There are "three treasures" in life, ugly wives, thin land, and torn cotton jackets. It is a saying popular in the northern region, what does it mean? Let's interpret it together.
The agrarian society that has lasted for more than 2,000 years, since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, is the most typical embodiment of the closed small-scale peasant economy.
As far as the northern region is concerned, the simplest wish of the ordinary and simple poor peasants is to have a hot kiln head, a little thin land, a torn cotton jacket that has been cold in winter, and can solve the problem of food and clothing, and as for the rich and noble, it is a luxury that can be encountered but not sought.
Therefore, the easy-to-understand slip of the tongue: "There are 'three treasures' in life, ugly wives, thin land, and torn cotton jackets" have been handed down, and over time, they have become a folk saying that truly reflects the low living needs of the people under the small peasant economy.
The "ugly wife" here means that men do not necessarily have to find a beautiful woman as a wife, they can get an "ugly wife" to form a family, and it is good to live a life plainly, if they can "raise their eyebrows" like Liang Hong and Meng Guang, they will burn high incense.
Of course, the "ugly wife" here does not necessarily have to be an "ugly monster" with green faces and fangs, compared to the wife, there is not such a good-looking "fall of the country" appearance.
In fact, although the "ugly wife" is "ugly", she can take care of the internal affairs at home, let the man rest assured that he will break into the rivers and lakes, and do not let the thief worry about evil, and will not cause trouble because of the "appearance".
Such an "ugly wife" is precious, and they can rely on each other more steadily, not live alone, and appear to be happy and harmonious. How nice!
From this point of view, if there is an "ugly wife" in the family, it is not a "treasure".
As for the "thin land," it is even more fundamental to the survival of the peasants. Of course, the "thin" referred to here literally means mainly barren fields. However, fertile soil is not rejected.
However, for the vast majority of poor peasants, if they can have a little bit of "thin land" for the production of grain, they can exchange hard work for grain to support their families, and they will have the basic guarantee of life, and they will not leave their hometowns due to unexpected natural disasters and man-made disasters, and they will also have the hope of life, which is a happy life!
Why bother to seek fertile land that is not your own? If you do whatever it takes to get too much good land and good soil, and thus obtain too much ill-gotten wealth, it will provoke trouble and make others blush and crooked hearts, what good is it?
Therefore, if the family has "thin land", is it not "a treasure"?
As for the "torn cotton jacket", it mainly refers to the clothes for winter, not necessarily tattered, expensive or not, it does not matter, it can withstand the cold.
In fact, a family with a "torn cotton jacket" can live a peaceful and stable life, not because of too many expensive clothing to make people jealous and think wrong, is not better? As the saying goes, "gold and silver do not show white" is this truth.
Therefore, the family has a "broken cotton jacket", which is naturally also a key "treasure".
Needless to say, objectively speaking, there are "three treasures" in life, ugly wives, thin ground, and broken cotton jackets, and the role of this saying is very important, that is:
"Simplicity is bliss" outlook on life, values and worldview.
A person, in the face of the reality of rampant materialism, why bother to be flashy and unrealistic, and it seems too "complicated" to pick and choose? It is better to follow the applicable rules of survival, to look at life with an open-minded, optimistic, contented and happy attitude, and to be simply happy.
Such a life orientation also has a cautionary significance for today's people:
In the world of people who know the world and are not sophisticated, it is better to be low-key and not to be ostentatious; only by not forgetting the original heart, remembering the suffering of the past, cherishing the hard-won good life of the present, the future must be consistent.
Of course, the saying "there are three treasures in life, ugly wife, thin land, and torn cotton jacket" inevitably has the limitations of the old times, with the suspicion of caution or timidity, and it seems that some lack of positive enterprising, pioneering and adventurous spirit is not enough, and it needs to be looked at dialectically.
From the perspective of the new development of the twentieth century and the twentieth era today, we must not stay on the "ugly, thin, and broken", and define this saying narrowly and distort it not grandly enough.
In the face of the current ever-changing and prosperous environment, it is no longer a closed past, no longer an extralegal place for fighting, killing and killing. Nowadays, there are "ugly wives" in the family, or "petite wives", in fact, they are all the same, they are all "treasures".
As for the home has thin land, or good land, it does not matter, there is a good field is more beautiful, but also a "treasure"; the family has a torn cotton jacket, or an unbroken cotton jacket, it does not hurt, more use not to cover, it is good. Of course, it is better to have a new and expensive luxury dress, and it is a "treasure".
In fact, life has "three treasures", ugly wives, thin land, broken cotton jackets, this traditional saying also has a corresponding saying: life has "three treasures", strict fathers, loving mothers, people are not old.
That is to say, in addition to the "ugly wife, thin ground, and torn cotton jacket", there are also serious fathers, kind mothers, and the selfless love that is always "ageless".
Even if the parents are old or no longer alive, only this love is precious and precious in the family, which is the warmth of the children's life.
Therefore, having parents at home is even more "treasure".
It is advisable to form a union, the right link: ugly wife, thin land, torn cotton jacket; left link: strict father, loving mother, people are not old. The horizontal batch is: the family has "three treasures".
【About the author】Li Dakui, post-70s, Bachelor of Laws, Guizhou Meitan people, literature lovers.