Zeng Guofan's Family Letters - Upper, Middle, and Lower

Author: Zeng Guofan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-04-01
Features: "The Family Letters of Zeng Guofan" includes topics such as self-cultivation, interpersonal relationships, friendship and recognition, family education, military governance, and politics, covering everything. Reading and reflecting on it brings great benefits. His life was rich, complex, and controversial. Yet, a thousand family letters reveal his deep affection. Today, in a parallel Chinese and vernacular format, this book, which General Chiang Kai-shek studied diligently throughout his life, is presented to readers to show its charm.
Self-Cultivation and Temperament: Account of the Journey to Beijing and Events After Arrival [Original Text]
"Dear Father and Mother, I humbly write to report: On December 16 last year, I sent a family letter from Hankou, entrusted to the Xiangtan Ren and Paper Trading Company. I do not know if it has been received. Later, on the 21st, I boarded the train in Hankou. We hired two six-wheel carriages, and I occupied three and a half of them. We traveled over 300 miles to celebrate the New Year in Ba Lixi, Henan. On the second day of the first lunar month, we set off, and by the seventh, we reached Zhoujiaokou, where we switched to larger wagons. We hired two covered wagons with three teams each, costing 15,000 cash per team. I took four teams, and Zhu took two. On the ninth, we set off, arriving in Henan’s provincial capital on the twelfth. Social engagements delayed us for four days, earning over 100 taels of silver. On the sixteenth, we departed and crossed the Yellow River at three in the morning when the wind was calm. We arrived in Beijing on the 28th, with a smooth and peaceful journey. The weather was good, except for light snow for two days during the New Year celebrations. Upon arrival, we unloaded the wagons at the Chang’an Mansion Association. On the first day of the second lunar month, we moved to the Qianfo Temple in Nanheng Street. The house had four rooms and rented for 4,000 cash per month. It is very close to the residences of Mei and Chen. The three of us formed a study group, meeting every other day. Each session involved writing out one prose and one poem in calligraphy. On the eighth, it was the grand session with Teacher Tang Zhongtang. The topic was a prose on "Wisdom Like Yu’s Flowing Waters," with the rhyme "When one acts without haste, wisdom is great." The poem topic was "Fish on the Water Surface Blowing Willow Fluff," using the character "blow." There will be one more grand session in March. Only one or two others joined this year, Mei and Chen arriving in the first lunar month. Daimen’s trip to Jiangnan and Shandong yielded little. Upon arriving in Beijing, he spent what was needed to repay debts and saved only two or three hundred taels, with an eight-member family to support. I spent 100 taels on the journey, and now things are quite good. Regarding the family reunion, Zheng Xiaoshan has not replied yet. If he agrees, it would be perfect; if not, we must devise a better plan or postpone it by a year or two, as my son is too young. I have no worries about the family matters, only hoping the brothers are making progress in their studies. Please send me a couple of poems or prose you have written. I also hope to receive the great works of Uncle Dange. I am cautious in Beijing and want the family to rest assured.
Additionally, Empress Dowager Daxing passed away on the eleventh day of the first lunar month. For one hundred days, shaving was forbidden, and for a year, banquets and music were prohibited. Uncle He’s Nian passed away suddenly on the fifth day of the second lunar month. That day, I had breakfast at his home and heard no news of his illness. Within moments, the news of his passing arrived. After his death, he was granted the title of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. His second son, He Ziyi, passed away in November last year. Since returning to Beijing, several fellow townspeople have passed away: officials Xia Yiqing, Li Gaoqiu, and Yang Baoyun, as well as Xiong Ziqian, Xie Jian’an, and the He family father and son, totaling seven. The situation has changed dramatically. I am now taking good care of my health and living well. My teacher Ji Xian was promoted to the position of Assistant Grand Secretary and appointed as the Academic Supervisor of Zhejiang. He left Beijing on the tenth. My teacher Liao Yufu was promoted to Vice Minister, and my teacher Wu Zhenfu was appointed as the Governor of Fujian. My teachers Zhu and Xu have already returned to the south. My calligraphy ink from Jie Youqian arrived in Beijing but is unusable due to excessive glue. I plan to return it or use it as I please. I received another letter from home in March. If you reply, please include details about our family and all relatives, describing each elder in the ancestral hall—simplicity is valued here.
I humbly wish you all happiness and peace.
Written on the ninth day of the second lunar month