Family Instructions of the Yan Clan · Family Instructions of Zhu Zi

Author: Cheng Yanqing
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Ancient and modern family precepts, this is the origin. — [Song] Chen Zhensun, Directing the Book Catalogue
The twenty chapters of Family Precepts by Yan Zhipu of Northern Qi are like medicine and jade, every word a mirror for reflection. Every child should have a copy at home, serving as clear guidance, not only for the Yan family but all. — [Qing] Wang Yue, Remnants of Reading
To understand the essence of the Six Classics and engage with the works of a hundred schools, even if one cannot enhance virtue or foster customs, it is still an art that sustains oneself. Father and elder brothers cannot always be relied upon, nor can one’s homeland always be secured. Once displaced, with no one to shelter one, one must seek support within oneself. Proverb says: Accumulating ten thousand materials is no match for a humble skill possessed. The easiest and most valuable skill is reading. — Family Precepts of Yan Zhipu, Encouraging Learning
A nation’s culture has its roots and currents. At the very least, the broad masses of the people should know what the true roots of traditional Chinese culture are, and what its fundamental currents are. As publishers, we have no need to explore this issue, but we have an obligation to present publications that reflect the origins and mainstream of Chinese culture to the people. Thus, there is this Essential Collection of Chinese Family Classics. This is a nearly boundless publishing plan, but it reflects the sincere hearts of us as publishers. We know that the Chinese family is the fundamental unit of Chinese culture. If the Chinese cultural family possesses the essential classics and representative works of the Chinese nation, it will undoubtedly help promote our excellent national culture and forge our great national spirit. This is the original intention behind publishing this series. Therefore, this series is based on classic traditional cultural masterpieces and is divided into six volumes:
Volume 1: The Classics of the Hundred Schools
Includes 16 pre-Qin foundational works such as the Book of Songs, Book of Changes, Analects, Mencius, The Laws of Han Feizi, etc. They are the lifeblood of the Chinese nation. Zhang Zhidong said, “Pre-Qin works are worth a thousand gold per character.” This accurately summarizes the value of the classics of the Pre-Qin philosophers.
Volume 2: Selected Works of Famous Poets and Writers
Includes personal selected collections of 21 renowned literary figures such as Tao Yuanming, Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Yuan Haowen. This section centers on Tang and Song literary masters, representing the highest achievements of Chinese lyrical literature.
Volume 3: Masterpieces of Historiography
Includes Zuo Zhuan, the Four Histories, and Zizhi Tongjian. They are the essence of Chinese historiography. To understand history, one must start here.
Volume 4: Comprehensive Selections
Includes Tang poetry, Song ci, Yuan qu, A Thousand Poems, and Essentials of Classical Chinese. These are tested and renowned selections, intended to broadly supplement the shortcomings of Selected Works of Famous Poets and Writers in capturing the essence of Chinese literature and poetry.
Volume 5: Notes and Miscellaneous Works
Includes 15 widely accepted miscellaneous works from Three-Character Classic to Zeng Guofan’s Family Letters. In fact, they embody the deeper connotations of the excellent culture of the Chinese nation.
Volume 6: Dramas and Novels
Includes 18 dramas and novels from Romance of the West Chamber to the four great classical novels. These represent the peak of Chinese literary creation. To some extent, they are like Three-Character Classic in containing the fundamental spiritual nourishment that has nurtured the Chinese people.
To be responsible to readers, we do not seek immediate success in publishing but adopt a strategy of gradual expansion through successive volumes. We do not aim for short-term economic gains from a single book or time but strive to continuously broaden our readership. Our hearts are in harmony with the vast readership, so we are confident of having a broad market.
Family Precepts of Yan Zhipu is an ancient book from the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–581 AD) that records personal experiences, thoughts, knowledge, and advice to descendants. Written by Yan Zhipu, it is divided into seven volumes and twenty chapters. Yan Zhipu (531–591 AD), styled Jie, was originally from Langya Linyi (now northern Linyi, Shandong, China). His ancestors crossed the Yangtze River during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420 AD) and settled in Jiankang. During the Hou Jing Rebellion, when Emperor Xie of Liang declared himself emperor in Jingling, Yan Zhipu served as a courtier. In 554 AD, when Western Wei conquered Jingling, Yan Zhipu was captured and later served in Northern Qi. He later held positions in Northern Zhou and Sui. His Family Precepts of Yan Zhipu was completed after the Sui conquest of Chen in 589 AD.
The Family Precepts of Zhu Xi is a classic of traditional Chinese culture that advocates feudal ethical concepts such as the "Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues" and the "Three Submissions and Four Virtues." Its main purpose was to serve feudal rule and was filled with suppression of human nature and desires, severely hindering social development. The oil paintings of The Family Precepts of Zhu Xi series by Wei Guangqing, exhibited in the Images of Ideas—2002 Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Oil Paintings organized by Shenzhen Art Museum, strongly criticize such feudal culture and thought.
Yan Zhipu (531–c. 591 AD), styled Jie, was originally from Langya Linyi (now northern Linyi, Shandong). His ancestors followed the Eastern Jin south and settled in Jiankang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu). Initially, he served as a left courtier in the Kingdom of Xiangdong of the Liang Dynasty. During the late Liang Dynasty, when the Hou Jing Rebellion broke out, he was imprisoned and sent to Jianye. Later, he served as a courtier to Emperor Xie of Liang. In the third year of Chengsheng (554 AD), when Northern Zhou conquered Jingling, Yan Zhipu’s family was captured, and he later fled north to Northern Qi with his family. Due to the replacement of the Liang Dynasty by the Chen Dynasty, he remained in Northern Qi and rose to the position of a yellow gate minister. During the Kaihuang era of Sui, he was summoned by the crown prince as a scholar and served until his death. Throughout his life, Yan Zhipu experienced the four dynasties of Liang, Northern Zhou, Northern Qi, and Sui, becoming a refugee three times. He wrote, “To taste the bitterness of tea and the loneliness of sorrow, as birds burn forests and, as fish snatch water and expose scales, I lament the vastness of the universe and the lack of a place to rest” (Ode to My Life). This made him advocate a life of few desires, contentment, and modesty while urging scholars and officials to engage in practical governance. As a scion of the feudal scholar-gentry class, Yan Zhipu was deeply influenced by Confucian moral teachings and rituals but was also exposed to Buddhist and Taoist thought. He was described as “extensive in his reading, knowledgeable in all fields, with elegant words and profound sentiments” (Biography of Yan Zhipu in the Book of Northern Qi). He was one of the few high-ranking families who remained committed to traditional Confucian studies despite the influence of Xuan wind. His scholarly integrity and rich life experiences provided favorable conditions for writing Family Precepts of Yan Zhipu in his later years.