Zeng Guofan can turn humiliation into progress and successfully attack the imperial examination. In the final analysis, it is because he has a precious quality: the spirit of revenge.
That is, the spirit of extracting teeth and swallowing blood.
The spirit of revenge is a matter of mentality in the final analysis, that is to say, when a person encounters setbacks and humiliation, is he giving up on himself or facing difficulties?
To put it bluntly, it is to see whether the heart is strong enough, strong enough to resist the unbearable setbacks and failures of ordinary people, and forge ahead towards their own goals.
In addition to congenital factors, the cultivation of this spirit is often closely related to the acquired environment, especially family education.
There are mainly three people who have a great influence on Zeng Guofan in this respect. Relatively speaking, it is his father who has the least influence. Zeng Linshu's personality is generally weak, but his old man insisted on taking the exam 17 times, which is regarded as perseverance and courage and sets a good example for Zeng Guofan. Followed by his mother, Jiang. She has two valuable qualities, one is hard work, and the other is tenacity. Zeng Linshu is not cut out for housework, so the responsibility for housework falls on her. For decades, Zeng's family has been well managed by her. It was not until Zeng Guofan's fourth brother Zeng Guohuang came to power that she enjoyed a rare relaxing time.
The greatest influence on Zeng Guofan was his grandfather Zeng Yuping.
As the saying goes, the prodigal son never changes his money. Zeng Yuping was bohemian in her early years, but later she became a local elite. He has a strong personality, sounds like Hong Zhong, looks sedate and dignified, and is enthusiastic and helpful. He is the authority of the family and the local leader. It is said that after Zeng Linshu got married and had children, Zeng Yuping was ready to reprimand loudly in public, while Zeng Linshu stood under the wall, not to talk back, and did not dare to move.
What is even more rare is that Zeng Yuping has a stubborn momentum of unyielding. The ancestors of the Zeng family left some land scattered on hills and hills. Planting is hard and the income is meager. Zeng Yuping used the spirit of Yugong to move mountains, cut mountains and cut stones, and turned a small piece of barren land into a large piece of fertile land, which was orderly. With this brute force, the Zeng family finally began to make a fortune in his hands, laying an economic foundation for Zeng Guofan and his son to take the exam in the future.
When children and grandchildren failed in exams again and again, Zeng Yuping always encouraged them to say that men's greatest shame is cowardice, and men should have an indomitable spirit. Timidity is a person's greatest shame. A person is determined to be stubborn. )
Zeng Guofan admired his grandfather and regarded him as a lifelong idol. Even if he will in the future, he still thinks he is far behind his grandfather.
From the behavioral point of view, people often imitate the words and deeds of idols consciously or unconsciously. In Zeng Guofan's eyes, his grandfather's way of talking and walking is calm and dignified. When I became an official, I also imitated my grandfather's way of walking and talking. Many "famous sayings" said by his grandfather have been repeatedly quoted in letters at home to educate the next generation. His family instructions almost completely copied his grandfather's achievements.
Zeng Yuping's character and temperament left a deep imprint on Zeng Guofan. Under his example, the spirit of revenge has been continuously integrated into Zeng Guofan's blood. It was with this momentum that Zeng Guofan was able to knock out his teeth, swallow his blood, be admitted to the scholar and juren in one fell swoop, wash away the shame of half a scholar and be criticized by name.
Rome wasn't built in a day. The Zeng family's hard-working and strong family style was formed after several generations of accumulation. Zeng was originally from Hengyang and moved to Xiangxiang in the early Qing Dynasty. His family is very poor, but after several generations of efforts and persistence, his family has gradually improved. For example, his great-grandfather gets up before dawn every day to do farm work, even in his seventies.
Zeng Guofan's character is the result of this family style.
In addition to the family style left by his ancestors, Zeng Guofan's father Zeng Linshu also had a great influence on him. When Zeng Guofan went to Beijing for the third time in the eighteenth year of Daoguang, there was no money for him to go to Beijing at home, and the Zeng family still had some savings. However, Zeng Guofan and his son spent a lot of money studying for exams for many years, and they could not work in the fields. Finally, they hollowed out their money. Even in the case of economic difficulties, Zeng Linshu did not reprimand his son for spending huge sums of money to buy books without authorization, which was undoubtedly a great incentive for Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan's trip to Beijing was borrowed by his father from relatives, and he only pieced together more than twenty taels of silver.
In addition, Zeng Linshu's strong perseverance is also an excellent example of Zeng Guofan: my father can take the exam 17 times, but I only took the exam 6 times. How can I give up easily?
Judging from Zeng Guofan's growing experience, family education is really important.