Ruyuan Sloping Sun (Zeng Guofan in the Official Field and Battlefield)

Author: Li Dongjun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-13
Features: The people of modern Huxiang were like the Qin-era warriors who fought and farmed; the scholars of modern Huxiang were mostly like Zigong and Zilu. The people of Huxiang cannot be led by the ordinary; the scholars of Huxiang cannot be gathered by the ordinary. Zeng Wencai possessed both qualities, hence he could gather the scholars and lead the people, spreading the sanctified influence of Dongting Lake and opening the imperial key of Yuelu Mountain, thus enabling Huxiang to rise. The culture of Huxiang is the declining sunlight of the Confucian lineage. Wang Fuzhi pioneered it, with the sorrow of heroes at the end of their journey, thus embodying heroic character; Zeng Guofan perfected it, with the spirit of sages, thus embodying sanctified. Since Zeng Guofan, Huxiang has produced heroes one after another, such as Cai E who raised the sword of the Republic in the southwest, and Huang Xing who roamed the world in revolution. Even the young Mao Zedong said: Among the moderns, I alone admire Zeng Wencai. Zeng Guofan had the aura of a sage; Li Hongzhang, on the other hand, was more like a Huizhou merchant—each place produces its own people.