Ye Shengtao was a life of reverence and simplicity, in his early years he used literature as a weapon, and devoted himself to the cause of the revolution without hesitation; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he successively served as a senior official in the education, culture, and publishing departments of the central government, but still insisted on working tirelessly, and made outstanding achievements in literary creation, literary publishing, and literary education. This famous cultural figure has left an indelible footprint in the history of Chinese culture and literature in the 20th century, and his moral article personality is admired by the world.
What are the different understandings and understandings of education and life of such a writer, educator, editor and publisher? Today, let's look back at the essence of his thoughts.
I think the word "education" can be written by some experts in a profound way, but in terms of the superficial, the phrase "develop good habits" also explains its meaning. No matter how good the behavior is, if it is only performed once or twice, and it cannot be used for life, it is a play; no matter how valuable knowledge, if it is only hung up on verbal talk, and can not be completely digested, it is a game of language; it must be turned into a habit, and it can be used for a lifetime.
To develop the good habits of children, I will start from the most subtle and close things; but I must cultivate them, and I will never be sloppy. For example, the opening and closing of doors and windows, I want to teach them to be soft, "bang" of course, enough to disturb people's minds of the "babble" sound should not be issued; until they open and close doors and windows anytime and anywhere is always soft, I think a good habit has been formed.
Of course, I want to teach children to read and write, but I don't consider teaching literacy to read as the ultimate goal. I want to develop a good habit of children's language from this aspect. There is a school of psychologists who say that thought is a silent language; so a good habit of language is also a good habit of thought. Teaching literacy and teaching reading is only a means, and developing good habits of their language, that is, good habits of thinking, is the ultimate goal.
——Excerpt from "If I Were a Teacher"
Count the journey of life as a day, then now the sun is shining high on me, and there is still a long time to go before dusk. But eventually I will see the end. In a moment the sun moved west, the shadows turned, and gradually elongated; and when all the shadows became very long and faint, the sun would suddenly disappear into the valley, and all the shadows would disappear, leaving only the twilight. By this time the night had strides upon me, and it would possess my life forever.
If you can do everything that should be done as soon as possible, and take a step ahead of time, then the anxiety and trepidation after the fact can be avoided. Anxiety and trepidation afterwards will stab you in the heart, so that your heart will not have a moment of peace, until the end of life.
Who wants not to sleep peacefully at night? Who wants nightmares? Tranquil sleep is the happiness of the night. After a day of hard work, my body was tired, but my mind was very quiet, and I fell on the bed, and my eyes naturally closed. If you hadn't done what you should have done during the day, you would have fallen on the bed and blamed yourself and regret poured into your heart, so that you wouldn't be able to fall asleep; fortunately, when you fell asleep, you were still blaming yourself and regretting in your dreams, and it would have been right to endure such torture.
Wasting that time that never stays cannot afford to go unpaid, hard or with annoyances, and we can choose for ourselves.
——Excerpt from Meditation
What is a book? This seems like a foolish question, but it should actually be asked.
Books are repositories of human experience. This answer seems too simple, but it is enough.
……
With a warehouse called "books", anyone's experience can be included, and whoever wants experience can be freely accessed, there is no pity and pity. Although it is impossible to preserve all human experience one hundred percent, it is a very remarkable thing. Human civilization has developed to the point where it is today, and it can be said that it is impossible to do without a warehouse called "book".
The warehouse is full of all kinds of things that one person can't take and use. Everything is too rich, one person is too small to take and use completely, and there is no need for this. He could only take out a part of his needs, and let him hide the rest in the warehouse. In the same situation, one cannot read all the books. I can only read part of myself that I need, and I don't ask about the rest.
What's hidden in the warehouse isn't necessarily perfectly good, it's moldy, rotten, and unusable. If you take a part of it at random, maybe it is just taking the moldy, rotten, and unusable, then it will not benefit you. Therefore, when running into the warehouse, you must pay attention to selection, and you must take the most suitable thing.
In the same situation, one cannot read casually. The ancients said that "opening the book is beneficial", as if it is not necessary to ask what book, it is always good that you can read it, and this statement should be corrected. Yes, the book contains human experience, but if that experience is wrong and outdated, do you accept it? Accept the wrong experience, and you fall for it. Accepting outdated experiences, you can't cope with your current life. So books have to be chosen. Choosing the right book to read is "beneficial to open the book."
——Excerpt from The Enlightened Boy, No. 12
Probably when people reach middle age, they consciously or unconsciously hold the great ambition of "speaking for the rules of the people and behaving in the world". Although it is an ordinary move, it is necessary to reflect before the move and say: "Is this something that can be demonstrated to future generations?" So the pace was calm and serene, the attitude was peaceful, the mood and sorrow were all in the middle, and it was almost possible to enter the holy temple.
However, the completion of a middle-aged man who can be regarded as a "scholar" and a "worldly model" is the destruction of a naïve, lively, straightforward and healthy young man. The average middle-aged man "regrets his lack of deeds" and says that "it was really nonsense at that time", as if it was their greatest misfortune to have been a young person in the first place; in fact, if all middle-aged people are so remorseful, it is the greatest misfortune in the world.
I am already middle-aged, and I only hope not to go down the path of those middle-aged people.
——Excerpt from Ye Shengtao's "Middle-Aged"
▲ Ye Shengtao and his three children (from left: Ye Zhimei, Ye Zhishan, Ye Shengtao, Ye Zhicheng. Truth, goodness, and beauty are Ye Shengtao's lifelong pursuits, and they are also his beautiful expectations for children.
I also have hope for my children. In a word, I hope they are better than me.
Although the so-called so-called society in the human world is very broad, it always intuitively hopes that it will progress. And man constitutes the human society. If future generations are no different from previous generations, it is not good to stand in the old place and not move forward, and to send a generation of time in vain. Or even worse, "one generation is not as good as a generation", ask how many times human society can withstand such a 70% discount! With this in mind, I hope that my children must be like me.
Climbing up a mountain like Geling in the West Lake will be breathless, lifting something about ten pounds and walking a mile or two will make my arm sore for several days. I want them to have strong bodies.
People will not be able to answer a question for a while, and the matter will be very confused at present, and I do not know how to deal with or judge, and my mind is completely incompetent. I want them to have clear hearts.
Speaking of occupation, I am now doing the work of pen and ink, and if I want to say that the stakes are so great, of course, I can wear the hat of culture or education, so it seems that it is not boring, but can I come up with something for practical application by others like workers and peasants? No! If they use the practical applications produced by others, have they not also become a shameful exploiting class? Cultural or educational hats can only cover up ugly faces, talk about self-deprecation, and there is no point.
When you think like this, you are even thinner and reach the extreme. I want them to be different from me: at least to be able to stand before people and declare, "With our labor, we have produced something practical, and here it is!" "He was holding cloth and rice in his hand; even if one of them became a metaphysician, he was expected to cast some gear or screw at the same time.
——Excerpt from Ye Shengtao's "Becoming a Father"
Source: People's Publishing House Reading Club (original title: Enjoy Reading | Ye Shengtao: Do everything that should be done as soon as possible)
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