Chapter 13 Chapter 8 The Covenant—God Knows

This section and the previous section "Exercising Meng Dayi, Teaching and Reading Liu Boxong, etc." are all recorded by Nan Daji.Nan Daji, character Yuanshan, named Ruiquan, was born in Weinan, Shaanxi. He was the first person to introduce Wang Xue to Guanzhong.Nan Daji respected Yang Ming a lot. He carved it in two volumes in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and he did it under extremely difficult circumstances.Because the imperial court depreciated Wang Xue at that time, Daji, under great pressure, edited and continued to engrave the book in order to "understand the way with his own body", which is quite creditable to Wang Xue.This point has been explained in the previous "Preface to Qian Dehong".

Every morning, all the students bow to each other, and then teach and read.Ask all living beings: Is the heart of loving relatives and respecting elders at home unbroken and negligent, is it not true?There is no shortage of the ritual of Wen Qing, Ding and province, but has it not been practiced?Walking in and out of the streets, one must be courteous at every step, so that there is no debauchery, can't you be careful?One should act with the mind in words and deeds, so as to be free from deceit and out-of-the-way, and fail to be faithful and respectful?All the boys must be true to each other, if there is something, it will be changed, and if there is no one, it will be encouraged.Teaching, reading, and re-doing work at any time, Qu Jia instructed development, and then retired to study.

Every song "Poetry" needs plastic surgery to stabilize the breath, clear its voice, and examine its rhythm.Don't be impetuous and anxious, don't sway and clamor, don't be discouraged and intimidated.After a long time, the spirit will be smooth and the heart will be peaceful.Each student is divided into four classes according to the number of students.Every day, one class sings "Poetry", and the rest are seated, listening carefully.Every five days, a total of four classes will hand over songs to this school.Every new moon, gather songs from various societies in the academy.

When practicing etiquette, one needs to be sober and considerate, to examine the etiquette and restraint.Don't be lazy suddenly, don't be frustrated and embarrassed, don't go wild.Calm without losing the detour, careful without losing the restraint.After a long time, you will become familiar with politeness, and your virtue will be firm.Classes for children are like songs and poems.Every day, one class takes turns to practice the rituals, and the rest sit at the table, keeping their faces in awe.On the day of practicing rituals, imitation is exempted.Every ten days, a total of four classes will be handed over to study in this school, and every first lunar month, each society will be gathered to study in the academy.

There are not many apprentices who teach books, but they are expensive and proficient.Measuring his talents, those who can write two hundred words can only be given one hundred words, and often make the spiritual strength more than enough, so that he will not suffer from suffering, but will have the beauty of self-satisfaction.When reciting satire, you must concentrate on it, recite your heart, and repeat every word and every sentence, suppress its syllables, and be generous with your mind. Every day, I first test morality, recite books, practice etiquette, or imitate lessons, recite books and lectures, and sing "Poetry".The number of learning the ritual songs "Poetry" is because the heart of a child is always kept, so that it can be enjoyed tirelessly, and has no time for evil.If the teacher is like this, he will know what to do.Of course, this is roughly the same. "If the gods are clear, it will be in the person."

Every morning, after the students have finished paying respects, the teacher should ask the students one by one: Are they slack, negligent, and sincere in loving relatives and respecting elders at home?In the etiquette of being gentle and calm, do you practice it yourself and lack everything?When walking in the street, do you walk cautiously and not recklessly?Are all words, deeds, and thoughts deceitful and eccentric without being faithful?Every student must tell the truth, change it if there is something, and encourage if there is nothing.Teachers should give tactful teaching and inspiration to students for specific things at any time, and then let them go back to their seats to study.

When singing, you must be neat and tidy, calm and calm, and have a clear voice. According to the rhyme, you must be neither anxious nor rash, neither turbulent nor clamorous, neither discouraged nor frightened. Over time, you will be energetic and peaceful.Each school is divided into four groups according to the number of students. Every day, one of the groups takes turns to sing hymns, and the rest listen solemnly in their seats.Every five days, let the four groups sing hymns one by one in the school, and gather each school to go to the academy to compete in singing hymns every fifteen days.

To practice etiquette, you must be sober and deliberate. The teacher must carefully examine the etiquette details, appearance and behavior of each student, and be neither inattentive nor lazy, neither frustrating nor sluggish, neither wild nor wild, calm but not pedantic and slow, and cautious but not restrained in speech nervous.Over time, etiquette will become proficient, and virtue will be firm.The group times of the students are the same as when singing poems, let one group practice etiquette every other day, and the other three groups observe carefully.Practice etiquette on this day, and save other homework.Every ten days, four groups gather to practice etiquette in the school in turn.Every 15 days, all the schools will gather to the academy to practice competition etiquette.

The amount of homework taught by teachers is not based on the quantity, but on proficiency.According to the aptitude of the students, those who can master two hundred characters should only be taught one hundred characters, and the students should be kept energetic, so that they will not feel disgusted, but will have the pleasure of gaining.When reading, they must concentrate on it, recite orally and memorize it by heart, repeat every word and sentence to figure out the clues, the tone of voice should be up and down, and their thoughts should be broad and quiet.Over time, students will behave politely, talk civilizedly, and their wisdom will increase day by day.

For homework every day, you should first test your virtues, then memorize and recite, and then practice etiquette or homework, then read books, give lectures, and finally sing.Generally, the practice of etiquette and singing is to preserve the nature of children, so that they like to learn and will not get bored, so that they have no leisure time to do crooked things.Knowing this, teachers know how to implement teaching activities.Even so, it's clear that this is just a generalization.After all, "to truly understand the mystery of a certain thing lies in everyone's understanding."

In ancient schools, teachers' explanations are the basis for students' further learning and understanding, and the teaching of ethics and morals is realized through this process.The ancient teaching process and method are generally as follows: every time a poem is learned, the teacher will teach it first, and then the students will review it by themselves; Read and understand by yourself, and if you have any questions, the teacher will answer them.Wang Yangming stipulated a more specific method of elementary education in the "Teaching Testament".