The story of Zheng Banqiao’s godson
Zheng Banqiao was a famous calligrapher, painter and poet in the Qing Dynasty. His calligraphy, painting and calligraphy enjoy a high reputation and are known as the Three Wonders.
Zheng Banqiao, whose name is Xie, whose courtesy name is Kerou, and whose nickname is Banqiao. In his later years, he was named Banqiao Old Man. He was a native of Xinghua, Jiangsu. His mother died when he was three years old and he lived in poverty. Before the age of fifty, he read, taught, and sold paintings; he passed the Jinshi examination in the seventh year of Qianlong (1742 AD). He served as county magistrate for twelve years in Weixian and Fanxian, Shandong Province (now part of Henan). He is diligent in political affairs and has outstanding political achievements. Later, he offended the officials and gentry by advocating relief for the hungry people during the famine years. At the age of sixty-one, he resigned and returned to his hometown to make a living by selling paintings.
When he was fifty-two years old, he had a son, named Xiaobao. He likes Xiaobao very much. In order to cultivate his son into a useful talent, he paid great attention to educational methods.
Zheng Banqiao was sent to Weixian County, Shandong Province to be the county magistrate, leaving Xiaobao at home under the care of his wife and younger brother Zheng Mo. Zheng Banqiao saw the children of wealthy families at that time, but he was worried that his son would be spoiled and become evil, so he was in Shandong and missed his son at home. He always wanted to entrust his cousin Zheng Mo to help take care of his son Xiaobao, who would be more pampered than himself. Therefore, he kept writing poems from Shandong and sent them home for Xiaobao to read. It's noon on the day of hoeing, and the sweat is dripping from the soil. Who would have thought that every meal on the plate is hard work? Yesterday I went to the city and came back with tears streaming down my face and clothes all over my body, but I am not a silkworm breeder. Selling new silk in February, selling new grain in May; curing the sores in front of the eyes, but gouging out the flesh in the heart. Nine-nine and eighty-one, when the poor man has suffered enough, he has to put his feet down and sleep, and mosquitoes and fleas are out. Under the guidance of his mother, Xiaobao memorized these verses over and over again, thereby understanding many philosophies of life.
“A spoiled child is like killing a child”, this is the experience and lesson learned by many people with their blood and tears.
When Zheng Banqiao heard that Xiaobao at home often boasted to the children: "My father is a high official outside!" He sometimes bullied the servants' children. Zheng Banqiao immediately wrote to his younger brother Zheng Mo, saying: "I only had a son when I was fifty-two years old. How can I not love him? But love must be done in its own way." There must be a way to love a son. "Following the way" is true love, not "following the way" is doting, and doting is not true love. Therefore, he asked his younger brother and his family to strictly discipline Xiaobao and pay attention to "growing his kindness and driving away his cruel nature." The younger brother and his family educated the child according to Zheng Banqiao's wishes, and the results were great. They wrote a letter to Zheng Banqiao, telling Zheng Banqiao about the child's progress, and said that if this continues, he will be a promising person when he grows up, like you. Same thing, be an official. After Zheng Banqiao read this letter, he felt that his younger brother was too tolerant of Xiaobao and that doing so was not good for the child. So he immediately wrote back to his brother Zheng Mo and said: We people, "as soon as we hold books, we think about winning the imperial examination, becoming a Jinshi, becoming an official, how to grab money, build a big house, and buy a lot of land." But we started on the wrong path. If you do more and more bad things, there will never be a good result." He also said: "It is a trivial matter to be promoted to the imperial examination, to be a Jinshi, or to be an official. The first thing is to understand the principles and be a good person." The good person mentioned here is a person with high moral character and a person who is beneficial to society.
After Xiaobao reached six years old, Zheng Banqiao took Xiaobao with him. He personally taught his son to read, requiring him to recite certain poems every day, and often told Xiaobao how to eat and dress. avoid hardships and dangers, and let him participate in housework within his ability. To learn to wash dishes, you must wash them thoroughly. When Xiaobao was twelve years old, he asked his son to carry water in a small bucket, and he had to fill it whether it was hot or cold, without stopping. Thanks to his father's words and deeds, Xiaobao has made rapid progress. At that time, the famine in Weixian County was very serious. Zheng Banqiao has always been poor, and his family does not save a single grain of food. One day, Xiaobao cried and said, "Mom, I'm hungry!" Mom put a steamed bun made of corn flour into Xiaobao's hand and said, "This is what your father saved at noon. Take it and eat it quickly!" Bao stumbled to the door and happily ate steamed buns. At this time, a little girl with bare feet stood next to him and watched him eat. Xiaobao noticed the little girl looking at her with hungry eyes, and immediately gave half of the steamed bun in his hand to the little girl. After Zheng Banqiao found out, he was very happy and said to Xiaobao: "My child, you are right, daddy really likes you!"
Zheng Banqiao also cared very much about his daughter. Under his influence and influence, his daughter also reached a certain level in poetry and painting.
Seeing that her daughter has reached the age of marriage, she has not yet found a suitable partner. He took the initiative to choose a partner for his daughter, and contrary to the tradition of grand weddings, he personally sent his daughter to the man's house and asked the man's family to cook a few side dishes to celebrate. When he was about to return, he told his daughter: "This is your home, you can live here peacefully!" In order to express his congratulations to his daughter on her marriage, he specially painted a painting as a dowry for her daughter. On the painting, he wrote a small poem saying: "After being retired from office, my pocket is empty and my sleeves are cold, so I can only sell paintings to accompany the court meal; I am most ashamed of Wu Yin's dowry and thin makeup, so I give you a few strokes of orchids in the spring breeze." Zheng Banqiao paid great attention to the education of his children. Independent education.
Until his deathbed, he would ask his son to make several steamed buns and bring them to his bedside. When Xiaobao brought the prepared steamed buns to the bed, he nodded with relief, closed his eyes, and passed away. Before he died, he left his last words to his son: "You shed your own sweat, eat your own food, do your own things, and rely on heaven, people, and ancestors, you are not considered a true man." These last words are instructions to his children, and they are also His summary and summary of his children’s education experience.