Zeng Guofan's fourth brother did not have great ability, and used the power of the family to make friends with the powerful, and appeared in the county and provincial yamen to show off the market. Zeng Guofan was very opposed to his brother's behavior, believing that it would be harmful for his brother to show his sharp edge like this.
Qing Dynasty official
He could do nothing between the magnates, and he would not get any benefits, and if things went wrong, it would damage Zeng Guofan's reputation.
For his brother's behavior, how did Zeng Guofan advise his brother that it would not only make him correct, but also not hurt his self-esteem? How does he use his high emotional intelligence to advise his brother? Let's take a look at the family letter he wrote to his brother.
Zeng Guofan's fourth brother made friends with the powerful gentry, and on the surface those gentry and magnates were kind to him, but behind the scenes, they scorned his behavior and looked down on him, and Zeng Guofan advised his brother:
In the future, it is not advisable for my brother to go to the county town and provincial capital. At the time of great chaos, it is only necessary to hide and hide, and not to show the corners of the gui slightly
squire
He said that don't run outside often, now that the chaos has not subsided, you should hide yourself and don't show your sharp edge. Why did he advise his brother to keep a low profile and not to show his sharp edge? He said:
I have been reading the world for many years, and I am afraid of the dangers of the eunuchs, and I often think about withdrawing as soon as possible so as not to blame.
I have experienced the ups and downs of the officialdom, suffered from the cruelty of the world, and the dark tide of the officialdom is surging and the wind is surging; I also want to withdraw from the officialdom as soon as possible, so as not to suffer disasters.
His subtext is that even if I have been in the official arena for so many years, I am still walking on thin ice, afraid of suffering some disaster; you yourself do not have any ability, nor do you know that the official field is sinister, the people's hearts are dark, and you are still so ostentatious and drilling into the market, is this not stupid?
It can be seen from this that Zeng Guofan's artistic level of speaking is really clever, he did not criticize and educate his younger brother from above, making it difficult for his younger brother to accept; but lowered his posture and calmly reasoned; let his younger brother not only save his face but also understand the facts, so he had to admire Zeng Guofan's art of speaking.
Zeng Guofan
So what kind of person is Zeng Guofan's younger brother? Why advise him to keep a low profile? What was Zeng Guofan's personality like when he was a child? What are the characteristics of their brothers' personalities?
Zeng Guofan's fourth brother, Zeng Guohuang, was born in 1820-1886, the largest of Zeng Guofan's four younger brothers.
Zeng Guohuang was born with mediocre qualifications and had no talent in reading, until he was in his twenties, and he still found nothing on the road of the imperial examination.
In 1845, when Zeng Guohuang was twenty-five years old, Zeng Guofan took him to the capital to stay with him and supervise his studies. After a year, Zeng Guofan sent him home to give his father the "Treasure for the Scroll", and changed his name to a Guozi Supervisor in the court.
Zeng Guohuang was very happy, and since then he has stopped thinking about it on the way to the imperial examination, and has been single-mindedly serving his parents at home, taking care of housework, and educating his brother until his death.
Zeng Guohuang did not have any major achievements in his life, and his main responsibilities were to take care of housework at home, take care of his parents, and educate his brothers and nephews. Zeng Guofan thought that as long as he took good care of his family, he would have already helped a lot and made a big difference; as for the outside things, zeng Guofan and other more talented brothers had to do it.
Later, Zeng Guohuang did follow the instructions of his elder brother Zeng Guofan and carefully take care of the family and educate his younger brothers and nephews. The descendants of the Zeng family have also produced many useful talents and done good things for the country and the nation.
It is wise for everyone to do things within their own scope and not to do things that exceed their own ability, which is also in line with Zeng Guofan's instructions:
The rise and fall of my family in the future depends on the body of the four brothers and one person.
When Zeng Guofan was young, his learning talent was not high, and it could even be said that he was relatively stupid, but fortunately he had an advantage - diligence.
People say that diligence can make up for clumsiness, and I don't know if this idiom is correct to describe Zeng Guofan. But diligence can indeed surpass many people, some people although talented, not diligent, in the end is also plain; some people, although the talent is not high enough, but diligent as usual, can also be worn by water drops, such as Zeng Guofan.
Speaking of diligence, there is another story; when Zeng Guofan was young, his reading talent was not high, and it was particularly difficult to learn.
One night, Zeng Guofan recited an article, and he couldn't memorize it several times; a thief was hiding under the eaves of their house, trying to wait until Zeng Guofan had finished reciting the text to rest and steal in his house.
But helplessly, Zeng Guofan was too stupid, the thief could not wait for Zeng Guofan to carry it down, so he lost patience and jumped out; he was so angry that he scolded Zeng Guofan, saying that he was so stupid, what books did he read. Later, the thief recited the article in front of Zeng Guofan and left.
The thief was also completely defeated by Zeng Guofan, and when he met such a diligent and stupid child, where there was still the mood of stealing.
Although Zeng Guofan was not very talented when he was a child, it can be seen from his memorization of texts over and over again that he is indeed very diligent, persevering, and persevering, which is also a rare quality, which also lays a stable foundation for his future achievements.
Zeng Guohuang and Zeng Guofan are not talented and intelligent people, Zeng Guofan was able to achieve a career in the official arena, because of his self-discipline, self-improvement, self-examination, diligence, perseverance, low-key, no ostentation, self-discipline.
Mu Xiu will be destroyed by the forest wind, low-key, not ostentatious
Although Zeng Guohuang did not have any major achievements in his life, he cultivated many useful talents for the Zeng family, especially Zeng Jize and other brothers who were able to make causes that were beneficial to the country and the nation, to a large extent, because zeng Guohuang took care of many parties and patiently supervised.
Each person can do their own job well and can make extraordinary achievements. But things that are beyond their own ability, try not to be contaminated; maybe the challenge is not bad, but when the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, you must do it, maybe as Zeng Guofan said:
Luguet corner is outside
The disadvantage is that the wood shows in the forest, and the wind will destroy it.
I am Shed Millet, pay attention to me, and swim together in the ocean of knowledge! The pictures in the text are from the Internet, invaded and deleted!