Zeng Guofan is a famous politician, strategist and diplomat in China's modern history. At the same time, he is a master of Confucian culture in China and a pioneer of Westernization Movement. In recent years, his thoughts and theories have been widely concerned and valued by academic circles. Especially after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with the implementation of the Party's ideological line of seeking truth from facts, the academic research on Zeng Guofan and his thoughts has also changed the previous practice of belittling everything, but adopted a realistic attitude to make an objective evaluation and achieved very gratifying results. As far as the current situation is concerned, in addition to the Complete Works of Zeng Guofan, many books on Zeng Guofan's special research have been published, and there are also hundreds of articles in newspapers and periodicals. In order to promote the further development of Zeng Guofan's research work, the main achievements of Zeng Guofan's research are summarized as follows.

(A) Zeng Guofan's military thought

The relevant papers point out that Zeng Guofan's military strategic thought is mainly embodied in the formation process and the operation of the Xiang army, which can be summarized as the following aspects.

First, the military strategic thought of building the army with "loyalty and righteousness" as the criterion. One of the characteristics of Zeng Guofan's army-building thought is to strengthen the feudal consciousness within the army. He took the "loyalty" of Confucius and Mencius as the purpose of building the army, and asked the Xiang army to be absolutely loyal to the feudal regime of the Qing Dynasty and to himself. Under the guidance of "loyalty and righteousness", Zeng Guofan advocated that officials should be set up first, and soldiers should be recruited by officials themselves. Generals at all levels should be the core of every army, and absolute obedience of subordinates to superiors should be the only creed. The whole battalion belongs to the battalion officer, the battalion officer belongs to the commander, and the whole army belongs to the guards. This forms a personal relationship between the superior and the subordinate. Zeng Guofan chose generals on the basis of "loyalty, righteousness and blood", and thought that only such people could be loyal to the Qing Dynasty and absolutely obey themselves. On the issue of recruiting soldiers, Zeng Guofan advocated recruiting simple and rustic people to establish the idea of "foolish loyalty" and serve as cannon fodder for the Qing Dynasty. At the same time, Zeng Guofan advocated adopting the method of recruiting from the original place, which was personally selected by the generals of the same army, establishing friendship between them through personal relations, and forming cohesion within the army to maintain the coordination and stability of the army.

Second, the military strategic thought of running the army based on "courtesy, justice, honesty and shame" and "diligence and leniency". Zeng Guofan's first priority in rectifying the army is to govern the country by courtesy, that is, to govern the country by courtesy and to govern people by courtesy; Another important task for him to rectify the army is "sincerity", that is, "sincerity" is regarded as "the continuity of things" and is the bond to maintain the destiny of the country and the nation. At the same time, Zeng Guofan believes that "diligence, forgiveness, sincerity and understanding" should be the essence of running the army. "Diligence should be used to treat things, forgiveness should be used to treat people, sincerity should be used to convince people, and knowledge should be used to convince people." The so-called "managing things with diligence" means asking the Xiang army to change the long-standing abuses of the Eight Banners green camp, and generals at all levels should treat all problems with body, mind, eyes, hands and mouth; He believes that the way to run the army is to "manage things with diligence" first. It is precisely because he asked his subordinates to be diligent and lazy that General Xiang's command and decision-making ability has been greatly improved. The so-called "be lenient with others" means to leave room for everything, treat subordinates with "benevolence" and "courtesy" and let them work for themselves willingly. The so-called "honesty for the public" means asking generals at all levels to be honest and self-disciplined, so as to change the corruption phenomenon of deducting military salaries and pocketing their own money. The so-called "knowing what it is" means asking the generals of the whole army to know the specific links in solving the army and fighting, so that rewards and punishments can be clearly defined in the army. Of course, despite Zeng Guofan's strict management of the army, his class nature determines that the army he trained cannot be a "teacher of benevolence and righteousness" who stresses "courtesy" and "sincerity".

The third is the operational military strategic thought of "taking the Lord as the mainstay" and "combining strangeness with power". Zeng Guofan believes that when the two armies are at war, the defenders are the mainstay and the attackers are the guests; If we meet halfway, the first one to the battlefield is the Lord, and the last one is the guest; When the two armies meet, the first shooter is the guest and the second shooter is the master. He also divided the forces on the battlefield into regular soldiers and surprise soldiers, that is, "those who encounter the enemy in the middle are regular soldiers, and those who copy the left and right are surprise soldiers." He believes that the key to leading troops to fight is to distinguish the characteristics and oneness of subject and object, and to use them flexibly on the battlefield in order to win the battle [1].

2) Zeng Guofan's diplomatic thought

The relevant papers point out that Zeng Guofan is a diplomatic figure with far-reaching influence in China's modern history, and there are different opinions on his diplomatic thoughts in academic circles. The study of Zeng Guofan's diplomatic thought can be summarized as follows. The first is the theory of "compromise and surrender". Representative figures are Hu Sheng, Joe, Wu Shiying and others. They believe that Zeng Guofan has always pursued a compromise diplomatic line of "loyalty and forgiveness" and "keeping promises". This view is one-sided at present. Second, "traitors and traitors" said. Representative figures are He Yuchou, Lin Qingyuan, Liu and others. They believe that Zeng Guofan has been pursuing a traitorous diplomatic line from beginning to end. This view lacks a comprehensive analysis and study of Zeng Guofan's diplomatic thought. Third, the "stage" theory. The representatives who hold this view are Wang Shaopu and Jude Wong. Their research has certain academic value, but Wang Shaopu thinks that Zeng Guofan has a tendency to compromise from the beginning, which is inconsistent with historical facts. Wang Jiping paid insufficient attention to Zeng Guofan's thought of "controlling foreigners". Fourth, the "pragmatism" theory. The representative of this view is Gu Weimin and others. They believe that Zeng Guofan has the budding consciousness of modern diplomacy, and this view needs to be further deepened. Fifth, the theory of "compromise and struggle coexist". The representatives who hold this view are Xu Tailai, Yin, Chen Gujia and others. They believe that Zeng Guofan's diplomatic thought has the dual characteristics of "compromise" and "resistance", but which is the main one needs further study. Sixth, the theory of "patriotism". The representative figures who hold this view are Xu et al. At present, the academic community has not accepted this view, which needs further discussion by scholars. Seventh, the theory that "it is better to die than to die". The representative figures who hold this view are Shen and others. This view has its correctness, but it has not attracted the attention of academic circles at present, and needs further study [2].

(C) Zeng Guofan's legal thought

Related papers pointed out that Zeng Guofan not only advocated "rule by courtesy", but also attached great importance to the role of the legal system in maintaining feudal rule. To sum up, his legal thought mainly includes the following aspects. The first is the legal thought of "attaching importance to the rule of law and strictly enforcing the law". Zeng Guofan believes that to truly govern the country, we must rely on the power of the legal system, so that the laws must be followed, and criminal acts cannot be arbitrarily pardoned. The second is the legal thought of "strict and appropriate law enforcement, not excessive injustice and inaccuracy". Zeng Guofan believes that law enforcement must be strict, but it should also be strict and moderate, so that the implementation of the law is just right. The third is the legal thought that "it is better to appoint people than to appoint them". Zeng Guofan attached great importance to the role of law enforcement personnel while attaching importance to the legal system. He believes that the "fairness" and "convenience" of law enforcers are very important, otherwise it will lead to the consequences of not distinguishing right from wrong and confusing black and white. Fourth, the legal thought of "protecting national fiscal revenue and safeguarding owners' rights and interests by law". Zeng Guofan believes that the collection of state taxes must be institutionalized and legalized, so that rewards and punishments are clear and the rights and interests of property owners can be effectively guaranteed by law. Fifth, the legal thought of "anti-military business". Zeng Guofan believes that salt is a necessity in people's lives. Therefore, the army can't sell illicit salt, no one can cover it up, and no one can profit from it. Otherwise, the normal social order of the country will be disrupted. Sixth, the legal thought of "keeping the contract". Zeng Guofan believes that a treaty is a concrete manifestation of a country's legal will. Therefore, both parties to the contract must strictly abide by and strictly abide by the provisions of the treaty [3].

4) Zeng Guofan's Westernization Thought

The relevant papers pointed out that from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the early period of the Cultural Revolution, there was little academic evaluation of Zeng Guofan's westernization thought, and it was generally believed that Zeng Guofan's purpose in westernization was to consolidate the feudal ruling order and surrender to the outside world. The representatives who hold this view are Fan Wenlan, Mou Anshi, Jiang Duo and Wu Songling. Their shortcoming is that they ignore the positive side of the Westernization Movement's "self-improvement" and "control of foreigners". However, some scholars, such as Dai Yi and Xia Dongyuan, talked about the positive factors of "resisting aggression" and "strengthening ourselves" in the Westernization Movement, which is close to historical facts. * * After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, the evaluation of Zeng Guofan's Westernization Thought began to get on the right track, and scholars expressed their opinions in succession. To sum up, there are mainly the following points. First, the theory of "reactionary backwardness". The representatives who hold this view are Jiang Duo, Huang Yifeng, Hu Sheng, Zhu Dongan and others. They believe that Zeng Guofan's westernization is to consolidate the feudal ruling order and suppress the peasant uprising, and its nature is reactionary. This view ignores the positive side of "self-improvement" and "resistance" of the Westernization Movement, which is obviously biased. Second, the theory of "resisting foreign aggression". The representative figures who hold this view are Yang Guoqiang, Xu and others. They believe that Zeng Guofan's westernization is to resist foreign aggression and has positive significance. Although this view truly reflects the main purpose of Zeng Guofan's westernization, it ignores its side of preventing peasant uprisings, so this view is also incomplete. Third, the theory of "paying equal attention to both inside and outside". The representatives who hold this view are Yin and Bian Zhehe. They believe that Zeng Guofan's westernization has both the side of "borrowing teachers to help suppress" and the side of "gradually expanding himself"; In particular, Huang put forward Zeng Guofan's Westernization Thought, including a new viewpoint of "modernization of ancient China" which was not mentioned before. Although the above viewpoint has many merits, it does not point out which aspect is dominant. Fourth, the theory of "emphasizing the inside and neglecting the outside". The representative figures who hold this view are Chen Jiahe and others. They believe that Zeng Guofan's westernization is to resist foreign aggression, and more importantly, to suppress the peasant uprising. This view is obviously contrary to historical facts. Fifth, the theory of "light inside and heavy outside". The representative figures are Xu Tailai, Geng, Li,,, and so on. They think that although Zeng Guofan's westernization suppressed the peasant uprising, it was mainly to resist foreign aggression and had positive significance. It should be said that this view truly reflects Zeng Guofan's thought of doing westernization. Sixth, the theory of "stage change". The representatives who hold this view are Chen Guizong and Li Yongpu. They believe that Zeng Guofan's westernization purpose has changed with the change of the situation, which has been divided into primary and secondary, and has experienced the change process from suppressing the peasant uprising to "paying equal attention to both inside and outside" This view seems to lack factual basis at present [4].

(5) Zeng Guofan's bureaucratic thought

The relevant papers pointed out that Zeng Guofan was good at summing up and drawing lessons from predecessors' political experience, and was able to properly handle the relationship with the court, local governors and families, so that he was invincible in his official career. Although Zeng Guofan was a feudal bureaucratic minister, his bureaucratic thoughts still have certain reference significance. The first is the bureaucratic thought of "studying without being an official". Zeng Guofan believes that the purpose of studying is to study in Germany, not just to be an official. He rebelled against the traditional concept of "being an official by learning well" in China feudal society, and repeatedly advised his disciples not to exploit the topic. The second is the bureaucratic thought of "advice when most people are least heeded". Zeng Guofan believes that being an official should be the way to be an official and should be honest and outspoken. During his time as an official in the imperial court, he repeatedly risked his life to visit the imperial court regardless of his personal safety. For example, in Ying Zhao Shu, he advised the emperor to set an example and open up the way; Put forward reasonable suggestions to reduce green camp in "On Eliminating Soldiers"; It can be seen from the above that no matter what the subjective purpose of Zeng Guofan's performance was, his spirit of "being honest and outspoken" was still commendable at that time. The third is the bureaucratic thought of "not greedy for money". Zeng Guofan has always hated honest and corrupt officials. He has repeatedly proposed to severely punish corruption. He boasted about "no money, no fear of death" all his life. He also warned his family many times not to take bribes and not to be greedy for money; After the capture of Nanjing, he severely criticized his younger brother Ceng Guoquan's greed for money and suggested that he resign and go home. The fourth is the bureaucratic thought of "strictly controlling family members". Zeng Guofan once urged his family not to interfere in official duties, and repeatedly wrote to advise his father not to participate in local affairs, to abide by local laws and regulations, and to pay taxes according to regulations; He is also very strict with his children and often tells them not to be "extravagant" and "proud". Fifth, the bureaucratic thought of "being prepared for danger in times of peace". Although Zeng Guofan was appointed as the first-class Hou, Prince of Taibao, Co-organizer and local governor. He ruled half of the Qing Dynasty with great power and heavy troops, but he clearly realized that the Qing Dynasty had regarded him as the biggest threat. Therefore, he encouraged himself with the motto of "being clear, cautious and diligent", was cautious everywhere, resigned from some official positions, and finally dispelled the emperor's doubts, and was praised as "Wen Gong Zheng" by the Qing court [5]. (6) Zeng Guofan's Neo-Confucianism

The relevant papers point out that Zeng Guofan, as the "Sect of Song Confucianism", the main source of his philosophical thoughts is Neo-Confucianism, and his Neo-Confucianism thoughts can be summarized as follows. The first is the theory of "paying equal attention to life". Zeng Guofan juxtaposes the two propositions of "sex" and "destiny", and thinks that "sex" and "destiny" are not only the source of talents of heaven and earth, but also the masters of all yin and yang, rigidity, movement and opening and closing, and the "five permanents" of human appearance, speech, vision, hearing and thinking. At the same time, he linked "sex" with "benevolence, righteousness, reason, wisdom and faith", and regarded "fate" as the link to maintain "monarch, minister, father and son, brother, couple and friend". He not only endowed "sex" and "destiny" with distinct moral attributes, but also endowed them with strong political attributes, making them an important ideological weapon to maintain feudal patriarchal clan relations and ethics. Second, the theory of "poverty". Zeng Guofan believed that the purpose of "discipline" is "poverty", that is, intention and poverty in life, in order to maintain the feudal ethics of "benevolence, courtesy and wisdom" and "loyalty, filial piety and benevolence" At the same time, he also inherited Mencius' theory that "human nature is good" and thought that the purpose of "material poverty" was "renaturation". Third, the theory of "sincere respect". Zeng Guofan believes that the core of "the king of sage learning" is "sincerity", and personal self-cultivation kung fu is based on "sincerity". Therefore, he regards "sincerity" as a neo-Confucianism thought to improve self-cultivation kung fu and "respect" as a means to achieve "sincerity". Its "respect" has a wide range, including both a person's appearance cleanliness and a person's inner singleness; It includes both a person's rigor in doing things and a person's inner caution. Of course, the essence of Zeng Guofan's "sincere respect" is to realize "benevolence" and "righteousness" through it, so as to maintain the "ceremony" that embodies the feudal patriarchal clan system; He called honesty "the foundation of saints" and "the foundation of the five permanent members", and its ultimate goal was to drive people to work for the crumbling Qing dynasty. Fourth, the theory of "knowing first". On the one hand, Zeng Guofan thinks that knowledge and behavior are inseparable and interdependent, on the other hand, he thinks that knowledge precedes behavior. It can be seen that he is a typical idealist epistemology [6].

(7) Zeng Guofan's academic thought

The relevant papers point out that Zeng Guofan's academic thought is full of feudal ethics and strong spirit of being practical, which has exerted a wide influence in the modern academic history of China. The first is the academic thought of "from reason to ceremony". Although Zeng Guofan believed in Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism all his life, his Neo-Confucianism thought was not limited to the distinction between "the desire of heaven and man" in Zhu Cheng's Neo-Confucianism, but turned "the distinction between heaven and man" into "ceremony". He believes that "ceremony" is a kind of "ceremony to govern the world" and "art to govern the world", that is, "rule by ceremony". He not only talked about "observing Zhu Cheng", but also advocated "the original intention of Zhong Ni". His ultimate goal is to control people's thoughts in the "ancient ceremony" and make people work hard for the Qing Dynasty. The second is the academic thought of "compatibility between Han and Song". Zeng Guofan believes that "sticking to Zhu Cheng and not abolishing Lu Wang" is a good learning method. Historically, Sinology and Song Studies were once two opposing academic schools. In order to maintain the needs of feudal rule, Zeng Guofan put forward the idea of "not abolishing Sinology", and asked the two schools to "self-denial and reply" and sweep away their respective views in order to integrate the studies of Han and Song Dynasties. Although the ultimate goal of Zeng Guofan's compatibility with the study of Han and Song Dynasties is to meet the needs of political service, this sweeping style of study has undoubtedly created a new generation of academic atmosphere and has certain positive significance. The third is the academic thought of "taking literature as the Tao". Zeng Guofan put forward the view that "Wen carries Tao" on the relationship between "Wen" and "Tao", thus strengthening the political nature of "Tao". He expanded Yao Nai's "three-door study" into four studies of righteousness, examination, rhetoric and economy, and thought that "the study of righteousness is the greatest". In his view, righteousness is the trunk and the other three are the attachments on the trunk; Literature is the carrier of Tao, so we should take "the amount of seeing Tao" as the primary political criterion to evaluate the quality of an article. When Zeng Guofan emphasized the decisive role of Tao in literature, he also emphasized the consistency between Tao and literature [7].

(8) Zeng Guofan's talent thought

Relevant papers pointed out that although Zeng Guofan was a landlord class politician, most of the talents he trained became the man of the hour in China's modern history and played an important role. His talent thought can be summarized as follows. First, the concept of "winning in people". Zeng Guofan believed that the root cause of corruption and decline in the Qing Dynasty was the lack of talents, so he put forward the view that "people should survive before taking political action". In his view, although we should attach importance to the legal system in order to save the Qing Dynasty, it is more important to attach importance to talents. He said that "employing people is not as good as appointing people" and attributed the success or failure of things to employing people. Although this view is one-sided, it also shows that Zeng Guofan really attaches great importance to talents. The second is the concept of "widely accepted and used with caution". Zeng Guofan believes that people should be eclectic, not all-rounder, as long as they have a skill, they must play a role. People should also use good people, according to everyone's characteristics, choose their strengths and teach students in accordance with their aptitude. Third, the concept of "diligent teaching and strict rope". Zeng Guofan believes that social atmosphere has a very important influence on the growth of talents. Therefore, he strongly advocated the introduction of honest people and the cultivation of talents with "the wind of supervising classes by teachers and the hope of fathers and brothers". In the method of training talents, he stressed that we should be strict, not tolerant, not accommodating and not indulgent. Only in this way can we create a generation of talents who can help the world.

(9) Zeng Guofan's educational thought

Related papers pointed out that Zeng Guofan's educational thoughts had a far-reaching impact on China's modern history, although he was not a professional educator, and still have certain enlightenment significance. First, the concept of moral education. Zeng Guofan attached great importance to family ethics education for his children. First of all, he believes that determination is the foundation of great achievements. To this end, he educated his children to stand on their own feet, set up lofty ideals and ambitions from an early age, and serve the country and society in the future. Secondly, he taught his children to be filial and kind, take benevolence as their own responsibility, live in the world, be the best in the world and be the master of the world. Third, warn children to be modest and prudent, be diligent and frugal, and avoid the wind of "pride" and "luxury". Second, the educational concept of "western learning for use". Although Zeng Guofan was a feudal scholar-bureaucrat, he had a certain sense of openness and put forward the educational thought of "Western learning spreading to the east". First, set up a translation hall. In order to establish Westernization, Zeng Guofan hired foreigners to set up a translation hall in Jiangnan Manufacturing General Administration to train translators, translate foreign books and introduce advanced western science and technology. Secondly, establish a technical school. Zeng Guofan supported Hong Rong to establish a mechanical school in Jiangnan Manufacturing General Administration, and trained a group of early skilled workers and engineers for China. Third, send children to study abroad. In order to learn advanced science and technology from the West, Zeng Guofan resolutely invited the imperial court to send young children to study in the United States, despite the opposition of stubborn feudal literati, and trained a group of technical backbones for China's modern industry. The third is the educational concept of "paying equal attention to knowing and doing". Zeng Guofan believes that to cultivate and bring up a large number of useful talents, we must start with educational methods. First of all, he emphasized that education cannot be divorced from reality, and advocated that only by linking education with social reality can the educated become the pillars of "rectifying the current situation and saving the world". Secondly, he advocated heuristic education, opposed the rigid educational method of copying mechanically, and advocated using heuristic education to stimulate the learning interest of the educated. Thirdly, he emphasizes teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, and advocates adopting different educational methods for different educational objects and giving full play to their respective specialties [9].

(10) Zeng Guofan's administrative thought

The relevant papers point out that Zeng Guofan has accumulated rich administrative experience in long-term administrative practice, which still has certain reference value. The first is the administrative thought of "being the way of politics and paying equal attention to personnel". Zeng Guofan believes that the root of social crisis lies in the corruption of administrative officials, and to punish corruption, it is necessary to improve the political quality of administrative officials. To this end, he further elaborated four principles of employing people, namely, the principle of having both ability and political integrity, the principle of careful use, the principle of paying attention to training, and the principle of moderate promotion and recommendation. The second is the administrative thought of "diligent, efficient and clean". Zeng Guofan believes that the court is inefficient because administrative officials only pay attention to fame and don't do practical things. Therefore, in order to improve administrative efficiency, he asked his subordinates not to talk big, not to shrink back, but to work hard; At the same time, he also strictly requires his family members not to seek any privileges to ensure the family style of the "poor family". The third is the administrative thought of "properly handling the relationship between courts and local governments". Zeng Guofan believes that handling the relationship between the imperial court and the local government is an important issue to maintain the normal operation of a country's political power. It is precisely because of Zeng Guofan's superb administrative leadership art that he won the trust of the Qing court and made himself comfortable in the core of leadership, which made the world gasp in admiration [10].

(1 1) Zeng Guofan's historical position

The paper points out that Zeng Guofan, although he suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement and committed certain historical crimes, can be said to have done more than he did, and should be listed as a progressive patriotic figure in modern China. First, suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. Some scholars believe that Zeng Guofan's suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising is guilty, but it cannot be expanded indefinitely. In fact, the late Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has been transformed into feudal theocracy, and Zeng Guofan suppressed it, ending the long-term confrontation between the two feudal regimes, which is conducive to the unification of China and the stability of social order, objectively reducing the interference of western powers in China and promoting the development of social productive forces. Second, about the Westernization Movement. Zeng Guofan was the initiator of the Westernization Movement. He founded Anqing Inner Ordnance Institute of Jiangnan Manufacturing General Administration, set up a translation hall and sent young children to study abroad, which promoted the development of science and technology and the modernization of education in China to a certain extent and laid a certain foundation for the development of modern industry in China. So his historical contributions should be affirmed [1 1].

To sum up, the academic research on Zeng Guofan is very gratifying. Judging from the current research situation, there are many research results on his military, politics, Westernization, Neo-Confucianism, talents and educational thoughts, but there are relatively few research results on his legal and historical thoughts, especially the evaluation of Zeng Guofan's historical role and status, and no conclusion in line with historical facts has been reached. Therefore, strengthening the study of Zeng Guofan requires the joint efforts of academic colleagues.