Zeng Guofan was one of the most powerful people in the history of the Qing Dynasty. He was ranked among the three princes, and he was granted the title of prince. He was very prominent for a while. However, his method of educating his children was far more doting and caring than what we have today. Parents are much smarter. How did Zeng Guofan educate his children? Below is the relevant content I collected for you, I hope it will be helpful to you.
How Zeng Guofan educates children
1: Teaching by example comes before teaching by words.
He asked his eldest son to get up before dawn every morning and sweep the courtyard, and then go back to his room to practice a thousand calligraphy, the first of which was "jian". When eating, one time he came across some grains in the shell, so his son picked them out and put them on the table. Zeng Guofan didn't say anything when he saw it. He just picked it up silently, peeled off the shell and ate the rice inside. The influence of teaching by example is naturally better than words. A simple action, without the need for a long speech or even without saying a word, can make the children understand the truth of "every grain is hard work".
Correspondingly, I am reminded of the two cake-eating stories in "Tang Yulin". Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty held a banquet for all the ministers. After Yu Wenshi cut the meat, he wiped the meat juice on his hands with flour cakes. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty did not say anything, but just looked at him with his eyes. Yu Wenshi felt like a thorn in his body, so he ate the noodles rubbed with meat juice. In the generation of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the story happened again. This time, it was the prince Li Heng who wiped his hands with the dough. I don’t know what Li Heng was thinking. Under the gaze of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, he actually wiped his hands with big mouthfuls. Eat the noodles.
When I saw this story, I wasn’t too touched in my heart. Because whether it was Taizong or Xuanzong, they were using the Emperor's Power to intimidate their ministers, forcing them to eat pancakes with soup on them. But why didn't the emperor think about why his ministers and sons used pancakes to wipe their hands? Is it because there was no one to wait on them to wash their hands at the banquet in the Tang Dynasty palace, or was it that the eunuchs and maids didn't know how to pass hand towels to their masters? It was because they didn't care and didn't cherish it in their hearts, so they did it naturally and subconsciously. Being frightened by Long Yan's threats, he changed his original intention and ate the pancakes that were used as "hand towels", not knowing how happy he felt in his heart. What's more, the emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was extremely luxurious. He used a BMW to transport lychees thousands of miles to the imperial concubine. It cost more than a thousand gold. How much bread was it worth? How many people's food and clothing did it provide?
Therefore, the superficial effect of putting on a show will not really have an educational effect. ?It is better to endure hardships due to youth than to suffer poverty due to old age. A person should cherish blessings. In ancient times, the word "happiness" in the word "cherish blessings" originally referred to wine and meat sacrificed to gods, and also generally referred to food. Cherishing blessings starts with cherishing food. It is better to think about the day when there is no day than to think about the time when there is no time. Therefore, educating children so that they can experience hardship, understand suffering, and be diligent and thrifty from an early age is the most important part of character education.
Two: Do ??what you say, and inappropriate behavior should not only be criticized in time but also corrected immediately.
? Sons should be raised in poverty while daughters should be raised in wealth; sons should be raised rough and daughters should be raised intensively? This is a view that is very popular nowadays. A hundred years ago, Zeng Guofan was not only strict in educating his children, but also very strict in disciplining his daughters. One year, the youngest daughter came to Liangjiang Governor's Mansion with her mother to visit her father. When she entered the Governor's Mansion for the first time, the younger daughter thought it could not be too shabby, so she put on a blue silk jacket and a lace green jacket. Pants. When Zeng Guofan saw it, he thought the lace on the corners of the trousers was exquisitely embroidered and had complicated patterns. He was very dissatisfied. He criticized his daughter's clothes for being too luxurious and bright, and immediately asked her to change into a pair of trousers without lace. Not to mention the fact that in that era, it was very common for young ladies from official families to wear lace clothes, which was not considered a luxury. Let’s just say that if parents think their children have done something inappropriate, they should not only correct them in time, but also correct them in time. We may not even pay attention to the need for children to correct themselves immediately. We are more about "pay attention next time" and "don't do it again in the future", even though we all know that "timely rectification" is more effective for children to establish correct views and develop good habits.
Three: Inspection is necessary if required.
When he was transferred to another place, Zeng Guofan personally made a homework schedule for his daughter-in-law and daughters, which was divided into four things. The first food task: making side dishes, snacks, wine sauce, etc. after breakfast; the second clothing task: Siwu carving, spinning flowers or hemp; the third fine work: doing needlework, embroidery, etc. after lunch; the fourth rough work: making shoes after You carving Or sewing clothes until the second watch. He was afraid that after he left home, his daughters and wives would not be able to implement it effectively, so he wrote a paragraph after the homework: "The men in my family are indispensable for reading, reading and writing, and the women are indispensable for clothing, food, thickness and thickness." I've been teaching this for several years, but I still haven't made any specific rules. I am about to go north to suppress the war, and I have designated this day's lesson. Please ask my wife to supervise me and test the results myself. Food is inspected once a day, clothing is inspected once every three days, and rough work is inspected once a month. In addition, the daughter-in-law and daughters are also required to make one pair of men's shoes and one women's shoe every month. After I returned to Jiangning, I took it as a general experience. ?Have requirements, have inspections, do what you say, and teach by words and deeds. This is Zeng Guofan's way of teaching his children. Later, his son Zeng Jize was good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, and he taught himself English and became a famous diplomat in the late Qing Dynasty; Zeng Jihong also made considerable achievements in studying ancient arithmetic; his grandchildren also produced poets like Zeng Guangjun; and his great-grandchildren also produced poets like Zeng Guangjun. Scholars and educators such as Zeng Zhaoluan and Zeng Yoonong.
Many times, after we have children, we truly realize the great responsibility of being a parent. Naturally, we work harder in the workplace and in business, and work even harder to provide for our children. By accumulating a solid economic foundation, we painstakingly maintain personal and social relationships to pave the way for our children’s growth. We hope that if we give more, our children will experience less ups and downs and grow more smoothly.
However, sometimes ideas and results are often contradictory. The more you pay and the more careful you consider, the children’s space for growth is restricted, and their abilities are weakened under the over-protection of parents. .
Compare Zeng Guofan’s famous saying about raising children: Children from ordinary families have the same clothing, food and daily life as those of poor people. A simple person can become a great person. ?
Zeng Guofan, who was an extremely humane minister, required his children to have the same food, clothing and daily life as poor scholars. We think it is a bit harsh and even unkind, but this is the most precious thing for the growth of children. Zeng Guofan left behind a sixteen-character famous saying about family management: "A frugal family will prosper; a diligent person will be strong; if he can be diligent and frugal, he will never be poor or humble." ?That’s what he said, and even more so. When it comes to children's "early education", everyone is accustomed to looking abroad and learning from advanced European and American theories. In fact, in ancient China, there are many classic and effective educational cases and views, which are worthy of our reflection and reference.