Chen Zhonghai, columnist and scholar of literature and history in this journal, has been engaged in financial work for a long time, and in recent years, he has focused on the study of economic history and financial history, published 8 biographies of historical figures such as "Cao Cao", 6 collections of historical essays such as "Trapping China: The Death of the Great Qing Dynasty in the Economic War" and "Untying China: The Financial War of the Republic of China", and published hundreds of columns of various columns.
Chinese have a profound and rich understanding of the relationship between "public" and "private" very early on, not only do not deny the existence of "private", but also emphasize the distinction between public and private, the selflessness of the public, and oppose the abolition of private property because of public and the use of public for private interests. This view of public and private is also one of the basic contents of ancient Chinese family education, which is richly reflected in the family rules of the ancients.
There should be a clear distinction between public and private
Family rules, simply understood as the "rules" of a family, are the teachings and constraints of the family on the children and grandchildren to stand in the world and manage the family' business. House rules are not necessarily written on paper, they are often intangible and inherited, and carry a lot of weight in the hearts of family members. There are many forms of family rules, including family training, tutoring, and family covenants, as well as last wishes, book of commandments, poems, and face-to-face admonitions from elders to younger generations. Since ancient times, Chinese has adhered to the concept of home-country isomorphism and attached importance to family construction, that is, Wei Xiangshu, a Qing Dynasty man, said in the "Hansongtang Collection" that "the indoctrination of a family is also the indoctrination of the imperial court", and family rules are an important carrier of family construction. Zhang Boxing, a Qing Dynasty man, said in the "Zhengyitang Anthology": "There are rules for the husband's family, and there are rules for the kingdom of Judah; governing the country must not be without the scriptures, and the criminals must not be without rules." ”
The ancient family rules are very rich in content, including self-cultivation and determination, diligence and thrift, harmonious clan, filial piety to the elders, honesty and law-abiding, etc. Among them, how to deal with the relationship between public and private is also an important part of the family rules. The Tang Dynasty poet Meng Jiao wrote two famous poems: "Great sage bing gao jian, public candle selfless light." This means that the great sages are always ready to take out a mirror to look at themselves, not to let themselves have the slightest flaw, and such a small thing as a candle, as long as it is public, will never be used privately. What Meng Jiao wrote may be an ideal in his heart, but there is indeed such an example in reality. The Southern Song Dynasty poet Zhou Zizhi told a story in "Zhupo Poetry": in the Northern Song Dynasty, an official surnamed Li was a clean and honest official, who always regarded the distinction between public and private as a family rule for educating his children, and he set an example everywhere. One night, this official surnamed Li suddenly received a letter from his superiors in the capital, so he asked people to light candles to read the letter, and halfway through the reading, he ordered his men to quickly blow out the candles in the public house and light the candles in their own homes, because the first half of the letter was about official affairs, and the second half was about the recent situation of his family in the capital. "Under the public candle, do not show the family book", this is the most vivid portrayal of the ancient people's concept of public and private distinction.
There was a strict distinction between public affairs and private affairs in the minds of the ancients, and not talking about official affairs at home was often a rule that many officials abided by. Xu Mian held important positions during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, and was then known as Xianxiang. One night, Xu Mian and the doorman chatted idly, and the doorman took the opportunity to ask for an official, and Xu Mian heard the words and said, "This evening can only talk about the wind and the moon, and it is not appropriate to talk about official affairs." "The Northern Song Dynasty writer Ouyang Xiu not only wrote poetry well, but also was a clean and honest official. His nephew Ouyang Tongli also entered the career path very early, and Ouyang Xiu often taught him to distinguish between public and private, and to abstain from self-denial. Once, Ouyang Tongli returned to Beijing from the place where he worked, and in order to express his admiration and gratitude to his uncle, he bought some local specialties of cinnabar to give to Ouyang Xiu, who knew that this move was severely criticized by Ouyang Xiu: "Ru Yu official should be honest, why buy official goods!" In Ouyang Xiu's view, even if cinnabar was bought at his own expense, it also belonged to the "official subordinates", and it was inevitable that there would be no separation between public and private, so he refused to accept it.
You can't abolish public affairs for personal gain
Traditional Chinese culture recognizes the existence of "private", as Gu Yanwu said, "Everyone in the world carries his own home, each has his own son, and his common feelings are also.". However, Chinese the "private" in the public-private view often emphasizes not the selfishness of the individual, but the "privateness of the group", because the individual is included in the family, the family is included in the state, and all individuals are woven together through the isomorphism of the home state. Therefore, the Ancient Chinese people mostly emphasized that "private" cannot override "public" and cannot abolish public affairs because of private interests.
Tao Kan's father, a famous minister of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, died early and was raised by his mother to spin and weave fabrics. When he was young, Tao Kan worked as a small official in Charge of Fish Dam in Yang County. Once when the county government held a banquet, Tao Kan returned drunk, and when he woke up, he found his mother standing by his side, and his mother scolded with tears: "Drinking excessively, how can you expect you to work hard and make contributions to the country?" Tao Kan was ashamed, and his mother made a family rule for him: in the future, he could not drink more than 3 cups at most. Since then, Tao Kan has remembered his mother's teachings, and has never been mistaken for alcohol in the past 40 years, and has grown from a small official to a thorn in the history of Jing and Jiangzhou, and plays an important role in the political arena. At one banquet, his subordinates urged Tao Kan to drink a few more drinks, and Tao Kan burst into tears when he heard this, and only after a long time did he say: "When I was young, I had a drunken experience, and I had an appointment with my mother, and I did not dare to exceed the limit." Some of his subordinates wasted their business because of drinking and gambling, and after Tao Kan learned about the situation, he ordered his people to throw his wine utensils and gambling equipment into the river and lash him to show punishment. Tao Kan often said to his subordinates, "The Great Yu Sage is a pity for the yin, and as for the people, when they cherish the yin, how can they escape and get drunk, and when they are born without benefit, they die without hearing about it, and they abandon themselves." ”
In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jingrang's mother, Zheng Shi, was "strict in nature", her father died early, and Li Jingran's mother "ruled the family strictly and trained her sons". The ancient wall in the backyard of the Li mansion collapsed due to the rain, and she unexpectedly "got money and a boat", and the slaves in the family were happy and told each other, but Mother Li said that "if you don't work hard, you will be a disaster", she "burned incense to wish it", and "built it with her life", and did not take any points. Once, Li Jingrang was assigned by the imperial court to take up a post in western Zhejiang, and his mother asked him when he would go to his post, and Li Jingrang replied that there were still some private matters to be done, and he would leave in a few days, and his mother was very angry when he heard this, and admonished: "Since the imperial court has been appointed, it should go to the post immediately, so why delay the trip?" "The mother asked Li Jingrang to strip off his shirt and beat him with a bamboo stick in the hall, and Li Jingrang hurried to leave the next day. After arriving in western Zhejiang, a subordinate official confronted Li Jingrang, and Li Jingrang "killed him with a staff" in one breath, and Li Jingrang's mother was also in western Zhejiang at the time, and when she heard it, she was very shocked, "sat and listened," and publicly reprimanded Li Jingrang: "The son of heaven pays Ru for his side, the state criminal law, how can he kill innocent people for the sake of Ru's anger!" If the unanimous side is not at peace, how can it be that the court is negative, and the mother of the dying age is ashamed to enter the ground, how can it see the ancestors of Ru! "Mother Li" ordered her to sit on her clothes left and right, and she would tart her back" and "invite Zuo Everyone to do it, worship and cry", and after a long time, Mother Li let Li Jing let go.
During the Song Dynasty, Zhu Xi had many expositions on the relationship between public and private, he said: "Officials are no big or small, everything is just a public, if the public is also done wonderfully, if you are a petty official, people are also afraid of the wind." Zhu Xi once instructed his disciples: "Today's people are also private joy, anger is also private anger, mourning is also private sorrow, fear is also private fear, love is also private love, evil is also private evil, and desire is also selfish desire." If you can overcome your own selfishness and expand your great righteousness, then joy is public joy, anger is also public anger, mourning, fear, love, evil, and desire are not just public. This means that the joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, evil, desire, etc. that people show in their daily lives are often out of selfishness, joy is private joy, worry is private worry, if you can overcome your own selfishness and make these emotions full of public will, it is right, and this is very important. Zhu Xi also said that "a gentleman is not completely free of evil people, but good and evil are all out of justice", and the emphasis here is that as long as it is out of public conscience, even if something is wrong, a gentleman is still a gentleman.
It is even more impossible to use public interests for personal gain
Power can realize selfish desires, but in the family rules of the ancients, almost all of them are admonishing future generations not to use power for personal gain and fake public welfare. During the Warring States period, Tian Ji served as the prime minister of the State of Qi, and someone bribed Bai Yi gold to his mother, but tian mu refused and severely reprimanded him. Mother Tian taught her son, "Unrighteous thoughts do not arise in the heart." The benefit of incivility, not in the home. Tian Ji accepted his mother's teachings and took the initiative to ask the King of Qi for his sins, maintaining a clean reputation throughout his life. Tao Kan also encountered a similar incident, during his management of the fish dam, he once let people carry a jar of dried fish to his mother to taste, and the mother immediately returned the original and wrote to rebuke him: "Ru is an official, and it is not only unhelpful, but also increases my worries!" Tao Kan read his mother's letter and felt ashamed and remorseful.
In ancient times, there were some famous generals who not only made meritorious achievements on the battlefield, but also had a very clear mind and paid great attention to the construction of family style in peacetime. In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the famous general Wu Han made outstanding military achievements and was the right and left arm of the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu. Wu Han was fighting in the front, but his wife and son were buying a large amount of land and houses at home, and when Wu Han returned home, he found a problem and immediately rebuked them: "The military division is outside, and there are not enough officials, so why buy more fields and houses?" Wu Han divided these farmhouses "with Kundi's foreign family" and encouraged his sons to fend for themselves. During the Three Kingdoms period, the famous general Lu Xun served as Sun Wu's general and chancellor, and held a high and powerful position, and at that time, the sons of some of the rich and powerful clans all thought of trying to dip the light of their ancestors in their careers, and Lu Xun warned: "Sun thought that his sons and daughters were talented, and they were not worried about it, and it was not appropriate to go out privately to seek glory and profit; if it was not good, it would eventually be a disaster!" ”
Yuan Cai of the Northern Song Dynasty wrote the "Yuan Shifan" and the "Yan Family Training", which contained a warning to his descendants: "If a child has a fool and a corrupt person, he must not make him a eunuch." The famous Northern Song Dynasty minister Bao Zheng was known for his incorruptibility, and he also wrote a passage of warning to his descendants: "Future generations of descendants and eunuchs who have committed adultery and abuse shall not be allowed to return to their own families; after their death, they shall not be buried in the Great Cocoon, not from my will, not from my descendants." The stone is erected on the east wall of the hall house to illuminate future generations. Here, Bao Zheng laid down a family rule: those descendants who used public interests and perverted the law with greed were not allowed to be buried in the ancestral grave after death, and they were not recognized as descendants of the Bao family. Sima Guang, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty, also warned his descendants: "We must not rely on my momentum, do injustice and lawlessness, disturb lawsuits, and invade the small people of the tombs, so that the townspeople will be disgusted." During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Ding composed the "Record of Family Training", which also had family rules for future generations: "All eunuchs are based on honesty and diligence." ”
The Qing Dynasty Wang Yongbin's "Night Talk of the Hearth" is a quotation style classic, the title of the book is intended to be a family gathered around the hearth on a cold night to chat about home and life. The topics in the book involve self-cultivation, study, reading, and serving as officials, and have far-reaching influences, and on public and private, the book writes: "When you see small profits, you can't make great achievements, have selfish intentions, and you can't seek public affairs." Similarly, Wu Rulun, a Qing Dynasty man, also wrote in the "Book of Children": "The money of an official is taken from the people, not good money, so a good official will not love money, although I have no virtue, I am willing to use this money to raise Ru Cao and his private wife!" In the late Qing Dynasty, Lin Zexu went to Guangdong to take up a post, and his family expenses were very large, and he often could not make ends meet, but he "never dared to take advantage of the people or subordinates." Lin Zexu warned his family: "Lin's sudai is innocent, and this kind of dirty money must not be worth anything!" ”
Be selfless
Self-cultivation also requires determination. The ancients emphasized the education and family building of future generations, and the fundamental point is that they still hope that future generations will make more contributions to the country and society, not only requiring them to make a clear distinction between public and private, not to abolish private interests because of public and private interests and to seek private interests in the public, but also to hope that they can take the world as the public and achieve selflessness. During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang encouraged his son in the Book of Commandments: "The journey of a husband and a gentleman is to cultivate himself quietly and cultivate virtue by being frugal. Non-indifference is not clear-sighted, non-tranquility is not far-reaching. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, King Qian Ofe of Wuyue Kingdom left to his descendants in the "Qian Family Training", it is emphasized: "Profit is not sought in one body, and those who benefit the world will seek it." ”
Zheng Shanguo, who served as an assassin in Jiangzhou at the end of the Sui Dynasty and the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, had a father who died early, and his mother Cui Shi was "virtuous in nature, disciplined, knowledgeable in the history of books, and familiar with the rule of law". Zheng Shanguo's father died for the sacrifice of the country, Zheng Shanguo inherited the title at a very young age, and Cui often educated him with his father's deeds, saying that his father was a loyal and diligent man, "in the official Qing Ke, did not try to ask about selfishness, martyred the country with his body, followed by death, I also hope that Ru will live up to his heart", demanding that he cannot "be independent of his own interests, thinking that he is rich", let alone "arrogant in his heart, and fall into public government". The Zheng family lived a prosperous life, but in order to teach their son to establish a frugal and incorruptible style, the Cui family insisted on spinning and weaving cloth by himself, often until late at night. It is precisely this kind of teaching by example that Zheng Shanguo "abstained from this and was called a Qing official."
Lu You, a famous poet of the Song Dynasty, also attached great importance to family education, and wrote more than 100 poems to educate his son in his lifetime, one of which was written in the "Five More Readings and Shows Children": "Although Wu'er is a vegetarian industry, she can accompany Weng to full of vegetable roots." Wan Zhong yipin is not enough, when to shoot Su Yuanyuan. "Su Yuanyuan" here is not a personal name, "Su" means rescue, rescue, "Yuanyuan" refers to the people of Li. The meaning of this poem is: Although my son is stupid, he can also endure hardships like me if he adheres to the style of incorruptibility, and the high-ranking officials are not enough to think about it, and the purpose of being an official is to save the people and benefit them.
Lin Zexu wrote in the poem "Going to Shu Dengchengkou to Show His Family": "Li Wei has been tired for a long time, and then exhaustion and mediocrity will not be supported." If a country lives and dies by profit, it is better to avoid it because of misfortune and happiness! He also left a pair of family training unions for posterity, and the upper league was "If the descendants are like me, what do you do with the money?" If you are wise and rich, you will lose your will", and the next link is "My descendants are not as good as me, what do you do with the money?" Foolishness and wealth increase their excesses." In a letter to his wife's family, he explained: "I urge the second son to be very careful, and not to be afraid of being a father." It is precisely with this selfless heart of the Grand Duke that Lin Zexu was able to stand up at the critical moment of national peril and become an admirable national hero.
This article was published in China Development Observation Magazine, No. 12, 2020
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