Zeng Guofan's Teachings to His Son

Author: Li Zhimin / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
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To my ninth brother, Yuanfu: I wrote a letter on the 22nd, intending to send it to the main residence for you to take to Hunan. On the night of the 22nd, after the lamp was lit, right nine and Jin eight returned, and I received the letter you sent on the 15th, learning that you had already arrived in Ji'an on the 16th. Therefore, I did not send the letter to the main residence. Counting the days, you should arrive at the camp by the 24th, and someone will return to the family on the 25th or 26th. You have not yet returned home today, and my longing for you grows even stronger.
On the 24th of the ninth month, my sixth uncle celebrated his 61st birthday in the afterlife, and I burned incense packets to pay respects. Ko Yi, Ko Si, and Ko Liu also went to offer sacrifices. Miss Guanxi gave birth to a child on the 19th. Lin San and Kun Ba will disperse from school on the first day of the tenth month. They plan to go to Zou Zhichang’s place to study winter books, recommended by Mr. Yishan. Mr. Meigu will also disperse from school in mid-October, but Mr. Yishan will not. Ko Si has read eight leaves of "Li Lou," and Ko Liu has read up to "Pointing at You, How Are You?" Their studies are still quite regular. There is no need for you to worry about the affairs at home. Is the Ji camp still easy to organize? The ancient great achievements required both grand scale and meticulous management, neither of which can be lacking. Your meticulous management is more energetic than mine. For military equipment, the slightly finer ones should be recorded in a separate ledger and personally handed down to the right people. The ancients considered bright armor and weapons to be essential for intimidating enemies and often led to victory. Liu Zhicheng is diligent in maintaining firearms but pays no attention to swords and spears. I once sent Chu Jingchang to Henan to buy white wax rods and prepared waist knives to distribute among the officers, who were quite fond of them. You should pay attention to this matter as well, as it is part of meticulous management. As for grand scale, you should also strive for it. However, those who pursue grandeur are prone to becoming scattered and disorganized. If you are careless in handling matters and lack order, even if it is grand, it is of no value. Only by maintaining order and acting steadily can you achieve true grandeur without flaws!
Recently, Hu Runzhi, the governor, wrote to praise you with the words "great talent in a great vessel," which I greatly appreciate. Talent is rooted in grandeur, and he truly understands the truth. The rebel boats in Hukou were completely burned and captured on the 8th of the ninth month, and Hukou and Mejiazhou were captured on the 9th. After three years of grievances, we achieved revenge in one day. Xueqin has since returned to the vast world. However, Qiqing is still in hardship, so you should communicate with him when you have the chance. Hu Runzhi’s letter still asks me to request that I go on an eastern expedition. I recently replied, explaining why it is not advisable, but I do not know if it will stop him. I have sent a reply from Peng Zhongtang to your address, asking you to forward it to the office of Wen Fangbo. Li Di’an recently expressed the intention to take leave and return to his hometown for a family visit, but I have not yet received his letter. His leadership is truly unmatched, and you should often communicate with him and earnestly seek his advice. You must take care of your health in the camp, as liver qi stagnation can easily harm you. I have always suffered from this in my life, so it is important to maintain a calm and easy demeanor to regulate it. I have sent Wang Zhisan to Ji to report on recent family matters and inquire about your well-being. I will write further when I have time.
The meaning of educating children— In this family letter, Zeng Guofan mentioned: "The ancient great achievements required both grand scale and meticulous management." In other words, those who can achieve great things must have a grand vision and ambition. In fact, the subjective factors that determine a person’s development are primarily their desire for growth, which is motivation. And motivation depends on an individual’s past and present goals. Therefore, those who achieve great things must possess two fundamental qualities: "grand scale" and "meticulous management."
Wang Jisheng, a researcher at the Institute of Psychology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, once surveyed 31 top high school graduates from Peking University in 1999. They all studied for life. "Learning knowledge makes life happier, and learning is the path from ignorance to wisdom." They believed that their intelligence was average, and success depended on diligence—a joyful diligence. It is clear that a grand ambition not only provides people with unwavering motivation but also offers vast room for personal growth. The method to achieve one’s grand goals is to have a meticulous action plan. Similarly, successful learning requires not only goals and motivation but also a concrete execution plan, i.e., a study plan. This plan must be tailored to the child’s characteristics, detailed, and precise to be effective.
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