Zeng Guofan is one of the most powerful figures in history of qing dynasty. He ranks in the position of the three public officials, and worships each other, which can be said to be a prominent moment. However, the way he educates his children with culture is far superior to our pampered and caring parents today. Pay attention to the diligence and thrift of the tutor. In Zeng Guofan's view, it is important to educate children to be based on social development and let this family pass on from generation to generation: diligence and thrift. He stipulated that children should remember sixteen words all their lives-family is thrifty and prosperous, people are thrifty and healthy, can be thrifty and never be poor! Zeng Guofan's understanding of thrift is unforgettable. A family can remain strong and relatively developed. A relatively simple principle is to learn to live frugally, not be proud if you have money, not afraid of difficulties if you have no money, and manage your life frugally. Diligence can not only keep fit, but also make hard work a common thing in daily life. Always be diligent and thrifty, and a big family will continue to develop.
Zeng Guofan's youngest daughter left a chronicle in her later years, which recorded one thing: when Zeng Guofan's youngest daughter was only a teenager, she followed her mother to Zeng Guofan's governor's office as governor of Liangjiang. The youngest daughter always dresses up when she enters the governor's office, so she wears a dark blue jacket above and a pair of yellow silk trousers with green edges below. This pair of yellow silk trousers is not hers, but her eldest sister-in-law, that is, Zeng Guofan's eldest son Ceng Jize's dead wife gave it to her.
However, it was the turquoise lace pattern of these slacks that made Zeng Guofan feel too complicated and expensive, so he reprimanded his little daughter not to wear jeans like that and told her to change them quickly. The youngest daughter hurried back to the house and put on a pair of green jeans without lace. It is not difficult to see that Zeng Guofan can't be complicated, and the children he can't see contain too many things.
Zeng Guofan took pains to explain his frugality several times in his letter: "The bureaucrats of heaven and earth have enjoyed it for generations. The descendants were arrogant at first, then drifted, and finally fell into the valley, which can celebrate the first and second generations." Zeng Guofan felt that under the extravagant conditions, it was impossible for children to have lofty aspirations. Gradually, they became arrogant and carefree, then drifted, and then they were defeated. It is really rare that an official can last for several generations. Therefore, Zeng Guofan thought that children should be taught how to live frugally, which is a better way to raise children. Lead by example and teach ordinary life. Zeng Guofan once told his relatives that his clothes and trousers totaled 320 Liang. After a garment is dried, it will be worn for more than ten or even thirty years. Zeng Guofan not only strictly managed himself and his children in clothing and other aspects, but also had strict regulations on daily diet. When Zeng Guofan was eating, if there was cereal with a shell, he would break the shell and swallow the cereal inside. It can be said that Zeng Guofan, the son of a farmer, is very unforgettable in understanding the reason why every grain is hard. Zeng Guofan's "residence" is also very general.
The contrast between Zeng Guofan's home and his brother Ceng Guoquan's mansion and villa is really bad. I have been to Zeng Guofan's hometown, his home and Qian's home, and the mansion behind Zeng Guofan. Compared with them, money can only be described as poverty.
This is such a simple hall. Zeng Guofan heard that he spent so much money that he could hardly bear to live. The Millennium Hall is a very simple wooden house, with no carved beams and painted columns. This house has a bookstore, which embodies the family tradition of Hunan people to study in agriculture. The whole house is just a little bigger than the yard of ordinary farmers.
For the "line", during this period, it is generally necessary to carry a big sedan chair when toasting others. However, Zeng Guofan told the children in his letter that what should be done needs to be done on foot, and never light a sedan chair. At the same time, he told the children this rule, you can't ask the maid to let you drink more tea, you must do what you can.
In Zeng Guofan's letters, we also see that he will let his children do things that only outstanding people can do in the eyes of ordinary people, such as collecting firewood and dung. In a letter to his eldest son, he made it a rule that he should get up before dawn every morning. The first thing after waking up is to sweep the yard, and then sit down and practice calligraphy for 1000. The first word must be "frugality". This is to let their children never get angry with officialdom. He once said: "All the children of giants, Louis's life and daily life are the same as a poor scholar, and few of them can achieve great things."
Wise ideas attach importance to concreteness. Zeng Guofan believes that children don't necessarily study to be better officials, but they rely on their own understanding. So, when Ceng Jize, the eldest son, failed in the imperial examination three times in a row, and made it clear to his father that he would never take the road of the imperial examination again, Zeng Guofan allowed it. He wrote a letter telling Ceng Jize to do things according to his own ideas. The road after Ceng Jize, at that time, people must be crooked. At that time, most people never wanted to get in touch with European culture, let alone learn a foreign language, but Ceng Jize actually began to learn English at the age of 32. This insight, it should be said, is not only what he learned, but also what his father told him. It can be seen that Zeng Guofan's understanding of culture and art has deepened during this period. As China people, it is right to learn and cultivate China's national culture, but when the border is forcibly opened by others, you can't grasp the situation abroad. How can there be so many in the world?
With Zeng Guofan's encouragement and support, Ceng Jize assiduously studied Western learning. 188 1 On February 24th, Ceng Jize, as a diplomat, meant that the Qing court negotiated with Russia in Petersburg, signed the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty, and recovered Ili City. Because Ceng Jize is proficient in western learning, he has a very good basic knowledge of English. In dealing with Russians, he can be said to be very competitive and use diplomatic relations well.
At that time, the tsar once said that if you want to take Ili back, I will send troops to fight at once. Ceng Jize replied without hesitation that you need to fight, and everyone is helpless, but people are never afraid of you to fight. Because he was too familiar with the posturing psychology of Russia at that time. If you don't master western learning and have no cornerstone of western learning, you may be scared at this time. So some people say that this negotiation was a very, very crucial victory in the diplomatic history of the late Qing Dynasty. In addition, it is worth mentioning that Ceng Jize once wrote an article in English called "China's Theory of Sleeping First and Waking Later", which was published in Asia Quarterly in London. Writing articles in English to introduce China in detail was impossible for many people in China at that time.
The eldest son was an outstanding diplomat and the second son was an outstanding mathematical genius. He loves social science, is proficient in astronomy and physical geography, and is best at analyzing geometry. He wrote books such as Detailed Logarithm Interpretation and Illustration for Testing the Truth of Pi, and calculated the Pi of one hundred people. The success of the two brothers is closely related to Zeng Guofan's advocacy for his children to learn and train scientific and technological knowledge, and to learn and train modern European and American crafts and cultures.
What is commendable about Zeng Guofan is that not only his children became useful talents, but also his descendants Zeng Baosun and Yuenong Zeng became great educators and experts.