" Zeng Guofan's Family Letters " is a collection of letters by famous officials of the late Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan's , with nearly 1,500 letters. The letters record every bit of Zeng Guofan's magnificent career from 1840 to 1870.
In the letter to the family, Zeng Guofan told his experiences of studying and doing things little by little to his family. Therefore, his collection of letters is not only a valuable historical material, but also an exhibition of a great soul in .
Here we select letters from Zeng Guofan with rich wisdom in life to mark and translate them, hoping to bring some inspiration to readers.
(To facilitate readers' reading, the original text is blue font and black font is translated. The brackets are the explanations of background information and some proper nouns.)
September 5, the first year of Xianfeng
(this year was 1851, and Zeng Guofan served as the Minister of Rites. The year before this Hong Xiuquan initiated the Jintian Uprising .)
Chenghou, Wen Fu, Zizhi, and Ji Hong's fourth brother:
(The four brothers are the second brothers Zeng Guohuang , whose courtesy name is Chenghou; the third brother Zeng Guohua and whose name is Wenfu; the fourth brother Zeng Guoquan , whose name is Zizhi, and the fifth brother Zeng Guobao , whose name is Jihong. But according to the genealogy, they are Lao Si , Lao Si 6 and Lao Jiu 9 , and Zeng Guobao should be the youngest of this generation, and the ranking is unknown. The following titles are called in the order of the genealogy, which is consistent with history)
html came to Beijing on the 1st day to live in peace. The ringworm disease has already occurred slightly, but fortunately it is not harmful, so I just listened to it. Hunan has a list of people, but I didn’t win anybody in my city. In the book of Brother Yuan, he said that Brother Wen’s literary and beautiful emperor was also suppressed. I wonder what my younger brothers’ names are like in the future?
Recently, at home in Beijing, adults and children are very safe. My skin disease is a bit off again, but fortunately it is not very serious, so I let him go. In Enke this year, none of our Xiangxiang County is on the list. Lao Jiu's letter said that Lao Liu was very talented and did not pass the exam. From this perspective, I wonder what the future of our brothers' scientific research will be?
Accumulated by the ancestors and the father and uncle’s intentions, then all younger brothers should be able to eat more and retribution. Since my younger brothers were in full swing, they were not outdated even if they were a little later.
Brother Te has been doing more and his spirit has been exhausted every day since recent years. I often hope that my brothers will continue to live in the capital for a long time and help me. I hope that my brothers will share this important task, and I also want to take a little rest. It is not allowed to be sold, so that our center will be in vain!
Follow our ancestors’ good deeds, as well as the intentions and actions of our fathers and uncles, brothers will definitely have good blessings in the future. Besides, you were young, even if you were an imperial examination at night, it was not too late.
What's more, I have been doing more and more in recent years, and my mental loss is serious. I often hope that my younger brothers can have people who rise up and live in the capital and have the power to the master bedroom. I also hope that my younger brothers can help me share the heavy responsibilities, and I can also share the burden on my shoulders a little. It's not possible yet, and this leaves me with no support in my heart.
(The Book of Changes says: A family that accumulates good deeds must have good fortune , so in addition to their own efforts, there are many other things under the guise of ancestors. Therefore, Zeng Guofan said that looking at the virtues of our ancestors and fathers, the blessings of our descendants will not be very bad. This is the idea of drinking water and thinking about the source of the source, and it is also a humble statement, which is very worthy of our modern people's learning)
Gai Zhi's second brother was sick this year and everything was abandoned; he also suffered from eye disease in the field, so it is difficult to see it. Brother Wen is talented and is naturally a master of his younger brothers, but he complains too much and is too lazy. I was not good at reading books and writing essays in Beijing before, so I was very worried about it. Recently, after returning home, I complained as usual, and I didn't take any custody for several months. No one in my family can continue to do so, but my brothers can still give up on their own and cannot blame them all for their fate.
Lao Jiu was sick this year and could not do anything; he suffered from eye disease during the exam, so he naturally couldn't make any progress. Lao Liu's talent was originally higher than other brothers, but he complained too much and had too lazy personality. I was very worried about not reading books or writing articles in Beijing before.Recently I heard that after returning to his hometown, he still complained as usual, or he had not started writing for several months. There is no one in our family to succeed, and the other brothers can be less harsh, but Lao Liu really gave up on himself, which cannot be said to be a matter of fate.
I have seen friends complain too much, and then they will be mostly suppressed, such as Wu Tantai, Ling Dizhou and others, which is beyond the reach of queer . If you blame the sky for no reason, then the sky will not allow it; if you blame others for no reason, then people will not accept it. The principle of induction will naturally follow. The place where Brother Wen is located is the most favorable situation among scholars. If he moves, he is full of resentment and is unsatisfactory. It is really what I don’t understand.
I once saw those who complained too many times among my friends. Their lives in the future must be full of difficulties. For example, people like Wu Tantai and Ling Dizhou cannot count with their hands. blames God for no reason, then God will definitely not allow it; if he resents others for no reason, people will definitely not accept it. This is the truth of induction, and it will naturally follow him. Lao Liu is in the best environment among scholars, and he complains all the time and makes me feel unhappy. This really makes me unable to understand.
(Wu Tantai and Ling Dizhou look like their number rather than their name or character, they may be peers in Xiangxiang County. Now they can’t find their information at all. It can be seen that their lives were not very good later)
In the future, we must work hard to get rid of this disease, and take Wu Tantai and Ling Dizhou as the big warning in front of us. Whenever I feel complaining, I will think about myself: Why do I have any shortcomings and accumulate this unfairness? Suddenly introspectively, he left it resolutely. Not only can you be calm and humble, you can get the name of the subject early, but also nourish this kind of harmony, which can slightly reduce the patient.
In the future, we must work hard to get rid of this problem, and use Wu Tantai and Ling Dizhou as the lessons in front of us. When we want to complain, we ask ourselves: What are we dissatisfied with to support this unfair complaint? This sudden introspection made me decide to get rid of this problem. This not only allows you to be humble and stable in your heart, but also resonate early. Moreover, fostering this kind of peaceful demeanor can also reduce patients. Please Lao Jiu must think about this matter again and again, and don’t treat my words as cliché, it’s not worth laughing at.
(To ensure the reader's reading experience, the irrelevant content about some local things will be skipped)
brother Guofan hand grass
brother Zeng Guofan handbook
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