Bao Zheng and his family training
Bao Zheng (999–1062), courtesy name Xiren, was a native of Hefei, Luzhou (present-day Feidong, Hefei, Anhui), and a famous courtier during the Northern Song Dynasty.
In the fifth year of Tiansheng (1027), Bao Zheng ascended to the throne. He has served as a judge of the Three Divisions household department, a royal history of the Imperial Household Department, a third division envoy, a privy councillor, and other official positions, because he once served as a tianzhangge to be made and a longtuge direct bachelor, so he was called "bao to be made" and "bao longtu". In the seventh year of Jiayou (1062), Bao Zheng died at the age of 64, posthumously awarded the Title of Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, with the nickname "Xiaosu", which was later called "Bao Xiaosu", and there was "Bao Xiaosu Gongshou" passed down.
Bao Zheng is a model of clean and honest officials in Chinese history. He was honest and just, resolute in establishing the dynasty, not attached to the magnates, selfless with an iron face, and wise and decisive, daring to make peace for the people, so he had the names of "Bao Qingtian" and "Bao Gong", and the Beijing master had the words "the joints are not enough, there is Yan Luo Bao Lao". Later generations worshipped him as a god, believing that he was the reincarnation of Kuixing, and because of his black-faced image, he was also known as "Bao Qingtian" and was deeply loved by the people.
From the south to the north, many places in the country have built ancestral temples to commemorate Bao Gong, and people everywhere are worshipping him. There are a lot of legends about him in folklore, and many of Bao Zheng's deeds have been adapted into novels, film and television dramas. Folklore has it that Bao Zheng can judge the gods up to the heavens, the little ghosts down to hell, the day to judge the yang, the night to judge the yin, and after death, he was also sent to the underworld to become the king of Yan Luo, which shows the high evaluation of Bao Zheng by the people.
So, what is the specific content of the "Bao Zheng Family Training", which is known as "Thirty-Seven Characters, Character Pearls"?
Bao Xiaosu's gongxunyun said: "Future generations of eunuchs, those who commit dirty and abusive crimes, must not be released to their own families; after death, they must not be buried in the big mound." Not from my will, not from my descendants. ”
Thirty-seven words in total. The inscription under it reads: "The stone is erected on the east wall of the hall house to command future generations." Fourteen more words. The Son of Filial Piety.
This passage is explained in today's terms:
Bao Zheng said in his family training: "Among the descendants of the descendants who become officials, if anyone who has committed the crime of embezzling property and is dismissed from his post, he is not allowed to return to his hometown and is not allowed to enter the gate of the Bao family; after they die, they are not allowed to be buried on the tomb of the Bao family." Those who do not obey My will are not My descendants. ”
The original text has a total of 37 words. After the family training, Bao Zheng also wrote: "I hope that Bao Jue will carve the above passage on the stone block, and erect the carved stone next to the wall on the east side of the hall house to warn future generations." These 14 words were added to the original text. Bao Jue is Bao Zheng's son.
The revelation of the family training
This family training was not Bao Zheng's will, but was written just when he was in a high position, so that the descendants of the Bao clan could standardize their words and deeds and be honest and honest.
The core idea of "Bao Zheng Family Training" is that you should not covet fame and fortune as a person, but should be honest and upright. This strict family training embodies Bao Gong's noble sentiments, which is not only his precept for regulating future generations, but also the code of conduct for his own life, portraying us with the image of a clean official who is as evil as a vendetta, punishes evil and promotes good.
In the early years, when he was transferred to Zhizhou in Luzhou, his relatives in his hometown were very happy, thinking that he could get a little light from Bao Gong and glorify his ancestors. His maternal uncle felt that if his nephew came to become an official, he would not be in serious trouble if he committed something and would be taken care of. Who knew that Bao Gong showed no mercy, still held a trial, and beat dozens of big boards according to the law, and from then on, his relatives and friends no longer dared to do evil and fight nonsense.
This family motto has been passed down for more than 900 years and has become a golden rule that attracts the attention of the world, which also means that its descendants inherit the glory of their ancestors, and at the same time stand up to public supervision and judgment. This cool legacy of the Bao clan still exists today, and generations of descendants have been adhering to the family motto: When Bao Gong's second son Bao Shou was 48 years old, he went to Tanzhou to be a judge and died of illness on the road. Opening his chest, "apart from the shafts and writings, there has been no accumulation of future calculations." He had to bury the ink stones, seals, bowls and cans he carried in a coffin.
In 1973, the tomb of Bao Shou was cleaned up, and as recorded in the historical records, only these very simple relics were removed from the tomb. His wife, Wen Shi, was the younger daughter of Wen Yanbo, the vice chancellor of the dynasty, and was of a prominent lineage, but she was also "endowed with widowhood, often not meaty, and quiet and self-sufficient", strictly following Bao Zheng's family training. Bao Yongnian, the grandson of Bao Gong, successively served as the county chief bookkeeper, county lieutenant, and county commander, and "all officials who are in charge of affairs are honest and clean." After his death, he cleaned up his belongings, "without savings", and the funeral expenses were still funded by two cousins. Being such a clean official and being so innocent of Bao's door style, how can we not sigh for future generations.
The two generations of descendants of Bao Shou and Bao Yongnian, as well as the daughters-in-law such as the Cui and Wen clans, carried forward the zude and practiced it personally, so that Bao Zheng's legacy could be realized, forming the "filial piety family style" of the Bao family. The tomb of Bao Shou, the tomb of Bao Yongnian, and the tombs of his wife and daughter-in-law were all buried on the side of Bao Zheng's tomb and received the same admiration from later generations. If there are those who commit filthy abuse, they will not be able to return home in life, and they will not be buried when they die. In fact, on a certain occasion, absolute love is not a kind of love. This makes them not dare to slack off at all on what they have done, and they are worthy of the burden of saving their children. Therefore, Bao Zheng is a model of Qing officials, and "filial piety and family style" is also a model of Qing officials' family style.
"Pure heart is the cure, and straight is the body." Xiugan eventually became a building, and steel was not hooked. The hamster is happy, and the grass is full of foxes and rabbits. There are testaments in the annals of history, and there is no shame in those who come here. This is a poem written by Bao Zheng when he was a scholar in Duanzhou, which prominently reflects Bao Zheng's way of being an official and the principle of being a man, and embodies Bao Gong's "wishes for the people" and "for the government teachers". What is impressive is that the three generations of Bao Zheng's ancestors have not done anything that makes future generations feel ashamed. Such a clean and upright family style is inseparable from Bao Zheng's thirty-seven-character family training, and even more inseparable from Bao Zheng's integration of the spirit of these thirty-seven-character family training into his life as a man, a son, a father, and an official.
Family training refers to the teaching of children and grandchildren to stand in the world and run the family, and it is the fine tradition of the Chinese nation to cultivate and emphasize family education. The "Bao Zheng Family Training" is also applicable to us today and has important educational significance.
Although the content of "Bao Zheng Jia Xun" is only a few thirty-seven words, the words are pearlescent and flowing through the ages! It embodies Bao Gong's righteous spirit and two sleeves of fresh wind, which is enough for the world's style, which is awe-inspiring. "Dragon Tu Bao Gong, what is his life?" Lungs and liver ice and snow, chest sub-mountains and rivers. Serve the country loyally, and there is no government. Gao Gao qing name, eternal and unbranded. The verses passed down from generation to generation fully express the people's praise, admiration and infinite love for Bao Zheng.
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