Tang Haoming comments on Zeng Guofan's memorial

Author: Tang Haoming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: "Commentary" introduces the family background, education, and social connections of Zeng Guofan. Every member of the Zeng family, both in the large and small households, as well as relatives and friends who had close interactions with Zeng, are clearly introduced in the book. Readers will learn that Zeng's lifelong idol was his grandfather, while his grandmother was exactly 7 years older than him, and his mother was 5 years older than his father. Both of his sons had short lifespans, and almost all of his five daughters-in-law were not particularly outstanding. However, the key figure who carried forward the Zeng family was his second daughter-in-law.
This "Tang Haoming's Commentary on Zeng Guofan's memorials" is a companion piece to the "Tang Haoming's Commentary on Zeng Guofan's family letters," published by Yue Lu Book Society in 2002. The editor selects 47 memorial papers from the over 2,000 extant memorials of Zeng and provides commentary on the historical context in which these papers were written, the related events inside and outside the papers, their role at the time, and their historical impact. Through this commentary, the book attempts to unveil a corner of the complex and subtle official culture of the late Qing Dynasty.
Memorial papers are essentially reports. To provide a model for individuals, the book analyzes the writing techniques of the selected memorial papers, highlighting the aspects that can be (learned from) in this type of (genre). It also extracts the brilliant sentences from the papers to catch the reader's attention. Additionally, translations are provided to help readers better understand the original papers.