Qian Daxin's former residence - Qian Yantang
A generation of Confucian Emperor Qian Daxin
Qian Daxin (1728-1804), also known as Xiaozheng, Xinlin, also known as Zhu Ting, late qianyan old man, was a Qing Dynasty scribe, historian, writer, educator, and representative of the Qianjia School. In the early years, he was famous for his poetry in Jiangnan, qianlong sixteen years (1751) special gifts, Qianlong nineteen years (1754) in the middle of the jinshi, officials to Zhan Shifu Shao Zhan Shi, Qianlong forty years (1775) to mourn and return to their hometown, immersed in writing disciples, successively the lord Zhong Shan, Lou Dong, Ziyang Academy lecture seats, out of his disciples as many as 2,000 people.
Qian Daxin is a scholar with a reputation in the sea, in the classics, history, public opinion, jinshi, canonical system, astronomy, almanac, and phonology and other aspects of the achievements, he is very knowledgeable, famous in the earthquake of the government and the opposition, together with Ji Xiaolan known as the "Southern Qianbei Ji", and authored 28 works such as "Ten Driving Fasts and New Records", "Twenty-two Shi KaoYi", "Qianyantang Anthology" and so on.
As the main representative figure of Qianjia historiography, Qian Daxin's academic achievements and spirit of governance had a great influence on later generations of scholars, and he was publicly promoted as "a generation of Confucians", and Wang Guoweizhi was praised as one of the three "founders" of the three hundred years of scholarship in the Qing Dynasty (the other two were Gu Yanwu and Dai Zhen).
Regarding Qian Daxin, many people may not be able to say in detail about his academic achievements, but "watching chess is not a true gentleman", this sentence is certainly familiar to everyone. Qian Daxin once wrote an article called "Yi Yu", which said that once when he was watching people play chess at a friend's house, a guest always lost chess, and Qian Daxin laughed at him, thinking that his chess skills were inferior to his own. The guests then requested to play against Qian Daxin, and as a result, Qian Daxin was passive everywhere and eventually lost. After that, when he was invited to watch chess, he always sat in silence. Later, Qian Daxin summed up in the article: People cannot be without fault, calm and empathetic thinking, do they really not have a little mistake? In this way, he warned future generations, "Look at the mistakes of others, see the difficulties of oneself," and know how to be tolerant and benevolent. Behind the story, the image of this academic master who dares to reflect himself and be humble is reflected.
In addition to Qian Daxin, his younger brother Qian Dazhao, his sons Qian Dongbi and Qian Dongshu, and his nephews Qiantang, Qiantuo, Qian Dongyuan, Qian Xuan, and Qian Dong were all quite accomplished in academics and poetry, and together with Qian Daxin, they were called "Nine Qian". Among them, Qiantang was also a famous scholar of the Qianjia School, who participated in the compilation of Qianlong's "Southern Tour Ceremony". The Jiading Qian's Yiwen Zhiluo, now in the Yenching Society Library of Harvard University, records 187 works of the six generations of Qian. Jiang Fan, a famous scholar of the Qing Dynasty, commented on the Jiading Qian clan: "A group of ancient learning from all the rulers can write articles, which can be described as the hope of the southeast."
Portrait of Qian Daxin
Why can Qian Daxin reach such a high level of learning for others? Why can the Qian family be a master? Of course, this has a lot to do with their own efforts, but it is more closely related to the influence of good family style.
Qian Daxin's grandfather, Qian Wangjiong, was an upright man, refused to take advantage of the moment, established a lifelong innocence, and passed on a good family style to his descendants. It is said that when Qian Wangjiong was 69 years old, it coincided with the imperial court's edict to give grain and cloth to the elderly over the age of 70, and some people in the same village falsely reported their age to receive rewards, and some people advised Qian Wangjiong to do the same. Qian Wangjiong said with a serious attitude: "Life expectancy is determined by heaven, people can be deceived, and heaven can be deceived?" I will not do anything about it. "He is over eighty years old and still reads day by day. Not only that, Qian Wangjiong's method of teaching his descendants is also very clever: there is a high arch bridge in the local area, and every time he climbs a level, Qian Wangjiong will read the first sentence of a poem, and Qian Daxin will read the next sentence. Step by step across the bridge, a poem will be taught. At that time, the printing and publishing industries were not yet developed, and some books could only be borrowed from outside. Qian Wangjiong was in his eighties and had walked more than ten miles to borrow books, which showed his good intentions in cultivating Qian Daxin.
Later, Qian Daxin summed up the words and deeds of his grandfather Qian Wangjiong and summarized them into four sentences: Do not deceive the heavens and the sky; be a man to guard against complacency and do not seek profits and blessings in vain; you must have creative ideas in reading; and you must never quit reading. These four sentences have become the cultural reasons for the talented Qian Daxin family and the spiritual source of people's hearts.
Qian Daxin's "Hidden Research Hall Anthology"
Qian Daxin family rules and regulations
[01] Poetry heirloom
Idle everyone advises people to be kind and happy, and poor only teaches their children to read diligently. ——Qian Daxin "Godson Union"
In daily life, we must accumulate good deeds and virtues and help others for pleasure; even if we live in poverty, we must also educate our children to study diligently and study.
Do not forget the simple legacy of the ancestors, encourage each other to be filial piety, and do not be extravagant, so that the future can not continue - Qian Daxin's "Records of the Ancestral Hall of the Qian Family"
We must not forget the simple and generous precepts of our ancestors, and we must encourage each other to be filial to our parents and brotherly, and not to pursue luxury in life, so as to make it difficult to continue our family business.
[02] Humility and introspection
Scholars today read the books of the ancients, and they often pay attention to the losses of the ancients; and they are happy to call them lost. Man cannot be without loss, but try to deal with it easily, and live it with peace of mind, and I have no loss? I can know the loss of man but cannot see my mistake, I can refer to the small loss of man and cannot see my great loss, I ask for my loss and do not have time, what a time to talk about people! ——Qian Daxin, "Yi Yu"
People who study now read the books of the ancients and often criticize the mistakes of the ancients; they also like to talk about the mistakes of others when they get along with the people of the present. It is impossible for people to be without mistakes, but try to exchange positions with each other to get along, and calmly estimate that they really haven't made a mistake? You can recognize the mistakes of others but you can't see your own mistakes, you can point out the small mistakes of others but you can't see your own big mistakes, you don't have time to check your own mistakes, where is the time to talk about others!
Qian Daxin's book "Ten Driving Fasting And Raising New Records"
Qian Daxin's book "Ten Driving Fasts and Raising New Records": "Ten Driving Fasts" is the name of Qian Daxin's study, taken from "Xunzi Persuasion": "Qi Ji jumps one leap, can not take ten steps; ten horses, ten horses, the merit is not to give up." "It is intended to encourage myself to study and learn, to be diligent and persevering."
[03] Strict management
Learning is a thousand things, and it has been set with false rules, not to slander the predecessors, but to benefit the future generations. ——Qian Daxin's "Reply to Wang Xizhuang's Book"
Doing scholarship is a long-term matter, and it is necessary to discover and correct the mistakes of predecessors, but it cannot be used to negate the predecessors, but to promote the continuous development of academic research.
[04] Seek truth from facts
To solve the will, not to dare to invent. ——Qian Daxin's "Reply to the Book of Orders"
[Translation] Research and learning must have sufficient basis and rigorous reasoning, and cannot be based on speculation alone and subjective assumptions.
Beauty and evil are not hidden, each follows the truth. - Qian Daxin, "Twenty-two Scotts"
When doing research, we must not invent and beautify, nor can we conceal shortcomings, but we must proceed from objective reality and be impartial.
Qian Daxin's former residence in the qianyan hall of the "poetry heirloom" plaque
Qian Daxin's family training is rich in content and has many carriers, and it cannot be listed one by one. His family training is most famous for the "Godson Union" he wrote to his son- "Idle everyone persuades people to be kind and happy, and the poor godson reads diligently", and his handwritten "Poetry Heirloom" plaque. The language of the two precepts is simple but meaningful, requiring future generations to pay attention to morality and knowledge no matter what situation they are in. In addition, he once wrote an article for the Qian Ancestral Hall in Jiading, hoping that his family would be diligent and thrifty, love each other, and be carved on the stone tablets of the ancestral hall by the clan to educate future generations.
In addition to the descendants of the family, Qian Daxin's family training also profoundly influenced the study style and folk customs of later generations, according to guangxu's "Jiading County Chronicle" volume VIII "Customs", under the influence of Qian Daxin, "the later scholars looked up to the track, and all of them studied the scriptures and practiced as the sect." This means that the scholars after that all took Qian Daxin as an example, on the one hand, they required themselves to devote themselves to learning and make achievements in their studies, and on the other hand, they paid attention to their own cultivation and improved their moral character.
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