First, young people have a successful career and are thriving.
Zeng Guofan, whose real name is Sheng Di, was born in Bohan. 18 1 1 was born in a wealthy landlord family in heyetang, Jingzi town, Shuangfeng county, Hunan province. The ancestors were mainly farmers, and their lives were relatively affluent. Grandpa Zeng Yuping has not received much education, but he has rich experience; Father Zeng Linshu, as a scholar, was well informed, and Zeng Guofan, as the eldest son and grandson, naturally got the care of two ancestors. They are eager for their children to succeed, so they educated Zeng Guofan on feudal ethics very early. Zeng Guofan entered school at the age of 6, read eight-part essay and recited five classics at the age of 8, read Zhou Li and Selected Works of Historical Records at the age of 14, and took part in the boy test in Changsha. His excellent grades are listed as excellent, which shows that he has been smart and diligent since he was a child. At 1832, he was admitted to a scholar, married Ouyang Cangming's daughter, and took a big step in his life. Zeng Guofan was admitted to Jinshi at the age of 28. From then on, he stepped onto the road of official career step by step, and became the right-hand man of Zhang Mu, Minister of Military Aircraft. In Beijing for more than ten years, he successively served as imperial academy Jishi Shu, transferred to school, gave lectures for bachelor, took charge of the affairs of Wen Yuan Pavilion, took charge of the cabinet, inspected the affairs of Chinese books, and served as assistant minister of the War Department, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Punishment and the official department of Faxia. Zeng Guofan was promoted to the second-class position step by step along this career path. Judging from his literary talent, the success of Zeng Guofan's official career is related to his eagerness to learn. He worked tirelessly and studied hard day and night, especially after taking the Korean exam in Beijing and entering the general museum. Diligent in asking for help, not ashamed to ask questions, reading history, attaching importance to Neo-Confucianism, reading a lot of ancient poems, brilliant and knowledgeable. Such diligent and studious officials are rare. Because he reads widely and dabbles in literature, he has his own unique views in politics: if he wants to rule the world, he must freely use Confucianism and Legalism. The Neo-Confucianism he admired was the orthodoxy of Confucius and Mencius and should be used as a post-monarch and minister. In particular, he once advocated or expounded the emperor, and put forward the method of governing the world, involving bureaucracy and honesty, material selection and use, material and wealth use, military strength and art of war. He should state his political views in the imperial edict, saying: "The only thing that should be emphasized today is employing people, and there is no shortage of talents. If you want to play a role and stimulate it, you must look at the emperor's wonderful use, the way of mobilization, the way of training and the method of testing. The three cannot be abolished. In my opinion, there are two common problems in the work of Beijing officials today, namely, retreat and triviality. There are two common faults in the work of foreign officials, namely perfunctory and clumsy. Customs follow, but they seek peace, and they refuse to cheer up without mistakes. When they encounter difficulties, the country will suffer losses due to lack of talents. " In order to cheer up the officials, the emperor must set an example. He flaunted feudal ethics in theory and practice and safeguarded the fundamental interests of the landlord class. As a military commander, he does not have this prerequisite. But it was because of his rapid progress that he won the favor of the emperor and his colleagues. He thanked the emperor and tried his best to protect his master. He hated Xiang and tried to build a regular army with stronger fighting capacity than green camp. He made great achievements in suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and fighting for the Qing Dynasty, and fought all his life until his death.
Second, Zeng Guofan's academic thought
Zeng Guofan, as a famous politician in modern times, was indifferent to the corruption and decline of the Qing Dynasty after experiencing the "prosperous time of Ganjia". He said: "The country is poor, but people are scattered, which is very serious." As for "scholar-officials are used to being worried and tolerant", "prosperous times are neither white nor black, neither painful nor itchy" and "hate secondary bones". He believes that "the bad governance of officials is all caused by group curtains, and it is sincere to seek officials to eliminate the disadvantages of curtains." Based on this, Zeng Guofan put forward that "the administration should get the people first". For those who need both morality and tools in times of crisis, they should advocate honesty, respect benevolent government, oppose tyranny and disturb the people, and must severely punish those officials who take bribes and pervert the law. As for the financial and economic relationship between the national movement and people's livelihood, Zeng Guofan believes that the way to manage money is to make full use of the surplus and deficiency, be down-to-earth, be honest and clean, and "gradually seek rectification, not be eager for quick success." Zeng Guofan mentioned agriculture as the basic strategic position of the national economy. He believes that "people's livelihood comes first, and the national economy takes good years as credit." He demanded that "in today's counties, emphasizing agriculture is the first priority." Influenced by the two Opium Wars, Zeng Guofan had his own views on the diplomatic relations between China and the West. On the one hand, he hates westerners invading China, thinks that others should not snore and sleep next to his couch, and opposes using teachers to help him suppress it, so he is deeply ashamed of using foreign countries. "On the other hand, it is not blindly exclusive and advocates learning its advanced science and technology from the West.
Study and discuss Tao's classics
Zeng Guofan was a famous master of scientific communication in the late Qing Dynasty, with profound academic attainments. He said: "A person who can really read is good and more expensive than being strong", and he should have the spirit of "three years of old rain, three years of diligence, five nights of solitude and eternal youth". The beauty of writing or masculinity, "focusing on adventure"; Or female beauty, "it is important to get a natural taste." To write an article, you need to work hard on the momentum. "You can rely on reason to do things with anger, but no matter how reasonable it is, it is not gray." We should pay attention to appropriate details, people's details, people's details, and "those who know the position one after another, cut short" is also "the writer's first priority." For Wengui, we should find our own way. "The way to write lies in the beautiful weather." . "Clear rhyme, sonorous, is the first wonderful scene of the article".
The art of parenthood
Mr Zhong Shuhe, a famous historian, said that Zeng Guofan's adopted son was successful. It can't be erased, and there's no need to erase it. Zeng Guofan believes that the following ten things should be paid attention to in parenting: 1. Diligent housekeeping, strict family rules. Second, be filial and get rid of arrogance. Third, "do things first". Fourth, the way to stay at home can't have more money. Fifth, getting married "is not necessarily rich and famous." Sixth, family affairs should be extravagant and frugal. Seven, housekeeping: test, treasure, morning, sweep, book, sparse, fish, pig. Eight, relatives should value feelings over things. Don't get tired of housework. Ten, choose a good teacher for advice.
Battlefield operational plan
Zeng Guofan was a scholar who trained Xiang army and governed the country at first. He suppressed the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, the largest peasant uprising in the history of China. His military thoughts are extremely rich, and he really has something extraordinary. He believes that the number of soldiers is small, but fine, "serenade is strong", "the more soldiers, the weaker the strength; The more reimbursement, the poorer the country. " Advocate the separation of military and political affairs and take responsibility. He bought foreign guns, cannons and ships, which promoted the modernization of China's military weapons. To run the army, strict military discipline is the first, and at the same time, it is intended to cultivate "harmony" and the soldiers are United. He believes that "the general has the heart of death, and the foot soldiers have no life." There are four requirements for selecting candidates: "First, knowing people and being good at their duties, second, being good at containing the enemy's situation, third, being brave in doing things, and fourth, doing business in an orderly way." Zeng Guofan's strategy and tactics are the most abundant in his military thoughts, which are worth learning today. For example, "use soldiers like rabbits." Quiet as a virgin ",the technique of subject and object is wonderful," Zhazhai fights to the death ",the navy should not attack with the wind, choose a good camp," self-government first, then enemy control ",attack the city in deep trenches and high bases, attack the city in tunnels, cooperate with land and water, use static braking," pull out the roots first, then the headland "and so on.
The way to make friends in life
Zeng Guofan is quite insightful about the way of making friends. He believes that it is important to be generous to make friends, and to "be honest and upright, compromise and be tolerant, but be selfless and suspicious." "Don't take advantage of people. Don't take other people's money seriously. " Brainstorm, listen without being deaf. "The way to observe people is to be ethical but not bureaucratic, organize more and talk less." In terms of life, Zeng Guofan believes that "in this troubled times, the poorer the better." As a senior official, "it is always good to have less money and less production." "forbearance is the first priority for officials", "virtue is damaged by fullness, and happiness is reduced by arrogance". Men must be careful with the word "light". "It is not particularly rich and famous. The prosperity of his family name is determined by heaven, that is, whether the virtue of learning is established is mostly related to heaven. Just laugh it off." "Don't do your own work, don't do your own fame", "The sooner you retire, the better". Zeng Guofan wrote twelve proverbs, which basically summarized his way of making friends in life.