It means that if you neglect your studies now, you will inevitably do menial labor, and it is difficult to avoid disasters.

It is selected from Biography of Women by Liu Xiang, a scholar of classics, a bibliographer and a writer in the Western Han Dynasty. The original text:

Mencius returned home after learning, and Meng Mu made achievements. He asked, "Where are you going to learn?" Mencius said, "I am self-possessed." Meng Mu broke his weaving with a knife. Mencius was afraid and asked why. Meng Mu said, "If I abandon my studies, I will stop weaving. A gentleman learns to make a name, but when he asks, he knows widely. When he lives, he is peaceful, while when he moves, he is far from harmful. It is inevitable to waste it today, but it is inevitable to be away from disaster. Why is it different from weaving food?

it is better to be clothed with his master and grow without food than to waste the middle way and not do it. Women waste what they eat, men fall into cultivation, and if they don't steal, they will be enslaved! " Mencius was afraid, studied diligently all day long, learned from others, and became a famous Confucian in the world. The gentleman said that Meng Mu knew how to be a mother. ?

Vernacular translation:

When Mencius was young, his mother was knitting silk when he came home from school. Meng Mu asked him, "How have you been reading recently?" Meng Ke said, "Not bad." Hearing this, Meng Mu was so angry that he went to the weaving room, grabbed a pair of discerning scissors and, with a bang, cut off all the cloth to be woven on the loom. Meng Ke was so scared that he didn't understand why his mother did it.

Meng Mu threw the scissors and snapped, "You play truant and don't study, just like a cut cloth. Virtuous people study to build a reputation, and only by asking more questions can they increase their knowledge. So you can be peaceful at ordinary times, and you can avoid disasters by doing things. If you neglect your studies now, you will inevitably do menial labor, and it is difficult to avoid disaster. Why is it different from weaving for a living?

how can her husband and son have clothes to wear and not be short of food for a long time if they abandon it halfway? If a woman neglects the necessities of life needed at home and a man relaxes his self-cultivation and virtue, then a family can only do slave labor without being robbers and thieves! " Mencius was startled and his heart really shook. He thought hard for a long time, finally understood the truth, and began to concentrate on reading books.

Later, he devoted himself to learning from Confucius' grandson Zisi, and finally became a person who asked questions from universities all over the world. Virtuous people think that Meng Mu knows the rules of motherhood.

Extended information:

Meng Mu broke the knitting, also known as the godson who broke the knitting machine. Meng Ke's mother cut the cloth she knitted with a knife to warn Mencius not to forget her recitation, which made Mencius develop a rigorous attitude towards learning, and finally became a famous thinker, politician and educator in the Warring States Period when he grew up. It was first published in Biography of Women.

Liu Xiang, author of Biography of Lienv. It is a biographical history book that introduces the deeds of ancient women in China, and some people think that it is a history of women, with seven volumes. The author is Liu Xiang, a scholar, a bibliographer and a writer in the Western Han Dynasty, but some people think that this book was not written by Liu Xiang, so the author of some popular versions at present will be anonymous. Some people think that the current version is obtained by adding several articles to the version made by Liu Xiang by later generations.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-Meng Mu Broken Weave