How did the ancients in China read books?

China's ancient reading theory originated from Confucius. The word "reading" was first seen in The Analects of Confucius Advanced: "Zi Lu makes a lamb a sacrifice. Confucius said,' Son of a thief's wife.' Zi Lu said,' there are people and countries, so why study and then study?' Confucius said,' It's a bad husband who killed me.' Obviously, Confucius thought that "learning" meant reading. He collected the documents and files of Shandong, Zhou and Song countries, sorted out and edited the Six Classics successively. He founded a private school and advocated "teaching without discrimination", teaching 3, disciples. Not only did he never tire of teaching and teaching others, but he also studied very hard, leaving his old age. Reading advocates the educational purpose of feudal society, that is, to cultivate "gentlemen" who are suitable for the development of feudal society and serve the feudal ruling class, which has become the starting point and destination of reading. The mainstream of Confucianism advocates reading "Jing" as "practical application", "self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world", and advocates the positive and enterprising spirit of building meritorious deeds after joining the WTO. Many of Confucius' disciples, including Confucius himself, have been begging for officials everywhere, practicing the idea of "being an official with excellent learning" and setting a precedent for "being an official by studying". Mencius further made a theoretical argument for "studying to be an official": "Those who work hard govern others, and those who work hard govern others. He who treats people eats people, and he who treats people eats people. The morality of the world is also. " Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism alone, established a doctor of the Five Classics, and set up a "disciple" for the doctor, which opened the door to the court for Confucian scholars seeking official positions. Following the Sui system, the Tang Dynasty established a perfect system of selecting scholars in the imperial examination, designed a road for ordinary people to become officials in the DPRK through reading, and greatly stimulated their enthusiasm for reading. "There are thousands of millet in the book, a golden house in the book and Yan Ruyu in the book." "Everything is inferior, only reading is high." These words have almost become the mantra of scholars. Reading activities have strong ethics and utility, which is reflected in "being an official by reading". In many historical books about ancient people's reading, we can easily find that "reading as an official" can be said to be the main purpose of ancient people's reading, which is also inseparable from the social fashion at that time. In ancient historical records, we can see everywhere how someone first studied hard, how to study hard, and then how to "learn a lot about history", how to be a scholar in high school, and how to become a big official. They believe that reading "Classics" is to "apply what you have learned" and achieve the ideal state of "self-cultivation, keeping the family in order, governing the country and leveling the world" advocated by Confucianism. Although they are thinking of consolidating feudal rule, they have a positive enterprising spirit, which is beneficial to social progress and people's livelihood. However, they aim at self-interest, and their outlook on life and value orientation determine that they want to pursue prosperity, glory, fame and fortune, and reading is only a "stepping stone" for them to obtain high positions and wealth. Today, we should stand at the height of the times and establish the ethical purpose of studying for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Children from poor families study hard and study hard. However, although many children from poor families like reading, they have overcome many unimaginable difficulties and left many amazing stories because of poverty at home, or reading without lights, books, pens and ink. In the Ming Dynasty, Feng Jingdi wrote Reading Lamps, which listed dozens of cases in which the ancients used other things instead of the next day for reading at night because their families were poor and had no lamps. In the ancient historical books of our country, such examples can be said to abound. For example, Kuang Heng "studies diligently without candles, and his neighbor has candles but fails to catch them. Balance is to draw its light through the wall and read it with books reflecting light". (Miscellanies of Xijing) This is the story of "digging the wall to borrow light" that has been passed down through the ages. Another example is Che Yin's "diligent and well-read, and his family is poor and seldom gets oil, while Xia Yue keeps dozens of fireflies in his practice bag to take care of books, day and night". (The Book of Jin) This is the origin of the idiom "Che Yin's Saccharomyces". There is also Su Xiang's award that "every time I want to study, I suffer from no lights and candles, and I often blow fire in the stable stove to illuminate the book." (The Legacy of Kaiyuan Tianbao) Other well-known examples, such as Lu Wenshu weaving Pu to copy books, Zhu Maichen studying hard with a negative salary, Gao Romantic wheat, Chenggong putting pigs to study hard, Jia Kui listening to lectures through fences, and Shen Linshi weaving curtains to recite books, are endless. Their spirit of overcoming difficulties and studying hard makes people respect. As for Su Qin's "sleepy reading, he pricked himself with a cone, and his blood flowed to his feet". ("The Warring States Policy") Shen Jun "taught himself day and night, sometimes fell asleep, and beat himself with a stick". ("Liang Shu") This kind of example of hard work and hard study is all moving. Various traditional reading methods From the reading deeds of the ancients, we can sum up many reading methods. Such as reading aloud, copying, listening, speed reading, intensive reading, etc., these reading methods still have certain guiding significance for our reading. In ancient China, not only the education of children's education was mainly based on reading, but also a social atmosphere was formed. "Reading thousands of words every day" was regarded as a reading virtue. Many famous historical figures in ancient times have worked hard in reading. For example, Bai Juyi, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, was diligent in reading, resulting in "sores in his mouth"; Gu Yanwu, a scholar in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, "recited all thirteen classics". Similarly, words such as "reading", "reading" and "satirizing" often appear in ancient historical books. For example, Ni Kuan's "hoe with classics, rest and read". (Hanshu) Zhu Maichen "often loves firewood, sells it for food, bears the salary, walks and recites books". ("Hanshu") Fan Xuan "Although he lives idle for many times, he often takes reading as his career". ("Book of Jin") and so on, too numerous to mention. The reason why the ancients are full of ideas and witty remarks is that it is through reading and countless articles are familiar with the chest that they can have this realm. As the saying goes, "You can recite poems even if you are familiar with 3 Tang poems", which is the truth, and this can enlighten us. Copying is to understand books by copying them. Before the invention of printing or in an era when printing was not developed and books were scarce, people attached great importance to copying. Gu Yanwu talked about the effect of "one becomes three" produced by copying. At the age of 11, he began to copy about 9 million words of Zi Zhi Tong Jian. After three years of reading and copying, he had three copies of Zi Zhi Tong Jian, namely the original, the manuscript and the one in his heart. There are many similar examples in ancient historical records, such as Kan Ze's "living in poverty without capital, often holding books for pen and paper, writing them and reading them all over again". ("reflection") Zhang Pu "young addicted to learning, what you read must be copied by hand, copied already, read once, that is, burned, copied again, and so on. So that the right hand holds the tube and the palm of the finger becomes a cocoon. " (History of the Ming Dynasty) They can not only solve the embarrassment of not having books, but also practice calligraphy, and deepen their impression of books in copying, which can be described as killing several birds with one stone. But ... Modern people seldom copy books, because copying books takes too much time, and it also has the side effect of inhibiting thinking. However, reading methods such as taking reading notes and extracting cards still have traces of ancient people's copying. For readers who cannot read because of certain conditions, listening and reading is also a desirable reading method. For example, Schleswig-Holstein's "elegant literature, although in the military, often makes Confucian students read history books and listen to them". (The Book of Jin) Wang Mian's "Young and poor, my father herded cattle, stole into the school house, listened to the students recite books, and returned at dusk, forgetting his cattle". ("History of the Ming Dynasty") Hu Dan "likes reading, which is not only embarrassing, but also makes people recite the history of scripture, and Yiner listens to it a lot." (History of the Song Dynasty) They can't read because they are blind, because they have no books to read, or because they can't read, but they overcome these difficulties, try their best to study, and study hard to this extent. Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, once said, "Old books are never tired of reading, and you should be familiar with them and know yourself." This means that reading should be intensive. Intensive reading is one of the traditional reading methods in China. There are also many records about intensive reading in ancient literature. For example, Tian Min thought that "there is no need to read more, but eighteen chapters are enough". ("History of the Song Dynasty") What is involved in "only one book is placed on the case, and it is read from the beginning to the end, and the words are corrected and even read. If you don't finish the book, swear not to read it. " (Ming Dow Magazine) Su Shi: "When I read Hanshu, I cover the number from the beginning to the end, such as governance, figures, geography, official system, art of war, goods and wealth, and so on. I don't wait for the number, but everything is fine." Indeed, for some famous articles, the learning value is high, the content is concise and concise, and the main points and difficulties of the whole book cannot be grasped without intensive reading. That's what the ancients said: "Read a hundred times, and you will see what you mean.". The reading realm of "self-discipline" is "either love books or want to die, and let others laugh and write books." (Lu You's "Bo Nan Poetry, Reading on a Cold Night" However, there are also some scholars who are not for fame and fortune, but only for themselves. For example, Ma Shu's "Bo Ji Jing Shi", ... is sighing and saying,' I have heard that those who are noble are shackled by nests and reasons, and those who love mountains and forests are in charge of Yi and Lu, but the name of the bundle is actually a word under the mustard column, and it is said that if you play with emptiness, you will be on the chaff table.' It is hidden in Maoshan, and there is a final ambition. " ("Chen Shu") Yangcheng "studious, poor can't get books, seeking to be a Li Li Ji Xian Yuan, stealing books from the Yuan, staying at home for six years day and night, doing everything, and being a scholar, going to the hidden Zhongtiao Mountain". ("Tang Shu") Liu Mianzhi's "that is, the grass in the suburbs of the city is a hall, and I study in it, and I am self-sufficient, but I have nothing to ask for in the world." ("History of Song Dynasty") They live in poverty and happiness, remain self-controlled, indulge in books, admire the strange and analyze the doubts, and gradually widen their belts, and never regret it. Get rid of the shackles of reality with a kind of seclusion and freedom, and pursue internal and subjective spiritual freedom. They put aside utilitarianism, built their own spiritual home on the journey of life in Kankan, established an exquisite, elegant and aesthetic living environment and mode, and reveled in it, reaching the free realm of "heaven and earth coexist with me, and everything is in harmony with me". From the above, we can see the diligent deeds of Chinese celebrities in past dynasties. Although their times, life paths, purpose of reading and contribution are different, their road to success through diligence, self-motivation and hard study is weather-beaten. They are not discouraged in adversity, but they go forward despite hardships, which all gives us deep shock and enlightenment.