The "Book of The Family of Zeng Guofan" contains a total of 435 books of the Zeng Guofan family, including 14 links of the Book of the Grandfather, 48 links of the Book of the Parents, 9 links of the Book of the Uncle, 249 passages of the Book of the Brother, and 115 passages of the Book of the Godson; and 7 links of the Book of the Lady and the Book of the Teaching Nephew.
The book records Zeng Guofan's 30-year career as an official and military servant during the 30th year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty and around the 10th year of Tongzhi. The content involved in the book is very extensive, covering self-cultivation, living in the world, teaching children to govern the family, making friends and acquaintances, and engaging in politics for officials, from grandparents to fathers, from brothers to brothers, and children.
Although the "Book of Zeng Guofan" is plain and plain to read, if you taste it carefully, you can deeply feel the great wisdom of "self-cultivation, family unity, governance of the country, and peace in the world" behind it.
1. Don't be afraid of the word Cold, don't be afraid of the word stinginess, don't be greedy and generous, and don't be greedy and bold.
In the eyes of Zeng Guofan, thrift and thrift are the foundation of family prosperity.
Zeng Guofan's younger brother Zeng Guoquan made several military achievements, and he developed some pride and began to behave in a somewhat extravagant manner.
He warned his brother to work hard "frugally." Not only should we be frugal in terms of common use at home, but we should also be frugal in terms of building houses, office expenses, and personal contacts.
Frugality is to cultivate the spiritual qualities of being strong, self-reliant, restraining material desires, and striving to be strong.
2. Family defeat can not be separated from a luxurious word, people can not be separated from an easy word, pleasing people can not be separated from an arrogant word, brother cut the precepts.
The three words "luxury", "elegance" and "pride" were regarded by Zeng Guofan as the standard for measuring the failure of life, and he said that if the evil righteousness of these three words could not be stopped, life would degenerate and be defeated!
"Success is caused by thrift and thrift", arrogance and laziness are the hotbeds of failure, and only by keeping poverty can we achieve a career.
Zeng Guofan often alerted himself to this sentence, and admonished future generations to guard against arrogance and impatience, stay away from luxury, and remain cautious and independent.
3. I am in Beijing, eating anointing and splendid clothes, can not divide the mother's labor, every thought, do not feel sweaty.
Although Zeng Guofan was respectful and filial to his parents and elders, he often felt guilty and self-blamed for not being able to honor him personally.
The tree wants to be quiet and the wind is not stopping, and the son wants filial piety and does not wait.
A person's life is very short, the time of filial piety is short, and there is no regret left.
4. The love of appeasement, so that the brothers are lazy and arrogant, and in the future they will lose their virtues and deeds, that is, I will lead my brothers to filial piety, and I dare not do it.
Appeasement of love refers to unprincipled coddling.
Brotherhood and love are the proper meaning of filial piety and family style.
Zeng Guofan believed that unprincipled appeasement and connivance would only allow his younger brothers to breed laziness and arrogance, and they would become a person without moral character and conduct in the future, and this would also be unfilial to their parents.
5. When a scholar reads, he must have ambition, knowledge, and perseverance. Those who have ambitions are not willing to be inferior, those who have knowledge know endless learning, and those who have perseverance will never fail to do anything.
Reading and learning, the task is heavy and the road is long, but first of all, we must first learn to read.
Reading should be ambitious, insightful, and persistent.
If you have ambition, you have an ideal in your heart, and you will not be willing to be mediocre.
If you have insight, you will think and judge, and you will think deeply and examine qingming.
If there is perseverance, there is perseverance, and it will start well and end well.
6. There are about two ends to the defeated by the ancient sayings of fierceness: long pride and many words.
Arrogance and over-talk are the two fatal factors of failure in life.
When Zeng Guofan first entered the Hanlin Courtyard, the spring breeze was triumphant and boasted in front of his relatives and friends.
Afterwards, I regretted it a lot, deeply reflected on myself, corrected it, and took "standing up and not taking nonsense as the basis" as my life creed.
This is also a valuable admonition he summed up from his life experience.
7. Modesty between heaven and earth is the way to carry blessings, and arrogance is full, and full is poured out. If you want to go to the proud word, you always take not to laugh at people as the first meaning; if you want to go to the lazy word, you always take not to rise up as the first meaning.
To guard against arrogance and laziness is not to easily make fun of others, nor to breed laziness.
After Zeng Guofan read the letter from his younger brother Zeng Guohuang, who was guarding his ancestral business at home, he saw that his brother had already shown signs of "arrogance" and "laziness". So in a stern tone, he criticized his younger brother, who was nine years younger.
Being a person and doing things, adhering to "modesty" and vigorously guarding against "arrogance" is the real way to carry blessings.
8. Those who stand up, work hard and be able to stand firm; those who are achieved, do things harmoniously, and work well.
Striving for self-improvement is the foundation of living in the world.
"Reading and writing, never stopping, selecting generals to train troops, often pay attention." All of this is self-reliant. Zeng Guofan, whether reading and writing or leading soldiers to fight, persevered and paid attention everywhere. That's why we have achieved self-improvement.
Doing things harmoniously is the way to live in the world.
"Playing the gongmu, thinking about it again and again, none of them are overly boastful. It's all round and round. Zeng Guofan had carefully considered the official documents, and there was not a single excessive word or boastful word. That's why it's done.