Zuo Zongtang, along with Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, and Zhang Zhidong, was listed as the "Four Famous Ministers of Zhongxing in the Late Qing Dynasty" (also referred to as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Hu Linyi, and Peng Yulin), official to the governor of Liangjiang, Dongge scholar , Minister of Military Aircraft. As one of the most powerful Han vassals in the late Qing Dynasty, Zuo Zongtang once ruled the richest and most important two rivers in the Qing Dynasty. He also entered the highest power core of the Qing Dynasty and was the prime minister. It stands to reason that for such a prominent official, he should be surrounded by three wives and four concubines, enjoying the blessings of Qi people far beyond others. After all, most officials in ancient times were like this, and they married concubines one after another. However, Zuo Zongtang is not like a official. He did not marry three or four concubines. He had only one wife and one concubine throughout his life.
Of course, although Zuo Zongtang has only one wife and one concubine, he has many heirs.
Zuo Zongtang has four sons and four daughters: the eldest son Zuo Xiaowei, the second son Zuo Xiaokuan, the third son Zuo Xiaoxun, the fourth son Zuo Xiaotong; the eldest daughter Zuo Xiaoyu, the second daughter Zuo Xiaoqi, and the third daughter Zuo Xiaowei Lin and the fourth daughter Zuo Xiaoyu. Zuo Xiaowei, the eldest son of
. Zuo Zongtang was born to Mrs. Zhou and was born in Daoguang 26 (1846). He was born in Juren and used his father's shadow as the master of the sixth grade. In April of the 2nd year of Guangxu (1876), during Zuo Zongtang's expedition to Xinjiang, Zuo Xiaowei followed his father on the expedition to Xinjiang and made a document with the army. After that, before Zuo Zongtang calmed down Xinjiang, Zuo Xiaowei was sent home for treatment because of inadequate water and soil. However, due to the serious illness, he died soon before Zuo Zongtang died. Zuo Xiaokuan, the second son of
. Born in the 27th year of Daoguang (1847). In the name of no merit, he became a five-grade doctor with his father's shadow. The cause of death is unknown, and the time of death is unknown. Zuo Xiaokuan's official voice in the late Qing Dynasty was not obvious. It is expected that he was insufficient in ability. Otherwise, with Zuo Zongtang's prestige, even if he had a little ability, he would not be a doctor.
Of course, although Zuo Xiaokuan himself is not well-known, his descendants are talented people. Z1z is like Zuo Xiaokuan’s grandson Zuo Jingjian is a famous surgeon who served as a professor of Shanghai Medical College and vice president of Huashan Hospital; the son of Zuo Jingjian Zuo Huancong is a well-known neurosurgery expert and was once the dean of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Tsinghua University; Zuo Huanchen, the daughter of Zuo Jingjian, was a professor and doctoral supervisor at Fudan University. The third son of
Zuo Xiaoxun. Born in Xianfeng three years (1853). Without fame, he used his father's yin as the master of the sixth grade. Like his brother Zuo Xiaokuan, the cause of death is unknown, the time of his death is unknown, and the official voice is not revealed. It can be said to be ineffective. However, his descendants are also talented people, such as Zuo Xiaoxun’s grandson Zuo Jingqing is a famous writer and editor. He graduated from Nanjing Jinling University and served successively in China Daily, China Daily, and Party and Army Daily. Editor; Zuo Jingyi, the grandson of Zuo Xiaoxun, is a famous scientist in the field of corrosion and protection in China. The Zuo's law he created is still an important law in the field of chemistry. The fourth son of
Zuo Xiaotong. Born in the seventh year of Xianfeng (1857). Zuo Xiaotong was the most promising of Zuo Zongtang's four sons. He was named as the principal of the sixth grade with his father's Yin, and then he was promoted to the fourth grade Taoist with his political achievements. At the age of 45, he was transferred to the fourth grade Jingtang alternate. At the age of 46, he was promoted to the fourth grade Guanglu Temple Shaoqing. Two years later he also served as the fourth grade Shuntian Fufu Cheng. At the age of 49, he was promoted from the third grade Guanglu Temple Qing. At the age of 50, he was promoted to the third grade Henan Provincial Press , Guanzhi from the second rank Henan chief ambassador.
Xuantong three years (1911), Puyi announced his abdication. After the death of the Qing Dynasty, Zuo Xiaotong lived in seclusion in Shanghai until his death in 1924 at the age of 67. Zuo Xiaoyu, the eldest daughter of
. Born in the thirteenth year of Daoguang (1833). Zuo Xiaoyu's husband was Tao Xuan, the son of Tao Shu, the governor of Liangjiang, a great minister in the late Qing Dynasty. In the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), Zuo Xiaoyu died of illness at the age of 61. Zuo Xiaoqi, the second daughter of
. Born in the fourteenth year of Daoguang (1834). Maybe it's because I like to be alone, maybe because I didn't meet the right person, Zuo Xiaoqi never married. She is the most talented among Zuo Zongtang's four girls, and she is quite accomplished in literature. There are more than 70 modern poems circulating around the world, and the author of "Yilanshi Shicao". In the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), Zuo Xiaoqi died of illness at the age of 39.
Three daughters, Zuo Xiaolin. Born in the seventeenth year of Daoguang (1837). Zuo Xiaolin's husband is Li Fuchang, the son of Li Jiyun, the supervisor of Jiangnan Province.
Four daughters, Zuo Xiaoyu. Born in the seventeenth year of Daoguang (1837). Zuo Xiaoyu's husband is a relative of his mother, Mrs. Zhou, and her uncle's cousin Zhou Yibiao. She is the most miserable death among Zuo Zongtang's four girlsThe cold is also the most tragic. At that time, Zhou Yibiao and Zuo Xiaoyu had a deep relationship. The two were very respectful and loving, but the sky was unfulfilled. Soon after they got married, Zhou Yibiao suffered from madness due to Zhou Yibiao's long-term treatment. Pass away. After the death of her husband, Zuo Xiaotang was very sad and depressed all day long. Soon after he couldn't bear the separation of his husband and wife, Zuo Xiaotang finally chose to commit suicide and die at the age of 33. Z3z
has to say that Zuo Zongtang's four sons and four daughters are all very good. Except for Zuo Xiaotong, the four sons of
have no official voice, but they are all very good in character and family style. If not, their descendants will definitely not have so many capable and talented people. . The four daughters are all talented, talented, erudite and talented. Each of the four daughters has a collection of poems that will be passed down to later generations. The eldest daughter has "Small Stone House Poems", the second daughter has "Yilan Shicao", and the third daughter has "Qionghua Pavilion". "Poetry Grass", the four women have "Dan Ru Zhai Poems".
Zuo Zongtang's four sons and four daughters, most of them are excellent, mainly due to the good family education of Zuo Zongtang.
is in Liuzhuang, Zuo Zongtang’s former residence. On both sides of the conspicuous gate building, Zuo Zongtang wrote such a couplet in person: "Make friends with diligence, work hard and read the best to go to vanity" , in just 12 words, it reflects Zuo Zongtang makes friends cautiously, studies diligently, settles down, and overcomes the flashy family education thought.
Zuo Zongtang was born in a scholarly family. His grandfather and father are both well-known local gentlemen. Although the Zuo family has fallen into trouble at this time, his grandfather and father have never slackened Zuo Zongtang's education. Under their guidance, Zuo Zongtang developed a hard-working, frugal and simple living habit since he was a child. Although he succeeded in fame and became an important minister in the court, he still maintained a frugal living habit. After
became an official, he also "doesn't want to use a little bit of defilement" , and will not accept the slightest bribe from anyone. Whenever he goes to work in a place, Zuo Zongtang's first thing is to post a notice telling others that he will not accept any bribes. The tribe, family members, friends and subordinates who ask for gifts will not be accepted.
He is not only strict with himself, but also with his family. According to historical records, Zuo Zongtang often warned his children: “If children want to grow up, they must start from hardships and grind for more generations and prolong the generation.” means that if children want to become talents, they must experience a poor life. Only in this way can we become a useful person without arrogance or extravagance. At that time, Zuo Zongtang’s second son, Zuo Xiaokuan, used six hundred gold to renovate the old house due to the rapid increase in the family’s population. After Zuo Zongtang learned of the incident, he wrote to Xiaokuan to severely criticize and reprimand: "The poor family suddenly became habitually fattened, which made me laugh and scold me and hated ."
At the same time, in order to prevent his children from developing arrogant living habits, he also imposed strict requirements on the cost of the family, "home cost and extended division fee, paid by the camp every year two hundred The return of gold is enough to save money. In addition, it is not allowed to use more, and it is not allowed to send more, which will damage our festival". There are a dozen people in the family. Zuo Zongtang sends more than two hundred taels of silver every year, not at all. After giving more, even if it ran out, it would not be sent again, so that in the end Zuo’s family had no money to use, so that his wife Zhou Yiduan had no money to buy medicine for many years of illness.
In addition, in order to prevent his children from raising the Baqizi brother in Beijing to bully the market and bully others, Zuo Zongtang strictly forbids his children to associate with unscrupulous teenagers. For example, when he learns that his eldest son Zuo Xiaowei and Dan Dan After the children got together, they immediately wrote a letter to blame: "It's good for children to make lewd friends. Today's theater, tomorrow's tavern, and even prostitutes and gambling on opium do nothing, it is an indecent seed" . At the same time, Zuo Zongtang once, because he was afraid of his children living in the city for a long time and being infected with bad habits, wrote to his wife specially: "After the autumn harvest, he still moved to Liuzhuang and studied in the fields, but it was far too busy. The scenery, I want to find the taste" , let Mrs. Zhou take them to live in the countryside for some time, to experience the self-supporting life in the countryside.
In addition, Zuo Zongtang has never used his own power to benefit his children. He has warned his children countless times: "You must not rely on your father, and you cannot rely on your father." , do not rely on your own power , Nonsense. Zuo Zongtang has been in power in the northwest region for 13 years, he has never used personal relatives, none of his four sons stayed with him, let alone make them tallerofficial.
has to say that the reason why Zuo Zongtang's descendants have so many talents is mainly due to the good tutoring Zuo Zongtang gave to his family. As people praised at the time: "Public bodies are meticulous, and family education is very strict...Although the two generations of officials are clear, but also worthy of the prosperous customs, adhere to the quality of Jingbu, and have never been contaminated with bad habits" , the Zuo clan There are many talents, all of which is due to Zuo Zongtang.
