A Study On Zeng Guofan's Family Ethic

"Cultivate one's morality, manage a household, rule the state and preserve peace and order"。In ancient China, household management is an important premise for "rule the state and preserve peace and order". Zeng Guofan was a renowned scholar and official in late Daoguang Period of Qing Dynasty. Deeply influenced by traditional Chinese culture, he laid great importance on the household management. Although he didn't possess his household management book like "Admonitions of Yan Family", we still can read his rich ideas about household management in the historical materials especially his letters home and poems and essays he left to us.China is a country valuing ethics, and family ethics plays a very important role in social ethical system. Zeng's family ethics was displayed in many aspects. As to filial piety, he proposed to support parents with the purpose of making them happy. He held the view that "wisdom mostly exists in daily life. As to piety, how much you try, how much you will learn." He even believed that "the value of getting a scholarly honor in imperial exams lies in the fact that it can please parents and the wealth brought by the official position can support parents." Thus, he demanded to ask after parents often, exert efforts to support them and follow their wills." In ethics on sibling, he maintained to love with virtue. He stressed to educate siblings to be noble instead of offering them rich material. Harmony should be maintained but not against principles. Siblings should encourage and discipline each other to develop themselves. On relatives treating, Zeng advocated to take them as family, and help constantly those in difficult situation.As to production and consumption, Zeng Guofan advocated being diligent in producing and thrifty in consuming. He regarded productive activity as a symbol of rise and fall of a family. Zeng attached great importance to the recognition of labor. He proposed that labor was the precondition for a person to establish his position in the society and could keep descendants away from proud and luxurious life. It is clear that he fully understood the environment where children in official families lived were unfavorable to their growth and they should be educated through "diligence and thrift" in family production and consumption.As to children education, Zeng Guofan advocated that development of talents mainly depended on education. The purpose of education was to acquire wisdom from books but not get an official position. Children should be instructed that the first thing for pursuing study was to "have lofty ideals, insight and persistence". Teach students according to their aptitudes. The students with insufficient talent should focus on practical skills instead of participating in official academic examinations. The choice of teacher and friends should be taken seriously. The methods for learning should be considered. "Reading, reciting, transcribing, and composing are four methods for learning. Each must be done every day."As to health, Zeng Guofan believed that "so-called "piety" was to take keeping healthy as the primary task". He advocated good living tempo, good living habits and good attitudes towards life. Meanwhile, he emphasized physical illness should be treated by treating the sickness in mind and mind-governing was the key to keep healthy. "Fame and fortune are all void while great mind is the real treasure."By analyzing Zeng Guofan's letters home, the author can vividly apperceive three sources of his instructions on managing a household. Firstly, he took after his family traditions. His grandfather, as a proper squire, got up very early in his life, and was keen on village boarding school. What's more, he dared to be responsible for official business. His father was famous for filial piety. His mother and grandmother, were women of strong character, worked very hard without complaint. Their personal fascination produced a positive effect on the formation of Zeng Guofan's instructions on managing a household. After being a courtier, he always stuck to his grandfather's statements and actions to instruct his family. He summarized his grandfather's practice of managing a household and distilled "eight-character" guidelines, "eight-best-policy" temple. Secondly, family rules and regulations in traditional Chinese culture exerted an impact on him. Thirdly, political metamorphosis, unreliability of ranks and titles, rulers'suspicion, chances impediment, as well as ruthless wars made him realized the mutability of fame and fortune. He desired nothing so long as he could farm, read and bring up offspring in peace and contentment. Fourthly, social turbulence resulted in his thoughts. "Meat and wine rot within the vermilion gates; corpses freeze out on the street." Inequalities in wealth cause social unrest. This is not the true statecraft. Protection for ordinary people aimed to avoiding jealousy and robbery. Socially, Zeng Guofan's own rich experiences also contributed to his instructions thoughts. In light of military activity, he assumed that the Imperial Examination System failed to train practical talented persons. He advocated reforming traditional education content and education means, putting an orientation towards practical techniquesAfter studying Zeng Guofan's instructions on managing a household, the author suggests that "Inside Saint" principle has been reflected in his managing thoughts which fully embodied Confucianism in three ways as follows:The first is Confucian's ideas of kindheartedness. Zeng thought a real gentleman should go into the secularity for his disciples'cultivation and go out of the secularity for the interests of the state and the people. He, moreover, was convinced that "people are my brothers and all things are my kinds" and he also sympathized with destiny and the poor. These were the expressions of Confucian core value of "benevolence". The second is Golden mean in Confucianism. Zeng had been persuading his family to give up eminence and luxury; he was worried and uneasy about his brothers'conferring rank; he, bluntly, pointed out his sons and nephews'arrogance and extravagance; to reflect on his own weak points, he would rather owe debts than not help relatives and friends; governing four provinces, he thought about resigning his official post and returning home all the same.....so on and so forth. He did these because he thought "Pride hurts; modesty benefits". The third is a strong sense of self-reliance and self-improvement. Zeng urged people to persist even under adversity.Zeng Guofan's thoughts are the creature of the age in which he lived, reflections of his principles of handling matters as elite. These managing thoughts have theoretical and practical significance for the constructing of a harmonious society, particularly, for how to deal with family ethics, how to educate children, how to handle the relationship between individual and society in a socialist market economy.