A brief analysis of Zhu Xi’s reading method
In ancient Chinese education, it has become a tradition to attach great importance to reading. Famous thinkers and educators in the past dynasties have used the wonderful method of "Gou Xuan Synopsis" in their long-term educational practice. However, the most famous, relatively complete, comprehensive and most influential on later generations is the reading method of Zhu Xi, a great thinker and educator in the Southern Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi was a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty and a famous educator. He spent most of his life reading and teaching and provided many insightful insights. Shortly after his death, his disciples summarized his reading experience into six items, which are called "Zhu Xi's method of reading". This article intends to briefly analyze these six methods.
1. Step by step
In "Zhu Xi's Reading Method", Zhu Xi said: "The key to understanding the truth must lie in reading. The method of reading is nothing more important than step by step and perfection." , is a method of scholarship that Zhu Xi repeatedly emphasized and always adhered to. Zhu Xi believed: "A young scholar should learn what he did; a great scholar should learn what he learned in primary school." ⑴Primary schools can only teach students to read some words and do some specific things, and obtain simple basic knowledge from reading and doing things. When you get to college, you have to understand the truth. Even the "Four Books", a required course prescribed by universities, strictly stipulates the order of reading: "The Great Learning" first, then "The Analects", "Mencius", and finally "The Doctrine of the Mean". Articles should be read one by one in a certain order; books should also be read in a certain order. In terms of content, they must have their own internal connections, from shallow to deep, from outside to inside, from individual to general, from phenomena to phenomena. nature. This is in line with people's cognitive laws, and it is also what cognition should and must follow. Zhu Xi further pointed out that reading should be from easy to difficult, from shallow to deep, from near to far, and there should be no rush or slowness. "What is said is that the results cannot be rushed, and the results cannot be rushed; the results cannot be slowed down." This is to tell readers that they should neither rush for success nor be lax, but must make appropriate progress to achieve results. We can analyze from this that Zhu Xi mainly discusses the meaning of gradualness from three aspects: First, the learning process should be sequenced according to the difficulty of knowledge, from shallow to deep, from small to large. He said: "Things are big or small, and principles are not big or small, so we teach people to be orderly and not to be unreasonable." ⑵ It is also said: "A gentleman teaches people in an orderly manner, first teaching the small ones to those who are close, and then teaching those who are far away to the big ones." Secondly, step-by-step also includes the accumulation of knowledge and perseverance in scholarship. When he annotated the "Analects of Confucius" "Like a Mountain", he pointed out: "If a scholar continues to strive for self-improvement, he will accumulate small things and become more. If he stops in the middle, all his previous efforts will be wasted." ⑶It means that the progress or regression of learning mainly depends on the learner's consciousness and perseverance. Third, the principle of step-by-step is reflected in reading, that is, reading one book before reading another; reflected in reading a book, it is to read the first and last chapters in order. In short, "If you don't know what you know before, don't ask for it later." Zhu Xi's principle of step-by-step reading mainly emphasizes that learning must have a down-to-earth style and pursue solid results.
2. Read carefully and think deeply
Zhu Xi emphasized that reading must be repeated, and one must be strict with oneself in terms of the number of times he reads, and he must not cut corners at all. Wu Boying, a disciple, met Zhu Xi for the first time and asked him how to study. Zhu Xi's answer couldn't be simpler: "There is no cleverness in reading, just familiarity." "Mortals reading must be open-minded and play with the taste. They can't just talk about it on the skin. For example - the taste of food is all inside, if you only lick the outside. , and it is useless if you don’t get the taste.” Here, Zhu Xi warned his disciple Wu Boying: Books must be read thoroughly; Zhu Xi wrote a text in Kaoting, Jianyang, instructing the disciples of Cangzhou Jingshe: "If you don't memorize the book, you can memorize it if you read it carefully." To read a book, you must not only be able to memorize it and know the contents of the book well, but also speak the contents of the book as if you are speaking from your heart. This requires students to deeply explore the author's thoughts and feelings and experience the author's purpose when reading. "I recognize them one by one, as if I had made them myself." Familiar reading is the basis for careful thinking. You must understand the names and explanations of the books one by one. On this basis, we will further understand the essence of the article and the true meaning of its thoughts. The purpose of careful reading and careful thinking is to deeply understand the true meaning of human nature in the articles of sages and sages.
If you look forward and backward, you won't be able to do it."[25] In short, although you cannot seek quick results when studying, you must pay close attention and never slack off, and you must have the spirit of "a stick makes a mark, a slap brings blood". (Same as [25] ]) On the one hand, Zhu Xi was most afraid of the "half-up, half-down, half-sink, half-float" attitude, believing that this attitude would definitely accomplish nothing. He put forward the reading principle of "widening the deadline and sticking to the curriculum", which means that taking into account the need for careful reading and intensive thinking, the overall reading plan target cannot be set too high, and the deadline cannot be arranged too tightly; but in the specific implementation. When reading a book, for example, you must not be lax. You must seize the time and complete the task step by step.
6. Respect and maintain your ambition.
The so-called "respect and maintain your ambition". That is to say, reading requires concentration, lofty ambition, and tenacious perseverance. This is also the most basic spirit of Zhu Xi's method of reading. Zhu Xi believes that the secret of learning is "not to understand the principles first, and to understand the essence of the principles." It must lie in reading", and "when reading, you should study its principles, and when you act, you should practice its deeds" [26]. Therefore, he requires that "when reading, you must stick your heart to the book, word by word, sentence by sentence, each has its own place, and then it is easy to discuss. All scholars must clean up their mind, make it focused, still and pure, and have no distractions in daily activities. Only then can they read the text carefully. In this way, Fang is capable. "[27]
This is to teach people to restrain their minds when reading, to be cautious and enterprising, not to indulge themselves, not to engage in rashness, to be "concentrated, quiet and pure", and to be determined to do something good. Study. If a person has this kind of spirit, he can respect reading when he is dealing with things. As long as his mind can be used to be "concentrated, quiet and pure" and not "drifting around", he can naturally achieve "daily activity and stillness". , so that the way to learn comes from the heart, and learning must be "new every day"
The key to successful learning lies in the scholar's ambition and good mentality, so "Ju Jing ( Being respectful means that "the mind is in charge of itself" and "it is not easy to keep it", that is, to eliminate distracting thoughts and concentrate on one's mind. Therefore, "respect" also refers to "quietness". If the mind is calm, it will naturally be sincere. If the mind is sincere, you can concentrate on anything you do. Okay, here we have absorbed the ideas of Zen Buddhism. As the last article of reading method, it is also the fundamental guarantee. Zhu Xi said: "Respecting the calligraphy skills is the first meaning of the sect." From beginning to end, without interruption. "[28]. Zhu Xi inherited Cheng Yi's saying that "cultivation requires respect, and learning requires knowledge." He put forward the principle of learning that "to gain knowledge, one must understand principles, and to maintain respect, one must focus on unity." Among the two, " "Respect is the foundation of truth". The original meaning of "respect" is to be respectful and not presumptuous. Here, "respect" is a correct attitude, that is to say, sincerity and conscientiousness are the basis for doing everything well, and reading is no exception. . To be respectful means to strictly respect the etiquette and law from the heart, to be single-minded and persistent, and to never relax our requirements for oneself. In particular, we must eliminate distracting thoughts and avoid external temptations. Therefore, "respect" is also related to "quietness". If you study and do things sincerely and conscientiously, your personal accomplishment will be improved smoothly. "Keeping one's ambition" means having a firm ambition. "Only by establishing the ambition to learn the ways of the sages and cultivate one's self and restore one's nature can we truly achieve results.
Zhu Xi's reading method is the most influential reading methodology in ancient times. The six articles all reflect the basic laws and requirements of reading and learning. It has profound reference value. Zhu Xi's reading methods are much more than these, and the main ones are summarized in the above six points. From the above brief analysis, we can see that it is indeed a talk of experience, and it has its own creativity and simplicity in every word. No pretentiousness, simple and appropriate. Each link complements each other and is complete, forming an indivisible and complete system, which conforms to the objective laws of knowledge structure, human psychology, understanding and teaching activities, and has strict logic and scientific nature. . It is a summary of Zhu Xi’s personal experience and practical experience of studying hard throughout his life and teaching hard for fifty years.
Of course, since Zhu Xi mainly refers to reading the books of sages rather than reading ordinary books, every sentence in the books of sages is naturally the truth. The purpose of reading is to learn theory, and the purpose of learning theory is to cultivate feudal ethics and morals. Mastering knowledge is only in Secondly, it is impossible to involve the principles of questioning and asking questions, and does not pay attention to the combination of books and practice. This is the shortcoming of feudal orthodox education, so it was also criticized by people from different schools later. However, Zhu Xi's reading method is the most systematic reading method in ancient my country. It is a culmination of ancient calligraphy and deserves careful study and reference.
⑴ "Yu Lei" Volume 7, page 124
⑵ Quotation from "Zhu Zi Yu Lei" Volume 8
⑶ From "Analects of Confucius" Volume 5
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⑷See "The Complete Works of Zhu Xi? The Essentials of Reading"
⑸"The Complete Works of Zhu Wengong", Volume 74, Page 1472)
⑹"With Wei Yingzhong" ("Zhu Wengong") Complete Works" Volume 39
⑺See Wang Huanchen
⑻See "Zhu Xi's Reading Method? Volume One"
⑼"A Brief Collection of Zhu Xi's Language Classes" Volume Two
p>⑽ "Zhu Xi Yu Lei" Volume 11
⑾ "Xuegui Lei Bian"
⑿ "Continuation of Modern Thoughts" Volume 2
⒀ "The Complete Book of Zhu Xi" Volume 6
⒁ "Zhu Xi Yulei" Volume 11
⒂ "Zhu Xi Yulei" Volume 11
⒃ "Zhu Xi Yulei" "Collection of Lei" Volume 2
⒄ "Zhu Xi Yu Lei" Volume 11
⒅ "Zhu Xi's Reading Method"
⒆ "Zhu Xi Yu Lei" Volume 10
⒇ (Volume 11 of "Zhu Xi Yu Lei")
[21] "The Essence of Xingli"
[22] "Zhu Xi Yu Lei"
p>[23] "Zhu Xi's Reading Method"
[24] "Zhu Xi's Reading Method"
[25] "Zhu Xi's Language Classes" Volume 8
[26] "The Essence of Xingli"
[27] "Zhu Xi's Reading Method" Volume 11
[28] From Volume 12 of "Zhu Xi's Yu Lei"
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