Why does Chinese Mother’s Day choose Mencius’ birthday?

Mencius’s mother’s education influenced Mencius’s life, just as all mothers influence their children’s lives. And someone as outstanding as Meng's mother is enough to bear the title of "Chinese Mother". At this year's national "Two Sessions", Zhang Jianhua, former deputy political commissar of the Army in the Northern Theater Command, and 26 female representatives of the People's Liberation Army delegation jointly proposed that "Chinese Mother's Day" should be established with Mencius' mother as a model. He suggested using Mencius' mother as the symbol, setting the time when Mencius was born as "Chinese Mother's Day", and making it a statutory holiday for mothers across the country. The call to "create a Chinese Mother's Day" has once again entered the public eye, and the contemporary interpretation of filial piety culture has gradually become a cultural phenomenon. Meng's mother moved three times and taught her culture that filial piety was the first priority. Mencius's mother, one of the "four great virtuous mothers" in ancient times, became the spokesperson for people to regain filial piety. As a Confucian master second only to Confucius, Mencius' adult success is inseparable from Mencius' mother's education. Meng's mother lost her husband in her early years and had no intention of remarrying. She raised Mencius through all kinds of hardships by herself. At first, she and Mencius lived near her husband's tomb so that they could worship her husband every day. But after living in such a place for a long time, the young Mencius actually imitated the mourning behavior of mourners. Meng's mother felt that such a living environment was not conducive to the growth of her children, so she moved her family to the market. But Mencius also learned from the hawkers and merchants and started the shouting business. Meng's mother moved her family near the school again. From then on, Mencius followed the scholars in the school and "study hard and make progress every day." The reason why Meng's mother moved three times was because she understood a truth: "The environment will affect a person's growth." Meng's mother also had a story about "a son who doesn't learn and loses his chance." She taught Mencius that if he gave up his studies halfway, it would be like Cloth that is half woven cannot be used by people. Similarly, if a person does not study well when he is young, he will only be able to do hard labor when he grows up, and he will have no future. From then on, Mencius worked hard to study and eventually became a generation of unparalleled Confucian scholars. Mencius's mother's education influenced Mencius's life, just as all mothers influence their children's lives. And someone as outstanding as Meng's mother is enough to bear the title of "Chinese Mother". Volume 9 of "Han Shi Wai Zhuan" says, "A virtuous mother makes her children virtuous." It means that a virtuous mother attaches great importance to education so that her children can grow up to be talents with both political integrity and talent. There have been many virtuous mothers in the history of the Chinese nation. They understood "women's ways" well and taught their children well, which fully demonstrated the educational power of mothers. "Nu Fan Jie Lu" says: "Therefore, mother's etiquette comes before father's instruction, and kindness and strictness are better than justice." In the late Ming Dynasty, Wen Huang received strict education from his mother since he was a child. He once recorded his mother's instructions in the book "Wen's Mother's Instructions". Later, his whole family died for resisting the Qing soldiers. He was praised by people at the time and said that he was "worthy of his mother's teachings." Master Yinguang, a famous Buddhist virtuous man in modern times, said: "The power to govern the country and bring peace to the world is largely controlled by women." Sun Yat-sen also famously said: "The peace and security of the world depends on women, and the prosperity and decline of the family depends on the mother." Mother's excellent education methods It has even spread abroad, and has been especially accepted by some Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea. In the textbooks of Korean primary school students, there is an article about "Meng's mother moved three times". Some of the things hanging on the streets in Japan are not commercial advertisements, but "effects". Public welfare slogans such as "Meng Mu moved three times". Our country's traditional culture has always focused on governing the family, the country, and the world with filial piety. However, we do not have our own Mother's Day. This is a pity for the Chinese people who have a long and splendid ethical civilization. Zoucheng: A city and the birth of "Chinese Mother's Day" According to incomplete statistics, as a major human relations festival, more than 70 countries in the world have their own Mother's Day. In China, in addition to Zoucheng, Shijiazhuang and other places as pilot projects, education departments in more than 10 cities including Xinxiang in Henan, Taiyuan in Shanxi, Yinchuan in Ningxia, and Liuzhou in Guangxi have also begun to respond. On the occasion of the "Chinese Mother's Day", everyone is encouraged to A student does a good thing or gives a homemade gift to his mother and writes a composition with the theme of "Chinese Mother's Day". In addition to using Mencius' mother as the representative image of Mother's Day, some scholars also suggest that the birthdays of Chinese female ancestors Leizu and Nuwa should be established as Chinese Mother's Day. In fact, no matter who is designated as "mother", filial piety is no longer a story, but is actually commemorated and practiced by people. In 1992, Zoucheng established the Research Association on Mencius' Mother's Education of Children, which was supervised by the Shandong Provincial Women's Federation, and held the "Academic Seminar on Meng's Mother's Education of Children." On December 13, 2007, the founding meeting and first plenary meeting of the Mother's Day Promotion Association was held in Zoucheng, Shandong Province. At the meeting, the initiative "Creating Chinese Mother's Day" was issued. Zoucheng has a commemoration of Mencius' birthday passed down through the ages, and there is corresponding evidence in the Wanli version of the Ming Dynasty "San Qian Zhi" and other documents. Therefore, the meeting decided that Mencius' birthday - the second day of April in the lunar calendar - would be the most appropriate day to celebrate Chinese Mother's Day.

In recent years, Zoucheng has organized selection activities for the "Top Ten Loving Mothers", "Top Ten Filial Stars", "Good Daughters-in-law" and "Good Mother-in-law", commending more than 1,000 "good mothers who teach their children well" and setting a model for the "Top Ten Good Mothers" ". At the same time, an exhibition of "good mothers" deeds was held, a family education feature film was produced, and family education promotion windows were set up in prosperous areas of the city, creating a strong family education atmosphere. On April 29, 2016, the 10th "Chinese Mother's Day" was held in Zoucheng. No matter in terms of form or content, "Chinese Mother's Day" strives to more vividly promote this good mother's method of educating her children more than 2,000 years ago. The grand ceremony was held at Mengmiao Temple. Nearly a thousand people attended the ceremony, including dignitaries at all levels, Confucian scholars, descendants of the Mencius clan and the general public. At 9 o'clock in the morning, as the master of ceremonies said "open the door", the Lingxing Gate of Meng Temple slowly opened. In the distant and solemn sound of classical sacrificial music, the people participating in the commemoration ceremony slowly entered the temple and passed by the stone square of Yasheng Temple. , Taishan Weather Gate, Chengsheng Gate and other gates came to stand in front of the Yasheng Temple. There was melodious music in the Mencius Temple, and flags painted with the word "Confucianism" and phoenix bird patterns danced in the wind. Hundreds of children from Mencius' hometown lined up on both sides of the shrine to recite famous quotes from "Mencius", which left a long aftertaste. After the ceremony began, representatives at all levels presented flower baskets and paid homage to Mencius' mother and Mencius. Xie Chenghai, the mayor of Zoucheng City at the time, read out a memorial to Mencius's mother and Mencius, "Zou Lumu Muzong, the legacy is still warm. Mencius was favored by his mother when he was young." "Chapter" commemorates Mencius's mother's contribution to ancient Chinese mother religion culture, and recalls the outstanding contributions made by the Yasheng teacher Mencius to Chinese and world culture. Since 2007, Zoucheng City has held a series of Mother's Cultural Festival activities with the main content of promoting the spirit of Mencius for ten consecutive years, and is preparing to build a Chinese Mother's Cultural Park. So far, the Zoucheng Mother's Cultural Festival has gone through 10 years. The Chinese Mother's Cultural Festival has become Zoucheng's characteristic cultural brand. As a leading project to develop Zoucheng's cultural undertakings, activate people's lives, and promote the construction of spiritual civilization, the cultural festival Its value and social role have initially emerged. For more than ten years, the proposal to establish "Chinese Mother's Day" has been widely recognized by more and more cities and all walks of life. Chinese Mother's Day activities have been held in 20 provinces and cities and more than 100 cities across the country. On the morning of March 20 this year, a press conference for the 2017 Mencius’ Hometown (Zoucheng) Mother’s Cultural Festival was held in Beijing, announcing that this year’s Mother’s Cultural Festival would be held in Zoucheng from April 25 to May 3. Source: Qilu Weekly