From this it appears to be clear that he would have resisted, with whatever force he could summon, the carnival of concessions that later gave into the control of foreigners many of the chief resources of the country, or hypothecated a large share of the revenues to pay interest on loans.
Whatever his achievements as an administrator and leader of armies, Tsêng seems always to have felt that the true home of his spirit was in the literature and philosophy of his native land. His letters display a charm of style which have transformed them into models of literary composition — translations carry but a feeble reflection of the original skill of composition. He was also an essayist of no mean ability and compiled an anthology of selected poems from eighteen of the most famous poets of the Middle Kingdom. There are those who rate him as foremost among the great writers and scholars of the Manchu Dynasty, though the point is not unanimously conceded.
