Twenty-four years of Daoguang was the rising period of Zeng Guofan in officialdom, but he wrote a little bit about his disagreement with his hometown in his family letter. So, how did he solve these small contradictions?
During the rising period of the workplace, there are many social activities and great fame.
From 65438 to 0844, in the twenty-four years of Daoguang, Zeng Guofan's situation in Beijing gradually improved. The first is the living environment, so on March 24, 2008, I moved to Nianer Hutong in the west of Qianmen. A ***28 houses, rent 30 strings of money a month. Brother Zeng said comfortably, "It's very spacious."
Moreover, in recent years, Zeng Ge insisted on studying and improving in Beijing, and his cultivation and efforts gradually appeared. In his letter 12 in May of that year, he admitted: "This year's entertainment has increased several times compared with previous years." What kind of entertainment are those? This letter lists.
First, I write couplets for people. Most of my clients are from Sichuan and Hunan, and they are too busy to give them in their spare time. Years of practice finally yielded fruitful results, and he dared to shake it off with a brush.
Second, borrow more money. Although Zeng Ge's income has increased, it is still not enough to ask someone to help him spend money, so nine times out of ten people who borrow money are disappointed. However, Brother Zeng still pays great attention to attitude. "Whether you borrow it or not, you should be polite to the guests if you borrow more or less."
Third, meet guests at various banquets.
Fourth, meeting students, which "requires a lot of energy". This year, the most famous apprentice I have ever seen is Jiang Zhongyuan from Xinning, Hunan. Guo Songtao was there. Laughing and laughing, he saw Jiang Zhongyuan come out. Brother Zeng suddenly said to Guo Songtao, "Mr. Jiang must have made outstanding contributions and is famous all over the world, but unfortunately he died in a confrontation." At that time, the world was still peaceful, but it was really surprising that Brother Zeng said such bloody things. It can be seen that he has read history books for a long time and read some thoughts.
At this time, Zeng Guofan became more and more famous in Hunan. He admitted in his home letter1February/8 that "the provincial capital is becoming more and more famous" and his fame in Changsha is also growing, but he didn't know how his fame was improved.
The best news at that time was that Daoguang wanted to see him. The imperial edict of May 12 revealed that in May 10, the imperial court issued a decree that from May 16, the emperor would meet a group of officials with low status and promote them as appropriate. There are two visitors every day, and Zeng Guofan is the sixth, which should be1May 8. Brother Zeng said happily that this is the emperor's "diligence and talent". This tradition has been practiced for sixteen years. Daoguang still seems to attach great importance to talent selection, otherwise Lin Zexu would not be promoted.
Sure enough, in May of 18, Daoguang met Zeng Guofan in the Qin Hall and had a talk with him. Daoguang was very satisfied, so he promoted Zeng Guofan to imperial academy to teach Jishi Shu and got a good position to preside over the exam. Great, Zeng Guofan has enough money to support his family.
Brother Zeng, does your family know that you are living so well in Beijing? Does your hometown know?
Trivial things in the countryside appease your family and don't offend the countryside.
Zeng Guofan is thriving in Beijing. There are five letters from his family, one from his father and the others from his brothers, which tell something about his family. This is in stark contrast to Zeng Ge's scenery in Beijing. They are trivial and complicated, but they must be dealt with.
The first is the issue of handing out calligraphy to villagers. Brother Zeng mentioned in the letter of 65438+February 18 that there is a place in my hometown called Xichong, with four villages. As a result, people are not happy because this handwritten letter is a bit lonely. "It's too easy to give gifts, and students have bad feelings." Because Zeng Guofan is the Beijing official in my mouth, I can't say that there must be complaints in my heart. It was thoughtful of Brother Zeng to send a message to his family, explaining that "let them know that my family is not very rich" and let them know that my family is not that rich. Please forgive me if it is not enough. Brother Zeng may think that his family is too lazy to explain to others, so he added: If my dad doesn't feel the need to be "open and honest" with others, then throw this explanation letter into the wastebasket. Parents mean first, children are not good at making their own decisions in interpersonal relationships. This is the filial piety that Zeng Ge followed.
The next thing is even more troublesome. Local families often want to marry Zeng Guofan's fourth brother and have children in-laws. Zeng Guofan hit the nail on the head and pointed out: they don't want to marry your brother, they want to marry me, and they want to take advantage of me.
What's Zeng Guofan's attitude towards this? Not reconciled. The reason is that the children of Chang's family like to "get rich and dress up well", and they may even "mess up my family rules" when they get married, especially worried that the other children are addicts and take opium. At this point, Zeng Guofan jumped out from the first floor and said, Brother, it's none of my business who you marry, but for the sake of my daughter's happiness and family status, I must send someone to inquire before making a decision. So, who can get the exact news? Zeng Guofan also appointed a specific person-"asking for instructions from Wang San."
The relationship between villages is so complicated that the scenery in Beijing can't be solved. Brother Zeng is far away in Beijing, so he can be blind from his eyes. However, after all, his family lives in their hometown and has to deal with them, especially his younger brothers who have no world. So Zeng Guofan drew up a "leave it alone" policy. The original text is as follows: "Brother doesn't have to be a housekeeper. The sky is broken and it has its own control; When the flood is big, it is controlled by Wang Yu; The adults in the classroom are in charge of family affairs, and I am in charge of foreign affairs; My brother only cares about his homework, why ask other questions! " Tube is a kind of verve; Anyway, this is also a kind of verve. These words are very enjoyable, direct, refreshing and practical. In fact, Zeng Ge simplified the complicated world for his younger brothers: it was a world with clear relationships and different responsibilities. Nu Wa is in charge of the sky, Dayu is in charge of the water, parents are in charge, and eldest brother is in charge. What kind of mentality do you care about? Go read a book.
Actually, it's a little tangled If we treat them coldly, we will put down a lot of burdens and clarify our responsibilities.
On this basis, Zeng Ge continued to persuade his younger brothers to keep a simple attitude, meet relatives and clans and "love and respect them" as much as possible. This is also the basic attitude of Confucianism to get along with the countryside. In 3354, "Love the masses, be kind to others", and use benevolence to love the masses extensively and get close to those models. If you bargain with others now, then you are the real director. In the whole village, "aren't they all enemies?" You all want to be saints. Are there any sages who have made enemies with the village?
A few words awakened the anxious brother, knowing that the goal of life is not to compete with the surrounding environment, but to let go, so that there is room for promotion and development.
Beware of another failure: stereotyped writing may lead to lifelong mistakes.
Of course, Zeng Guofan's letters to his younger brothers are mainly academic articles. My brother sent the composition of the previous quiz to Beijing and asked him to correct it. Brother Zeng unexpectedly said that I was not good at changing stereotyped writing, and asked Teacher Cao Xiyuan to help me correct it. Zeng Guofan was very interested in the poems of his younger brothers outside the eight-part essay, and asked them to learn more from Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Su Shi and other "ancestral articles".
Between realistic literature and stereotyped writing, Zeng Guofan was very worried about the growth of his younger brothers. He thinks stereotyped writing is not a good thing. "There are many mistakes in life in this course." For the future, for the sake of rice bowl, immerse yourself in it, and then delay real learning. He was glad that he was "lucky enough to get the scientific title early and didn't get hurt". Tell Zeng Guofan's sixth brother that you are now in your twenties, "not too young." If you're still studying stereotyped writing, and you're going up and down in the sea of topics, brother, I'm afraid you'll still be poor academically after the golden age of studying poetry.
It can be seen from here that Zeng Guofan was not very satisfied with the examination system at that time. As for how to solve it, he didn't put forward a solution, but his real thoughts can be seen from the cultivation of his son. His proudest son, Ceng Jize, did not take the imperial examination, but studied English and mathematics, and later became the most outstanding diplomat in modern times.
The policies of the imperial court cannot be changed, but the small policies of the Zeng family can be changed, which is absolutely in line with the historical trend.