The study room should have been a kind of "standard" for the contemporary civilized family. It is not only the "standard" at the material level, but also the "standard" at the spiritual level. Because the study is not only a place for families to place books, but also a place for families to place their souls and spirits. For intellectuals, the study room is not only a place to increase knowledge, but also a place to open up territory for their academic careers. - Caption
Many years ago, a friend who was a teacher came to my house for the first time. As soon as I entered my study, I saw a mountain of books and newspapers, and I was very surprised and asked me: "Wow, why do you have so many books in your house?" Can you lend me a few copies? I replied very politely, "Of course you can." You pick whatever you like, take it if you like it. Later, she picked out a dozen magazines, and a few books.
In the blink of an eye, several years have passed, but I have never seen her return the book. Because I forgot to register the bibliography at that time, this led me to want to recover those books from her later, but I didn't know what books to recover, which made me regret my negligence at that time. Later, when I went to her house for some reason, I suddenly remembered the book I had lent her that year. So, I asked her, "Have you finished reading the books I lent you before?" She said: "I have read some of it, but I haven't finished reading it all." As soon as her voice dropped, I said to her in a tone similar to an order: "You collect my books now, and I will take them with me." ”
When I finished, she immediately started looking for it. Her home was very spacious, but it was a mess. I saw her take a few copies from the nightstand, and a few more from this drawer, or from that drawer. Also find a few books from this corner, or a few books from that corner. There are even those that are tucked into the compartment under the stairs. In short, more than a dozen books, like difficult brothers and sisters, fell to all corners of her house. It's either dilapidated or dusty. I watched her pick up the trash, picking up my beloved books. To tell the truth, it is inevitable that there will be hidden pain in the heart. It's like seeing your own children and being abused. Inside, there was a pain like a knife.
This friend's family is a very wealthy family. Her husband's parents are businessmen who make big deals. His own two youngest families are both well-paid public officials. In our small county, they can be described as rich families. But to my incredulous, their family owned several properties and several cars, but they did not have a decent study. Moreover, she was a teacher herself, a small intellectual. If it is an illiterate family and there is no study, it is understandable. But it is indeed unbelievable that a solid little intellectual family does not have a decent study.
The study room should have been a kind of "standard" for the contemporary civilized family. It is not only the "standard" at the material level, but also the "standard" at the spiritual level. Because the study is not only a place for families to place books, but also a place for families to place their souls and spirits. For intellectuals, the study room is not only a place to increase knowledge, but also a place to open up territory for their academic careers. Therefore, in the author's opinion, a family without a study is a family without a soul. At least, it is a family with no spiritual life and no spiritual pursuit.
Throughout the ancient and modern times, no matter which era, most of the outstanding people with outstanding talents are from the Shuxiang Mendi. Of course, at this time, you may raise the bar with me and say, "Aren't there also many outstanding talents, from the cold door, from the grassroots?" "It is true that the cold door can also produce noble sons, but that is a very low probability." It's like a meteorite falling from the sky, which is a once-in-a-thousand-year event. When we examine objective laws, we only examine social phenomena that are universal, and we must not talk about those low-probability "accidents".
The "cold door" mentioned here does not refer to those families who are extremely poor, but to the homes of thousands of ordinary people. And "Shuxiang Mendi" generally refers to the kind of family that has more than three generations, has produced high-level intellectuals, and has a strong cultural background. These two kinds of "doorways" are not only different in form, but also in essence.
From the perspective of external form, the economic level of the "Shuxiang Mendi" home is generally much higher than that of the ordinary people's home. Because families with more than three generations of high-ranking intellectuals are generally either rich or expensive. Because this kind of family has a reading atmosphere that has been passed down from generation to generation, most of its family members can receive higher education. After leaving society, it is usually the backbone of society. Its economic income, of course, will not be too bad.
Ordinary people's homes, because there is no cultural atmosphere, it is difficult for their family members to consciously form a strong desire for knowledge. Among such families, there are very few family members who are fortunate enough to receive higher education. Of course, in this kind of mediocre family atmosphere, there are occasionally one or two "alternatives" who love to learn and like to read. It's like a meteorite falling from the sky, and it's rare to encounter one in a hundred years. Presumably, people from remote rural areas have a deep understanding: a village of several hundred people is usually difficult to produce a high-level intellectual in a hundred years, and it is difficult to produce a college student in ten years. So, where is the root of the problem?
In fact, the root of this problem lies in the "environment". This includes the external environment, as well as the internal environment. The so-called "external environment" is the general environment in which a person works and lives outside the home. The "internal environment" is the small environment within the family. Among them, the family environment plays a decisive role in a person's growth. Because, in the process of a person's growth, especially when it has not yet formed a stable value, world view, and outlook on life, it is spent in the "family environment". Therefore, the family environment in which a person grows up largely determines how he will spend his life. I think the story of Meng Mu's three migrations is the best proof.
As the saying goes, there is no golden phoenix flying in the chicken coop. If we want to cultivate the "Golden Phoenix", we must first start by changing the "nest". Indeed, man is a product of the environment. If we want to change a person, we must first change the environment in which they live. This includes both large and small environments. Among them, it is particularly important to change the small environment of the family on which it depends. Because each of us spends most of our lives in a family. Therefore, the author believes that changing the family environment is the starting point for changing the fate of the family, and it is also the first step to change the fate of the individual.
The author believes that the first step in changing the environment of a family is to spend time to arrange a decent "study". That is, in their own home, open up a spiritual territory for the family to learn and grow. This study does not need to be spacious, just a quiet, simple, well-lit room, or a corner. It doesn't need to be luxurious, just a table, a chair, a bookshelf, a table lamp, and that's it. As Mr. Liu Yuxi said: The mountain is not high, there are immortals and spirits; the water is not deep, and there are dragons and spirits. The study, too. It doesn't need to be spacious or luxurious, it just needs to be someone in the study with a positive, truth-seeking heart.
It is often said that it takes three generations to cultivate a "spiritual aristocracy." This is not nonsense, it at least highly summarizes the general laws of the development of most families.
Why, then, does it say that "it takes three generations to cultivate a 'spiritual aristocracy'"? Because, the first generation is usually extremely poor. That is, economically, materially extremely scarce. According to the general law that "things must be reversed", when people are poor to a certain extent, they will naturally be poor and think differently. So, how does that change? It is to do everything possible to earn money to ensure that family members can live as much as possible. Therefore, "living" is usually the most important pursuit and the most urgent desire of the first generation in their lives. This generation often does not have enough to eat, and who has the heart to talk about what culture and education. On the basis of filling the stomach, if there is still money left, it will consider letting your children go to school. As for the level of schooling, it is up to fate.
In the second generation, economically, materially, often have a certain amount of savings. Under the premise of ensuring survival, people will naturally begin to pursue spiritual and cultural enjoyment, and will actively let their children receive cultural education. But because this generation of parents came from the first generation of extremely poor native families, most of them have little culture. It is also impossible to form a cultural atmosphere in their "second-generation" families. Because of this, it is difficult to stimulate their children and have a strong desire to learn. Due to the lack of a strong desire to learn, this leads to the "third generation" of children born in the "second generation" of the original family, very few can be admitted to higher education institutions, higher education. Usually, only general primary education is available.
In the third generation, due to the foundation of the previous two generations, there is often a relatively strong accumulation in economy and material. The "cultural atmosphere" in the family is also slowly established in the second generation, from scratch, from weak to strong. Therefore, the "fourth generation" of children born in this third-generation family usually naturally has a strong desire for knowledge. Therefore, they are often able to successfully enter higher education institutions and receive higher education. Eventually, he grew into a "spiritual aristocrat" who was not trapped by money.
Look at the thousands of ordinary families around us, especially those in remote rural areas. The vast majority of families are in the same place. Most of them are one generation, repeating the fate of the previous generation. That is, there is no revolutionary progress and development. Even some families, like rats giving birth to children, are not as good as a nest, and a generation is not as good as a generation. There is no doubt that this is a common "common disease" in the majority of ordinary families. Since it is a "disease", then there must be a "root of the disease". So, where is the "root cause" of this "common disease"? The author believes that the "root cause of the disease" lies in the family environment, that is, because the "nest" on which it depends for survival has never been revolutionarily changed. Generation after generation, although the house has changed from set to set, the family atmosphere is still the same. This is the fundamental reason why the majority of ordinary families, especially poor families, will unconsciously enter the "dead cycle".
In the author's opinion, it takes at least three generations not only to cultivate a "spiritual aristocracy", but also to build a "scholarly door". Because, it is not that you set up a study at home today, it can be called "The Door of Books". In fact, this is not the case. For there is a long process of "evolution" from having its "form" to having its "god". But what is certain is that from the moment you set up a "study" for your family, it marks that your family is moving in the direction of "shuxiang mendi".
Therefore, if you want to change the fate of your family's "dead cycle", you must start by changing your family environment. Spending time in your own home and building a "study" is the first step to change the family environment and change the "cultural atmosphere" of the family. Because, in the author's opinion, the "study" is the cradle of the "spiritual nobility". A family, as long as there is a "spiritual cradle", then it is only a matter of time to reach the day of "talent generation".
When I look back on my life over the past few decades, I am surprised to find that I have spent most of my time in the study. If nothing else, the rest of my life will be spent in this way. Everyday life is almost always two points and one line. From the study to the office, from the office to the study. My study is also like an office, and the office is like a study. For me, whether it's an office or a study, the scene and function are the same. That is to find a way out, to find a way out for myself, to find a way out for those who follow me. Among them, including the economic way out, and the spiritual way out.
In fact, like most children from the countryside, I was born in a rural family with four walls and extreme poverty. The mother was full-text illiterate and the father was semi-illiterate. My original family has no cultural atmosphere to speak of. The only book in the house is the household registration book; the only household appliance is the flashlight. The household registration book cannot light up my wisdom; the flashlight cannot illuminate my life. I deeply feel that the only way out of my life is to redeem myself by reading books.
Although I was born in an extremely poor rural family, I grew up with an untimely "disease of wealth", that is, love to read. After suffering from the "disease of wealth" that loves to read, you have to take "medicine". This medicine is the book. To cure this "disease", you have to keep reading books. But when I was a child, my family was so poor that I didn't even have enough rice to eat, so I had the money to buy books. In order to enjoy my book addiction, I could only borrow chinese books from my senior classmates or read extracurricular books. There was no place for books to put, so I cleaned out the only large wooden box in the house containing miscellaneous items. In my memory, it was the first "study" in my life. As there were more and more books, my father later vacated the only wooden kitchen in the house with chopsticks and put it in my bedroom for me to use for books. Since then, my bedroom has also become a study for me to read. When I was a student, I spent most of my time in this "study".
After graduation, enter the society. In order to make a living, I had to wander from city to city. I have rented different rental houses in different cities. Of course, these rental houses, without exception, are my bedroom-cum-study. It is usually divided into two, half as a bedroom and half as a study. Looking back, I really miss the study that accompanied me through countless days of struggle. Unfortunately, there were no smartphones at that time, and I was not able to take some images or photos as a souvenir.
Looking back on the past, I am deeply grateful to my former self, not wasting my youth on eating, drinking and gambling, nor wasting my time on rotten people and bad things. I am deeply grateful for every study I have used, and even more grateful for the books I have read. Especially grateful to the authors who wrote those books. Without exception, they are all noble people in my life. Because they have given me thoughts, they have given me wisdom, they have given me the skills to make a living, and the strength to live. If there were no study, no books, there probably wouldn't have been everything I had.
In real life, I don't like to travel because I think the most beautiful scenery is in the study; I don't like to hang out with relatives and friends because in my study, there are still too many good books to read. I don't like to make wine and meat friends because they are too boring compared to the wise men and women in the books; I don't like to chat with the people around me because I think most of them are unlearned walking dead. Small talk with them is a waste of my time and life. In the dead of night, I often feel lonely. My loneliness comes from finding someone in real life who can talk to me on an equal footing and resonate with my spirit.
I miss every day and night I spent in my study. Especially those nights when you spend all night and write a book. Without the days when I read hard and worked in the cold window, I wouldn't have everything I have now. Spring and autumn change, year after year. In the study, I went from being an ignorant teenager to the present, and I am no longer young. In the study, I went from having nothing to now, and I have no worries about food and clothing. Looking back at the days I spent in the study, I actually went to ignorance, to poverty, and to break through. To be precise, it is the day when I am cutting through the thorns of my life and looking for a way out.
When I am about to leave this world, if you ask me what is the most nostalgic? I will tell you: "In addition to my relatives and friends, what makes me most nostalgic in this world is the good books in my study and the warm words that I have spent my life writing." If you ask me, "Where is the most beautiful thing in this world?" I will tell you without hesitation: "The most beautiful corner of the world is the study!" ”