Zeng Guofan's family tradition, family rules and family motto:

(I) always warned my brothers and nephews about what I wanted, but (my grandfather) Hinggang Gong's eight characters, three disbeliefs and others It’s just eight books and three auspiciousness. The eight characters are: "Kao, Bao, Zao, Sao, Shu, Vegetable, Fish, Pig". The third one who doesn't believe it says: "Medicine and medicine, earthly immortals, monks and witches". The Eight Books said: "Reading is based on exegesis, writing poetry is based on tone, serving relatives is based on pleasing others, maintaining health is based on being less angry, standing up is based on not lying, staying at home is based on not getting up, and being an official is based on The principle is not to love money, and the principle of marching is not to disturb the people." San Zhixiang said: "Filial piety brings good fortune, diligence brings good fortune, and forgiveness brings good fortune."

Zeng Guofan's grandfather, Zeng Xinggang, believed that "sixty percent of a child's virtuousness is due to nature, and four percent is due to family upbringing." He established a family motto that strictly required the Zeng family's children and grandchildren to abide by it. After Zeng Guofan became famous, he condensed his grandfather's family motto into the "Four Characters and Eight Sentences" formula, that is, "Books, vegetables, pigs and fish, treasures should be checked early and cleaned early, often spoken and often practiced, all eight are good; earth fortune and medical theory, monks and witches pray, stay." If a guest stays for a long time, all the six will be annoyed." The family motto of the ancients sounds awkward to pronounce, and at first glance it doesn’t make sense. But read word for word, this simple and strict family motto that brought blessings to the descendants of the Zeng family has profound meaning.

Books are reading. From ancient times to the present, only reading can best improve personal quality. It is also the only way to make people gentle, courteous and thrifty, and to achieve the traditional Confucian virtues.

Vegetables are cultivated land to grow vegetables. Be self-sufficient by working in the fields.

Pigs are pigs raised in pens. It can not only adjust the quality of family life, but also solve the cost of some daily necessities through pig raising.

Fish means fish farming. Cultivate your body and mind and improve your personal taste through fish farming.

These four things are actually things that ordinary people do at home. There are children and grandchildren studying, there are vegetables in the fields, grain in the fields, pigs in the pens, and fish in the ponds. It seems that It is a picture of happy living in the countryside where farming and reading are passed down from generation to generation.

Kao, in ancient times, meant timely sacrifices and worship of ancestors. As a person, if you want to understand your own life experience, you must first not forget your ancestors.

The treasure is to live in harmony with your neighbors, get along well with the people around you, and learn to get along with others in society. That is a priceless treasure.

Being early means going to bed early and getting up early, so that life has a pattern. It is not only a good habit in life, but also affects a person's good style of work in the future.

Sweeping is not simply sweeping the floor, but "how can you sweep the world if you don't sweep one house?" This "sweeping" not only cultivates the habit of loving labor, but also cultivates a refreshing and upright quality of life. Highlights the taste of home.

These four things are necessary to cultivate a person's good behavior habits and social cognition outside the home.