"Sincerity" is an important category in Zeng Guofan's thought. He concluded, "The way of a gentleman is nothing more than loyalty as the world's initiative." "He said when he lectured Li Hongzhang;" Shao Tsuen, having entered my curtain, I have said what I have said, and what is still here is the only sincere word. "It gave Li Hongzhang a great shock. Zeng Guofan called his "sincerity" "humble sincerity". He used "humble sincerity" to encourage the local spirit of the Xiang army, and whenever he practiced, he gathered soldiers to teach and explained repeatedly, "Although he did not dare to say that he pointed at the head of the stubborn stone, he also sincerely wanted to drip the blood of the cuckoo with a bitter mouth." As expected, this "humble" effort finally turned the simple peasants into soldiers who dared to fight to the death. He also used "humble sincerity" to agitate momentum and gathered Confucian intellectuals who had the heart to serve the country in the chaotic world, so that "the wise men of the mountains and forests felt their sincerity, although they may not have seen it, everyone can talk to themselves with the past." Through the spiritual gene of "humble sincerity", zeng guofan mobilized all possible forces.
Professor Li Bo taught Zeng Guofan's wisdom in life
When people were touched by his "sincerity", his purpose was achieved. However, no one sees that "humble sincerity" is not only a state of moral cultivation for a person, but also a kind of power art to clean up people's hearts. For this, Yang Jun, a protégé of Wang Minyun, who had been a staff member of Zeng Guofan, soberly saw it. In the "Three Records of The Grass Hall", he borrowed the words of Zeng Guangjun, the grandson of Zeng Guofan, and said: "Whoever builds extraordinary deeds will be a great traitor." Confucianism, ignorance of power, arrogance and fierce generals, how can those who sit in danger be able to impress? The world only knows that Emperor Wu of Wei is a great traitor, but does not know that Wu Hou is a great traitor; Wu Hou was born in a humble place, like a Confucian, and he was leisurely and elegant, and he went to the fullest, not easy to measure.
Zeng Wenzheng exclusive power technique, Chongbo said that he did not leave this word for the family. And the commentators blame the theory of science, and none of them are wenzheng or public confidants. Zeng Wenzheng asked, "Who am I to compare?" Some are said to be like the ancient A, and some are like the ancient B, Wen Zheng said: "None of them are compared." Pingsheng wanted to learn Wei Wu but could not hear it. "It is Wen Zheng who has self-knowledge, and I can know himself."
Zeng Guangjun is the son of Zeng Jihong and is quite talented. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889), Zhongjinshi was the youngest Hanlin at that time. He was known for his poetry, and during the Sino-Japanese War, he also followed his grandfather's example and led troops to Korea, but he did not really participate in the battle. In his life, he greatly violated his ancestral precepts, changed the frugal and simple family style, and lived a promiscuous life, and was known as one of the "Four Princes of Hunan". He also became a womanizer and married several wives and concubines, which his father and grandfather would never expect. He was more open-minded, but his career was not smooth, because he was too immature compared to his grandfather Zeng Guofan's way of being an official. Soon after the Eight-Power Alliance entered Beijing, he was desperate and did not care about political affairs. Judging from his style of acting, it is obviously very different from Zeng Guofan, which shows that he does not have great admiration for his grandfather, so the above two paragraphs are not surprising.
Even the family said that Zeng Guofan treated his family members with power, which shows other things. As mentioned above, ordinary people only know that Cao Cao is a great traitor, but not Zhuge Liang is a great traitor. Zhuge Liang's feather fan scarf, a Confucian image, always acts to save the country and the people, loyal to the king and the world as his duty, but who dares to say that this is not a kind of power art? Zeng Guofan is similar to Zhuge Liang, and he also has the same Confucian image, often self-discipline with loyalty and benevolence, and how can such measures not be a means to achieve an end?
Statue of Zeng Guofan in Shuangfeng, Hunan
Zeng Guofan was not a clumsy and pedantic person. He claimed to have "changed over time" and knew that "there are very few people who have done nothing in the world, and those who are greedy and profitable are in the middle, and those who are provoked and forced to become are in the middle", "some are greedy and profitable" and "some are agitated and some are forced" point out one aspect that cannot be affected by relying on true "sincerity". In this regard, he did not abide by "humility", but made full use of power change. This reflects the two faces of Zeng Guofan, one is a "humble" gentleman, and the other is a "power change" wise man. In fact, there is always one person, and these two sides are his means of success, but there is a focus in different situations. For those who are serious about righteousness, such as Peng Yulin, he treats them with sincerity and sincerity, so that he will always be his confidant. For a Manchu like Taqibu, because of his bravery and frankness, Zeng Guofan treated him with sincerity and vigorously promoted him, thus making him the only Manchu general in the Xiang army. As for Li Shizhong, Miao Peilin and other disciples at both ends of the rat, they cannot be sincerely inspired, and when they are useful, they are comforted in every way, and when they are not used, they are repeatedly suppressed and used to eliminate them. For the sophisticated and sophisticated, such as Li Hongzhang, there is Zhang Youchi, who is neither bent on being in his own hands nor looking back. Small places can be let go, and the big picture must be contested. Zeng Guofan's duplicitous approach is even manifested in the relationship with his family. There is a passage in his family letter that says:
Brother Cheng's thief is very popular. However, he will let his relatives know that my family is a quiet place, not for the sake of a family, and everyone fears my prestige, but does not hate me too much. After the thief has done it, he must not show a proud voice on his face, but he will also have a sense of mourning in his heart.
This passage is half truth and half contrived. Between the truth and the contrivance, a "clumsy" gentleman's insincerity is revealed. In this regard, Zeng Guofan sometimes reflected on it. As he wrote in December of the first year of tongzhi (1861) to his confidant general Li Xuyi:
My generation is highly respected, and others dare not accuse, but we should serve fang inches like strict teachers, fear heaven and reason like punishment, and be respectful for a few moments. The contemptible person is too worried at this age, although it is close to being afraid, but it is different from the situation in the past eight years. For eight years, those who are guilty of it, who use their will in the land of loyalty and filial piety, and who talk about power with simple and clumsy people, are ashamed and regretful, and have no place for themselves.
Bronze statue of Zeng Guofan
"Speaking of power with a simple and clumsy person", this is Zeng Guofan's confession. In another letter, he said: "I am confident and a solid person, only to experience the journey of the world, to be full of more incidents, to slightly participate in the role of this machine and power, and to learn from my own family." He once thought that "only forgetting the machine can eliminate the crowd, but ignorance can be ominous", but "forgetting the machine" is not unaware of "machine change", "ignorance" is not really confused, so as to eliminate the machine power, but a deeper machine right. Therefore, Zeng Guofan's style of conduct can be summarized as: speaking of humility and honesty, but also about power.
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