Zeng Guofan is the most prominent and controversial figure in modern Chinese history. His reputation was mixed during his lifetime. Zeng Guofan led the Hunan Army to suppress the Taiping Great Power, and was called the first hero of "Tongzhi Zhongxing" by the Qing court. In 1861, he founded Anqing Nei Ordnance Institute, the earliest Westernization military enterprise in China, and became an important representative of the Westernization School.After the Revolution of 1911, some revolutionaries called him "the pioneer of the Fa-rectification on the spot" and murdered people in the "Tianjin Religion Case".

The famous revolutionist Zhang Taiyan gave the most objective evaluation of Zeng Guofan, saying that Zeng Guofan "reputed him as a sage, and disrespected him as the culprit." The letter said: "I am close to others, and I only obey Zeng Wenzheng." Chiang Kai-shek even regarded Zeng Guofan as a model of lifelong learning, and personally excerpted many quotations from them, and then recited them.Of course, the evaluation of historical figures cannot be separated from the historical conditions at that time.Especially for a highly educated person like Zeng Guofan, one must never make rash comments.

Zeng Guofan was limited by the interests of the landlord class, and the official to the first-rank official represented the feudal ruling power.However, as a far-reaching figure, he must have his own profound reasons.In this sense alone, it is very necessary to study and understand Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan, courtesy name Bohan, nicknamed Disheng.Born in Xiangxiang, Hunan, born in 1811 and died in 1872.Zeng Guofan studied at the age of six and became a Jinshi at the age of twenty-eight.He was first awarded the review by the Imperial Academy, and was promoted to the right servant of the Ministry of Rites and the left servant of the acting military department until the 29th year of Daoguang (1849).After Emperor Xianfeng came to the throne, he successively served as the minister of soldiers, workers, criminals, and officials.Zeng Guofan's official career was prosperous, he was promoted to ten ranks in ten years, and won a good reputation in the capital.Throughout his life, he was strict in running the army, running the family, self-cultivation, and self-cultivation, and practiced the highest pursuit of feudal scholar-bureaucrats who made meritorious service, established words, and established morality.He was regarded as a model of moral cultivation by later generations.

Zeng Guofan has gone through the process of China's mourning and decay in his life. As far as he is concerned, in his early years, he specialized in learning and learned to be a sage, and he really achieved a lot of achievements.However, he led the army to suppress the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, killed people and cut land, etc., but he was notoriously guilty.In particular, the "Tianjin Religious Case" caused Zeng Guofan to suffer a heavy mental blow. On March 12, 1872, he died in the post of Governor of Liangjiang at the age of 61. "No matter what type of person Zeng Guofan belongs to, how to comment, history is fair and objective.At least one thing is certain, Zeng Guofan had an important influence on their historical period and later generations of Chinese society, especially the book "Collected Works of Zeng Wenzheng Gong" left by him, which has been valued by the world in history.

"The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzheng Gong" was written by Zeng Guofan and edited by Li Hanzhang, Li Hongzhang's brother and governor of Huguang. It has 167 volumes and was first published in 1876.The complete works include memorials, criticisms, military quotations, collections of essays, collections of poems, miscellaneous works, diaries, books, family letters, and family instructions.But what has been passed down to the present and is valued by the world is only the "family letter" that has really survived. It is no wonder that the famous scholar Nan Huaijin said in his book: "Zeng Guofan, a famous official in Zhongxing in the Qing Dynasty, had thirteen sets of knowledge, and only one was handed down. It reflects the main activities of Zeng Guofan's life and his main thoughts on governing politics, family, scholarship, and the army, and is an important material for studying Zeng Guofan and the history of this period.

This book collects and organizes the essence of Zeng Guofan's family letters, and combines them in chronological order: articles on self-cultivation, articles on persuading studies, articles on family management, articles on financial management, articles on making friends, articles on politics, and articles on employing people, etc., basically covering Zeng Guofan's life. main idea.