Where did Kong Rong let pears come from?

When Kong Rong was a child, he was smart and studious, with a flexible mind and a flow of answers. Everyone praised him as a child prodigy. At the age of 4, he was able to recite many poems and know manners. His parents liked him very much.

One day, my father's friend brought a plate of pears to the Kong Rong brothers. Father asked Kong Rong to divide the pears, Kong Rong picked the smallest pear, and the rest were given to the brothers in the order of generations. Kong Rong said: "I am young, I should eat small pears, and big pears should be given to my brothers." Father was very surprised and asked, "Is that brother younger than you?" ?

Kong Rong said, "Because my brother is younger than me, I should give him up." Kong Rong let the story of pear spread throughout the Han Dynasty. Kong Rong Jr. has also become a good example for many parents to educate their children.

Source: Notes on World Neologisms.

original text

Hanshu said: "Kong Rong, a native of Shandong, is the grandson of Confucius 20th. Grandfather is still good, and Deer is a satrap. Father Zhou, Taishan people. " Legend of Rong Bie: Rong is four years old and eats pears with his brother to attract young people. People ask them why. Answer: "Son, the law should take the smallest."

The Biography of Kong Rong in the later Han Dynasty was annotated by Li Xian, who said,' When I was four years old, I ate pears with my brothers and learned from them. The adults asked him why, and replied,' I am a child and should bring the youngest. The reason is that the clan is unfamiliar. "

Extended data:

A moral education story circulating in China for thousands of years tells people that everything should follow public order and good customs. These are moral common sense that should be known from an early age. It is a true story that Kong Rong, an ancient China writer, taught people to observe public order and good customs in everything at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. This is why "when you are four years old, you can make pears" at Saint Amethyst.

This story tells people that we should know how to abide by public order and good customs in everything. These are moral common sense that should be known from an early age. The ancients attached great importance to moral common sense. Moral common sense is the basic content of enlightenment education, which is integrated into all aspects of daily life and study.

An American psychologist selected 50 successful people and 50 criminals in the United States and wrote to them respectively, inviting them to talk about their mothers. He was particularly impressed by two replies.

A letter reads: When I was a child, one day, my mother brought some apples, red and different sizes. I saw the red and big one in the middle at a glance, so I didn't want to think about it. Mother put the apple on the table and asked my brother and me, "Which one do you want?" I just want to say the biggest and most popular one, but my brother beat me to it.

After listening, the mother glared at her younger brother and reprimanded her: "Good boy, learn to give good things to others, and don't always think about yourself." As soon as I heard this, I immediately turned to my mother and said, "Mom, I want the youngest. Leave the big one to my brother. " Mother was very happy and gave me the big apple "award".

From then on, I understood that if you want what you want, you can't just talk and don't do it. You should learn to lie. Then I learned to fight, steal and rob, and I will do whatever it takes to get what I want. I have been sent to prison until now. This is a letter from a prisoner.

The second letter was written by a successful man named John. The letter wrote: When I was a child, one day my mother brought some apples of different sizes, and my brothers and I were fighting for a bigger one.

Mother took the reddest and biggest apple in her hand and said to us, "children, this apple is the reddest, the biggest and the most delicious." You all have the right to have it, but there is only one big apple. What should we do? " Then let's make a comparison. I'll divide the lawn in front of the door into three pieces, and you three will trim it together. Whoever works fastest and best has the right to get it. "As a result, I did the best and took the biggest apple.

This is not so much the American version of "Kong Rong lets pears" as "John competes for pears". Telling a story can decide a kind of life, which is obviously extreme; But it is unrealistic to say that the mother's thoughts and practices have no influence on the child's life. The authenticity of the accident is not important, but the enlightenment it provides us.

In the story of "John fighting for pears", John and their brothers, no matter how young, are "people" with independent personality and will in the eyes of their mothers, rather than "fart children" who can be arranged by adults' will. John's Competition for Pears looks squarely at human nature and rights, and realizes the unity of human rights and obligations, personal interests and social moral requirements by formulating and implementing rules.

Of course, this kind of "struggle" is an "open struggle", not an "in-fighting", and it is different from grabbing and seizing. It must be carried out under two conditions, one is that there is a set of agreed rules, and the other is that there is a "referee" to supervise the implementation of the rules.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Kong Rong Li Rang