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The concept of family originated in the Shang and Zhou dynasties in ancient China, when the organizational structure of the family, the rules of rights and obligations, and the mode of interaction between family members were formed and tended to be perfected.
In the concept of family in Chinese society, the most important thing is the inheritance of offspring. However, as Mencius said, "The foundation of the world is in the country, the foundation of the country is at home, and the foundation of the family is in the body." "If a family wants to inherit and prosper, personal family education is the cornerstone of family inheritance.
You must not have imagined that there was a family in Chinese history that produced 59 prime ministers, 59 generals, and 55 scholars. What kind of family education can create such a talented family?
Hedong Pei clan
This prestigious family in China's 2,000-year-old feudal society was the Pei clan in Hedong, and during the Tang Dynasty alone, there were as many as 17 officials to the prime minister.
However, the issue of the origin of the Pei clan in Hedong has always been controversial. Among them, Ouyang Xiu put forward a point of view, he believed that Pei Ling had been canonized as the king of Xie Yi during the reign of King Xi of Zhou, and removed the word "yi" and changed his surname to Pei. However, Ouyang Xiu was skeptical about whether Pei Zhen had anything to do with it.
However, judging from some epitaph materials, the descendants of the Pei clan in Hedong in the Tang Dynasty generally regarded Qin Gongzi as their direct ancestor.
Qin Gongzi needle, the word Boche, and another alias is Houzi. His identity is very prominent - he is the great-great-grandson of Qin Mugong, the son of Qin Huangong, and the younger brother of Qin Jinggong. The life deeds of this noble son have been recorded in the "Historical Records of Qin", and are often passed down in the name of "Houzi Needle".
Hou Zi Needle was born with a dignified appearance and graceful demeanor, and he showed excellence since he was a child. He is intelligent and quick-witted, diligent and studious, and has a good understanding of the words of all schools; And proficient in the art of martial arts, can be written and martial, can be called the dragon and phoenix among people. In that changing era, such talent and family background undoubtedly made him the focus of attention.
However, time flies, time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it has come to the thirty-sixth year of Qin Jinggong. In this year, a shocking news spread - Hou Zizhen actually fled to the Jin Kingdom.
This sudden change caught people off guard, and for a while there were different opinions, and all kinds of speculations and rumors were rampant. However, in the vast historical classics, there is a work called "Spring and Autumn Classic" that makes a conclusive record of this event.
The book wrote: "The summer was scorching and the sun was like fire, and Qin Bo's brother Needle resolutely left the Qin State and went to the Jin Kingdom. ”
In this way, Houzizhen has spent six years in the Jin Kingdom. For more than 6,000 days and nights, Jin Ping treated him well, first placing him in Peizhong, on the bank of the same river, to live and work in peace and contentment, and generously rewarding him with hundreds of hectares of fertile land for his cultivation and labor. Not only that, Jin Pinggong was particularly gracious and allowed him to take the name of his fief as his surname, and since then, everyone has respectfully called him "Pei Gong".
However, there are unforeseen circumstances in the sky, and people have good and bad luck. When the bad news of Qin Jinggong's sudden death came, it shattered Hou Zizhen's inner peace like a thunderbolt in the clear sky. After thinking about it again and again, he resolutely embarked on the road to return to Qin. And his heirs are rooted in Peiyi, inheriting the surname Pei from generation to generation, multiplying, and becoming one of the many surnames of the Chinese nation.
The offspring of many talents
Since the rise of the Pei family in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the princes and generals have emerged in an endless stream, and they have been officials for generations and the officials are prominent. This family not only prospered in people, but also produced a large number of talents, and their moral and literary talents were extremely prosperous, which is quite rare even in the entire history of China.
Among them, there is Pei Kai, a famous man of the Western Jin Dynasty who is called "Jade Man" by the people of the time; The Western Jin Dynasty philosopher Pei Yan, who is famous for his Qing Tan and is known as the "Forest of Speech"; In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, there was a straightforward minister Pei Ju; Tang Gaozong sometimes had Pei Xingjian, a general in the border area, and so on......
These outstanding figures shine like stars in the long river of history, and their deeds and fame have been recorded in the annals of history, and they will be immortalized for centuries.
Pei Xiu, a cartographer of the Western Jin Dynasty, relied on his profound knowledge and outstanding wisdom to deeply study the methods and techniques of ancient mapping, and carried out bold innovations and reforms on this basis. The principle of "six bodies of cartography" carefully formulated by him is like a beacon illuminating the future of the field of cartography.
These six principles cover key elements such as scale, bearing, distance, terrain undulation, inclination angle, and river road straightness, which not only provide a solid scientific basis for the compilation of maps, but also lay an important foundation for the development of cartography as a whole.
The 18 articles of "Yugong Geographical Map" written by Pei Xiu are a classic, as the first monograph on map theory in the mainland, showing Pei Xiu's outstanding achievements in this field. This work elaborated on the theory and practice of map making, and became a valuable material for later generations of scholars to learn and reference. As a result, Pei Xiu was called the "father of Chinese cartography" by later generations, and his name went down in history.
Later, during the Sui Dynasty, there was another official named Pei Shiqing, although he did not have a separate biography in the official history, and he was not as famous as Pei Xiu. However, this seemingly ordinary Jiupin sesame petty official is the first foreign minister in the history of the mainland to lead a delegation to Japan on behalf of the country.
At that time, Japan sent an envoy Ono Meizi to visit the Sui Dynasty. In March of the following year, Pei Shiqing accepted the edict of Emperor Yang of Sui and led a Sui Dynasty mission composed of thirteen people to embark on a return visit to Japan.
Pei Shiqing and his entourage arrived in Japan and were able to meet the Japanese emperor. In the process, they presented valuable cultural relics and letters of friendship to the Emperor of Japan. This national letter of great significance was later preserved in the book "Japanese Secretaries" and became an eternal historical witness.
After arriving in the Tang Dynasty, the novelist Pei Xuan was born. He wrote the book "Legend" with a brilliant pen, which ushered in a new era of ancient Chinese fiction. In addition, there are Eastern Jin Dynasty novelist Pei Qi, Northern Wei Dynasty writer Pei Bomin, Eastern Wei poet Pei Rangyun, Tang Dynasty historian Pei Guangting, etc.
Such contributions to the family and country can be said to be innumerable, not only do they have achievements far beyond ordinary people, but their character is also praised by everyone.
This has to mention that they are different from other people's family education since childhood, and it also plays a decisive factor in their personal development.
A family motto that has endured through the ages
To say why this Hedong Pei family can produce so many outstanding talents, the reason is nothing more than two aspects: unique family education and hereditary system.
The first is the unique feudal tutor. From the "Biography of the Lie" and "The Biography of the Daughters" in the "Pei's Genealogy", we can see some examples: Pei Yan was studying at Hongwenguan, "Whenever he was on vacation, other students might go out to play, but Yan kept reading. ”
When Pei Xiu was a child, he lived in seclusion with his brother Pei Li and younger brother Pei Li in the villa in Jiyuan, explaining the scriptures during the day and writing books at night, and not going out all year round. Pei Zhi's mother, Xiahou, was very strict in educating her children, and if the children made a small mistake, she would definitely let them dress neatly, kneel in front of the pavilion, and only after five or three days would they be allowed to meet and strictly disciplined.
It is precisely because the Pei descendants are diligent and studious and the family discipline is strict, that the Pei family "will continue to be passed down from generation to generation." ”
Not only that, but the Pei family will also instill the concept of "serving the country with loyalty to the monarch and honoring the ancestors" to future generations, so that they can receive a good education under this kind of influence.
It can be seen from the image of "Pei's ancestral temple" depicted in the "Pei's Genealogy" that they erected two memorial arches of "Qi Zhongshan River" and "Zhongfu Huaxia" in front of the ancestral temple, and in the memorial arch, they set up three stone tablets of lineage tablet, prime minister tablet and champion tablet.
At the same time, the "Pei Family Genealogy" also records many outstanding figures among the children of the Pei family, such as the biographies of those who have made outstanding achievements and have noble morals, as well as some excellent poems and songs. Even the edicts issued by the emperor to Pei's family, the gift poems written by celebrities in the past dynasties for Pei's family, epitaphs, inscriptions, expressions and other precious documents have been included in it one by one.
In this way, we can better teach and encourage Pei's descendants, so that they can always remember the glory and glory of their ancestors, and use this as an example to continue to move forward.
The second is the hereditary system, which has been controversial since ancient times. As stated in the "Book of Rites: Rites and Fortunes": "The world of adults is a courtesy." The word "lineage" here refers to the succession of descendants to the throne or title, and to regard it as a ceremonial act.
However, despite the widespread existence of hereditary systems in feudal societies, in practice, most dynasties were limited to hereditary thrones and titles, and few cases of hereditary official positions appeared.
In "Pei's Genealogy", words such as "uncrowned push yin" and "tired of moving with yin" are common. For example, Pei Xiu of the Western Jin Dynasty, attacked his father, the Marquis of Qingyang Pavilion, and later became an official; Pei Yu of the fifth generation, a son of the knight, an official to a loose horseman; Pei Zongxi of the Qing Dynasty, attacked the second grade of Yinsheng, and later became the governor.
It can be seen that the title is closely related to the official title. Pei Mao and his sons Pei Qian, Sun Peixiu, and great-grandson Pei Qi were successively prime ministers of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei Dynasty, and Western Jin Dynasty; In the Qing Dynasty, Pei Shudu and his son Zong Xi both served as prefects, envoys, political envoys, governors, imperial historians of the Imperial Procuratorate, and squires. Ancestors and grandchildren have the same position for several generations, which can also be regarded as the unique scenery of the Pei family.
epilogue
In addition to the above, the core reason why Hedong Pei's talents are able to produce many talents is also inseparable from the 12 words of "emphasizing filial piety and discipline, advocating literature and martial arts, promoting morality and industry simultaneously, and being honest and self-disciplined".
It can be seen that for a family, a good inheritance is inseparable from the family motto that has been adhered to from generation to generation.
Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia, "Pei's Genealogy"