1. A stupid father uses stupid methods to train his son
Zeng Guofan When he was young, he studied with his father Zeng Linshu . Zeng Linshu himself failed the scholar examination more than ten times in a row. He knew that his talent was limited, so he used stupid methods to train his son. He took the trouble to sharpen his ambitions, patiently guided, and kept supervising from morning to night every day. Whether sleeping in bed or walking on the road, Zeng Linshu would test his son's homework. Zeng Guofan would be satisfied only if Zeng Guofan memorized the book by heart.
Zeng Guofan was a smart man and had a strong memory. At the age of nine, he had finished reading the Five Classics and began to learn to write eight-legged essays. When he was fourteen years old, Ouyang Ningzhi, a Liao student from Hengyang, came to Xiangxiang to see Zeng Lin's book. He saw Zeng Guofan's manuscript and praised it very much. In order to test Zeng Guofan's true talent and learning, Ouyang Ningzhi came up with another poem topic and taught Zeng Guofan to compose a rhythmic poem on the spot. When the poem was completed, Ouyang was greatly surprised and thought that this child would become a great person in the future. Immediately, he betrothed his daughter to Zeng Guofan.
2. Going out to study, his name in the Ministry of Rites examination fell from Sunshan
In the fifth year of Daoguang (1826), Zeng Guofan took part in the Changsha Prefecture Examination (Tongzi Prefecture Examination) and actually got seventh place. Zeng Linshu felt that this child was indeed a talent and was determined to train him well. I heard that there was a certain Wang Jue'an in Hengyang who was very good at teaching eight-part essays, so he sent Zeng Guofan to the Tang Family School established by Mr. Wang. Later, he returned to Lianbin Academy in this county to continue his studies. After the guidance of famous teachers, Zeng Guofan's knowledge really improved greatly.
In the thirteenth year of Daoguang's reign (1833), 23-year-old Zeng Guofan took the scientific examination and became a county student member. In the fourteenth year of Daoguang's reign, Zeng Guofan entered Yuelu Academy in the provincial capital to study. It was the year when he passed the provincial examination. In the winter of this year, Zeng Guofan left his hometown in Hunan for the first time and went north alone to participate in the examination of the Ministry of Etiquette in the following spring, but this time he failed.
Coincidentally, the following year was the Empress Dowager's 60th birthday, and as usual, an extra township examination was added, so there was another chance the following year. But it's a long way from Xiangxiang to Beijing, and the round trip costs a lot. After obtaining his father's consent, Zeng Guofan decided to stay in Beijing for one year, waiting to participate in next year's enke examination. Fortunately, there is a "Changsha Guild Hall" in the capital, where the examination candidates of Changsha Prefecture can live at very low cost. Zeng Guofan lived in Beijing for more than a year, and his horizons gradually broadened.
Zeng Guofan was not admitted to the Enke Examination in the 16th year of Daoguang's reign. Although he was quite disappointed, he thought that he was only twenty-six years old and would have many opportunities in the future. Therefore, he ignored the current setback indifferently.
3. Addicted to books, spend hundreds of silver, and finally achieve something. After the examination was announced, Zeng Guofan immediately packed up and took a grain boat on the canal to return home. When passing through Jinling , he saw a finely engraved Twenty-Three Histories in a bookstore and couldn't bear to put it down. At this time, Zeng Guofan had no silver left on him, so he sent all the clothes he had no use for a while to the pawn shop, exchanged them for hundreds of taels of silver, and resolutely bought back the Twenty-Three Histories.
After arriving home, Zeng Linshu saw that he had spent hundreds of taels of silver and bought several boxes of books. The suitcases he brought were all full of books. Instead of blaming him, he happily encouraged his son and said: "It's not a bad thing for you to borrow money to buy books. I will be happy to pay off the debt for you. But I hope you will study carefully and it will not be in vain."
Daoguang's eighteen years are worth three more years. Zeng Guofan's family had no money left to pay for the trip to Beijing again for the last examination and to repay the Yi family's loan. Fortunately, with the help of relatives and clan members, Zeng Guofan was able to make the trip by borrowing thirty-three ounces of money. After arriving in Beijing, there were only three hangings left. In the examination of the Ministry of Rites in March, Zeng Guofan won the 38th place. Then the re-examination, palace examination, and court examination were followed, and the results were all excellent. After being introduced to the emperor, Zeng Guofan, who was only 28 years old, was awarded the title of Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy.
Zeng Guofan came from the countryside, with a simple nature and no habit of trying to find tricks. He had been studying history books diligently in Beijing for more than ten years, and developed an ambition to "clarify the world as his own duty." After Zeng Guofan entered the Hanlin Academy as a minister, he was still studying hard.A person who has become an important official has to set his own homework and perform it on a daily basis. This kind of self-discipline is not only rare today, but also rare among the ancients. Because he was determined to study hard, he eventually became a prominent figure in the Qing Dynasty.
