Self-Cultivation as the Basis of Person Making: A Confucian Perspective Illustrated by a Case Study of Zeng Guofan

Abstract

As a model of self-cultivation in accordance with the Confucian theory of Xinxing-Gongfu (心性-功夫论), Zeng Guofan (1811–1872), a well-renowned Confucian scholar and successful minister of the Qing Dynasty (1636–1912) in China, is a prime exemplar of ‘self-cultivation as the basis of person-making’ (修身为本). Considerable historical data proves he consciously strove to perfect himself in a systemic way. By examining his Diaries, Family Letters, and Reading Records, this study identifies that he had three interrelated practices of self-cultivation: (a) The establishment of the moral self. With the proposition that ‘if you are not a sage, you are a beast’, Zeng advocated improving one’s character through self-reflection, self-blame, self-discipline and self-encouragement. (b) Individual moral practice and the learning of moral knowledge. Zeng believed that one could strengthen one’s moral cultivation by keeping a diary, meditating, reading Confucian classics, extracting and reciting famous quotes from former sages, writing essays and practicing calligraphy. (c) The construction of family and cultural community. Zeng’s experience provides illustration that cultural communities can be constructed through the process of a father delivering life experiences to his children, friends and colleagues, and that self-criticism can be used in the service of self-enhancement in Confucian psychology.