How to tell children historical stories

The son asked: Is Yan Qiu a good person or a bad person? I replied: not a good person or a bad person. The son asked again: After Cao Cao killed Lv Boshe, he was considered a bad man, right? I replied: Yes. So the son's ultimate question appeared: why did the good man Guan Yu help the bad man kill a man who was neither a good man nor a bad man? Netizens have different opinions on this topic, which leads to a topic: how to tell children about history? This is not an easy thing. History itself is thick, rich in texture and very complicated, lacking certain life experience accumulation and knowledge cultivation, and unable to understand the nuances. Children are simple in thinking, accustomed to using good guys/bad guys, black or white, and making a simple binary classification of good and evil, so as to understand history, which is naturally full of doubts. I did something similar when I was a child. In the ancient history of China, the teacher talked about the uprising in Daze Township, saying that it was the first peasant uprising in the history of China, which was of great historical significance and was later suppressed by the Qin Dynasty. I raised my hand and asked: all the peasants revolted were good people. Why did it fail? At that time, I watched cartoons, comic books, and some movies and TV dramas with the main theme. In the end, justice won, so I think the Daze Township Uprising should have a brilliant ending. Incredibly, it failed. The teacher was a little puzzled to hear this question. Finally, the answer he gave was: Good people don't necessarily win, and bad people don't necessarily fail. A good man has failed, but he can set an example for other good people. Although I didn't understand it at that time, in retrospect, this answer is the best in children's understanding. There are many examples of children's cognition deviating from the real history. For example, Kong Rong, when I was a child, everyone heard the story of Kong Rong letting pears. My impression in my mind has always been a gentle, honest, modest and kind uncle. Later, after reading the history books, I realized that this guy was actually a risk-averse alcoholic in bad karma. Cao Cao, played by Jiang Wen in Guan Yunchang, has a line: Kong Rong, a man, will never let go of pears and wine. When I was young, when my parents told us the story of Kong Rong letting pears, they always added: You should learn from Kong Rong's humility. If a child really reads Kong Rong in history books and learns his manners, what do you say? In fact, I have a slightly extreme view, and there is no need for children to establish a correct view of history from an early age. Different historical views and values can be taught by examples, but historical views are a process of accumulation. It is as absurd for a child to establish a view of history as riding a bicycle on the highway. The most important thing about the history told to children is not right or wrong, but fun, so don't mix too much preaching, as long as you tell stories, they will be interested; With interest, you will take the initiative to understand; If you know more, you will naturally form your own historical view; It is not too late to distinguish right from wrong after establishing the historical view. Of course, there are simpler ways to face other people's children. For example, the problems encountered at the beginning of the article can be solved in this way: call the children around and say earnestly: To make this problem clear, we must start with the relationship between Cao Cao and Yan Wen boss Yuan Shao. To clarify Cao and Yuan Yuanyuan, we must first say why Dong Zhuo went to Beijing. I have to say that the disaster of the party is the evolution of the relationship between the northwest warlords and the Qiang people. At this point, most children are impatient, just leave, and you will be relieved.