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Full-text translation of Zhu Zi's family instructions

Translation:

What is precious when being a monarch is "benevolence" and caring for the people. What is precious when a minister is "loyalty", loyalty to the monarch and patriotism. What is precious when a father is "kindness" and loving his children. What is precious when a son is "filial piety" and filial piety to his parents. When an elder brother is precious, he is a "friend" and loves his younger brother. What is precious when a younger brother is "respect" and respect for his elder brother.

What is precious for a husband is "harmony" and harmony with his wife. What is precious to a wife is "softness" and meekness to her husband. Serving teachers should be polite, and making friends should pay attention to credit.

Respect old people and love children. I must respect a virtuous person even if he is younger than me. I must stay away from people with bad conduct, even if they are older than me. Don't talk casually about other people's shortcomings; Don't brag about your strengths. For those who have feuds, tell the truth and make sense to remove them. Treat people who blame themselves with honesty and integrity. No matter whether you are proud or agreeable or difficult or adverse, you should be calm and unmoved.

others have minor faults, so be tolerant! If someone else has made a big mistake, we should persuade him to help him according to reason. Don't do it just because it's a small good thing, and don't do it just because it's a small bad thing. Others have done bad things, they should help them to mend their ways, and don't publicize their evil deeds. Others should be praised for doing good deeds.

there is no personal enmity in dealing with others, and no separate private law should be established in managing domestic affairs. Don't do things that harm others and benefit yourself, don't be jealous of talented people and those who are capable. Don't say that you are angry with unreasonable people, and don't hurt people's and animals' lives casually in violation of legitimate things. Don't accept unjust property, but support what is reasonable.

you must read poetry books frequently and know etiquette. Children and grandchildren must be educated, and child servants must be pitied. We must respect those who are virtuous and knowledgeable, and we must help those who are in trouble. These are the principles that a man should know, and everyone should do his duty to meet the standard of "courtesy". Doing so will also accomplish the mission entrusted to us by all things in the world and conform to the principle of "destiny".

original text:

what is dear to the monarch is benevolence. Loyalty is what I value. What is dear to the father is kindness. Filial piety is also the most precious thing for children. A brother's friend is the one you value. Those who are dear to my brother are respectful. What is dear to a husband is harmony. Those who are dear to women are soft. It is more expensive to be a teacher than to be polite, and it is more expensive to make friends than to believe.

when you meet an old man, respect him; See the young, love them. I will respect those who are virtuous, although they are younger than me; Unscrupulous people, though older than me, I will stay away. Be careful not to talk about people's shortcomings, and never boast about your own strengths. Revenge with righteousness, complain with straightforwardness, and be content with what you encounter. People are too small to tolerate; If a person has a big mistake, he should tell it by reason. Don't do it because of the small good, and don't do it because of the small evil. If people have evil, they will cover it up; If people have goodness, they will promote it.

there is no personal enmity in dealing with people, and the law of managing the family is selfless. Don't be selfish at the expense of others, and don't be jealous of talents. Don't say that you are angry and report disobedience, and don't be indecent and harm things. Don't take ill-gotten gains, but take what is reasonable. Poems and books must be read, and etiquette and righteousness must be known. Children and grandchildren must be taught, and children and servants must be merciful. Gentle people must be disrespectful, and adversity must be helped. Those who keep my points are also polite; Those who listen to my orders, heaven also. If people can be like this, heaven will match them. This is a daily routine. If clothes are to the body and diet is to the mouth, you can't live without them for a day, but you can be careless!

source: Zhu Xi's Family Instructions in Southern Song Dynasty

Extended information

Family Instructions of Zhu Zi originally contained Ziyang Zhu's Genealogy. In the mid-Southern Song Dynasty, Jin and Meng invaded South China, taxes were heavy, people complained, national crisis was deep, and Confucianism was weak. The decay of feudal rule led to the destruction of the code, the abandonment of ethics, the increasing greed of officialdom, moral decay, people's spiritual emptiness, loss of ideals and social unrest.

in order to stabilize the national order, strengthen the cohesion of family and society, save the country and the country, Zhu Xi takes the promotion of Neo-Confucianism as his own responsibility, pursues the educational concept of "learning from things, respecting from practice", and advocates moral cultivation with the content of "preserving the natural principles and eliminating human desires", striving to reorganize ethical norms and norms, and rebuild value ideals and spiritual homes. It is against this background that Family Instructions of Zhu Zi came into being.

(1) Advocating family harmony

Family has been the basic cell of society since ancient times. For everyone, family is the starting point of life, and it is also a harbor for rest and life. From celebrities to ordinary people, behind the success of their career, they can't do without the support and help of their families. Creating a warm home and creating a harmonious family life is an eternal goal that people pursue in the past and in the future. Zhu Xi's Family Instructions provides a theoretical guide to achieve this goal.

(2) Advocating interpersonal harmony

From the ultimate goal of human social development, what human beings are pursuing is a harmonious and happy society, which requires a harmonious unity between man and nature and between people, which is very similar to the way of dealing with people advocated by Zhu Xi in Family Instructions.

(3) Advocating moral cultivation

In Zhu Xi's view, attaching importance to moral cultivation is the same as "clothes are to the body, and diet is to the mouth. You can't live without it for a day, and you can't be careless!" He also put forward many philosophical opinions on how to emphasize morality and cultivate one's morality. He believes that "if people have evil, they will hide it, and if people have good, they will raise it." This sentence refers to the attitude towards other people's good and evil behaviors, restraining those who do evil, and publicizing and praising those who do good.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Zhu Xi Zhu Zi's Family Instructions.