In addition to the "Three Song Sisters" who stood at the top of power, the aristocratic family of the Republic of China also had the "Four Sisters of Hefei" who had outstanding reputations in the cultural world.
Ye Shengtao once said: Whoever marries the four talented girls of the Zhang family in Jiuru Lane will be happy for a lifetime.
Later, they married the famous niche Gu Chuanjie, the famous philologist Zhou Youguang, the famous writer Shen Congwen, and the famous sinologist Fu Hansi respectively.
The four husbands-in-law are indeed extraordinary in their own way, creating a good story in modern Chinese history; and the four talented women are all noble and are known as the "last ladies"; in addition to the four daughters, the six The sons are all outstanding, well versed in both Chinese and Western learning...
Behind these children, people pay attention to such a father.
He was a famous enlightened educator in the early Republic of China. It was his enlightened family style and understanding of education that created ten outstanding children.
1
The starting point of education:
The pattern of the father, the direction of the children
A good education first comes from the father.
This statement has been strongly verified when it comes to the Zhang family siblings.
The Zhang family’s father, Zhang Wuling, was born into a typical noble family. His grandfather, Zhang Shusheng, was Li Hongzhang's right-hand man and the second-ranking figure in the Huai Army. The Zhang family owns thousands of hectares of fertile land, and every year, Zhang Wuling gets 100,000 dan of rent under his name. He is a typical big landowner.
Although he was born in a wealthy family, Zhang Wuling was more like a resolute rebel unlike other young people at that time. He kept himself clean, hated gambling, never played any cards, never smoked, and never drank. On the contrary, I have been addicted to books since I was a child, and have been passionate about running schools for public welfare throughout my life.
In the early summer of 1914, Zhang Wuling’s fourth daughter was born.
Because the first three children were all daughters, when she learned that the fourth child was still a daughter, the wife just took one look at it and cried out in disappointment; the mother-in-law sighed and was extremely frustrated; the relatives and friends waiting at the door to congratulate her (Some relatives once asserted that the fetus was destined to be a boy), and they all left quietly with gifts...
Only Zhang Wuling was still very happy. He named his fourth daughter "Chonghe" and married his three sisters. It's the same respect and pity.
In Zhang Wuling's life, he had ten children. If you look closely at their names, you will find that they are all very particular.
The four daughters are: Yuanhe, Yunhe, Zhaohe, and Chonghe; the later six sons are: Zonghe, Yinhe, Dinghe, Yuhe, Huanhe, and Ninghe.
Not only did the girls’ names not have the slightest charm of flowers and grasses, but they also had two slender legs. He hoped that they would step out of the boudoir and go out into the world as much as possible; while the boys’ names had both. A treasured hijab is a sign of carrying forward the ancestral heritage, inheriting the family name, and remembering home no matter how far we go.
He hopes that boys must have a family in their hearts; and girls must have a broad heart.
Its realm and pattern can be seen from this.
▲The memory of Zhang Wuling, Zhang Silan, and Jiuru Lane
2
Education method:
Play freely, Cleverly introduced
Zhang Wuling’s education for children is to play and play openly.
In 1917, the Zhang family moved to the soft and beautiful land of Suzhou. The mansion with its pavilions, flower corridors and waterside pavilions is just the castle where children can let go and play.
"Every day, as long as we leave the study and let the birds return to the forest, the place will no longer be quiet. Sometimes we learn from Wang Xizhi's 'washing inkstones near the pond', and more often we go crazy climbing mountains and playing in the water." "Zhang Memories in the book "Old Family Stories".
Children can freely enter and exit any place in the home; their father’s most cherished book collection can be browsed by the children at will without restriction.
Children of the Zhang family, regardless of gender, can freely develop their own hobbies.
The father gave his children maximum room for personality growth.
Although he is open-minded in playing, he is also rigorous in his tutoring.
“I remember when I was a child, when there were visitors at home, the children had to stand on one side of the living room to greet them politely. When the servants came up with the candy boxes, they would immediately and quietly exit in order. It was impossible to make trouble in front of the guests. Asking for candy happened,” the sisters recalled.
One New Year’s Eve, his father Zhang Wuling saw his children throwing dice and playing dominoes with some workers, betting a few cents on each plate. He abhorred gambling, even if his children only played it once in a while. So that year, he and his children immediately negotiated a condition and gave them a direction. If they didn't play dominoes, they could learn to sing Kunqu opera from the teacher and even go on stage.
Many years later, when I read this, I suddenly understood what the limits and boundaries of the "love and freedom" we are advocating in education today are.
It not only maximizes the space for children to explore freely and grow their personality, but also knows how to outline key points.
The same goes for watching them read.
Zhang Wuling was hungry for knowledge and attached great importance to his children's education, and hired several teachers to teach at home.
However, he never interfered with specific teaching. He only participated in the compilation and selection of teaching materials. He selected ancient essays from "Selected Works", "Historical Records", "Mencius" and other books, and had someone write handouts for his children to read.
A good education is to fully give children love and freedom, and to know how to outline key points.
▲In 1946, the third brother-in-law took a group photo with the three sisters in Shanghai: Zhang Yuanhe, Gu Chuanjie, back row from left to right: Zhang Yunhe, Zhou Youguang, Shen Congwen, Zhang Zhaohe
< p> 3The key to education:
Broad vision + elegant ambition
The children of the Zhang family have different attitudes and broad interests, but they all love reading. With Kun Opera, this is not unrelated to the direct influence of his father.
In Suzhou, a city with outstanding people, Zhang Wuling went to the guild hall to watch Kun Opera and read local newspapers every day. When he had a little free time, he took his valet to visit the book market. Later, he became familiar with it. As long as he bought new books, the bookstore would directly sell them. Books were sent to the Zhang family in bundles, so that the Zhang family's book collection was famously wealthy in Suzhou.
There are four large study rooms on the first floor of the Zhang family, one for the father, one for the mother, and two for the children; while the second floor is a library for collecting books, with thousands of ancient books. Scrolls, and countless ancient inscriptions and engravings.
The Zhang family even mobilized all the nannies to learn how to read. The nannies practiced Chinese calligraphy on the nine-square grid paper, read novels under the kerosene lamp, and had fun recognizing each other's children's blocks when combing their hair...
As Yang Jiang said, good education is not about being passively taught and disciplined. Rather, it inspires the interest and consciousness in learning, and enables students to be taught unconsciously.
Under the influence of such an atmosphere, the father is not strong or coercive, but each of his children excels and learns a lot.
The same goes for learning Kun Opera.
Since my great-grandfather Zhang Shusheng, Kun Opera has always been the Zhang family’s unfailing love. When it came to his father, Zhang Wuling, he was also fascinated by the charm of this ancient voice.
Suzhou is the birthplace of Kunqu Opera, and Zhang Wuling has reserved a whole row of seats in the theater all year round, taking the whole family to watch the red-faced Guan Gong and the gentle and beautiful Du Liniang.
Under the influence of their father’s interests, Zhang’s Silan not only became associated with Kunming throughout their lives, but this fine traditional ancient art also subtly cultivated their noble and good temperament. They are said to be unparalleled in their respective styles. I can never find such a beautiful woman again.
Interestingly, Jack Ma also said in a recent speech, “If we don’t let our children experience the world and try piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, I can guarantee that in thirty years they will find There is no job, because there is no way to beat the machine.
Broad horizons + elegant aspirations are still the core competitiveness that will never go out of style after a century.
▲Zhang Zhaohe. With husband Shen Congwen
4
The ultimate purpose of education:
Looking for happiness within
The ultimate purpose of education is to let children have The ability to be happy.
This is also true for the Zhang family.
The four daughters of the Zhang family have very different personalities. The eldest sister is a typical lady. The second sister is quirky and has the most ideas; the third sister wears men's clothes and has short hair and is dashing; the fourth sister is well-behaved but extremely elegant in her actions.
Although they are all talented and charming. They got a good son-in-law, but in that turbulent era, they went through many vicissitudes and hardships.
The eldest sister Zhang Yuanhe was originally married to her husband, and her husband followed her husband. Unexpectedly, her husband died of illness at the age of 56. Living in a foreign country for half a century, she still performed on stage with her music friends at the age of 80; the second sister Zhang Yunhe left public service in 1952 and returned to her family. She claimed that she had been a "standard housewife for forty-six years and truly became the most beautiful person". An ordinary person is also the happiest person";
The third sister Zhang Zhaohe and her husband Shen Congwen have been through many hardships, with few reunions and many separations. However, even though they were sent down to farm and carried manure to farm, they still made people happy in their hearts. Moving strength and calmness;
The fourth sister, Zhang Chonghe, has a profound foundation in Chinese studies and a high attainment in Kunqu Opera, but with an attitude of "playing with art", she is light-hearted and indifferent to fame and fortune. They truly worked hard all their lives to promote traditional Chinese culture.
The four sisters of the Zhang family were 96, 93, 93, and 102 years old when they died. It must be said that living a long life is also a kind of great wisdom and wisdom. Mentality.
In their later years, the four sisters co-edited a publication called "Water". This was the publication with the smallest circulation, the oldest publisher, and the simplest decoration in the world. The Zhang Family Magazine was republished after the 1930s.
This is a non-profit family publication that is only circulated internally. The four sisters are extremely serious and enjoy themselves. It contains articles, poems, calligraphy, Painting...
This reminds me of their father Zhang Wuling, who refused to be an official throughout his life, but devoted all his family property to running large schools and teaching for public welfare. People at the time said that this was the case. My father was so stupid that he didn’t know how to keep his money for his children.
Now I understand that the Zhang family’s happiness is just to know how to look inward.
What is fulfilling and valuable to the heart is not burdened by fame and fortune; it is not asking whether it is worth it from a worldly perspective.
▲Zhang Yuanhe and her husband Gu Chuanjie
5
The inheritance of education:
Family tradition, the most expensive real estate< /p>
My favorite writer Ma Boyong once wrote this passage in his antique novel:
The inheritance of a family is like a fine antique. It has been cared for and polished by many people, and has accumulated silently over a long period of time. Slowly, this inheritance is like an antique, wrapped in a layer of deep and mature patina, calm and warm, exuding an ancient atmosphere.
Antiques are tangible and inherited without quality. They cannot be seen or touched, but they penetrate into the bones and blood of every descendant of the family, becoming the spiritual bond between family members, and even becoming the key to their character and even destiny. part.
Although this father did not leave a huge fortune to his children, he did leave the most precious spiritual lifeline to his children.
A family’s family tradition is the real family real estate.