"The sage inside and the king outside" first appeared in The World of Zhuangzi. The author of "The World" said: "The birth of a saint and the success of a king all originate from one (Tao). This is "the way to be a saint inside and a king outside". Tianxiapian holds that "being sage inside and being king outside" is the pursuit of Taoist practitioners in the world, and "being sage inside" is the author's personality ideal, which is manifested as: "Being inseparable from sects is called heaven and man, and being inseparable from essence is called god man; If you don't leave the truth, you are the most human. Taking heaven as the Sect, taking morality as the foundation, taking Tao as the door, foretelling change, calling it a saint, benevolence as the grace, righteousness as the principle, propriety as the line, joy as the harmony, benevolence as the draw, and calling it a gentleman "; The author's political ideal is "to be the king", which is manifested as: "Take the law as the point, the name as the table, the examination as the reference, the record as the decision, and count one, two, three and four, which makes the officials sit up and take notice; Taking things as usual, putting food and clothing first, caring for animals and caring for the elderly, the weak and the widowed all have the principle of supporting the people. "It can be seen that the author's way of" being a saint inside and being a king outside "is the product of the combination of Confucianism, Taoism and France. Generally speaking, the connotation of "inner sage" is self-cultivation and requires that you are a virtuous person; The "foreign king" means managing the house, governing the country and leveling the world. The unity of "inner sage and outer king" is the highest realm pursued by Confucian scholars.

Mao Zedong and Jiang Zhongzheng are two famous figures in the modern history of China. They spoke highly of Zeng Guofan. When I was young, I devoted myself to studying Zeng's collected works and came to the conclusion that I was "stupid enough to be close to people and only serve". Even in his later years, Mao Zedong once said: Zeng Guofan is the most powerful figure in the landlord class. Chiang Kai-shek paid homage to the Zeng family and thought that Zeng Guofan's lifestyle was "enough for our teachers." He taught the Quotations of Zeng Hubing as a textbook to senior generals, and put the Complete Works of Zeng Wen and Gong Zheng beside the case, and read it all his life. It is said that the way he called the roll and sat in a healthy way all imitated Zeng Guofan. Zeng Guofan's personal charm is evident.