1. When doing official business, one must be far-sighted and foresighted. ——Zeng Guofan

2. When listening to words, listen to reason. Once you hear it, you will easily assume it, but you will often make many mistakes. ——Zeng Guofan

3. Don’t change what you say today because of small interests tomorrow. ——Zeng Guofan

4. Let go, be bold, and stop looking forward and backward. ——Zeng Guofan

5. Don’t abandon people’s great beauty with small evils, and don’t forget people’s great kindness with small grudges. ——Zeng Guofan

6. Everything that flourishes must also decline, so we must plan for it in advance. ——Zeng Guofan

7. Never be content with anything, never be a thief, never be arrogant, never be a lazy person. ——Zeng Guofan

8. Advise others not to point out their faults but to appreciate their strengths first. When a person is happy, words are easy to enter, but when a person is angry, words are difficult to enter. Anger is better than personal reasons. ——Zeng Guofan

9. If the children of aristocratic families have the same food, clothing and daily life as those of poor people, they can become great achievements. ——Zeng Guofan

10. The law is punished by heaven. It should be upheld with justice and practiced with benevolence. ——Zeng Guofan

11. Those who rely on the rich will be poor, those who rely on the noble will be humble, those who rely on the strong will be weak, and those who rely on skill will be clumsy. Relying on benevolence and righteousness, one is neither poor nor humble nor weak nor clumsy. ——Zeng Guofan

13. All mortals can be saints, and it has nothing to do with the amount of reading. ——Zeng Guofan