"Hundreds of arts and poverty, no art into a dragon" is a rural saying, especially the previous sentence, which is widely spread in the countryside and can usually be used alone. Some elderly people have little problem understanding the meaning of this saying, because in the past, in rural life, people often mentioned this saying, and it has its own context. When the older generation says this saying, it is usually one thing to one thing, very targeted, there is no ambiguity, and it is easy to understand.
Now some people have lost the context of the rural saying in the past, and they interpret it literally, taking it for granted, so when interpreting this saying, there is a statement that is contrary to the original true meaning. For example, some people say that in the past, most of the people who had skills (crafts) in the countryside were poor, so they concluded that those who engaged in folk "hundred arts" in the past must be poor, while those who did not have skills were able people, who were more likely to obtain wealth and success, and became a member of the upper class society in the old days, that is, the so-called "dragon and phoenix among people".
This way of thinking is the same as the way of thinking of those nobles and scholars in ancient times, describing various techniques and skills and folk crafts as "kit kats", disdaining practical technology, looking down on people with skills, and even saying "everything is inferior, only reading is high", everyone only wants to take the examination to become an official through reading, and looks down on those who are engaged in practical technology and basic science and technology research. As everyone knows, the ancients also regarded reading as a "skill", a skill. Han Yu said in the article "The Master's Sayings": "There is a succession of hearing the Tao, and there is a specialization in the art industry", which refers to the study of all aspects, including the study of skills.
This way of thinking, in the process of China's historical development, especially in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, hindered the development of china's folk science and technology, made our country far behind the West, and suffered from the bullying of the Western powers in modern history. At present, the rapid development of China's economy is inseparable from the development of science and technology, and it is also inseparable from the "craftsmen" with superb skills in all walks of life.
In fact, in the past, rural people did not think so of people with skills, nor did they belittle them so much. Since this saying was often spoken by rural people in the past, this article will understand this saying in terms of the social background of rural people who have been to the countryside and the way of thinking of rural people at that time.
In the past agricultural era, ordinary people in the countryside were very envious of people who had a skill. Because these people who have a skill, in addition to farming at home during the agricultural production season, they can go outside and make money by their craftsmanship when they are idle. In general, the days of having a home of craftsmen are much better than the days of not having a home of craftsmen, and the economy is much more relaxed. In the old days, marriage paid attention to the right door, and it was difficult for the girls of ordinary rural families to marry the rich, and most of the girls of ordinary families could only marry the sons and daughters of ordinary families. Because of this, the sons and daughters of ordinary people who have learned their craft, even if they are learning crafts, often become the priority objects for ordinary people to choose sons-in-law. This way of choosing a son-in-law was still the same until the 1960s and 1970s, or even the early 1980s.
There is an old saying in the countryside: "In years of famine, craftsmen do not die of hunger". In the old days, the countryside was mainly based on farming, eating to see the face of the sky, and relying on the sky to eat. If there is a long drought or a flood disaster, there is no harvest in the field, and in order to survive, you can only flee to other places. To flee is to flee to a foreign country to earn a living because of a famine. To say that it is to make a living is a euphemism. If there was no craftsmanship, in the era of underdeveloped social economy at that time, the only way to make a living was to sell coolies, with few means and narrow roads. Society's demand for labor is very limited, but there are too many people who can flee the wilderness, so only a few people in the desert escape group can find work, and among this minority, including skilled people, most of the people who have fled the wilderness are wandering and begging. Therefore, in the old days, the people almost equated fleeing the famine with asking for food.
In the past, there were also sayings about craftsmanship in the countryside, which were all words of praise for those who had craftsmanship. For example, "Good land is not as good as bo art", "family wealth is not as good as a skill", etc. These sayings fully show that in the old days, in the countryside, ordinary rural families, people not only did not think that the people who owned the crafts were very low and poor, on the contrary, these people were "capable people" in the minds of ordinary people, and they were enviable occupations, and at the same time, those who had craftsmen were also respected people, and wherever they went, they were respected as "masters".
The "Hundred Arts and Hundred Poor" in the saying "Hundred Arts and Hundreds of Poor" comes from the "Essay on Learning to Live Easily" written by Yu Zhen, a person from Jiaxing (present-day Jiaxing, Zhejiang) in the Yuan Dynasty. The original text reads like this:
From this passage, it can be seen that "hundreds of arts and hundreds of poor, ninety-nine art voids" was a popular folk "contempt language" in the Yuan Dynasty. The "contemptuous language" in ancient Chinese is what we now call "colloquialism". The meaning of this sentence is explained clearly in the above paragraph: "If you say too much, you are not refined." Translated into modern chinese: This sentence is to say that a person learns too many crafts, because there is no one who is proficient, not only can not find money, but the days are getting poorer and poorer. Why?
Folk say that "all kinds of arts and all kinds of poverty" are "many arts and many poor". A person's energy is limited, if you see that you think it is a good money-making craft, you go to learn, folk money-making crafts a lot, you learn this craft for a while, another period of time to learn that one, see different thoughts, towards Chu Twilight Qin, East a hammer East a hammer, the result of the learned craft is not proficient, but just learned a little fur, do not do any kind of craft well. There is an old saying in the countryside that "if you don't learn the art well, you are harmful." Poor craftsmanship harms both the owner and himself. For example, learning the craftsmanship of the cooper, the barrel made is not in place, the water leaks, or the hoop barrel technology is not at home, the barrel is scattered after several uses, etc., so that the new wooden barrel cannot be used; learn the craftsmanship of the pot maker, the pot is not flat, or continue to leak after the pot is replenished. And all that.
In the past, the competition between craftsmen was fierce, and the reputation of craftsmen was very important, so the rural handicraft industry paid attention to "good things do not go out, ugly things spread thousands of miles", and ordinary people also pay attention to "shop around" when asking craftsmen to do things. When craftsmen go to a village to do crafts, there are people who come to watch. Although many people in the countryside themselves do not know how to craft, they know whether their craftsmanship is good or bad for others. If the craftsmen are too busy, they would rather wait a while; those who have poor craftsmanship, after making one or two things in a village, no one invites them again. This is true in this village, it is true in another village, it is true everywhere they go, and in the end no one asks them to do anything. In the same way, there is no proficiency in doing this craft, nor is it proficient in doing that craft, and no one who is proficient in a craft, although there are many crafts learned, no craft can earn money. People who learn crafts have nothing to do, they can't earn money, and their families are poor.
Now there is a popular saying in society: if you focus on doing only one thing, you are an expert in this area for a long time. In the past, the same was true of folk arts, long-term engaged in a certain craft, not only accumulated a wealth of experience, but also can be skilled, in the inheritance of the master's skills at the same time, but also can have their own innovation, the teacher to carry forward the skills. In terms of craftsmanship, they have reached a pure fire, there are more people who come to the door to invite them to do things, there are more opportunities to earn money, and there is no need to worry about the use of money at home. There are a lot of people in the technology industry now, and people say that the older these people are, the more valuable they are, and that's the truth.
In the old countryside, it was not easy for ordinary children to learn a craft, and it was impossible to "quickly achieve".
At that time, people who learned crafts were called apprentices, commonly known as apprentices, and most of them began to learn crafts from an early age. During the period of study, he usually only manages food and has no salary. The duration of study is usually more than three years. It mainly depends on the apprentice's memory and understanding, but also on whether the master is dedicated to teaching.
There are some apprentices with poor memory and poor understanding who have been following the master and cannot get out of the master. According to some handicraft industry rules, apprentices who do not leave the master, after the expiration of the apprenticeship period, as long as they are willing or the master is willing, they can still follow the master as a helper, and at this time they can receive wages. The amount of wages is decided by the master, and it is usually settled according to the working day. This kind of apprentice who has not been born can only be regarded as a "worker" in the craft industry, but not a "craftsman".
There are also some craft masters, in order to squeeze more money from the apprentice, often in the key technical links of the craft "left a hand", so that the apprentice can not be out of the master.
Some of the more complex crafts, the technical content is relatively high, the apprenticeship time takes seven or eight years, and some take more than ten years, which also depends on the apprentice's memory and understanding. For example, this was the case with rural carvers in the past, who were mainly engaged in the carving of furniture and buildings. In the old days, some large families married women, most of the dowry was carved, to be carved carefully, slowly polished, a set of dowry construction period of more than three years, therefore, these large family daughters, generally in the daughter of twelve or thirteen years old began to do the dowry, when the dowry is completed, it is the time for the daughter to marry. After an apprentice carver has to do at least three sets of dowries, he can have a certain amount of technology and experience accumulation, and he can become a teacher, stand on his own, and earn a living on his own.
In the old days, the most taboo craftsmen in the countryside learned more crafts, but the art was not specialized, and the time spent was very much, and a person's time to learn art was usually only a short period of one or two decades, and the more he learned, the less refined he became. The formation of the "fine" of craftsmanship can only be done by accumulating experience for a long time, but also by regular use. There are many crafts, even if there are several proficient ones, but they will become very rusty when they are not used for a long time, and they will not be "refined". "The song does not leave the mouth, the fist does not leave the hand" says this truth.
As mentioned earlier, Han Yu said that "there is a specialty in the art industry", which means that each of the learning skills has its own expertise, and if it is further extended, it means that when a person learns knowledge and skills, each has his own interests and expertise, and determines his own profession according to his own interests and expertise. Anyone, with professional depth, can have a professional advantage. The same is true of folk crafts in the past, and it is also true of today's professional and technical personnel (people are accustomed to call them crafts). Craftsmanship is professional, and if you learn it well, you will have professional advantages, and you can get more opportunities to earn money with professional advantages. If you learn more about the craft, but don't master one, you lose your professional advantage and your chances of earning money are reduced.
Since ancient times, China has had the saying of "versatility", which means that some people have many talents and skills, generally speaking, it refers to the art of leisure, entertainment and performance such as playing and singing and painting, everything will be, but not everything is very proficient. Rural craftsmanship is mainly a practical technology for making a living, unlike leisure and entertainment performances (some performances are also among the hundred arts, such as opera, which is also a livelihood skill in the old times, and it is also very professional), it can make people enjoy happiness on the line, practical technology is applied to daily life, and the work done must stand the test.
Now some people also misunderstand the "no art Jackie Chan". They believe that the meaning of this sentence is that people without craftsmanship can become dragons and phoenixes among people, rich or big people than those who have craftsmanship. This is actually advocating to be a person who does not learn and has no skills, which is obviously unreasonable and goes against the common sense of ordinary people.
No learning, no technique, idiom, from the "Book of Han Huo Guang Biography". The original meaning was that if a person has no knowledge in his stomach, he has no way to do things or deal with problems. Now it usually means that a person has no skills if he does not have knowledge or technology in his stomach. A person must learn a skill from a young age, not only the ancients attach great importance to it, but now people still attach great importance to it.
In fact, "No Art Jackie Chan" and the previous sentence "Hundred Arts and All Poor" are closely linked and inseparable. "Hundred arts and all kinds of poverty" is the premise, and with this premise, there is a result of "no art into a dragon". Therefore, we must understand "a hundred arts and a lot of poor, no art into a dragon" together, which means that people who have learned many crafts, but none of them are proficient in crafts, it is better than those who have not learned crafts. People who have learned many crafts, because there is no one who is good at it, can't do this, can't do that, and can't achieve anything, and as a result, they can't earn money, and their families can only be poor. And people who have not learned the craft, if they are single-minded and concentrated on a certain profession, although there is no master to teach, over time they will become craftsmen in this area. This is what people say now, and this is what people say now, a person who has been engaged in a certain work for a long time will become an expert in this field.
In the past, in the countryside, farmland also had old-fashioned styles, planting, breeding cattle, logging, fishing and hunting, collecting medicines and many aspects of life, there were old-fashioned styles, these aspects did not have a teacher-inheritance relationship, relying on groping in labor, over time they became "masters" with rich experience and technology, these technologies can also earn money to support their families, and some can also become rich. People who have more skills, but none of them can get their hands on it, and those who get on the table are much better.
The "dragon" in "No Art Jackie Chan" does not necessarily refer to people who are in charge of the government, or who are of high status, or whose families are very wealthy. In the past, people who were more capable and accomplished than others were often likened to "dragons". In the past, the countryside corresponded to the "dragon" with the "worm", and there was a saying in the countryside of China: "If you don't become a dragon, you are a worm", which is usually used to educate children. The "dragon" in this saying refers to the person who has the ability to come out, the person who fights for qi, and the "worm" refers to the person who does not think of making progress and does not fight for qi. Now some people often say when describing their children: "At school is a dragon, home is a worm", but also from our folk this saying, the "dragon" here refers to the child's performance in school is very good, "worm" refers to the performance at home is very bad.
From this, we can understand "a hundred arts and a hundred poor, no art into a dragon" as: people who have learned crafts and can do a good job in their families can have been "dragons", but after learning many crafts, none of them are proficient in a craft, and it is very difficult to support their families, that is, the "worms" that rural people think, but those who have not learned crafts, make full use of their own strengths, redouble their efforts, and also be able to make the family prosperous, which is what rural people call "Jackie Chan".