Yuan Weifan's Family Discipline

Japanese scholar Tadao Sakai noted, "Yuan Weifan's learning and thought were created because of the influence of his family tradition on him." (33) Yuan Weifan grew up in a tradition of family learning, and his great-grandfather, Roy Yuan, advocated admonitions such as saving the world and helping others, accumulating good deeds, and cultivating virtue with modesty in the Yuan Family Traditions.

Yuan Dafan's father, Yuan Ren, had high attainments in Confucianism, and had scholarly dealings with great scholars such as Wang Yangming, Wang Geng (Xinzhai), and Wang Ji, as well as being a confidant of Tang Bohu. Yuan Ren was knowledgeable and good at education, and had a great influence on Yuan Zhifan in his early years. His teaching centered on cultivating one's moral character: "There are three kinds of character in a scholar: those who aspire to morality are the top, those who aspire to merit are the second, and those who aspire to wealth and riches are the bottom." (34) Family education sowed the first seeds for the formation of Yuan Zhifan's thought.

Yuan Dafan was not only smart as a child, but also very diligent in his studies. Yuan Dafan's teacher, Wang Ji, a native of Shanyin, praised him, "Duke Yuan of Sampo, his name is Ren, his character Lianggui, and he is a native of Jiashan in the western part of Zhejiang Province. ...... Wutang Yuan Sheng table from I traveled, the most claimed enlightenment, the remaining love." (35)