On Zeng Guofan's Family Education Thoughts

Zheng Guofan was an prominent scholar and statesman in Chinese contemporary history. he was an 'Eminent vassal'during Qing Dyansty's Xian Feng and TongZhi's reign, He was a Confucian expert as well, and reputated as that period's "Confucian Luminary ".His family educational thought was bayed on the Confucianism.IWhy Zheng attached great importance to family education was because he was well known about the cause of those bureautical and landlord family's ups and downs in the history. He was quite aware that the influence of the success and failure of those volatile political causes on their family's prosperity and decadence. He regarded it very important for the sustaining of his clan's prosperity. The thought's origin: First, Chinese traditional warnings. Second, Zheng Clan's own principle. Third, traditional Confucianism.IIIt's basic contents:A Education of fulfillment of one's morals and ambitions. Zheng's ideal personality was obviously affected by traditional Culture and the one he devised is "saint", with the characteristic of "sacred inside while affable outside" .This is the goal he has been pursuing all his life, this is also the requirement he gave to this disciples and descendants. In his opinion, the ideal personality perseverance, austerity and etc. Having fulfilled those elements, one can show the nobility of his virtue state of mind, ideology, value principle.B Education of "ambition" and "cause~~. In terms of Zheng, having a stead fast ambition is the basis of the success of one's career. He instracter his disciples persistently that they should have aggressive ambitions and ideal, instead of letting it be. On establishing the success of career, he said: "Only by diligence can a person acquire i~i dependence, hence the prospect of the3prosperity of the family as well as the success of his career." It was only under his instruction that his 4 brothers and sons all obtained success.C Education of sustaining the family .His thought includes "respect parents," "get along well with the siblings", "frugality" , "advocate harmony" warning against arrogance and luxury." He regarded taking good care of parents as an important step of Confucian pursuit pattern, The natural extending of one's fulfillment, the concrete, representation of harmony, the prerequisite of managing a country. Frugality is the virtue.He admonished his disciples and descendants that they should "be thrifty, be accustomed to hardship and labor," He also list industriousness and frugality into 8 virtues. He talked with his disciples about the relevance between the harmony and the prosperity or decadence. He persisted in believing that" Harmony results in the boom."D The thought of reading and academics. His clan advocates receiving education while cultivating the land .So the importance of being educated is self-evident. He indicated the education can change one's demeanor. He recommended the disciples and descendants to read diligently and hope they could be "a gentleman who is well-educated and sensible"He said: "managing the family not for wealth, reading not for being an official" He also instruct the disciples: "There is no limit of knowledge, but its main part is virtue.""Studying is very arduous, but also needs long-time perseverance. One can't succeed unless would be hard or insist on persistently."E "Self-Restraint" .It includes three parts: First, the natural code that extreme abundance must certainly results in decadency. Second ,using history as waning. Third, advocating self-restraint. He believed that restraint has the following kinds: natural, other's restraint and before hand one and afterward one If one wants to keep the family and himself sufficient and stable, he should restrain himself beforehand spontaneously. If one has been restrained by others, then it's no use regretting. To restrain oneself, one must first, being incorrupt, modest and industriou~, second ,pursue insufficiency and avoid4abundance.IllThe principle and method of family education. Zheng embedde...