"Mencius" Hai Shuo 87: The environment has a great influence on people

The wholehearted chapter: Living in the Qi, nourishing the body, how great is it!

Original text:

Mencius came to Qi from Fan. When he saw the son of the King of Qi, he sighed and said: "It's a great place to live in a place where the Qi is nourished and the body is nourished! Isn't this the son of the best man?" "

Mencius said: "Princes' palaces, carriages, horses, and clothes are mostly the same as those of others, but if a prince is like that, his residence is like this. How about someone who lives in the world? The king of Lu lived in the Song Dynasty? , called at the gate of Qianze. The guard said: "This is not my king, how can it sound like my king?" Yi (that is, Fan County, a county in today's Shandong Province) went to Qi State. On the way, he saw the son of King Qi from a distance and came towards him, full of aura. Mencius was very emotional and said to himself: "Yeah, look how much the environment in which a person lives affects a person's temperament! How much a person's eating habits affect a person's physical health! It is really determined by the environment. How can there be such a big difference in human qualities between him and other people's sons? "

Some followers and students saw the teacher in a daze, talking to themselves, and fell into a state of selflessness, and they started talking. Eight tongues made a fuss and asked why.

Mencius said: "Most of the prince's houses, carriages, horses, and clothes are not much different from others, but the prince himself is so different. Do you know why? It's because he lives Determined by the environment, he not only lived in an elegant natural environment, but also lived in a palace where benevolent and righteous saints gathered, and was influenced and educated. How could he not be special? When the king went to the Song Dynasty, he walked to the gate of the Song Dynasty and called the gate. The local environment and humanities and customs of the two countries were completely different, but the gatekeeper immediately said: "Who is this person? He is ordinary. He can't be that person." Our monarch, why does his voice sound so good to our monarch? 'Followers and students, do you know why? There is no other reason than that they are all kings and grew up in similar living environments. What kind of environment cultivated them? No matter what kind of person, children who grow up in the same environment will have the same temperament. "

The environment has a huge impact on people. Children who grow up in princes and nobles can be the same as those who grow up in remote mountains. Are children the same? Rural people can tell at a glance when they come to the city, it’s determined by the rusticity on their bodies! Even if a lady is wearing rags and rags, she still has an extraordinary charm, which is determined by her inner temperament. This is developed under the influence of long-term growth and living environment, and it is not easy to fade away.

Mencius has the most experience in this regard. Everyone knows the story of "Meng's mother moved three times". She learned from the butcher, learned from the shoemaker, and learned from the sage. Look at the circle around you. In order for Mencius to learn well, Meng’s mother moved three times. She insisted on moving from a suburban shanty town to a school district house in the city center to create a good environment for Mencius to study and grow. Mencius grew up to become a generation of sages and historical celebrities. Meng’s mother Great credit!

Birds of a feather flock together, and people are divided into groups. Those who are close to red are red, and those who are close to ink are black. The power of a person's heart will make you set your ambition, but it is not enough to make you stick to it for life. The external environment has a great impact on people. In general, people will be disturbed by external things, and if their concentration is insufficient, they will drift and become distracted. These fragmented changes will accumulate and change the person's personality.

So, what kind of person you look at depends on the education he received.