Family motto is an important part of traditional Chinese culture and an important part of the family tree. It plays an important role in personal self-cultivation and family management in Chinese history. Since the early Han Dynasty, family motto writings have become more and more colorful with the evolution of dynasties. The family tree records many famous aphorisms about managing a family and educating children, and it has also become a model of good family management and a model of "cultivation" and "family harmony" that people admire. Today it seems that it is still popular and has positive significance.
Three Kingdoms·Zhuge Liang's "The Collection of Zhuge Liang"
Original text:
A husband and a gentleman should cultivate their moral character through tranquility and cultivate virtue through frugality. Without indifference, there is no clear ambition; without tranquility, there is no far-reaching goal. Learning requires tranquility, and talent requires learning. Without learning, there is no way to expand talents, and without ambition, there is no way to achieve learning.
Translation:
A person with moral cultivation will perfect himself through meditation and reflection, and cultivate his noble character through frugality and saving money. If you don't have a clear mind and few desires, you won't be able to make your ambitions clear and firm. If you don't have stability and tranquility, you won't be able to realize your lofty ideals and study hard for a long time. To learn true knowledge, one must study and explore in tranquility, both physically and mentally. People’s talents are accumulated from continuous learning. If you don’t study hard, you can’t grow and develop your talents. If you don’t have an unwavering will, you can’t make progress in your studies. success.
"The Collection of Ouyang Yongshu" by Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty
Original text:
"If jade is not polished, it will not become a tool; if a person does not learn, he will not know." As an object, it has unchanging virtues; although it is not carved into a tool, it is not harmful to become a jade. Human nature changes due to things. If you don't learn it, you will give up being a gentleman and become a villain. Don't think about it! Pay chess.
Translation:
(If) jade is not carved, (it) cannot be made into utensils; (if) people do not learn, (then) they will not understand the truth. However, something like jade has (its) eternal characteristics. Even if it is not polished and made into utensils, it is still jade and (its characteristics) will not be damaged. Human nature will change when affected by external things. (Therefore, if people) do not learn, they will lose the noble moral character of a gentleman and become a villain with bad conduct. Isn't it worth pondering?
"Jiezi Tonglu" by Liu Qingzhi of the Song Dynasty
Original text:
There are five ways to educate children: guide their nature, expand their aspirations, nourish their talents, and encourage them Qi, attack the disease, and you can't eliminate any of them. Raising children is like raising orchids: you should not only cultivate them by accumulating knowledge, but also nourish them by accumulating good deeds.
Translation:
Educating children should start from the following five aspects: inducing his temperament, expanding his ambitions, cultivating his talents, inspiring his courage, and overcoming his difficulties. Something wrong. These five points are indispensable. Cultivating children is like raising orchids. We must not only accumulate knowledge to cultivate them, but also nourish them with kind and beautiful emotions.
"Family Model" by Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty
Original text:
As a mother, you are not troubled by being unkind, but you are troubled by knowing how to love but not knowing how to teach. There is an old saying: "A loving mother loses her son." Love without teaching leads to unkindness, great evil, punishment, and chaos. This is not the failure of others, but the failure of the mother. From ancient times to the present, there are many such cases, and it is impossible to list them all.
Translation:
As a mother, you are not afraid of being unkind. What you are afraid of is that you only know how to love your children but do not know how to educate them. The ancients said: "A loving mother loses her son." Mothers who dote on their children but fail to educate them make their children become bad people and fall into bad deeds. They are eventually punished, causing chaos and self-destruction. It was not other people who ruined him, it was his mother who ruined him. From ancient times to the present, there are too many such examples to count.
"The Family Instructions of Duke Zeng Wenzheng" by Zeng Guofan of the Qing Dynasty
Original text:
In the past, my ancestor Xinggang Gong was most particular about the method of running a family. The second is to clean the house, the third is to clean the house sincerely, and the fourth is to be kind to relatives and neighbors. Whenever relatives or neighbors come to the house, they will be greeted with courtesy and greetings. If there is an emergency, they will give money. If there is a lawsuit, they will resolve it. In addition to these four things, I should pay special attention to things such as reading and growing vegetables.
Translation:
In the past, my ancestor, Mr. Xinggang, was most particular about how to run a family. The first thing was to get up early, the second thing was to pay attention to cleanliness, the third thing was not to forget to sweep the tomb, and the fourth thing was to treat people well. Relatives and neighbors. All relatives and neighbors who come to the house must be received respectfully, help him if there is an emergency, help him resolve a lawsuit, celebrate any happy event, greet him when he is sick, and go to any funeral. In addition to these four things, you must always pay special attention to things such as studying and growing vegetables.
Bao Zheng's "Collection of Bao Zheng" by Bao Zheng of the Song Dynasty
Original text:
Officials in later generations who have committed corruption shall not be released back to their families; after their death, You are not allowed to be buried in a big tomb. If you don’t follow my will, you are not my descendant. Yanggongjian stone was erected on the east wall of the hall as a warning to future generations.
Not my descendants. This passage was written on a stone journal and erected on the east wall of the hall for posterity.
"Disciple Regulations" by Li Yuxiu of the Qing Dynasty
Original text:
If you don't practice hard, but study literature, you will become a person. But if you practice hard, do not learn literature, and follow your own opinions, you will be ignorant of truth. There are three ways to read: heart, eyes, mouth, and faith. Just be careful about this, don't admire the other, don't start the other before this ends. The width is the limit, work hard, when the time is up, the stagnation will be cleared. If you have any doubts, take notes and ask people for confirmation. The room is clean, the walls are clean, the desks are clean, and the pens and inkstones are straight. The ink grinding is biased, the heart is not right, the words are disrespectful, and the heart is sick first. The classics are listed in a certain place. After reading them, they can be restored to their original place. Although there is a rush, the rolls and bundles are in order. If there are any defects, they will be repaired. It's not a holy book, so don't read it. I'm not smart, but I have bad intentions. Don't abuse yourself, don't give up on yourself, saints and sages can be tamed.
Translation:
If you don’t work hard to do things like filial piety, brotherhood, sincerity, trust, universal love for others, and kindness, just reading will only increase the number of flashy and unreal things. Habits, how can one become a truly useful person? If you just work hard, don't study and study, and do things based on your own knowledge, you will deviate from the essence and laws of things and become ignorant. The method of reading is to achieve the "three things", that is, to know with the heart, with the eyes, and with the mouth. You cannot start reading another book before you finish reading this book. You must have a plan when reading, and you must have a generous time limit for reading a book. Once you have made a plan, you must study quickly. As long as you have the time, you will naturally understand it. If you have any difficult questions, write them down on paper at any time and ask your teacher for answers. The study room should be tidy, the surrounding walls should be kept clean, the desk should be clean, and pens, ink, and inkstones should be placed in an orderly manner. When grinding the ink on the inkstone and grinding the ink stick astray, this means that the mind is absent-minded, the thoughts are not concentrated, and the writing is not serious. This means that the mind is impetuous and the mind cannot be settled. Arrange the books and place them in a fixed place. After reading, return them to their original place. Even if there is an emergency, you should pack it up before leaving. If a book is damaged or damaged, it should be repaired immediately to keep it intact. Books that are not from saints and sages should be excluded and not read, so as not to corrupt our pure aspirations.
"The Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Yuan" by Zhang Luxiang of the Qing Dynasty
Original text:
Loyalty, trust and respect are the foundation of life. If a child does not respect his father and elder brothers at home; if he does not respect his teachers and friends in school, is deceitful and arrogant, and is a habitual person, it will be difficult to expect him to study clearly and make progress.
Translation:
Loyalty and respect are the foundation of life. If a person does not believe in his father and brother at home, and does not believe in his teachers and friends at school, and behaves deceitfully, arrogantly, and habitually, it is too difficult to hope that he will study wisely and make progress.