"How to Cut the Bottom of the Lunar New Year" Zeng Guofan, an important official in the late Qing Dynasty, participated in seven scientific examinations in his early years.

Zeng Guofan did many great things in his life, and his means were very clever and shrewd. But Zeng Guofan's IQ is not particularly high. Judging from the family inheritance, Zeng Guofan's father Zeng Linshu was very stupid when he was studying. He began to take the scholar exam in his teens and didn't pass until he was 43. He took the 17 exam back and forth, and finally his hair turned gray, just to take the exam as a scholar.

Before the age of 30, he was basically a mediocre person.

At first, Zeng Guofan's road to the imperial examination was a bit like his father's. I failed the first six exams, and it was not until the seventh time that I managed to get a scholarship. Why do you say "reluctant"? Because he ranks second from the bottom.

There was a lot of discussion about Zeng Guofan's talent at that time. In letters to some relatives and friends, my Zuo You often commented on Zeng Guofan, saying that Zeng Guofan was "short of talents", "too few talents", "too few talents" and "all soldiers are idiots". His student Li Hongzhang said to his face that he was "slow in Confucianism" and did things too slowly.

Before the age of 30, Zeng Guofan's character had many shortcomings and deficiencies. After he became an official in Beijing, he spent a lot of time socializing, drinking, chatting, watching movies and playing chess every day. He spends so little time studying that he often can't sit still. On one occasion, the Hanlin Academy had a 40-day holiday. At the end of the holiday, Zeng Guofan made a self-summary in his diary and told what he had done in the past 40 days. I didn't do anything except write some letters from home, so I muddied along.

He is arrogant, ill-bred and short-tempered, and has had several serious conflicts with others. Zheng Xiaoshan, an official whose hometown is Beijing, is one of them. The two men had a quarrel because they disagreed at dinner. I swore all the dirty words and even "greeted" my relatives. Later, Zeng Guofan felt very regretful and said that his behavior was too insulting.

Therefore, before the age of 30, Zeng Guofan was a mediocre person in many ways. In our later impression, Zeng Guofan was far from being a saint with perfect personality.

To put it simply, he began to learn to be a saint by keeping a diary. He also set himself the lower limit of daily conquest in his diary, reading ten pages of history every day, speaking one page after afternoon tea every day and practicing his composition the next day. With the tool of diary, Zeng Guofan's work and study efficiency have been greatly improved.

At the age of thirty, I deeply reflected and became a saint.

Why can Zeng Guofan thoroughly remould himself and practice his internal skills? This is also closely related to his official visit to Beijing. Zeng Guofan met many great scholars in Beijing and was deeply moved. At the same time, after Zeng Guofan became an official, there was no pressure to write an eight-part essay, and he began to have time to learn some knowledge leisurely. At that time, it was necessary for scholars to study Neo-Confucianism. A basic theory of Neo-Confucianism is that everyone can become a saint through self-discipline, and everyone has the ambition to become a saint. So at the age of 30, Zeng Guofan felt that he could not get along as he did at the age of 30. He must be reborn, turn over a new leaf and learn to be a saint.

How did Zeng Guofan learn to be a saint? In short, he learned to be a saint from the time he kept a diary. He used neat small fonts to reflect his daily actions, from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night, especially picking out those who did not meet the standards of saints. He also set himself the lower limit of daily conquest in his diary, reading ten pages of history every day, speaking one page after afternoon tea every day and practicing his composition the next day. With the tool of diary, Zeng Guofan's work and study efficiency have been greatly improved.

After making up his mind to turn over a new leaf, Zeng Guofan immediately remembered the struggle with Zheng Xiaoshan. Although both of them have problems in this struggle, if they want to turn over a new leaf, they must turn to others and find reasons from themselves. If you want to turn over a new leaf, you must hurry. So Zeng Guofan immediately went to Zheng Xiaoshan's house to visit and apologize. Zheng Xiaoshan was also very moved and invited Zeng Guofan to dinner. So they made up again.

Zeng Guofan once said, "I don't want the name of an honest official" just because I don't want others to think that he is an honest official. His honesty and honesty, following the rules and hidden rules of officialdom, eased the contradiction between him and officialdom to some extent, and helped him unite all forces that can be United to do some great things for society. Zeng Guofan is a typical honest official, with a clear inside and a turbid outside, and a round inside and a round outside.

Servants in trouble are unwilling to follow him.

Generally speaking, the debate about Zeng Guofan mainly focuses on whether Zeng Guofan is a sincere person or a hypocritical person. Many people say that Zeng Guofan is a sincere gentleman and saint, but there are also many people who think that Zeng Guofan is a hypocrite and wily. His every move is for promotion and wealth. One's income and expenditure are very secret aspects of life. Knowing this can usually define the authenticity of this person.

There is a book about Zeng Guofan Daoguang 2 1 years ago in Xiangxiang literature, because Zeng Guofan's heart is very small. When Zeng Guofan was an official in Beijing, he kept accounts every day because of financial constraints. By combing these data, we can see the basic context of Zeng Guofan's life economic income and expenditure.

Let me talk about Zeng Guofan's economic situation during his official career in Beijing. Twenty years after Daoguang, Zeng Guofan was awarded the position of "Seven-product imperial academy" by the emperor. This is equivalent to the researcher at or above the deputy division level in the State Council Policy Research Office today. He often meets the heads of ministries, sometimes the emperor, and often drafts some articles for the country. But his financial situation can be summed up in one word:-poor. For example, in the 22nd year of Daoguang, Zeng Guofan's servant Bobby Chen had a quarrel with his master. It is common for the master and servant to quarrel, but after the quarrel, Bobby Chen packed his bags and left, and went to another official's house to climb a tall branch. Why? Because Zeng Guofan's living standard is too low, he often defaults on wages and the food is not good. So Zeng Guofan was greatly stimulated by this incident, so he wrote a proud slave poem, saying, "I have no money in my chest, and there are many passions in my life, but I know that proud slave has left me." . With no money in hand, servants look down on themselves and are more arrogant than themselves. Why are you so poor? This is because of the low wage system in Qing Dynasty.

In terms of how many meters one or two pieces of silver can buy in Qing Dynasty, today one or two pieces of silver is equivalent to 200 yuan RMB, and Zeng Guofan's annual salary is about 24,000 RMB. If this money is difficult for a wanderer in Beijing today, let alone Zeng Guofan and his married children. What was the expenditure of Beijing officials at that time? In the twenty-first year of Daoguang, Zeng Guofan spent 458 yuan 2 1.9 cents, and the fiscal deficit was 333 yuan 25.4 cents.

In the tenth year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan was appointed Governor of Liangjiang. What is Zeng Guofan's income at this time? In the 55th second, he was an official in Beijing. But this is only a nominal salary. The main income of the Qing governor was expenditure, which is usually called gray income. The average annual income of provincial officials is 65.438+82 billion yuan, equivalent to 36 million yuan. If Zeng Guofan's income is really that high, he may be one of the highest earners in the Qing Dynasty. When Zeng Guofan's income increased greatly, how much did his living standard improve?

Zeng Guofan's living standard has undergone great changes, but it has not improved, but declined. First of all, in terms of clothes, Zeng Guofan is not only simple, but also sloppy. This impression has been confirmed by foreigners. It was also in these two years that Gordon, the captain of the artillery team, met Zeng Guofan in Anqing. Gordon's entourage wrote a memoir and mentioned the meeting. These foreigners were surprised to find that the clothes of the governor of Liangjiang were very old, wrinkled and oily, that is, oil stains that were accidentally dropped while eating. Why didn't Zeng Guofan pay attention to clothes when he was governor? The reason is very simple, because Zeng Guofan is the biggest official in the two rivers. He has no superiors to see, but all who come to see him are subordinates, so he can do whatever he wants.

An atypical official with a clear interior and turbid exterior.

Zeng Guofan has an interesting homework list in his materials, which he showed to the ladies in the Governor's Office. Because the Taishoufu did not allow Zeng Guofan to hire too many servants and was understaffed, Zeng Guofan asked his wives to be self-reliant and do housework by themselves. In the same seven years, Zeng Guofan set a timetable for his daughter and daughter-in-law. Every day after breakfast, we should make side dishes, snacks and wine paste, which is called dishes. Spinning flowers or flax in the morning is called clothes. Do fine work such as embroidery after lunch. It is difficult to make shoes at night. So the ladies in the Governor's Office can hardly rest from waking up in the morning to resting at night. There was such a family in the Governor's Office, and I believe there was no other family in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, every night, Zeng Guofan was watching official business in the governor's house in Nanjing, and people in the harem were lighting lamps to knit sweaters. It should be said that this is a very touching picture in the history of China. This is Zeng Guofan's honest performance.

At the same time, he also has "turbidity" [S2/]

Side. Zeng Guofan also ate and drank. Ten years of Tongzhi, Zeng Guofan went to Suzhou to inspect his work, and his daily routine was mostly entertainment. Before leaving, he also arranged two tables of banquets for Suzhou officials. This way is the same as any official in the late Qing Dynasty. At the same time, Zeng Guofan sent ice and charcoal to Qingyun in his later years, bringing thousands of silver.

Zeng Guofan's biggest official entertainment took place in the seventh year of Tongzhi, because in this year he was transferred from the governor of Liangjiang to the governor of Zhili, and went to Beijing to visit Empress Dowager Cixi and the emperor. Out of Beijing, according to the practice of officialdom at that time, it was disrespectful to send pens to officials in Beijing. It was a farewell ceremony. I spent fourteen thousand taels of silver, but I didn't feel rich. Compared with others, there is not much money.

Summarizing Zeng Guofan's economic income and expenditure in his life, I think Zeng Guofan is a typical honest official. On the one hand, he had a clear conscience and didn't put a penny in his pocket. On the other hand, his "Qing" is different from the official practice in the traditional history of China. Unlike Harry, he is clearly visible and strictly abides by state regulations. The state stipulates that you can't take any money. If the country can't do it, then it won't do it at all. I don't think such an honest official will do anything. When officials reach this level, they become public enemies of officialdom, and everyone doesn't know you. Because you obviously imply that others are unclean, you have no friends in officialdom, and you have no power to support yourself.

Zeng Guofan has a saying, "I don't want to be named as an upright official", which means I don't want others to think that he is an upright official. His honesty and honesty, following the bright rules and hidden rules of officialdom, eased the contradiction between him and officialdom to a certain extent, helped him unite all forces that could be United, mobilized resources from all sides, and did some great things for the society. Therefore, I think Zeng Guofan is a typical honest official, with a clear inside and a turbid outside, and a round outside.

Know Feng Shui, but don't monopolize the cemetery [/s2/]

Zeng Guofan is good at meeting strangers. Every time he meets a stranger, he has a habit of sitting in his seat without talking to you, looking at you from top to bottom for a few minutes, and then talking. This habit is scary, but Zeng Guofan himself thinks it is a way for him to identify talents.

Besides, Zeng Guofan also knows how to calculate. When he went out to fight, every time he encountered military indecision, he had to open the Book of Changes and do his own calculations. There are as many as 15 such records in his diary. Zeng Guofan also believed in dreaming and geomantic omen.

In fact, in China's traditional culture, especially in Neo-Confucianism, ghosts and gods and fengshui are important parts. Zeng Guofan is a Neo-Confucian, so he is superstitious about ghosts and gods and studies Feng Shui. This was not a shameful thing at that time, but a very aboveboard thing.

Now that we know the geomantic omen, Zeng Guofan can't give any consideration to the geomantic omen place where he will be buried in the future. Zeng Guofan had a friend named Feng Shutang in his later years, who was very good at checking Feng Shui. In his later years, he took the initiative to tell Zeng Guofan that he would go to Hunan to find a cemetery for Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan agreed happily. After Feng Shutang returned to Hunan, he chose a good place for Zeng Guofan and lived there for more than half a year. This place is in Dongtai Mountain in Xiangxiang. Feng Shutang wrote to Zeng Guofan, saying that the feng shui in Dongtai Mountain is really good. If Zeng Guofan is buried in this place in the future, it can ensure that future generations will be a juren and a scholar. Unexpectedly, Zeng Guofan wrote back that I can't take this land. Because this land is so good, it is related to the cultural transportation of a county. If I bury it here, the cultural traffic in Xiangxiang County will be occupied by my former family, which will hinder the prosperity of other people's cultural traffic. I wouldn't do such a thing. So you can choose another piece of land for me. This is not good, as long as you can bless my children and grandchildren. So Zeng Guofan died and was buried in another place. Even in geomantic omen and superstition, Zeng Guofan's personality is different.