读书·修身·治家——《曾国藩日记》阅读札记

Reading,Moral Cultivation and Household Management——Notes on Reading "Diaries of Zeng Guofan"

曾国藩是晚清"中兴名臣",是中国传统文化的忠实继承者和践行者。在长期的仕宦生涯中,他有关读书、修身和治家的言论与实践不仅在当时,而且对后世产生过深远影响。曾国藩认为,读书贵在立志,重在深造自得,即不把读书求学仅仅看作是与个人荣辱得失有关的事情,既当志存高远,又应脚踏实地、修身务本。慎独、主敬、求仁、习劳是曾国藩一生用以儆惕的修己之道,更是他一生学问、事业成功的基础。曾国藩的治家理念是:愿家族世代为耕读孝友之家,不愿为仕宦暴发之家;愿子孙个个为读书明理之君子、礼义之旗帜,不愿他们做大官、发大财;家勤则兴、人勤则健,能勤能俭,永不贫贱;世家子弟,门第过盛,万目所瞩,骄怠者败。所有这些,在《曾国藩日记》中都得到充分展现。

Zeng Guofan, a famous official in the resurgence of the late Qing Dynasty, was an ardent successor and practitioner of traditional Chinese culture. In his long-time official life, his ideas and practices on reading, moral cultivation and household management exerted influences both on his times and later generations. Zeng Guofan maintained that reading was not concerned with personal horror or disgrace, gain or loss, but was aimed for high aspirati3ns, down-to-earth self-cultivation and self-achievement. Zeng Guofan followed the principles as self-restraining in privacy, self-discipline with inner reverence, seeking benevolence and diligence for self-cultivation in his life and those princ pies in turn sustained his success in academic studies and careers. As for household management, he held the principles that his family was dedicated to farming, reading, piety and friendliness instead of being a family of officials and upstarts. In addition, he wished his later generations would be devoted to reading and being perspicacious gentlemen, leaders of etiquettes and justice instead of being high-ranking officials or making a big fortune. He believed that family assiduousness would lead to prosperity, personal diligence to great strength; diligence and frugality would never rest It in poverty or meanness; sons of noble families, becoming the focus of the society with too high family positions, would be losers if they were arrogant and indolent. All the ideas are embodied in ＂Diaries ofZeng Guofan＂.