Zeng Guofan, a famous minister of the late Qing Dynasty, was awarded the title of first-class Yiyong Marquis, and was known as "the first meritorious hero of the late Qing Dynasty" and "model of officialdom". He turned the tide and saved the late Qing Dynasty from danger, and played a mainstay role in the "Tongguang Zhongxing" period. He has achieved great success in his studies and articles, and has realized the ideal realm of "three immortals" of Confucianism, meritorious service, virtue and speech, and is known as "the first perfect person in China through the ages". The Zeng family, as a well-known Houmen family in history, has never had a failed son for more than 100 years, which is due to the inheritance and development of Confucian education ideas by Zeng Guofan.
"Qing Historical Manuscript: The Biography of Zeng Guofan" praised: "The national domain has made outstanding achievements, is knowledgeable, and is good at governing the world with etiquette. He was diligent and studious all his life, admired Confucianism, and paid attention to pragmatism applied to the world, and became the "grandmaster" of reviving Confucianism after Confucius, Mencius, and Zhu Xi, and also made great achievements in his career.
Liang Qichao praised Zeng Guofan in the preface to "Zeng Wenzheng Gong's Jiayan Banknote": "Not only in modern times, there have been few such outstanding people since ancient times, but also in the mainland and even in the world. However, Wen Zhenggong is not gifted, but in fact, among the sages of his time, he can be called the most simple and unpretentious; the world he has encountered has also been many adversities; however, his three immortals of virtue, meritorious service, and speech, and his achievements have shocked the past and the present, and no one can match. The success of his life lies in his determination to extricate himself from the customs, to know what he is difficult to do, to do it reluctantly, to be indomitable through thousands of difficulties, not to seek quick results, to accumulate a lot, to be humbly taught, to be diligent, to be upright, to be unchanging, to treat people sincerely, to be brave and diligent, to work hard......"
Throughout history, it can be seen that "no more than three generations" is an insurmountable curse for the official eunuch family. However, the Zeng family has produced many talents from generation to generation, and outstanding figures such as Zeng Jize, Zeng Guangjun, Zeng Guangquan, Zeng Zhaoluan, and Zeng Xianzhi have emerged. To explore the mystery of the longevity of the Zeng family, the "four wills" left by Zeng Guofan to future generations are the key.
On March 12, 1872, the 62-year-old Zeng Guofan, accompanied by his son Zeng Jize, walked with emotion: "I have experienced battles in my life, and I know that the disaster of war is really evil. May the descendants of the Zeng family never get involved in the military again. Suddenly, he shouted "numb feet" and fell on top of his son, unable to speak in an instant. On his deathbed, he pointed to the will that had already been written on the table, and the will was to the effect of this:
Yu has been an official for more than 30 years, and he is a very popular minister, but his knowledge has not been achieved, and his virtue is not significant. He will pass away today, and he will leave four wills to teach his brothers.
One is cautious and alone, and the mind is quiet. The way to self-cultivation is to cultivate the mind. The mind knows good and evil, but fails to do good and eliminate evil, and this is self-deception. There is no shame in the heart, and no one can know. Meng Ziyun: "There is no shame in the sky, and there is no guilt in the heart." "To nourish the heart, you must have a pure heart and few desires. Therefore, those who are cautious and alone, introspect without shame, but face heaven and earth, without shame of ghosts and gods, and never do without regrets, but when the heart retreats. If a person is worthy of his heart, he is calm in the face of heaven and earth, and his mood is happy and peaceful, which is the first way to self-improvement in life, and it is also the important task of self-cultivation.
Second, the Lord is strong. The inside is dedicated and pure, the outside is neat and serious, the work of this respect; when you go out, you see VIPs, and treat the people like a big sacrifice, this respectful atmosphere; self-cultivation to calm the people, and be loyal and obedient to level the world, the effect of this respect. Wisdom and wisdom are born from this. Solemnity and tranquility will be stronger, and leisure and indulgence will be weaker, which is the principle of nature. If you treat people and things, no matter how many people are small, big or small, you treat each other with respect and dare not slack off, then why doubt that you are strong?
Third, it is said that seeking benevolence will make people happy. Born in the world, all have the principle of heaven and earth to form the heart, and the qi of heaven and earth to form the body, and I have the same origin with all the people. If you know how to seek selfishness but do not know how to be lenient to the people, and do not know how to love all things, this is contrary to the principle of the same origin. As for the high position and the residents, they have the responsibility of saving the people from fire, water, and hunger. If you read a book and know the general righteousness, you have the responsibility of being aware of it. Confucius taught people that there is nothing more important than seeking benevolence, and the key to seeking benevolence is nothing more than "wanting to establish a person and attain a person". If people can be self-reliant, they can compete with all things. Is there anyone who is displeased and comes to him?
Fourth, it is said that the ghosts and gods are respected. If the food and clothing of a person every day are equal to what he does, then people praise him, and the ghosts and gods also praise him, and he can support himself with his own strength. If the farmer and weaver woman work hard all year round and only get a few loads of grain and a few feet of cloth, and the rich and noble family is happy all day long, without work, delicious food and clothes, and sit back and relax, the great misfortune of the world is also not appreciated by the ghosts and gods. How can it last long? The ancient sages and sages always encouraged themselves with hard work. For their own purposes, they will learn skills, sharpen their muscles and bones, forge ahead in difficult situations, do their best, and then increase their wisdom and knowledge. If you seek for the world, you will starve yourself, fall into fire and water, and take the failure of the people and robbers to be captured. Dayu ruled the water for thirteen years, three times through the door without entering; Mozi Mo put his heel on the top to benefit the world, all of which are thrifty and self-cultivation, and the example of hard work to save the people. Therefore, hard work can prolong life, comfort can die, hard work can make the best use of their talents, comfort can be incompetent and abandoned, hard work can help the people, ghosts and gods admire, comfort is not beneficial to people, ghosts and gods are not envious.
These four wills are the result of the rest of the decades, and your brothers should remember them and pass them on to their children and grandchildren. Then my Zeng family can be prosperous for a long time, and there are talents from generation to generation.
Tsang Kwok-fan's will had a profound impact on his descendants and descendants. His son Zeng Jize came out of office after the death of Zeng Guofan and engaged in diplomacy; Zeng Jihong studied mathematics all his life; his grandson Zeng Guangjun died in Hanlin after he became a scholar; many of his great-grandsons and great-great-grandchildren studied abroad, and none of Zeng's descendants were scum.