Full-text translation of Zhu Zi's family instructions

What is precious when a monarch is "benevolent" and cares about the people. The most precious thing when a minister is "loyalty", loyalty to the monarch and patriotism. What is precious when a father is kind and loves his children. What is precious when a son is filial to his parents? When a brother is precious, he is a "friend" and loves his younger brother. The preciousness of being a younger brother is "respect" and respect for your brother.

What is precious when a husband is "harmony" and harmony with his wife. What is precious to a wife is her "softness" and meekness to her husband. In-service teachers should be polite and pay attention to credit when making friends.

Respect the elderly and care for children. Even if a man of noble character is younger than me, I must respect him. I must stay away from people with bad conduct, even if they are older than me. Don't talk about other people's shortcomings casually; Don't brag about your advantages. For those who have contradictions, we should tell the truth and eliminate contradictions. Be honest and upright with those who blame themselves. Whether you are proud or pleasant, difficult or unfavorable, you should be calm and unmoved.

Others have small mistakes, so be tolerant! If someone else makes a big mistake, we should persuade him to help him according to reason. Don't do it just because it is a small good thing, and don't do it just because it is a small bad thing. Others have done bad things, help them turn over a new leaf, and don't preach their evil deeds. Others should be praised for doing good deeds.

There is no personal enmity in dealing with others, and there is no separate private law in managing housework. Don't do things that harm others and benefit yourself, and don't be jealous of talented people and capable people. Don't say that you are angry with unreasonable people, and don't hurt people and animals' lives in violation of legitimate things. Do not accept unjust property, but support reasonable things.

You must often read poetry books, and you must know etiquette and justice. Children and grandchildren must receive education, and child servants must be pitied. We must respect those who have virtue and knowledge, and we must help those who are in trouble. These are all principles that a man should know, and everyone should do his duty to reach the standard of "politeness". By doing so, we have fulfilled the mission entrusted to us by everything in the world and conformed to the principle of "destiny".

Original text:

What the monarch cherishes is benevolence. Loyalty is what I value. What my father cherishes is kindness. Filial piety is also the most precious thing for children. Friends are brothers. Everyone my brother loves respects me. What a husband values is harmony. The person a woman loves is soft. Being a teacher is more expensive than being polite, and making friends is more expensive than believing.

When you meet your elders, you should respect them; See young people and love them. I will respect those virtuous people, even though they are younger than me; Unscrupulous people, although older than me, I will stay away. Be careful not to talk about other people's shortcomings, and don't brag about your own advantages. Revenge with righteousness, complain directly, and be content with what you encounter. People are too small to tolerate; If a person makes a big mistake, he should be reasonable. Don't do it because of small goodness, and don't do it because of small evils. If people have evil, they will cover it up; If people have goodness, they will preach it.

Have no enmity with the world, and the law of running a family is selfless. Don't be selfish at the expense of others and don't be jealous of talents. Don't say that you are disobedient when you report your anger, and don't see no evil, which harms others. Don't take ill-gotten gains, but take reasonable things. Poetry and books must be read, and etiquette and righteousness must be known. Children and grandchildren must be educated, and children and servants must be merciful. Gentle people will be disrespectful, and those in adversity will help. People who keep my score are also polite; Those who listen to my orders, heaven also. If people can do this, heaven will match it. This is a daily routine. If clothes are to the body and diet is to the mouth, you can't live without them all day, but you can be careless!

Source: Zhu Jiaxun in Southern Song Dynasty

Extended data

Zhu Zi Family Instructions originally contained the genealogy of Zhu's family in Ziyang. In the mid-Southern Song Dynasty, Jin and Mongolia invaded South China, with heavy taxes, poor people, deep national crisis and weak Confucianism. The decay of feudal rule led to the destruction of code, the abandonment of ethics and morality, the increasing greed of officialdom, the decline of morality, the emptiness of people's spirit, the loss of ideals and social unrest.

In order to stabilize the national order, strengthen the cohesion of family and society, and save the country and the people, Zhu took it as his responsibility to promote Neo-Confucianism, pursued the educational concept of "learning from others and respecting deeds", advocated moral cultivation with the content of "preserving natural principles and eliminating human desires", and strived to reorganize ethical norms and rebuild ideal values and spiritual home. It is against this background that Zhuzi's Family Instructions came into being.

(1) Advocating family harmony

Family has been the basic cell of society since ancient times. For everyone, family is the starting point of life, and it is also a harbor for rest and life. From celebrities to ordinary people, behind their career success, they can not do without the support and help of their families. Creating a warm home and a harmonious family life is the eternal goal that people pursue in the past and in the future. Zhu's Family Instructions provides theoretical guidance for realizing this goal.

Advocate interpersonal harmony

Judging from the ultimate goal of human social development, human beings are pursuing a harmonious and happy society, which requires the harmony and unity between man and nature and between people, which is very similar to the way of treating people in Family Instructions advocated by Zhu.

Advocate moral cultivation

In Zhu's view, attaching importance to moral cultivation is like "clothes are to the body and diet is to the mouth". You can't live without it for a day, and you can't be careless at all! "He also put forward many philosophical opinions on how to emphasize morality and cultivate one's morality. He believes that "if people have evil, they must hide it, and if people have good, they must promote it." This sentence refers to the attitude towards the good and evil behavior of others, restraining those who do evil, and promoting and praising those who do good.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Zhu Xi Zhu Xi Family Instructions