Sun Wenhui: Reading Sun Jiagan's "Eight Covenants of Juguan"

Sun Jiagan, a native of Chengguan County, Xingxian County, Qing Dynasty, was admitted as a jinshi at the age of 30, and successively served as the supervisor of guozi, yin of Suncheonfu, Yanzheng of Hedong, yushi of Zuodu, Shangshu of the Punishment Department, Shangshu of the Bureaucracy, viceroy of Zhili, and governor of Huguang. In his more than 40 years of eunuch career, he was known for his outstanding political achievements and daring to make direct comments. On his 70th birthday, the Qianlong Emperor gave him a plaque of the imperial book "Qing Ban Qi Shuo". In the eighteenth year of Qianlong (1753), Sun Jiagan was appointed to the post of official Shangshu at the age of 71. When the Emperor heard about it, he said to the minister, "There is only one person in the MIDDLE of the country!" When his descendant Xiao Yu fu coffin returned to Li, "the returner of the inscription was like a cloud, facing the void, the inside and outside of the Gate, the carriages and horses were stuffed for dozens of miles, and all of them raised their voices to mourn." The modern historian Guo Xiangsheng commented that Sun Jiagan was the first famous courtier of the Qing Dynasty in Shanxi.

Sun Jiagan was strict with himself, and everywhere he was appointed, he had political achievements. He set for himself the "Eight Covenants" of the official: "Things are not obvious, they are not proud of others, they tend to fight with them, their merits are hidden in the nameless, things stop at being able to go, words are useless, they are useless to keep alone and avoid others, and they are clean and honest." The eight sentences and forty-two words, the eight meanings of the king, the common person, the avoidance of disputes, the collection of merit, the cessation of affairs, the key words, the observance of independence, and the incorruptibility, fully embody the foundation of the ancestors of Jiagan, moral qualities, the way of being an official, and the principle of handling the world. This is also a big summary and great embodiment of the historical background of the Sun family's cultural morality and family rules and family style.

Sentence by sentence analysis, sentence essence, not only officials can be about, but also people can be about.

The original meaning of the first sentence, "Things are steadfast but not obvious", is to be loyal to the country and the emperor, and absolutely not to show off and show off oneself. The six words, concise and concise, completely express jiagan's loyal and honest, modest and prudent ideological quality and moral standards. The second sentence, "Being with others and not being proud", means that in social interactions, whether it is to the superior, to the subordinate, to the colleagues, and to the people, we must respect each other and must not be arrogant. The three sentences, "the situation avoids its contention," means that in the official arena, we will never engage in the matter of vying for power and power. The four sentences ,"Merit is hidden in the nameless", which means that in the face of fame and fortune, do not chase or compete. The five sentences of "things stop at being able to go" mean that no matter what we do, we must strive to seek truth from facts, start well and end well, never engage in false sets, and cannot give up halfway. The six sentences, "Words and deletions are useless", mean that when speaking and writing articles, we must grasp the main points and be concise, and those useless clichés, empty words, and nonsense are all deleted. The seven sentences, "Avoid people by guarding alone," mean that we should not form a party for personal gain, and we absolutely cannot engage in pulling mountains, splitting, gangs, and gangs of our own. The eight sentences, "Take advantage of clean fees and honesty," mean that those who are officials must govern for the people and be honest and honest; those who are officials and for the people must be diligent and thrifty, hardworking, and simple.

Sun Jiagan is my twelfth ancestor.

I remember when I was a child, my illiterate peasant father often said to a group of small children in our own family: "You must all remember that the ancestor of Sun Jiazhuang, the head of the wall of our house valley, came from Xing County, Shanxi, and our old ancestor Sun Jiagan was the cabinet elder of the imperial court, that is the emperor's teacher, the Great Qing official!" "The mark in my eternal heart is that whenever my father tells us about various anecdotes about Sun Jiagan, the old face that has been weathered by wind and frost will always be filled with a face of respect and brilliance, and I obviously feel that in my father's mind, Sun Jiagan's aura is the glory and blessing of the entire Sun family." Although my father was a remote old farmer who was forced by life and worked hard all day, because of the reputation of his ancestors, the hope and pride that was deeply rooted in his heart, the sense of superiority that was different from the ordinary people in society was so strong.

In 1986, my seventy-four-year-old father took advantage of the family gathering to summon me, Sun Fei and Jie Hui, the three brothers, together, and from the head of the dilapidated ancestral house in my hometown, took out an old object wrapped in newspaper and handed it to us. What is this? When I opened it, my heart tightened, and these were four wooden tablets dedicated to the ancestors of the gods. We understand that this is preserved by our father at risk during the turbulent years, which shows how deep my father's feelings for the family are. The people enshrined in the tablet are the first generation of Sun Hongzuo, the second generation of Sun Zhiwei, Sun Zhigang, the third generation of Sun Dengtai, the fourth generation of Sun Fu and Sun Gui who came out of Xing County, Shanxi, from Xing County, Shanxi. With the records of these four generations, the lineage of this branch of Sun Jiazhuang, the head of the wall of our house valley, is completely clear, and from Sun Hongzuo onwards, our generation belongs to the eighth generation.

Reading the "Eight Covenants of Juguan", knowing the life of the ancestors, observing the deeds of the ancestors, tasting the ancestral articles, and tasting the ancestral realm, all of which make the future generations awe-inspiring!

In recent years, the Xingxian Sun clan has made great progress in tracing and receiving genealogy, and according to the docking analysis of the data held by Li Congjun, the "Hong" character should belong to the fourth generation of the Duke of Jiagan. If we count from "right", my generation is the twenty-second. After being a Sun family, it is natural to care about the affairs of the Sun family. Ancestor Jiagan was the glory of my clan, and my generation took the tree as an example and studied it in depth.

For some time, I squeezed in time to read the "Collected Works of Sun Jiagan (Zhang Qinglin Dian School, Published by Shanxi Ancient Books Publishing House)", "Sun Jiagan, the first minister of the Qing Dynasty in Shanxi (written in Niuzhai Zhong)", "The Imperial Qing Dynasty's Edict of Lady Yipin's Wife Xianfei Zhang's Wife (written by Sun Xiaoze)", and some of the materials provided by Li Congjun. Taste the morality of books, and have a lot of feelings. There are four main ones:

The first is the old Sun family Geng Zhi, which is the characteristic of the clan, from ancient times to the present, bright and upright, jealous and evil like a vendetta; close to the gentleman, despise the villain. The ancestors of Jiagan insisted on Zude, and the pride of our people also! The second is the great righteousness of the old Sun family, which is the tradition of the clan, from ancient times to the present, to be loyal to the country, to slander without fear; to be the master of the people, to sacrifice oneself and be merciful; to be just and to behave decently. Jiagan ancestors carry forward zude, the pride of our people also! The third is that the old Sun family is light on profits, which is the ancient precept of the clan, from ancient times to the present, indifferent to fame and fortune, honest and diligent government; wealth is not righteous, and the name is not real; cheap money is not, and the festival is heavy. The ancestors of Jiagan inherited Zude, and the pillar of my clan also! Fourth, the old Sun family is loyal, which is the style of the family family, from ancient times to the present, reaching but not arrogant, frustrated but not discouraged; acting low-key, humble and bowing; avoiding disputes, and being cautious in words and deeds. Jiagan ancestors tried Fan Zude, the luck of my clan also! These four virtues are vividly embodied in the Jiagan ancestors' "Eight Covenants of Juguan".

The ancestors were at the top of the official circles of feudal society, in the muddy waters of "three years of Qing prefects, 100,000 snowflakes and silver", as high-ranking officials of the imperial court, they were not bound by official names; they were prominent in their official positions, and regarded glory and wealth as grass; they were diligent and honest, clean and self-righteous; they asked for the people's lives and made direct advice; they spoke early in the morning and planned to be beheaded in the evening; they drove away evil spirits and helped the righteous; they were wise and courageous; they were selfless and broad, and their hearts were quiet and self-effacing; they read the vicissitudes in a dashing manner and returned to their hometowns freely. This spirit is worth thinking, learning from, and learning from everyone today.

The "Eight Covenants of Juguan" should become a warning treasure for present and future generations. This is also an excellent family style formed by the entire family of the Old Sun family for thousands of years, and it is a solid foundation for the prosperity and development of the entire family. The "Eight Covenants of Juguan" is also the best "family rules and family training" of the Sun family! This is also the foundation of the entire family inheritance of the Lao Sun family.

Author: Sun Wenhui