Zeng was born in
Xiangxiang,
Changsha Prefecture,
Hunan Province.
Zengzi was his ancestor. He sat for the
imperial examination several times but failed to make the cut. During the
Taiping Rebellion, Zeng assisted his brother
Zeng Guofan in raising and organising local militias from Hunan to form the
Xiang Army to fight the rebels. In 1856, he managed to recruit 3,000 troops from Hunan to reinforce Qing imperial forces at
Ji'an,
Jiangxi Province. In the following year, they managed to recapture Ji'an from the rebels. In 1860, Zeng and his troops besieged
Anqing and repeatedly fended off rebel reinforcements led by
Chen Yucheng. They captured Anqing in the following year. In 1864, they conquered Tianjing (
Nanjing), the capital of the
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established by the rebels. Zeng was later appointed as the
Provincial Governor of
Hubei Province. During the reign of the
Tongzhi Emperor, Zeng,
Guo Songtao and others compiled the book
Hunan Tong Zhi (湖南通志;
Guide to Hunan). In 1863, he sponsored 5,000 silver
taels for the publishing of a book,
Chuanshan Yishu (船山遺書;
Lost Book of Chuanshan), by
Wang Fuzhi. He also offered 300 silver taels to
Li Shanlan for the printing of
Ze Guxi Zhai Suanxue (), a book on mathematics written by Li. In 1882, when he learnt that
Peng Yulin wanted to establish a Chuanshan Academy in
Hengyang, he donated his personal copy of the
Chuanshan Yishu and provided funding to help Peng start the school. In 1867, when the
Nian Rebellion was ongoing, Zeng and
Li Hongzhang adopted different approaches towards attacking the rebels. Zeng ordered
Bao Chao to lead his unit to attack the rebels.
Liu Mingchuan was defeated but was saved by Bao Chao. Liu then pushed the blame for the defeat to Bao and
Liu Shengzao, resulting in the latter two being punished. Zeng was also forced to retire, ostensibly on the grounds of illness, but actually as punishment for his failure. In 1875, Zeng returned to politics and consecutively served as the Provincial Governor of
Shaanxi and
Shanxi provinces, and
Viceroy of Liangguang. In 1884, he was appointed as
Viceroy of Liangjiang. He died in 1890 and was given the
posthumous name "Zhongxiang" (). ==See also==