaimed, but only counted the literacy of the herd of slaves ear! He taught his brothers, do not indulge in the imperial examinations, this is more than a lifetime of mistakes. Over twenty years, if always around the speculation on the examination questions, the future is bound to regret, should be early to understand this reasoning, one will be engaged in the predecessors of the text.

Good neighbor. Zeng Guofan grandfather is very focused on the relationship with the neighbors, often said that people treat people, priceless treasure, that is, people get along with people friendly, is the priceless treasure of life. Zeng also valued this aspect. He quoted the staff of Li Rong's mother of the two words of money and wine money distant relatives, fire and theft shouting four neighbors, to educate the family not to neglect the neighbors and townspeople. Neighbors have a celebration of condolences and other things, Zeng family members not only to send money and goods, but also personally to the door to pay tribute.

Second, Zeng Guofan family rules and family style focuses on strict discipline son

For the two sons' 'education, Zeng Guofan grasped very tightly. Teaching sons, in Zeng's family education, occupies an extremely important position. His son's education and expectations, mainly in the following areas:

First, do read and understand the gentleman.

Xianfeng six years, has been the commander in chief of the Hunan army Zeng Guofan seriously to only nine-year-old second son Ji Hong wrote a letter. The letter said: all people more hope that their children and grandchildren for the big official, I do not want to be a big official, but I would like to be a gentleman of reading and reasoning. So, what is a gentleman? Zeng went on to say: hard work and thrift, practicing hard work and suffering, can be happy, can be about. This gentleman. Means diligent and thrifty, can rely on their own strength to survive, not afraid of hard work, can live a good life, can also live a hard life. This kind of person is a gentleman. A gentleman is a person with good character and has nothing to do with wealth, status or power.

That is to say, Zeng did not expect his children and grandchildren to be big officials and outstanding people, he only hoped that his children and grandchildren could be people with good character through the way of reading and reasoning.

Second, start from small things.

Zeng often said to his family: absolute university is between the family daily use. The meaning of this sentence is that do not take lightly the daily chores in the family, which contains a great deal of knowledge about how to deal with people. There are not many big things in a family, but many small things. Starting from small things and developing good habits, one can go out and do great things. We open a Zeng's family book, the face of the Zeng's in telling his son to start from the small things: honesty, never tell lies to start; diligence, never sleep to start; curb arrogance, never ridicule people to start; curb extravagance, never sit in a sedan chair to start; dignified, from the pace of the steady to start. A pile of small things are done well, the overall realm of the person is improved.

Third, the children of the family should have the wind of the cold.

In the first year of the Tongzhi era, he said in a letter to the second son: all the children of the family, food, clothing, living, none of the same as the poor, the people can be a great tool; if you dip into the habits of the rich and powerful, it is difficult to hope to have success. He also repeatedly instructed the fourth brother at home to manage his children and nephews: my family is now flourishing, do not forget the flavor of the humble family.

Zeng's so-called cold, should include two aspects of the content. One refers to the cold vegetarian, that is, to break the son and nephew generation of the privilege of superiority. Son to participate in the provincial township examination, he warned his son, not to pass the note, worship door, not secretly through the joints. Family members from Hunan to Anqing, Hunan army warships, he instructed his family not to hang the ship's handsome flag, along the way, do not worship, do not accept the feast; two refers to the poor, that is, economically no different from ordinary civilians. He instructed his family not to buy land, and his children could not dress too brightly. Daughters-in-law and daughters have to cook themselves and send him hand-made dishes and cloth shoes on time. When a daughter got married, her dowry should not exceed two hundred taels of silver. The son is required to clean the court with his own hands, and even hoeing and dung-collecting can be done without any shame.

Fourthly, they did not leave any property to their sons.

As early as the Daoguang 29 years, Zeng's first big official said to his family: never leave money and descendants. Later, as the commander-in-chief of the Hunan army, Zeng once again affirmed his attitude: the family of officials, not to accumulate money, so that the children feel that there is nothing to rely on.

Zuo Zongtang also holds this view, he said not only do not leave money, even the ancient books and paintings are not left to the children and grandchildren, Zeng praised the left of these words is to see the road of words.

The same words and faith, faith in their pro; with the same order and behavior, line of service. Zeng knows that teaching by example is more important than teaching by words. He asked his family to do everything, he first did, and do the best, its own is a most persuasive textbook.