Zeng Guofan's eight-character formula for managing a family refers to "books, vegetables, fish, pigs, breakfast, sweeping, examination, and treasures".
1. Books
Reading. "Reading can change your temperament." "When scholars study, they must first have ambition, secondly have knowledge, and thirdly have perseverance." "I don't hope that every generation will be rich and noble, but I hope that every generation will be talented." You must study, but this is the only great thing.
"Loyalty lasts for a long time, and poems and books last for a long time." The ancients emphasized reading the books of sages and regarded reading as an opportunity to achieve success and fame. Zeng Guofan believed that the more important significance of reading lies in wisdom and self-cultivation, so that the family business can be consolidated.
2. Vegetables, fish, and pigs
A farmhouse should be like a farmhouse. The family should grow vegetables, fish, and pigs. This is a family tradition of diligence and thrift. Don’t look beyond it. There is a kind of vitality, and there is a kind of exuberance in the hall. There are vegetables in the garden, fish in the pond, and pigs in the pens, and life is basically guaranteed. Zeng Guofan paid attention to being diligent, thrifty, and self-sufficient. If you work hard and manage your household well, you will have enough food and clothing.
3. Early
Get up early. Getting up early is very important for farmers. They work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Getting up early can buy more time. The plan for a year begins in spring, and the plan for a day begins in the morning. Zeng Guofan attached great importance to getting up early, and one of the "Twelve Lessons" listed for himself was to get up early. He believes that "the basis of the family is not to be lazy" and never allows his children to sleep in.
4. Sweeping
Zeng Guofan has two definitions of "sweeping". The first is to sweep the courtyard, which is clean and tidy, which is hygienic; the other meaning is to sweep away the greed in the heart, that is, to purify the soul. .
5. Test
Sacrifice. Pay homage to the ancestors, be careful to pursue the past, and the people's morality will be strong. Filial piety and brotherhood are highly respected by the Chinese nation. Filial piety is the first of all actions, and ancestor worship is also a manifestation of filial piety. Therefore, Zeng Guofan believes that although the ancestors are far away, sacrifices must not be dishonest.
6. Treasures
Treat others with each other, which is a priceless treasure. Emphasis was placed on being kind to relatives and neighbors. The Chinese nation values ??harmony. "Having no friends in the countryside is really the first thing I hate." "Since ancient times, there has never been a sage who was an enemy of his clan, village, and party." The spring breeze makes it rain. Be kind to relatives and neighbors, "If you have money and wine, distant relatives will burn, steal, rob and yell at your neighbors" is Zeng Guofan's understanding of "treasure".
Introduction to Zeng Guofan
1. Life
Zeng Guofan (November 26, 1811 ~ March 12, 1872), formerly known as Zicheng, also named Bohan , No. Disheng, from Xiangxiang, Hunan. Chinese politician, strategist, Neo-Confucianist, and writer in the late Qing Dynasty, and the leader of the Hunan Army armed by Han landlords in the late Qing Dynasty.
Zeng Guofan became a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Daoguang (1838) and entered the Hanlin Academy; he was later promoted to cabinet bachelor, minister of the Ministry of War and minister of rites. In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), he was ordered to go south to preside over the rural examination. On the way, his mother died and he was allowed to return to his hometown. Ding You kept the system. Zeng Guofan was good at talking about "morality" and "benevolence and righteousness", and he highly praised Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.
In the third year of Xianfeng (1853), he was ordered to form the Hunan Xiangyong, or "Xiang Army". The following year, he defeated the Taiping Army of the Northern Expedition in Tianjia Town. In the third year of Tongzhi (1864), Tianjing was captured. The following year, he was ordered to go to the north to suppress the Nian Army uprising. In the fifth year of Tongzhi (1866), he was awarded the title of first-class "Yiyong" Hou by the Qing government.
In the same year, Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau was established. During this period, Zeng Guofan also established a government-run school bureau in Anqing Daying to reprint classics and historical books. In the sixth year of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan became a bachelor. The following year he became the governor of Zhili. In the ninth year of Tongzhi (1870), he was ordered to investigate and deal with the "Tianjin Religious Case". In the eleventh year of Tongzhi (1872), Zeng Guofan died of illness.
2. Contribution
The rise of Zeng Guofan had a profound impact on the politics, military, culture, economy and other aspects of the Qing Dynasty. Under Zeng Guofan's initiative, China's first ship was built, the first military engineering school was established, and the first batch of students studying in the United States were arranged.
The rise of the Han landlord economic faction headed by Zeng Guofan prompted a change in the proportion of Manchus and Han people among local officials in the Qing Dynasty. The situation of "light on the outside but heavy on the inside" began to emerge. Zeng Guofan also founded the "Xiangxiang School" of late Qing classical literature. Together with Hu Linyi, he is known as "Zeng Hu", and together with Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and Zhang Zhidong, he is known as "the four famous ministers of the late Qing Dynasty and Zhongxing".