Chapter 47 To all my brothers, persuasion on the way of filial piety

【original】 Around Chenghou Shuchun and Jihong's third brother: From the end of May to the first day of March and the eighteenth day of April, two letters were sent home.The letter of the fourth brother has seen the true disposition, and has the image of sleepy mind, pondering, stagnant thinking, and thinking through.It is absolutely impossible to seek quick results in this matter. Seeking quick results will only help, and it is not beneficial, but harmful.It must be accumulated over time, just like the Foolish Old Man who moved mountains, there will be a moment of sudden penetration in the end, and the more you want to hasten, the more you will be blocked②. The words in the letters often do not express the meaning, and I can deeply understand the pain.

People today misunderstand the word learning. If you read the chapter of Xianxian Yise ③ carefully, you will learn a lot about it, that is, in the daily use of the family: in the two words of filial piety, one point is one point of learning. If you do your best, you will learn very much. Today, people read books for the sake of the name of the subject. Because of the great discipline of filial piety, it seems that it has nothing to do with books.Little do they know that what is recorded in the book and the sages on behalf of them at the time of work is nothing more than to understand this truth.If you can do everything well, it doesn’t matter if you can’t say it in your pen; if you can’t do everything, and there is a great loss of ethics, even if the article is good, you can only be regarded as a sinner in the famous religion.

The good brother has a sincere temperament, but is shorter than poetry, why don't you work hard on the words of filial piety and brotherhood every day? In "Qu Li", what is said in ④, every sentence is made according to him, so that grandparents, parents, uncles and uncles will never be uneasy or uncomfortable; next, brothers and wives are all kind ⑤ Gracious, orderly, This is really learned!If the poems are not good, the current situation is worthless, even if it is very good, it is not worth a penny. I wonder if my brother will listen to this?If the name of the family is valuable, it is enough to deceive the joy in the hall, and it is also said that Lu Shi ⑥ can support relatives.Now I have got it, even if my younger brothers can't.You can also be happy, you can also raise relatives, why do you have to be brothers?If a virtuous brother thinks about this principle carefully, but works hard on the ladder of filial piety, not on poetry and prose, then poetry and prose will advance without expectation.

Anyone who writes calligraphy must gain power, so that one stroke can travel thousands of miles.The third brother's handwriting has no force, so he can't go far because of the cramped. I mentioned it to the ninth brother last year, but I think I have forgotten it recently.The ninth brother wanted to read Yu Bai's papers, but Yu wrote very few papers, so he didn't pay them. The Earth Immortal is the chief burial, harming the family, and has a lot of conscience. If there is no one who has lost his family and died, he must do his best to stop Ling Yunye.As for the theory of cotton spinning, in Lingshou County, Sanhe County, in Central Zhili, everyone, rich or poor, men and women, spins cloth for a living, just like farming in our territory makes a living.The women of Jiangfu plowed the fields, and the men of Du Sanhe spun cloth.It is not surprising that Hunan is like the summer cloth of Liuyang, the Gebu of Qiyang, and the cotton of Yichang. Both rich and poor, men and women, depend on it for their jobs.The third custom is difficult to change, it will be shocking, it is better to delete a paragraph!The book is not exhaustive.Guofan Hand Grass. (6th day of June in the 23rd year of Daoguang)

【Note】 ①This sentence means the appearance of struggling, thinking hard, and being puzzled. ②Confinement: Confinement and blindness. ③ Xianxian Yise: This sentence comes from the middle, meaning the way of filial piety. ④ "Qu Li Nei Ze": This is the title of the "Book of Rites", one of the Confucian classics. ⑤ Amiable: Amiable look. 6 Lu Shi: The salary of an official. 【Translation】 Around Chenghou, Shuchun and Jihong three brothers: From the end of May to the first day of March, the family letters sent twice on April 18th, and the letter from the fourth brother, all showed the true nature, with the appearance of troubled mind and pondering, stagnant thinking, this matter must not be rushed, hurry up If it is too much, it will be to encourage the growth of seedlings, which is not only useless, but also harmful.As long as it accumulates over time, like a foolish old man moving a mountain, there will be a time when he suddenly understands, the faster he gets up, the easier it is to be imprisoned and blocked, and his letters often fail to express his meaning. I can understand his difficulties.

People today focus on learning characters.If you read the chapter of Xianxian Yise carefully, then the great knowledge is in the daily life of the family. If you do one point in the words of filial piety and brotherhood, you will get one point of learning, and if you do ten points, you will learn ten points.Today's people read books for the sake of academic titles, but the righteousness of filial piety, brotherhood, ethics, and discipline seem to have nothing to do with reading. They don't know that what is written in the book and what the sages said in the composition era is nothing more than to understand this truth.If you really do everything, what does it matter if you can't write it down?If one thing cannot be done, and it is against the righteousness of ethics, then even if the article is well said, it can only be regarded as a sinner in the name of filial piety.

My brother has a sincere temperament, but is not good at poetry, why not work hard on the words of filial piety and brotherhood every day? What is said in "Qu Li", every sentence should be done according to it, so that grandparents, parents, and uncles will not be unhappy for a moment, and will not be uncomfortable for a moment.Going down to the brothers and wives, they are kind, kind, and orderly. This is really a great knowledge.If the poet is not good, it is a trivial matter and there is no need to worry about it, even if it is extremely good, it is not worth a penny.I don't know if Brother Xian is willing to listen to this?

The reason why the name of the department is not expensive is that it is enough to win the favor of the adults in the hall, and that it can support relatives with the salary.Now, I've got it, even if my younger brothers don't get it, they can have sex and support relatives, so why do all the younger brothers get it?If the virtuous brother thinks about this truth carefully, and works hard on filial piety and brotherhood, and not on poetry, then poetry will naturally improve even if it is not expected to improve. Anyone who writes must have a momentum so that a single stroke can travel thousands of miles.The third brother's handwriting lacks momentum, so it is cramped and cannot be stretched far.I told Jiudi last year, but I think I forgot it recently.Ninth brother wants to see my free papers, but I have very few papers, so I won't send them.

The Earth Immortal presides over funerals for other people, harms the family, and has a lot of conscience. There is no one who ruins the family and dies, so he has to try his best to stop Ling Yun.As for the theory of cotton spinning, in Sanhe County and Lingshou County of Zhili, no matter rich or poor, male or female, people spin cloth for a living, just like we live by plowing fields. Women in Jiangnan plow the fields just like those in Sanhe. The same is true for men spinning cloth. In Hunan, grass cloth from Liuyang, Gebu from Qiyang, and cotton from Yichang are all depended on by corrupt officials and men for their livelihood. This is not surprising.It's just that customs are difficult to change quickly, and it must be shocking. It's better to delete a paragraph to make love and delete words, brother Guofan. (6th day of June in the 23rd year of Daoguang)