Family style: a family motto and a family's prosperous family style.

▲ Carry forward and inherit excellent family style (photo by Lu Yi)

? Yan jiaxun's book shadow

■ Feng Zuyi

abstract

The moral concept, lifestyle and cultural style that a family or clan must follow are regulated by numerous family precepts (including family norms, family precepts, family rules and family laws), which will inevitably form a family style, and the practice of family style will in turn enrich family precepts, so family precepts and family style are a formatted organization and concrete practice relationship.

In the concrete practice of Yan's descendants, family precepts also proved that family precepts played an important role in standardizing a family's family style and even the style of study and ensuring its spread and development in the times.

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Encyclopedia of ancient education

When it comes to family training or family style today, don't mention Yan Family Training. How does Yan Jiaxun help us to establish a good family training and family style in the new period? We should start from this family.

Yan Zhitui (after 53 1-590), the author of Family Instructions for Yan Family, was born in Linyi (now Linyi, Shandong Province), and was born in an aristocratic family who went south with the Jin and Yuan emperors. In the first nine generations of Yan Zhitui, including the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Qi Dynasty and the Liang Dynasty, the turbulent society in the Southern and Northern Dynasties left a profound impact on their lives.

Yan's Family Instructions is praised by later generations for its contribution to the history of education in China and even the world. For example, the discussion on family education is considered by educational historians to be comparable to Comenius (1592- 1670) in the west, but it is nearly a thousand years earlier. Yan Jiaxun's ***20 articles include not only family education (including prenatal education and family ethics of parents and brothers), but also moral education and personality education (including ways of living, making friends and keeping in good health). ), vocational education (including the choice of ideal career, the cultivation of all kinds of talents, etc. ), the cultivation of learning objectives and methods, and the inheritance of unique family style. It is an encyclopedia of China's ancient educational theory, experience and methods.

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The ancestor of China's family precepts

Yan's family precepts won high praise as early as the Song Dynasty. Chen annotated "Zhi Zhai" and said, "This is the motto of all ancient and modern families." Li Shenpo's Miscellaneous Notes of the Court in the Ming Dynasty also said: "The family law in Yan Zhitui in the Six Dynasties was the most correct and the farthest handed down." Why is Yan Zhitui's "family law is the most correct" called "ancestor" by later generations? This is determined by the content of Yan Jiaxun.

The contents of the book "Yan Family Instructions" can be summarized as follows:

First of all, education should start at an early age and extend from family to society. Yan Zhitui believes that when a baby knows that he is going to cry, he should be guided to "know people's colors and emotions, and then make up lessons." Further, education should be advanced, which is "prenatal education". Prenatal education existed as early as the Zhou Dynasty, but it began with Yan Family Instructions as the first place in family education. Education in infancy is like a newly-married wife entering the house for the first time. "When you are new here, teach your wife and children" can not be ignored. Yan Zhitui called the relationship between husband and wife, father and son, and brothers "three virtues". Only by being filial to father, respectful to brothers and friends and obedient to husband can family harmony be maintained. For managing the family, he proposed to be thrifty and not extravagant, saying, "The glutinous rice soup is brown, and I will make it myself." He was particularly opposed to buying and selling marriages, and looked down on the noble women in the Northern Qi Dynasty who dressed up for their husbands and sons to go out and "plead meritorious deeds, please invite them", go through the back door, and even "find officials for their sons and complain for their husbands". If the family is well run, it will spread to the society, and the fine customs in the society need to start from the top, starting from the first (predecessor). This is "weathering". "The weatherman, from top to bottom, applies to the latter from the beginning." Emphasize the important role of superiors and predecessors in promoting social morality.

Second, we should advocate "propriety as the basis of teaching", take loyalty, filial piety and benevolence as the principles of life, and do practical things instead of coveting fame and fortune. China's feudal society is a society that stresses propriety, so propriety is the foundation of educating future generations. The "ceremony" in Yan Zhitui's mind includes the following points: First, it is necessary to "support the relatives", that is, to honor and support the elders; The second is to "serve the monarch", be loyal to the monarch, "give your life in times of crisis and never forget your advice", with the aim of "benefiting the country" and patriotism in it; Third, be "not arrogant and impetuous", be "restrained and restrained", be respectful to others, and be modest and restrained to yourself; Fourth, "don't be stingy", "value righteousness over wealth, be less selfish and less lascivious"; Fifth, "don't use violence against violence", "respect the virtuous and tolerate the masses" and "be careful of yourself"; 6. Don't be "timid", "live up to life's orders, be strong and upright, be firm in your words, and seek happiness without asking for anything in return", and work bravely and fearlessly at dangerous times. Yan Zhitui's "Rite as the Foundation of Education" stresses both ceremony itself and practice. He warned future generations in one sentence: "It is better to accumulate wealth than to be skilled", explaining that "father and brother can't always rely on it, and the country can't always protect it", and everything depends on their own efforts.

Third, study hard and establish lifelong study habits; Learning should go through your own practice and you can't believe in "listening"; Anyone with wisdom and ability around you can be a teacher. Yan Jiaxun specially listed his diligent study and encouraged future generations with stories of diligent study in ancient and modern times. He summed up a sentence: "Sub-scholars, such as the morning light, old scholars, such as candlelight at night." It's never too late to study. Yan Zhitui proposed that we should be good at learning from the sages around us, elders with expertise and people who are better than ourselves. Yan Zhitui said that "agriculture and commerce, slaves and fishermen, butchers and cattle and sheep dealers" are all advanced, and they can all be teachers. The Northern and Southern Dynasties were a hierarchical society, and Yan Zhitui's view of taking capable people as teachers was progressive.

Fourth, maintain the Yan family style and pass it on from generation to generation. As an aristocratic family in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Yan Zhitui deeply felt the importance of maintaining family style. In the first and last chapters of Yan Jiaxun, he repeatedly emphasized that the purpose of writing family instructions is to "clean up the door" and explain the "family business" to future generations. Therefore, he asked future generations to be strict with themselves according to the Six Confucian Classics (Poetry, Calligraphy, Ceremony, Music, Yi, Spring and Autumn), not only to be a "standard" person, but also to write a "standard" article, and never to fall into a "frivolous" situation.

Yan Jiaxun's writing style is also very distinctive. Yan Zhitui often takes Confucian classics, proverbs and famous sentences as the breakthrough point, takes Confucius, Mencius, Duke Zhou and other sages as models, and takes stories witnessed by contemporary people, relatives of Yan family and even himself as examples to achieve the effect of persuasion. Numerous family precepts, family precepts, family precepts and aphorisms all inherited Yan's family precepts, forming a huge system of family precepts in China.

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The glory of Yan family for three centuries

In the concrete practice of Yan's descendants, family precepts also proved that family precepts played an important role in standardizing a family's family style and even the style of study and ensuring its spread and development in the times.

Yan Zhitui himself was a great scholar in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Many of his works, including philology, phonology and collation of ancient books, are recorded in Sui Shu Jing Ji Zhi, Old Tang Ji Zhi and New Wen Zhi, but only Yan Family Instructions and a few single articles remain. As far as Family Instructions of Yan Family is concerned, this is a great achievement. Fan Wenlan, a contemporary historian, praised Yan Zhitui like this: "He was the most learned and thoughtful scholar in the Southern and Northern Dynasties ... At that time, he studied almost all the knowledge, big and small, and put forward his own opinions. Article 20 of Yan Jiaxun is a record of these opinions. "

Yan Zhitui's expectations have not failed, and all his descendants have inherited family studies. Yan, the eldest son of Yan Zhitui, worked as a bachelor in the Eastern Palace in the Sui Dynasty and joined the army in the Qin Palace in the early Tang Dynasty. He compiled Yan Zhitui's collected works (including Yan Jiaxun). Yan Chengchu, the second son, inherited Yan Zhitui's achievements in phonology and wrote A Brief History of Etiquette and Custom. The third son, Yan Youqin, was appointed as the secretariat of Lianzhou and Ezhou during the Tang Wude period. He has a unique view on Hanshu, including Hanshu Jueyi, whose knowledge was inherited by his nephew Yan Shigu.

In Family Instructions of Yan Family, Yan Zhitui repeatedly warned future generations to abide by Confucian loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness. Later generations of Yan Family followed suit, among which Yan Gaoqing (692-756) and Yan Zhenqing (709-785) were the most famous. Liang Yan is his cousin. At the beginning of the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, Yan Gaoqing was appointed as the satrap of Changshan (now Zhengding, Hebei) and Yan Zhenqing was appointed as the satrap of Pingyuan (now western Shandong). After the Anshi Rebellion was pacified, Yan Zhenqing became an official with the surname of Prince and the founder of Luxian County. He served in three dynasties (Su Zong, Dai Zong and De Zong). When Dezong was a vassal state, he was ordered to go to Li Xilie, and our time was in Ruzhou and Huaixi. Li is the most important and influential in the buffer region and wants to be emperor. Li thus forced Yan Zhenqing to rebel against the Tang Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing in anger, "you know An Lushan was scolded, and the deceased Yan Gaoqing was almost my brother. I am eighty years old, and I know how to keep a festival and how to die. How can I be tempted by your generation? " Li Xilie also dug a big hole in Yan Zhenqing's residence and tried to kill it. Yan Zhenqing said frankly, why bother? Just use a sword. Yan Zhenqing was finally killed by Li Xilie in Cai Zhou.

The loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness shown by Yan Zhitui's descendants in this special era of An Shi Rebellion is the best embodiment of Yan Jiafeng.

Yan Zhitui attached great importance to the cultivation and improvement of cultural and artistic accomplishment of future generations in Yan Family Instructions. His own calligraphy is very good, and he said, "I am from the door industry and have a good impression on sex." I read a lot of calligraphy, but I played it quite well. " He valued the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi most, not only collecting it, but also studying it in many aspects. He asked future generations to "pay attention to the traces of real cursive script."

The Yan family attached great importance to calligraphy, which finally produced a miracle on Yan Zhenqing. Yan Zhenqing was a beginner of Chu Suiliang's calligraphy, and later he got the brushwork from Zhang Xu. His block letters are regular and vigorous, and his running script is vigorous, just like him. China's calligraphy shines brilliantly on Yan Zhenqing, and his Yan Ti is still regarded as authentic calligraphy. His handwriting, such as multi-pagoda monument, Magu fairy altar, Yan monument and Yan temple monument, are all treasures in the history of calligraphy.

From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Middle Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhitui himself and his descendants appeared first-class scholars and calligraphers, as well as loyal ministers and righteous men praised by later generations. From the time point of view, his family business and family style have been brilliant for three centuries (6-8 centuries).

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Good family style and good national style are inseparable.

Yan Family Instructions and its established family style and inheritance have great inspiration for future generations.

China is a country that attaches great importance to family and family traditions. "Cultivate one's morality, keep one's family in order, govern the country and level the world" is an ancient Confucian motto. "Yan Family Instructions" said: "The breadth and fierceness of running a family are also the same as that of the country." This is a fact. The moral concept, lifestyle and cultural style that a family or clan must follow are regulated by numerous family precepts (including family norms, family precepts, family rules and family laws), which will inevitably form a family style, and the practice of family style will in turn enrich family precepts, so family precepts and family style are a formatted organization and concrete practice relationship. Both are accomplished through "education", that is, family education. Through Yan Jiaxun, we can better understand the importance of family education.

Because of the important role of family precepts in the formation of family style, a good family style can not be separated from a good national style, and scholars of all ages have attached importance to the writing of family precepts. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, genealogy was compiled one after another in various places. A genealogy must have family instructions or family instructions, and "genealogy must include family instructions" has become a routine. A genealogy also said: "The genealogy lists family precepts, family laws and court precepts, establishes a patriarchal clan system, and implements China laws." Later generations called Yan the "most upright family style", and the so-called "upright" refers to this. Family precepts can play the role of extending national laws.

All kinds of family precepts, including Yan's family precepts, are an indispensable part of China's traditional culture, but family precepts in past dynasties all reflect the values and needs of the times. There are also many limitations of the times, which should naturally be abandoned. How to implant the socialist core values into today's family training style still needs our deep thinking.

(The author is a researcher at Guizhou Academy of Social Sciences)