When the ancients talked about reading, Zhu Xi said that there are three aspects of reading, namely, understanding with the heart, understanding with the eyes, and understanding with the mouth. He emphasized the importance of reading until you understand its true meaning.
1. Original text
Yu Chang said that there are three ways to read, namely, the heart, the eyes, and the mouth. If the mind is not here, the eyes will not look carefully. The mind will not be focused, but will only read rambles. It will never be memorized, and it will not be memorized for a long time. Among the three arrivals, I feel the most anxious. Now that the heart is there, won’t the eyes and mouth not care?
2. Translation
I once said that to study with concentration, the three must be in place, that is, the heart, the eyes, and the mouth. If your mind is not on the book, your eyes will not look carefully. Since the heart and eyes are not concentrating but just reading casually, they will definitely not be able to remember it, and even if they can remember it, they will not be able to remember it for a long time. Among the three, the heart is the most important. Now that the heart has arrived, how can it be that the eyes and mouth are not there?
Extended information:
Zhu Xi's method of reading
Zhu Xi once criticized two common shortcomings at that time: one is "self-interest", that is, using one's own They speculate on the truth in the book based on their own thoughts, and distort the original meaning of the ancients. The second is the "old ancestor's theory", which means that the previously accepted views are unwilling to give up, thus rejecting new views.
In order to correct the above two bad problems, Zhu Xi advocated that when reading, one must be open-minded, think quietly, and carefully understand the author's original intention. Zhu Xi emphasized that reading must be patient and "reflecting", that is, chewing over and over again to deeply understand the meaning of the reading.