In the letter chairman Mao sent to his teacher Lijinxi,he worted :” in moderntimes,the only person I worship is Zengguofan”. And also,the opponent ofchaiman Mao ,Chiang Kai-shek(蒋介石) putZengfuofan family letters in the head of the bed.

youmay ask what is the greatness of ZGF that made the two brilliant people admire.

Whythe xiang army that ZGF established can suppress the Taiping Rebellion ,maintainthe world peace ,

Whydid ZGF can be the most famous and significant minister in the late Qing Dynasty,

Whysome people often said if you want to learn how to be a person ,you can learnfrom ZGF.

Andalso for me , With these questions I open the book ZGF biography. then I willshare some feelings about the secret of ZGFs success and the significance ofour life .

FIRST:ZGF is an ambitious person.

as we all know ,in ancient times people who want tobe rich , want to be famous and want to bring honor to their ancestors ,theonly way is to get a good score in the imperial examination ,ZGF is noexception .He read extensively and study hard about the historical classics ,literatureand poetry.

Hewas inclined to be the kind of person as fanzongyan wroted “ who worries about the country problem first andenjoy himself last”.

theperson who save the common people suffering from disasters,

theperson who exclude the difficulty and anxiety for the emperor and shine throughages .

Inorder to realize his noble aspiration ,he has to learn and complete himself constantlyand that is the greatest motivation of his progress. God reward the diligentpeople ,Finally he passed the exam at seventh time and get a position in the Forbiddencity and began his glorious life.

Second: introspection and self-discipline

Histeacher Tangjian who is an honorable master in late Qing dynasty guided him to introspecthimself everyday, to put what he has learned into practice . and the best way ofself-supervision is to keep the diary .

Beforehe becomes a great man ,like our ordinary people ,Zgf has many shortcomings .oneday he dreamed about envying the large rewards the emperor gives other people ,whenhe got up ,he wrote it in the diary with shame . He began to rectify hisbehaviors , speak and act cautiously.and then he list twelve everyday work:like getting up early ,reading history ,wring poem ,keeping diary and so on.

Becauseof his honesty and correctting actively ,his teacher satisfied and firmlybelieved that zgf will make great achievements in the future and even guaranteeit to the emperor with his honor and reputation .

Third:knowing the people ,winning their hearts and using them correctly

Zgfis not talent ,he is not good at commanding the campaign ,but his army, thexiang army is the most powerful amry and had wiped out the taiping army ,andwhy ?because there are so many excellent and talent people around him ,work forhim .Many people who see zgf will choose to follow him and serve him faithfully,attracted by his personality charm . At the first meeting zgf could know whatkind of the person you are , weather give you a position or not .Many peoplewho has made contributions to the country is ZGFs students like Lihongzhang or hissubordinate like Pengyuling and so on .

In my opinion that is the secret of zgf success .ambitious \introspection and self-discipline\ knowing the people ,winning their hearts and using them correctly. Confucianist advocates thefour things :Self-cultivation, family harmony, country management and worldpeace (修齐治平),some people said zgf had did all of them .Reading history makesman wise ,just like ZGF,just like toastmasters club said “learn by doing”,if weput what we have learned into practice ,and we will be successful finally .thatis all .thank you.