Who were Zeng Guofan’s family letters written to? Of course I wrote it for my family. However, in the turbulent late Qing Dynasty, as an important minister, he was not only responsible for a family, but also for a military and political situation. Therefore, the interpretation of Lao Zeng’s family letters will also be extended upwards. For example, some people think that he The family letter was written to Emperor Xianfeng to express his attitude.

However, the author believes that Lao Zeng’s letters home are written for himself to relieve stress, just as a night walker shouts loudly, not to scare ghosts, but to embolden himself. . Interpretation of Zeng Guofan's character

Influenced by his parents, he is a sulky person

Everyone knows the inspirational sayings of Zeng: Knock out teeth and swallow blood. After suffering setbacks and grievances, endure it for a while and fight for it in the future. This is interpreted from a positive perspective. However, if you look at both sides of everything, while you are holding back and working hard, you are also accumulating emotional garbage and sulking. People who endure and strive for success are often people who like to sulk.

Old Zeng’s character can be analyzed from the perspective of Zeng’s mother’s generation. Lao Zeng's mother, whose surname was Jiang, had a comfortable life in her natal family, but when she married into the Zeng family, she was financially unsatisfied. This Jiang Tai has a strong personality, so he likes to give himself courage as a way of self-improvement. While being tough-talking, I also got a lot of sulking moments.

Father Zeng was a cowardly person. He was often scolded by Grandpa Zeng, and he probably got a lot of sulks.

Some negative factors in the character of Zeng’s father and mother had a negative impact on Zeng’s brother. Zeng Guofan also explained in his letter home on November 27, 1854: I submit myself to the official position. In recent years, when handling military affairs, there have been many frustrations and injustices in the center. Every time the mother points to her children, she says: "There is so much idle energy accumulated here, and there is nowhere to vent it." It can be seen that Lao Zeng was influenced by his parents and was a sulky person. The grievances behind the family letter

Showing a humble attitude, Xianfeng scolded him for being hypocritical

Lao Zeng was competitive by nature, but he liked to show a gentle, courteous and thrifty attitude. No one is stupid. If you like to pretend, someone will always expose you. For example, in the fourth year of Xianfeng, in 1854 AD, the Hunan Army captured Wuhan. This was a great event. Lao Zeng also gained real power. He was in charge of Hubei Province - acting governor of Hubei Province. He had financial and personnel rights, and also had other powers in his hands. Bing, should you be victorious?

However, Lao Zeng thought very far. On the one hand, he felt that he was showing off his filial piety, and on the other hand, he felt that he needed to show the virtue of humility, so he wrote to the court to resign. I thought Emperor Xianfeng would praise him, but he didn't expect that Xianfeng was a smart man. He issued an edict to expose Lao Zeng's false modesty: I know you will resign. I know that little Jiujiu in your belly. Resigning is expected. A good reputation is a minor offense, but disobeying an order is a serious crime. He issued strict instructions and directly scolded Zeng Guofan for his good reputation. Moreover, the nature of the matter was very serious - disobeying the order and disobeying the order. As a result, he must be removed from office and severely criticized. This is a blow given to him by Xianfeng. Can you still reply to the emperor's criticism? The suffocation is inevitable.

Zeng Guofan has a summary of the suffocation he suffered in his life. Let’s look at the diary: Yu Gengxu and Xinhai were reviled by the powerful in the capital; Guichou Jiayin was reviled by Changsha; Yimao Bingchen was reviled by Jiangxi . All he encountered was scolding. He was scolded by the powerful in the capital and could not retaliate; he was scolded by the green camp soldiers in Changsha, but he could not retaliate, and if he did so he would definitely die; when he was collecting grain and grass in Jiangxi, he was scolded like a beggar, and he could not retaliate. Mouth.

Old Zeng endured it and did not cause trouble, but his anger came up and accumulated layer by layer in his heart. This is not speculation, but is evidenced by Zeng Guofan’s own voice: Never be angry. Say it and be patient. If you are angry, don't say anything, just endure it. This is obviously sulking, how depressing and uncomfortable it is. How should he deal with his sulking nature? How to turn this into positive energy? Letters from home become a channel for venting

Putting depression into words

When you are angry, you can’t say anything, so you can only strive for self-improvement. Strengthening is a long-term thing, but there must be someone to clear the current emotions. Pipeline, Lao Zeng had to rely on words at this time.

For example, as mentioned above, Zeng Guofan was scolded by Xianfeng for his good reputation. Zeng's emotions were vented in a letter home to his four younger brothers in September of that year. He wrote this: The goodness of people Name, who is inferior to me? Everyone has a good reputation, and everyone is just like me. It was obviously written in response to Xianfeng's criticism and expressed the grievances in their hearts.

But you can’t complain about Long live the Lord in your home letters, right? So I explained to myself and comforted myself: I have a good name, so people must have a reputation that is not beautiful and a name that is beautiful but far out of reach.

The emperor scolded Lao Zeng for his good reputation, which made Lao Zeng feel embarrassed. But thinking about it from a dialectical perspective, if I have a good reputation, Lao Zeng, someone must be scolded for it. The reason is very simple. Your ability has been shown. Compared with other people's incompetence, they are even more embarrassed than me. Lao Zeng felt relieved after comparing this in his book at home. Then, Lao Zeng rose to the level of personality cultivation: Brother is just cautious and modest, and always vigilant. From now on, I must be cautious and modest, and hide my tail deeper. Then it turned into a longing for future work: we can quickly clear the river and eliminate this thief. Can clear the Taiping Army on the Yangtze River and quell this military chaos. The uncertainty in my heart has been eliminated, which means I am no longer afraid.

I was scolded by the emperor and felt guilty, but after writing this, my resentment disappeared, I found a way, I emboldened myself, and I was no longer afraid. It can be seen that Lao Zeng’s family letters have a great function, which can not only relieve boredom, but also improve the quality.

Just write down what worries you, make it literal and material, place it in front of your eyes, and make it an object that can be objectively observed. In other words, objectify the subject and stop it from being just here. It is actually a good way to go to the mountains and see things clearly.