School starts on September 1st, and students start a new semester of study, a new school, and a new grade. What is the first lesson children really need?
Based on years of research on family psychological education, the little prince believes that the first lesson children need most is: moral education. As the saying goes, be a good person before doing things. Only when your character is good will your life be good. If your character is not up to par, no matter how talented you are, it will be useless!
Moral education, of course, must start with family education. Only children with tutors will be successful and respected. The little prince has read "Fu Lei's Family Letter", and the words between the lines are full of his father's love and expectations for his son, as well as his noble emotions for the country and the world. Regarding family letters, I recommend "Selected Letters from Modern Chinese Famous Writers", which compiles more than 300 family letters.
For the first lesson of the school year, the little prince recommended the family letter of Zeng Guofan: The Book of Commandments to His Son. It’s a good read to the children! There are no pictures, just read the words carefully.
Zeng Guofan was not very talented when he was young. In fact, it can be said that he was relatively stupid. It was very difficult for him to learn. But it happened that a person with mediocre qualifications like him achieved great success in life.
Zeng Guofan is an important historical figure in modern Chinese history. He is known as the "first famous official" in the late Qing Dynasty. Ordinary everyday things contain true wisdom and good words.
Zeng Guofan's Book of Admonitions (in vernacular)
I have been an official for more than thirty years, and my official position has reached the highest level, but I have not achieved any academic achievements at all, and my moral character has not been improved at all. Where there is praise, there is only sorrow, panic and shame as we grow older. Now that I am about to say goodbye to you forever, I would like to teach you the following four things.
First, if a person is careful in his thoughts, words, and actions when alone, he can feel at ease and calm when dealing with the world. The most difficult thing about cultivating one's moral character, being a person, and learning is to cultivate one's heart. The most difficult thing to cultivate one's heart is to be careful in your thoughts, words, and actions when you are alone. If you can be careful in your thoughts, words, and actions when you are alone, you can have a clear conscience and be worthy of the questioning of the conscience of heaven and earth and the ghosts and gods. If a person has not done anything that he feels guilty about when he is alone, then he will feel very stable, and his mood will often be happy, satisfied, relieved and peaceful. Act cautiously) is the best path to self-improvement and the way to find happiness in life, and it is also the basis for maintaining one's integrity.
Second, subjectively, a respectful attitude toward people, things, and things can make the body and mind strong. Being focused, peaceful and integrated inside, neatly dressed and rigorous in appearance, this is a respectful way to treat people, things and things; when you go out, you feel like you are going to visit a distinguished guest, just like ordinary people show when they worship their ancestors. The respectful look that comes out is an atmosphere of respect for people and things. If you want to rely on the knowledge you have to appease the people, you must be meticulous and respectful so that the people can be convinced. This is the effect of being respectful to people, things, and objects. Smart people and witty people can always leave a good impression on others because they can treat people, things and things with respect. Subjectively, if you have a solemn, rigorous, and respectful attitude towards people, things, and things, you will become stronger day by day; if you are subjectively arrogant, rude, and wanton in your attitude towards people, things, and things, you will lose yourself day by day. If you can treat one person or a group of people, no matter small things or big things, with a respectful attitude and not dare to show any sign of slackness, then is your physical and mental strength still worthy of doubt?
Third, paying attention to benevolence can make people sincerely convinced. All human lives in the world have obtained the mechanism of heaven and earth to achieve their own character, and they have obtained the breath of heaven and earth to achieve their own image. Compared with ordinary people, I have a deeper understanding of the meaning of endless life. In fact, they are all the same. If I (referring to Zeng Guofan) only know how to be selfish and do not know how to be benevolent to the people and take extra care of things, then I will violate or even abandon the meaning of endless life.
As for those high-ranking officials who enjoy generous salaries and are high above everyone else, they should shoulder the responsibility of saving the common people from drowning and from hunger. If you read ancient books and learn the thoughts of the ancients, and roughly understand the meaning of the ancient books, you should have the responsibility to vigorously promote the correct thoughts of the ancients that you have understood in the ancient books. The Confucian school of Confucius educates its children, and most of them require them to pay attention to benevolence, and the most fundamental thing about benevolence is that if you want to achieve yourself, you must first achieve others, and if you want to be rich, you must first enrich others. How can people not surrender to someone who can make others rich and noble?
Fourth, hard work and hard work can make the gods admire you. If the clothes a person wears and the food he eats every day match the effort he uses to do what he does during the day, he will be recognized by others and praised by ghosts and gods. This is because he is relying on himself. The ability to eat. For example, in an ordinary family, men plow the fields and women weave cloth. They work hard all year round and only earn a few loads of grain and a few bolts of cloth. However, the masters and young masters from wealthy families live in leisure and pleasure all year round, not doing anything but eating. Delicious food from mountains and seas, all dressed in brocade silk and satin. After being drunk, he sleeps like a pig. When he wakes up, when he screams, the servants will treat him favorably. This is the most unfair thing in the world. Even ghosts and gods will not allow him to see it ( If a wealthy family behaves like this, can a wealthy family be able to live in such leisure and pleasure for a long time?
None of the ancient sage emperors and virtuous ministers used hard work as their motto to motivate themselves all the time. From an individual's perspective, one should work hard to practice and learn technical skills, actively train one's body, and redouble efforts to learn knowledge when one feels one has too little knowledge, and should always be prepared for danger in times of peace, so that one can Increase your talents by increasing your knowledge. From the perspective of caring for the common people in the world, we should ensure that all the people in the world have enough to eat, wear warm clothes, and no longer live in dire straits. We should also allow them to receive education and no longer be like wormwood by the water. We don’t have our own opinions. These are the responsibilities we should bear.
Both Dayu and Mozi advocated being very frugal in personal life, and working very hard to make themselves well-clothed and well-fed. People who work hard live longer, and people who enjoy leisurely life have a shorter life. Hardworking people often participate in social labor, and their talents can be put to use. People who enjoy leisurely life will be eliminated by society because they never participate in social labor and have no talents. A person who works hard and works hard can create wealth for the society and bring benefits to others, so that the gods will admire his behavior. A person who is greedy for ease and enjoyment cannot create wealth for the society and bring benefits to others, so that the ghosts and gods Disgusted by his behavior.
These four rules are what I have accumulated from decades of life. You brothers, remember and fulfill them, and pass them on to your children and grandchildren. In this way, our Zeng family can prosper forever. , there are talents in every generation.