"The more a gentleman gives way, the more arrogant a villain becomes.". It means that the more modest a gentleman is, the more arrogant a villain is. From Zeng Guofan's Family Letter.
Zeng Guofan's Family Letters is a collection of Zeng Guofan's letters, which was written in the middle of the 19th century of the Qing Dynasty. This collection of letters records nearly 1500 letters of Zeng Guofan's 30-year career in Hanyuan and Congwu from the 30th year of Daoguang's reign to the 10th year of Tongzhi's reign in the Qing Dynasty. The content involved is extremely extensive, which is a vivid reflection of Zeng Guofan's main activities in his life and his way of governing politics, family and learning. The Zeng family's writing style is calm and calm, free in form, spontaneous in thought, and free in writing. It contains true knowledge and good advice in plain family life, and has a strong persuasive and charismatic force. Although there are too few books left by Zeng, only one family book can reflect his knowledge, accomplishments and moral cultivation. As a famous Neo Confucianism and litterateur in the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan was very particular about the letter format, which showed his respectful and rigorous style.
Zeng Guofan's Family Letter is an important material for studying Zeng Guofan and the late Qing Dynasty. Following the Tongcheng School, Zeng Guofan traced back to the history and established the Xiangxiang School separately. He was calm in writing and free in form. He saw true feelings and accumulated conscience in his real life, which fully reflected his reputation as the "generation crowned by moral integrity".
