In the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan was known for his diligence and thrift, self-reliance, honesty and selflessness. Unlike other ** chasing power and getting infected with official Xi, he has always maintained a cold attitude to life, and was described as the kind of character who "often walks by the river, that is, does not wet his shoes", which was very few at that time.
However, by reading the "Book of Zeng Guofan's Family", we found a rather strange phenomenon - in the year of confusion, that is, when the official residence was secondary, Zeng Guofan fell into financial difficulties, living in poverty, and even owed a lot of debts. This is quite unusual in the era of the Qing Dynasty when "one year Qing Governor's Mansion, 100,000 snowflakes of silver", which makes people want to delve into the truth behind the debt.
Zeng Guofan formed a veritable image of a "debt slave" in the year of confusion. He had a wish to return to his hometown to visit his old mother, but due to financial constraints, he could not do so. In the thirtieth year of Daoguang (1850), when he was 40 years old, he expressed his wish in a letter to his family: "Since last year, Yu has wanted to return to his relatives every day, so if he can't, a Beijing account is nearly 1,000, and the cost of returning home is hundreds, and it is very difficult to take measures." This passage reveals Tsang's financial difficulties at the time, which made it impossible to return home. This dilemma of life made him feel very difficult and indescribable. He longs to return home to see his relatives, but he can't do it because of the weight of debt, and it becomes a description of more than enough to do.
Although Zeng Guofan was already the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites and the left attendant of the Ministry of War, he was in a high position, but his status as a ** did not reduce his debts. On the contrary, these debts are like a mountain, which has been weighing him down. It can be said that his years of confusion were spent in a dilemma in life. In the second year of Xianfeng (1852), he was 42 years old and learned that his mother had died and he needed to return to his hometown for funeral.
In his letter to his family, he expressed his dependence on his family: "When I left Beijing, I was allowed to send all my family affairs to my uncle. At this time, when you suffer from this great change, you will be able to bow down to Ji Yunbo to plan everything. Now the money in the Beijing apartment, there is no money, the family members go back to the south for the road fee, the population is too much, the total is four or five hundred gold, and the money is sent to Yunnian Bo Zhang Luo. On the way home for the funeral, he received 1,000 taels of gold from the Jiangxi provincial capital, although he had a heavy amount of silver, but the first desire to pay off the debt was to pay off the debt. He took out 300 taels to pay off the debt, and the remaining 700 taels were used for family funerals. This kind of behavior of repaying debts highlights Zeng Guofan's sensitivity to debts and his persistence in paying off debts.
However, as the capital of the Qing Dynasty, why did Zeng Guofan fall into debt trouble?In addition to the reasons for his living difficulties, the deeper reasons are his poor salary, unwillingness to give back to his family, and frequent socializing. In the year of confusion, Zeng Guofan's family structure was complex, with the old and the young, and there were four younger brothers in the middle.
As a son, he was extremely filial, and every year he sent a wealth of daily necessities home from the capital. As the eldest brother, he cares for his family and bears a lot of burden on the family. In addition, the entertainment of officialdom, the family's weddings and funerals, and the birthday banquets of his parents were all major pressures on the Zeng family's finances, and these affairs were precisely the ones that Zeng Guofan was willing to undertake. In order to solve the financial difficulties at hand, he had to borrow money, which became a reasonable behavior.
However, after the second year of Xianfeng (1852), Zeng Guofan's family letters rarely mentioned borrowing money. This is mainly because Zeng Guoquan and other younger brothers have grown up, have successful careers, and the family economy has gradually improved, so Zeng Guofan no longer needs to worry about it. This made him no longer anxious about money, and his financial situation gradually stabilized.
In the year of confusion, Zeng Guofan, as a **, was mired in debt, which made people have to re-examine the image of this "Zeng shaved head". Although he showed a decisive side in officialdom, in life, he showed an elegant and unearthly way of life. He took food and clothing as his own, and he was willing to help others, showing his lovely side. For the character of Zeng Guofan, the "independent service" of ** and Chiang Kai-shek's admiration, in addition to the recognition of his statecraft, may also contain the admiration of his way of life.
In general, Zeng Guofan's debt predicament in the years of confusion not only reflected the corruption of officialdom at that time, but also showed his noble personal character. The pressures and responsibilities of life put him in a difficult financial situation, but he was able to overcome it through his frugality and integrity. This experience also provided us with an opportunity to get to know this great statesman of the Qing Dynasty more fully.