Full-text translation:
Since ancient times, sage kings and emperors still need to study hard, let alone ordinary people! This kind of thing can be found all over the classics and history books, and I can't list them one by one, just to remind you of what is important in modern times. All the children of the scholar-officials are over a few years old, and most of them have read The Book of Rites and Zuo Zhuan, while the few have at least read Mao Shi and The Analects of Confucius. At the age of marriage, the physique and temperament are slightly stereotyped. With this natural cleverness, we should redouble our lessons and induce.
those who are ambitious can be tempered and achieve the cause of the gentry; Those who have no ambition to achieve success will be lazy and become mediocre. In this world, you should have a major, farmers discuss farming, businessmen discuss goods and wealth, craftsmen elaborate tools, people who know skills consider methods and techniques, warrior practices riding and archery, and scribes study and discuss classics.
However, it is often seen that scholar-officials are ashamed to set foot in agriculture and commerce, and they are ashamed to engage in industrial skills. They can't wear armor when shooting arrows, but only remember their names when holding a pen, so that they can play with their lives and die. Some people get a part-time job by virtue of their family background, so they feel satisfied and forget to study at all. When they encounter a wedding or funeral, they talk about gains and losses, and they are tongue-tied, just like sitting in a cloud.
public or private gatherings are full of feasting, talking about the past and writing poems, but they bow their heads in silence and only yawn and stretch. The knowledgeable man saw it, and he was ashamed to have no place to live. Why don't you want to spend a few years studying hard, so that you will be humiliated for a long time in your life?
In the heyday of the Liang Dynasty, most of the children of the gentry had no knowledge, so that there was a saying: "You can be a writer if you don't get on the bus, or you can be a secretary if you don't have any goods in your body." There is no one who doesn't pay attention to smoking, shaving, painting, driving a long-eaved car, stepping on a high-toothed brick, sitting on a square mattress with a chessboard pattern, and relying on a soft bag woven with dyed silk, the left and right are filled with playthings, and they look like immortals calmly. When the meaning of the Ming Dynasty is obtained, hire someone to answer the exam questions; If you want to attend the banquet of the court dignitaries, please ask someone to help you write and compose poems.
at this time, he can also be regarded as a "gifted scholar". After the war and displacement, the imperial court changed and took charge of the position of selecting talents. They were no longer their former relatives. When they were in power, they didn't see the clique in those days. They sought nothing for themselves, and the world was useless. They put on thick linen jackets outside, but they didn't have real skills inside, and they lost the appearance of tiger skin outside. However, the meat inside showed sheep's quality, which was like a dead piece of wood, but like a dry water, falling between military forces and horses and dying.
only those who are knowledgeable and talented can settle down everywhere. Since the war, even those who have been captured for generations and know how to read the Analects of Confucius and the Book of Filial Piety can still be teachers for others; Although they have been great officials for generations, they don't know how to write, and they all go to farm and raise horses. From this point of view, how can they not encourage themselves? If you can keep hundreds of books regularly, you will not become a villain for thousands of years.
A guest asked me, "I have seen some people who only rely on strong bows and halberds to crusade against rebellion and appease the people in order to gain the title of a duke;" Some people only rely on their mastery of literature and history to save the times, make the country rich and strong, and gain the official position of Qing Xiang. However, people who have learned from ancient times to modern times, both civil and military, have no official title, and their wives and children are hungry and cold. There are countless things like this. How can learning be worthy of advocating? " I replied: "people's fate is bumpy or accessible, just like jade and wood;" Studying knowledge and mastering skills is like pondering and carving.
The polished jade is bright and beautiful because it is beautiful. A piece of wood, a stone is ugly because it has not been carved. But how can we say that the carved wood and stone are better than the unrefined Baoyu? Similarly, we can't compare the learned poor with the uneducated rich. Besides, some people who are pregnant with martial arts go to be soldiers; There are people who are full of poems and books, and some of them go to be petty officials. There are a lot of people who die in name only, and there are few outstanding people. Those who bury themselves in reading and spread moral articles are less useless than an eclipse; People who pursue fame and fortune and indulge in pleasure are like autumn grass.
how can they be compared? In addition, I also heard that people who are born without learning are geniuses; Those who have learned only after learning are inferior. Therefore, learning is to make people increase their knowledge and understand the truth. Only genius can be outstanding, and being a general coincides with the art of war of Sun Wu and Wu Qi. The ruler is the same as Guan Zhong and Zi Chan's political literacy. Even if people like this don't study, I say they have already read. Since you can't reach this level now, if you don't follow the example of the ancients who are diligent and eager to learn, it's like sleeping under a quilt and knowing nothing. "
Why are people so confused when they see that there are satisfactory good examples among their neighbors, telling their children to admire learning instead of learning from the ancients? The world only knows how to ride a horse with armour and a spear with a strong bow, saying that I can be a general, but I don't know how to observe heaven, identify the right place, consider whether to follow the times and people's hearts, and examine the ability to know the rise and fall. I only know that I can be a good person, but I don't know the level of worshipping gods and ghosts, changing customs, adjusting yin and yang, and recommending people to elect sages and saints.
I only know that I can govern the people if I don't seek personal gain and do things early, but I don't know the skills of being honest and upright, managing in an orderly way, relieving disasters and educating the people. I only know how to execute the law, sentence early and forgive late, and say that I can level the prison, but I don't know all kinds of skills such as reconnaissance, evidence collection, interrogation and inference. In ancient times, people who were farmers, workers, businessmen, servants, slaves, fishers, butchers, and cattle-herders all had outstanding and wise ancestors, who could serve as models for learning and seek knowledge, which was not detrimental to their career!
Therefore, the purpose of reading and learning is to broaden your mind and make your eyes bright, which is conducive to doing practical things. If you don't know how to support your parents, ask him to see the ancients' exploration of their parents' wishes, submit to their parents' faces, be submissive, not afraid of hard work, and get something sweet and soft, so he is cautious and wary, and starts to do it. If you don't know how to serve the monarch, let him see that the ancients kept their duties within their power, risked their lives when they saw danger, and did not forget to be loyal to the monarch for the benefit of the country, so he was sorrowful and self-loyal, and he wanted to follow suit. Always proud and extravagant, I want him to see the ancients' diligence and frugality, humility and morality, courtesy as the basis of teaching and respect as the foundation of the body, so he is surprised to see himself lose, and he is restrained.
Always mean, let him see that the ancients valued righteousness over wealth, and were less selfish than lust, and avoided surplus and evil. If you are poor, you will be ashamed and regret, and you will be able to disperse. Always violent, want him to see the ancient people's caution to belittle themselves, the disadvantages of teeth are old, treat people with tolerance, respect the virtuous and accept the masses, so he is tired and depressed, and his body is too weak to wear. Always timid, let him see that the ancients are not afraid of death, strong and upright, and they will always believe what they say, and if they do good things, they will not look back, so they will be furious and struggle, and they will not be intimidated. If you go on like this, you will do the same in all walks of life. Even if it is difficult to be pure, you can at least get rid of the serious problems, and what you have learned will be effective in any way.
Only people who study in the world can often say that they can't do it. They are ignorant of loyalty and filial piety and lack of benevolence and righteousness. To judge a lawsuit, they don't need to find out the facts, govern thousands of small counties, take care of the people, ask him whether the lintel is horizontal or firm, ask him whether it is plowing, and don't need to know whether the millet is early or late. It's very important to talk about banter and ridicule.
when people are young, they are single-minded and keen, but when they grow up, their thoughts are scattered, so they need early education and don't lose the opportunity to learn. When I was seven years old, I read "Lingguang Dian Fu". Now, I have combed (reviewed) it once every ten years, and I have not forgotten it. After the age of 2, the scriptures read have been abandoned for a month, and they have reached the point of being abandoned. However, people have difficulties and lost (learning opportunities) in their prime, and they should learn in their later years, and they should not give up on themselves.
Confucius once said, "When you are 5 years old, you can learn the Book of Changes." Cao Cao and Yuan are old and more devoted; This is all from childhood to old age. Zeng Shen learned at the age of 7, and became famous all over the world; Xun Qing came to study at the age of 5 and became a master of Confucianism. Gong Sunhong didn't read Spring and Autumn Annals until he was in his forties, so he became prime minister. Zhu Yun didn't learn the Book of Changes and The Analects of Confucius until he was forty, and Huangfu Mi didn't learn the Book of Filial Piety and The Analects of Confucius until he was twenty, all of which finally became masters of Confucianism. This is all because I was confused in my early years and woke up in my later years.
people in the world think it's too late if they don't study in their twenties and thirties, and it's too stupid to stay out of school because of conservatism. Learning at an early age is like the newly rising light of the sun; People who study in old age, like walking with a torch at night, are still better than closing their eyes and seeing nothing.
whether the learning atmosphere is strong or not depends on whether the society attaches importance to the practicality of knowledge. Scholars in the Han Dynasty can carry forward the way of saints with a kind of Confucian classics, and many people get the official position of Qing Xiang by learning astronomy and understanding personnel. Since the wind of quiet talk prevailed in the last days, scholars have stuck to chapters and sentences, only reciting teachers' remarks and using them in current affairs, and almost none of them are useful.
Therefore, the children of the scholar-officials pay attention to reading more books and refuse to stick to the rules. In childhood, the aristocratic children of Liang dynasty must be admitted to Chinese studies first, and their aspirations and admiration must be observed. After they embark on their official careers, they will do the things of literati, and few of them will finish their studies. Generations of officials engaged in Confucian classics, there are He Yin, Liu Xian, Ming Shanbin, Zhou She, Zhu Yi, Zhou Hongzheng, He Chen, He Ge, Xiao Zizheng, Liu Ying and others, all of whom are well versed in literature and history, not just explaining Confucian classics. I also heard that there were Saihao, Zhang Wei and Liu Fang in Luoyang, and I saw Xing Zicai in Yexia. These four Confucians not only like Confucian classics, but also are famous for their erudition. A wise man like this can naturally be the top grade.
In addition, most of them are people from the fields, with vulgar words and manners. They are all arbitrary and conservative, and they have no ability. If you ask a question, you have to answer hundreds of sentences, which are not to the point. There is a common saying that "Doctor bought a donkey and wrote three contracts, but there is not a word" donkey ".If you are asked to worship this kind of person as a teacher, he will be very angry. Confucius said: "study hard and your salary is among them." Now some people only try their best at useless things, I'm afraid it's not a serious business! The classics of saints are used to talk about enlightenment, as long as they are familiar with the scriptures, pass on the righteousness, and often make their words and deeds appropriate, which is enough to be a man.
Why should the word "Zhongniju" be annotated on two pieces of paper to find out whether "Ju" is in the inner room of a secluded place or in the hall where Confucian classics are taught? Even if it is right, what's the point of this kind of controversy? What good is it to fight for who is higher and who is lower? Time flies, so we should cherish it. Like running water, it will never return. We should read the essence of classic works and use them to achieve fame and fortune. If we can have the best of both worlds, then I have nothing to criticize.
Secular Confucian scholars don't read widely. Besides studying Confucian classics and latitude books, they only read works that annotate Confucian classics. When I first arrived at Yexia, I was in contact with Que Wenyan of Boling. I once told him that there was a place in Wang Can's collected works that was difficult to refute Zheng Xuan's notes on Shangshu. Cui Wenyan turned to the Confucian scholars to talk about this problem, and then he spoke. He was rejected out of thin air and said, "There are only poems, fu, inscriptions and obituaries in the collection. Is there a problem of talking about Confucian classics?"
Besides, among the pre-Confucianists, I didn't know there was a Wang Can. "Cui Wenyan left with a smile and finally didn't show them Wang Can's collection. When Wei Shou was discussing Cao Cao, he discussed the ancestral temple with several doctors. He cited Hanshu as an argument, and the doctors laughed and said, "I have never heard that Hanshu can be used to demonstrate Confucian classics." Wei Shou was very angry and said nothing more. Take out the biography of Wei Xuancheng, throw it in front of them, stand up and leave. The doctors looked through the Biography of Wei Xuancheng all night. At dawn, they came to apologize to Wei Shou and said, "I didn't know Wei Xuancheng had such knowledge!"
I was moved to Guanzhong after Yexia was pacified. The eldest son Silu once said to me, "There is no position in the imperial court, and there is no accumulated wealth in the family. We should do more to express our support." And every time I am urged by the course, I have worked hard in history. I wonder if a son can feel at ease? " I taught him: "A son should take nurturing as his heart, and a father should take learning as his teaching.
if I ask you to give up your studies and concentrate on seeking money, and I am well fed and clothed, how can I feel sweet when I eat it, and how can I feel warm when I wear it? If I am engaged in the right way and inherit the family business, even if I eat poor food and wear messy clothes, I am willing. "
It's not easy to collate, write and order books. Only Yang Xiong and Liu Xiangcai were competent. If you haven't read all the classics in the world, you can't make a rash revision. Some books think it is wrong, and this book thinks it is right; Some views are similar, and some two books are lacking in words, so we can't listen to one side and believe the other.
Extended information:
Mianxue's influence on later generations:
Mianxue Pian is from Yan Zhitui Yanshi's Family Instructions Chapter 8
Yanshi's Family Instructions was written after Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty destroyed the State of Chen and before Emperor Yangdi ascended the throne (about the end of the 6th century AD). It is Yan Zhitui's book about personal experience, thoughts and knowledge to warn future generations. * * * There are seven volumes and twenty articles. They are the first in order, the second in godson, the third in brothers, the fourth in marriage, the fifth in running the family, the sixth in wind exercise, the seventh in Mu Xian, the eighth in studying, the ninth in articles, the tenth in name and substance, the eleventh in handling affairs, the twelfth in saving trouble, the thirteenth in stopping foot, the fourteenth in commandment, the fifteenth in nourishing the heart, the sixteenth in returning to the heart, the seventeenth in documentary evidence, the eighteenth in pronunciation and miscellaneous words.
Family Instructions of Yan Family had an important influence on later generations, especially after the Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi's Primary School in the Song Dynasty and Chen Hongmou's Legacy of Cultivating Righteousness in the Qing Dynasty were all based on Yan's Family Instructions. Not only Zhu and Chen, but also dozens of family instructions that appeared after the Tang Dynasty were directly or indirectly influenced by Family Instructions of Yan, so Wang Sanpin said. "Ancient and modern family precepts are based on this." From the repeated reprints of Yan Family Instructions, it can be seen that it has far-reaching influence, although it has lasted for more than a thousand years.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Mianxue