Yan Family Precepts. Zhu Zi Family Precepts

Author: Cheng Yanqing
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Ancient and Modern Family Instructions, This as the Root。——[Song] Chen Zhensun, Direct Library Catalogue
The 20 chapters of Family Instructions by Yan Zhipu of Northern Qi are like medicine and jade, every word a mirror for reflection. All young people should keep a copy at home, serving as clear guidance, not only for the Yan family but for 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 a craft that can support oneself. Father and elder brothers cannot always be relied upon, nor can one's homeland always be secured. Once one is displaced and has no one to shelter them, one must seek support within oneself. The saying goes: Accumulating materials in the millions is no match for a humble skill possessed by oneself. The easiest and most valuable skill is reading。——Family Instructions of Yan Zhipu, Encouraging Learning
A nation's culture has its origins and flows. The least one can do is ensure that the broad masses know what the true origins of traditional Chinese culture are and what its fundamental flow is. As publishers, we have no need to explore this issue, but we have an obligation to present publications that reflect the roots and mainstream of Chinese culture to the people. Thus, we created Essential Family Library of China. This is a nearly boundless publishing plan, but it reflects the sincere hearts of publishers. We know that the Chinese family is the fundamental unit of Chinese culture. If Chinese cultural families possess 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 works and is divided into six volumes:
Volume 1: Classics of the Hundred Schools
Includes 16 pre-Qin foundational works such as the Book of Songs, Book of Changes, Analects, Mencius, and Han Feizi. They are the source of Chinese culture. Zhang Zhidong said: "Pre-Qin works are worth a thousand gold per character," an accurate summary of the classics of the Pre-Qin philosophers.
Volume 2: Selected Works of Famous Poets and Writers
Includes 21 selected works of renowned literary figures such as Tao Yuanming, Wang Wei, Li Bai, Du Fu, and Yuan Haowen. This selection centers on Tang and Song literary masters, representing the highest achievements of Chinese lyrical literature.
Volume 3: Masterpieces of Historiography
Includes the Zuo Zhuan, the Four Histories, and the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government. They are the essence of Chinese historiography. To understand history, one must start here.
Volume 4: Comprehensive Selections
Includes Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan quyi, A Thousand Poems, and Essentials of Classical Chinese. These are all 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 excellent Chinese culture.
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, 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 achieving a broad market.
Family Instructions of Yan Zhipu is an ancient book from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (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 Province, 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 Yuan of Liang established himself 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 Instructions of Yan Zhipu was completed after the Sui conquest of Chen in 589 AD.
Family Instructions 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 is to serve feudal rule and is filled with suppression of human nature and desires, severely hindering social progress. The oil paintings Family Instructions of Zhu Xi series by Wei Guangqing exhibited in the Images of Ideas—2002 Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Oil Painting organized by Shenzhen Art Museum strongly critique such feudal culture and thought.
Yan Zhipu (531–c. 591 AD), styled Jie, was originally from Langya Linyi (now northern Linyi, Shandong Province). His ancestors moved south during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317–420 AD) and settled in Jiankang (now Nanjing, Jiangsu Province). Initially, he served as a courtier in the Kingdom of Xiangdong of the Liang Dynasty. During the late Liang Dynasty, he was imprisoned and sent to Jianye during the Hou Jing Rebellion and later served as a courtier to Emperor Yi of Liang. In the third year of the Chengsheng era (554 AD), when Northern Zhou conquered Jingling, Yan Zhipu's family was captured, and he later fled 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 Huangmen Shilang. 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, like birds whose forests are burned and whose wings are clipped, or fish who snatch water and are exposed to the air, I lament the vastness of the universe and feel ashamed of having nowhere to fit in" (Ode to My Life). This made him advocate a life of few desires, contentment, and humility while urging scholars and officials to engage in practical governance. As a member of the feudal aristocracy, Yan Zhipu was deeply influenced by Confucian moral teachings and rituals but was also exposed to Buddhist and Taoist thought. He was "broadly knowledgeable in books, leaving nothing unexplored, with elegant and classical prose" (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 extensive life experiences provided favorable conditions for writing Family Instructions of Yan Zhipu in his later years.