Zeng Family Letters Across Three Generations

Author: Zeng Linshu et al. / Country:
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-09-01
Features: Zeng Guohuang's family letters to his older brother. His brother holds high office, and with a casual review, many family reunions can be seen. At four o'clock in the morning on the twelfth of June, Zeng Guohuang respectfully wrote to his older brother, "Yesterday at nine o'clock at night, my younger brother arrived in the province. I sent someone back to receive your letter dated the tenth of May, and I was very pleased to hear everything, it is very good. Grandfather's illness often remains like this. Although his right hand cannot move, he often changes clothes, often takes a bath, and is never unclean. Moreover, with my father, uncle, and brothers attending, he has never suffered any losses. The 'tiger head' saying, I think it is not necessary. The old man's qi and blood are both declining, even if there are wonderful medicines, they may not be effective. It is enough to hit the top, not to be worn, and this is the right way for the descendants, why toil in vain. Moreover, last year, Lord Luo's second uncle sent two taels of tiger glue, which was added to the pills, and eating it did not see any benefit. I think it is not necessarily useful. Moreover, Grandfather's physique is very thick, if it is over-supplemented, how do you know it will not be harmful? My father's physique is very good. Everything is happy, but getting up at night is really not easy. Fortunately, I sleep a little twice a day and at dusk. There are about 20 or 30 maids and servants in the family, I dare not be a bit false. My uncle's left lip is slightly toxic for a few days, which is not a big problem. During the day, I serve by Grandfather's side and teach the children to read, either me or my uncle. If someone wants to go out, then one person stands alone. There are not a few difficulties, and this is what the descendants should be like. My mother went to the beginning of the month because the two sister-in-laws came to pick up, and she went on the second and returned on the tenth. Her body is normal, and she has not taken any medicine recently. My aunt's illness broke out again within ten days, fortunately, it was not as severe as in previous years. It is already old, and there is no way to treat it. Wang, who is engaged, is always difficult to settle down, and his family will surely decline in the future. My brother said it was very true. The second sister can never catch up with the older sister, both inside and outside are inferior, how can she start a family? The third nephew works for Shencu, and his studies are not ugly. Although my brother is now out of the door, I have not checked his homework. Every time I meet Shencu, I entrust him. My brother has a little with him, and it is very difficult to refuse, so he will not refuse. What he is difficult to do is that he has too many students to tell, how can his spirit reach? To my older brother at home, he is more devoted to the public than my brother, and he still feels hard work. My brother wrote the epitaph for my younger sister, and his calligraphy is quite good, and all my brothers are impressed, only regretting that the stone carver is not good. On the night of the eighth of April, Zeng Guohuang respectfully wrote to his older brother, "I sent a letter to the province on the 18th of January, asking Liu Yi to deliver it to Xiao Xinfu, with a total of two letters, because there are letters from the Ouyang family, Deng Xingjie family, and Zeng Kitchen family. I sent a letter to my brother on the 22nd of February, and another letter on the 22nd, both sent from the county to the province. On the ninth of March, I sent a letter, asking Peng Si to deliver it to Chen Dai's family, and there was a large package of wine and medicine powder, saying it had been brought by Zeng Gui. Your letter of the 10th of January was received on the 13th of February; your letter of the 6th of February was received on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival; your letter of the 26th was received on the 24th of March. However, the memorial of the 24th of February did not bring the letter from the family in January, which can be said to be very hateful. But when the memorial of March came, I think it can receive three letters in one day. Grandfather's health has been very good since the 9th of March. My uncle repaired the tombs of our ancestors, and it was completed on the 25th of March (the epitaph on the tomb, written by my younger brother, was presented). The next day, Grandfather wore a red top hat, a horse collar, a silk, pearl shoes, sat in a chair, with four men, still carrying it, and one person inside the coffin held an umbrella. My father, uncle, and brothers dressed up and followed, visiting the ancestral hall and then the tomb. Three cannons went out, and three cannons went in, which was a great sight. On the 28th, he had a slight cold, took some medicine, and was completely cured. My father's body is very healthy, and his spirit is very good. He always takes turns to take care of him at night, and there are four of us, exactly two, seven, three, and eight, so as not to make my brothers worry. My brothers have been teaching since the Dragon Boat Festival, only on the Qingming Festival they are free, and the rest are writing essays according to the lessons, and writing is all good, but Wenfu is the fastest, and he always hands in his work within five or ten days. Shun is a little slower, and he hands it in on the fourth or ninth day. Ji is slower, and he hands it in today, laugh. To my older brother, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law have reported for me, and now I am indeed a person in the world, not a commoner. The third generation of nephews has been assigned to Bingcheng and Geng, taking the positive, so the characters of Yi and Ding are not used. On the night of the 12th of July, my younger brother Huang respectfully wrote to his older brother, "I sent my No. 9 letter on the 8th of June, and after Peng Sheng returned, I received your letter of the 15th of May, and I understood everything. The things sent to Qiao and Chen were also received. Only the suitcase is still in Chen's house, because Dai's brother forgot to send it for a while. Later, my two younger brothers went to the province on the 22nd, and I did not send a letter, but I think when my two younger brothers arrived in the province, they must have sent my No. 10 letter in detail. Grandfather has been very good since the 25th and 26th, and his mind is very clear. Only for three or four days, he could only eat porridge because he pulled out his teeth. Within ten days, his complexion was bright and rosy, and there was no need to worry. My father's last season was sent to sleep for Grandfather, and he was tied around his waist for several days before he recovered. Since then, I have persuaded him not to work at night, but every day at home and outside, I have tried my best to arrange it, and there is no moment of leisure. My second sister suddenly got an epidemic on the third night when Wen and Shun left. My mother went to her house the next day to take care of her, and she returned with her on the second day, and she recovered after staying at home until the eighth day. Fortunately, the fifth brother, because his body was not very healthy, returned to Cai Store ten days ago to wait for someone. My uncle is always full of enthusiasm, but for a few days from the 27th to the 28th, he had diarrhea. After taking a few posts, he was completely cured. My aunt's poison has not been rooted, and there is nothing else wrong. My mother's feet have recently developed a slight poison, mostly due to dampness. She used to wash the medicine and take a few detoxifying pills, which was not a big problem. My brother had a slight illness a few days ago (white urine), and he took six or seven pills of unbearable medicine and recovered. Then he had a sore throat again, and he took Li Shen, Fu Gui, and other medicines, and it was completely effective. However, even though he was sick, he could still handle things. The two letters in January asked my two younger brothers to come to the province and check whether the water pipe was broken. If he couldn't find this letter, it would be as if it didn't exist. However, my brother had a letter before asking me to rewrite it, and it was really hard to remember. The main point is that there are some trivial matters in the family, with two paragraphs slightly detailed, one paragraph about the engagement of the second daughter to Peng's family on the eighth of January, and one paragraph about the birthday screen of Peng Shijiu, which was very rude. Later, because I received a letter from my brother saying that it would be returned in the first half of the year, I immediately wrote a letter to thank him. If I had known that my brother's letter after that did not mention it, I would not have thanked him. This is something that belongs to others, but he didn't say a word for several times, which is really unwilling to break his promise to others. But it must be this year, and I hope my brother can draft and return it as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Peng family will surely suspect that Zeng Chenghou was deceiving them when he was using their silver. I sincerely hope my brother can forgive me and don't let me be stuck at the bottom. Recently, there was a case of a great thief. The great thief is Zu Guang in the left of the eighth district, who hides bandits from various towns and counties, and there are usually more than a hundred people gathering. They have harmed the eighth and thirty-four districts for thirty years. Not only that, but they can be called bandits. They often steal things from people's homes, and they don't dare to follow them even if they see them, and they don't dare to speak. There are also many people who chase them to their homes and suffer humiliation when they come back. If they meet the strong, they will steal, and if they meet the weak, they will rob. There are more than 600 or 700 people in various places who want to catch and deal with them, but they are always injured and return. From the governor to the prefect, the supervisor, and the director, the cases are piled up like forests, and no one can solve them. Yesterday, on the ninth of the first month, the Anli Gong of the twenty-fourth district went to the scholars and officials to discuss the collection of taxes and talked about Zu Guang's hatred. Every family was stolen, and when they were caught, they didn't dare to see the stolen goods. A total of fifteen carriages of scholars and officials went to his house to discuss, and arranged the village head and the head of the Zu family, wanting to prohibit him from stealing in the twenty-fourth district. The carriages were still in Xie Store, a few miles away from Zu's house, and he actually had many people with weapons to resist them. The local people were also afraid to speak. The riders wanted to enter, but they didn't dare, and they were calm to return, knowing that they would be followed by fierce pursuit, so they begged to hide in Xie's temple. They sent a message back, and it was not believed throughout the city. That night, two thousand people wanted to go. My father happened to be in Nan Zhu Guan to collect taxes and asked me to rush over. On the tenth day, there were thousands of people in the twenty-three and thirty-four districts, and five thieves were caught, along with their weapons. My father wrote a letter to inform Mr. Zhu that day. The reply said that it was necessary to destroy their lair. My father sent it to the county on the eleventh, with more than a hundred people escorting it. Mr. Zhu sent many police officers to receive them, and the county immediately detained the thieves with heavy penalties. Now the twenty-three and thirty-four districts have agreed to raise money to catch seven thieves. Here, I copy the case file and write it in detail, just to say that there is such a thing, and there is no other meaning. Tonight, I will go to Wang's house (I haven't gone back yet), and I will take the memorial draft with me. In the past one or two months, for the matter of donations, I have spent less time at home. I hope Zeng Yandao can take care of it in the capital. To my younger brother Wen and my younger brother Ji, you should cross the river less often and take care of your bodies, waiting for the local examination. Wenfu and Jihong, my younger brothers, respectfully: Peng Si seems to have arrived in the province. I received your letter of the eighth of the first month on the fifteenth night and learned everything. The affairs of the county have been handled by my father and the scholars and officials of the county, and there is a head, so I hope my younger brother will not worry about it. Now is the time for the examination, and there are many social engagements, and it is also the height of summer, so my two younger brothers should cross the river less often and take care of your bodies, waiting for the local examination. The elders in the family are all healthy, and the ninth brother left for the province after tasting the new things. My brother has been at home for the matter of donations for the month, and I have spent less time at home. I will write again later. [First Year of Xianfeng] June 16th afternoon, Zeng Guohuang wrote by hand. I hope the capital letter and the case file can be sent the next day. To my older brother, the thief who stole things in the family is from Hengyang, and he will be sent to the city. My brother lives in the mountains, enjoys the interest of the garden, and comes out to feel the noise and dust of the city, which is unbearable for a moment. On the night of the fifth of March, Zeng Guohuang respectfully wrote to his older brother, "I sent two letters on the eighth of January and the sixteenth of February, I think they have all been received. The letter of February was sent out because there were some family matters that seemed to be unmanaged, so I wrote it out casually. My father said that he specially wrote a letter to break the difficulty of my brother's letter. I only then knew that my handwriting was rushed, and I should try my best to change it in the future. My father set the third generation of nephews, and all the travel and everything went smoothly. I congratulate you, I congratulate you. The thief who stole things in the family last month was caught in a nest of households in Xinqiao on the twenty-ninth of February and sent to my house. I asked them in detail, and the thief was Li from the front of Hengyang. He came to my house to steal, and there were three accomplices, all from Hengyang. They started from the foot of Wan'an Mountain, and two of them said that there was a surname Yang, who stole various things. The two of them divided about 70 pounds of fish and went back to Hengyang. The other sold fish and wooden clogs, and went straight to Xiangtan, and pawned the red cashmere bed. When they were caught in Xinqiao, they searched out my father's carriage oil cloth and the pawn ticket. The thieves and the nest were all from Chengfu, and my brother sent this thief to the city on the first of March, and submitted a memorial to the officials. My father happened to be coming from the province to the county, and he instructed that except for the real thieves and the real nest, nothing else should be pursued, so as not to cause trouble to the local people. My brother manages the mountains and gardens in the mountains, and it is exactly right to plant all kinds of things, and to enjoy the real interest of the garden. But when I received the thief, I couldn't help but come out, and I felt the noise and dust of the city, which was unbearable for a moment. Moreover, I am in charge of the school, and I am repairing the memorial hall for filial piety, and there are too many things, and I am very annoyed. It must take five or six days before I can go back. The book given by Feng Shu brother is truly the language of the heart. Mr. Zong has died, and please ask Mr. Zhu Yao to use my father's name to write a memorial, saying: "The wise son remembers the jade tower, the little one enters the court and hurts the step alone; the old man returns to Qiongdao, the old man bows to the temple and who goes with him." I don't know if it is appropriate. Mr. Yao came to the city, and his parents were all in their eighties, and they were all healthy and able to walk. The family members are all the same as before. The second grandmother has reached eighty, and she is very healthy. Hou Wu is now working at home, and Hou Si is working for three families. Uncle De eight grandmother is very ill, and she may not be able to get up. The opening room, such as the early three father and the three father of the tower, are all fine. The seventh uncle died of the wife of the tomb, and the illness was long, and the death was entangled, and his actions may not be changed. The recent actions of the seventh uncle are often dependent on Mr. Zou Kai five, and most of the things he does are not respected by others, which is a cause for concern. The news from Handan arrived last night and was stopped in the city, and it will be opened soon. Zhao Yuchang arrived home in January and thanked him repeatedly.