Yan Zhitui was a famous thinker, educator, poet and writer in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. He was the most knowledgeable and thoughtful scholar at that time. Having experienced the Northern and Southern Dynasties, I know the disadvantages of the vulgarity of politics in the North and South, and I know the disadvantages of learning from the South and learning from the North. At that time, he studied almost all the knowledge, big and small, and put forward his own opinions. His theory and practice have a great influence on later generations. Family Instructions of Yan Family is a summary of his life's career, life and study experience, and is praised by later generations as a model of family education with great influence.
As a model teaching material of China traditional society, Family Instructions of Yan Family directly initiated the family instructions of later generations, and it is a precious heritage in the ancient family education theory treasure house of China. Yan Zhitui didn't have Hector's merit and rank, but he has a long-standing reputation because of one of Yan's family precepts, which shows that his family precepts have far-reaching influence. Yan's Family Instructions, praised by Chen as "the ancestor of family instructions in ancient and modern times", is an important ancient book in China's cultural history. It is not only reflected in the style of the book, but also in the contents of "discussing the rhythm of calligraphy and painting, correcting allusions and appreciating literature and art" and "stating the method of governing the family and distinguishing right from wrong", so scholars of all ages have praised it as a model for educating future generations and family education. Throughout history, Yan's descendants have made amazing performances in moral and academic aspects. Only in the Tang Dynasty, Yan, who annotated Hanshu, Yan Zhenqing, whose calligraphy was a model for the world for thousands of years, and Yan Gaoqing, who was shocked for a hundred years and died in the country, made people have an extraordinary deep impression on Yan's family, which further proved the effectiveness of the family precepts set by ancestors. Even in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, members of the Yan family continued to be employed as officials, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
On the whole, Family Instructions of Yan Family is a book with rich cultural connotations, and it is one of the excellent cultures in ancient China. It not only has important reference significance for our family ethics cultivation today, but also has high academic value for studying ancient philology and the history and culture of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. At the same time, the author's wise thinking under the special political atmosphere (troubled times) has valuable cognitive value for future generations.
Yan Zhitui lived through four dynasties and was a "national subjugator". He suffered from chaos and was deeply worried. I once wrote an article "Viewing the Blessing of My Life", in which I tearfully stated my misfortune after my country was destroyed and my helplessness of "giving up my life for three things", and lamented: "I would like to be a person under the grass and trees, not learning the sword, not painting my hands and feet, appointing a pearl to be happy and humble, bidding farewell to Bai Bi and helping the poor." I'm ashamed of myself? "Sorrow is beyond words.
It is precisely because Yan Zhitui was "born in troubled times, grew up in the army, spread abroad, and heard a lot" that after he entered Sui Dynasty, he wrote a book "Family Instructions for Yan Family" with the purpose of "serving Wang Zhidao first and cherishing his family business" and combining his own life experience and philosophy, to admonish future generations. There are 20 books, each of which covers a wide range, but it mainly uses traditional Confucianism to educate children and talk about how to cultivate self-cultivation, keep the family in order, live in the world and study, and many of them still have reference significance today. For example, he advocates learning and opposes being unlearned; It is believed that learning should focus on reading and attach importance to the knowledge of workers, peasants and soldiers and businessmen. It is unrealistic to advocate "learning is expensive and can do it" and oppose empty talk. He despised and satirized the corruption and incompetence of the gentry in the Southern Dynasties, and thought that most of the children who traveled expensive had no academic knowledge and only paid attention to clothes and shoes. Once separated, they have no choice but to turn to the ravine. He was also deeply dissatisfied with the shyness and flattery of the northern gentry. And often through the narrative of their own experiences, a few words, will write the social feelings at that time, especially the flattering atmosphere of aristocratic society. For example, the article "Dragon Son" said: "A scholar-bureaucrat in the Qi Dynasty said,' I have a son who is seventeen years old and is quite knowledgeable. I want to teach him Xianbei language and play the pipa. I want to know a little to serve the ministers. I love them all and it is important. "I don't answer on my stomach. Different, this man's adopted son is also! If this industry is conscious, I don't want you to do it. " The language is concise and vivid, and the mentality of a scholar-bureaucrat comes to my face.
The book "Family Instructions of Yan Family" not only recorded the situation of "the resurgence of Xuanfeng, the popularity of Buddhism, the spread of Xianbei, and the popular writing Sheng Xing" at that time, but also preserved some valuable historical documents for future generations. In the article, through the discussion of the works of writers in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it reflects the literary views at that time and his own literary ideas. Yan Zhitui attaches great importance to literature. He criticized Yang Xiong's view that literature is a small skill, and expounded the importance of literature (including knowledge, oral debate, composition and other cultural qualities) from the perspective of personal cultivation. As for the function of literature, Yan Zhitui not only narrowly attributed it to serving political enlightenment and practicality, but also affirmed that literature has the aesthetic function of pleasing people's eyes and ears and cultivating the soul, and at the same time showed a strong literary aesthetic ability in his creative practice. His articles are true in content, approachable in writing and unique and simple in style, which has a far-reaching influence on later generations.