Chapter 36 Section 10: Zhu Xi's Tutoring

Zhu Xi (1130-1200 A.D.), whose character was Yuanhui, was also known as Zhonghui, and his name was Hui'an.He is another great thinker and educator who occupies a dominant position after Confucius in the ancient feudal society of our country.His academic thought is a collection of the achievements of Song Dynasty, and was highly praised by the rulers of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and had a great influence on the culture, academics, ideology, and education of the late feudal society in our country. Like the above-mentioned famous ministers in the Song Dynasty, the reason why Zhu Xi achieved such a lofty academic and ideological status is because of his superhuman academic achievements.To achieve superhuman academic achievements, in addition to personal talent and hard work, it is very important to receive good family education since childhood.

Zhu Xi's ancestors were officials of the imperial court for generations, and his family is recognized by the world as a scholarly family of famous Confucianists.When he was born, his family was in decline. His father lost his official position and stayed at home, where he taught as a profession. Under his father's instruction, he received strict and systematic cultural and moral training.According to legend, he began to read the "Book of Filial Piety" at the age of five, and was very interested in the deduction of gossip at the age of seven.At the age of nine, he began to study the study of sages and sages. After reading the book "Mencius", he had the ambition to become a sage. At the age of 10, he mastered Confucian classics such as "University", "Mencius" and so on.His father Zhu Song was a student of Luo Congyan, a disciple of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, a famous Neo-Confucianist in the Northern Song Dynasty. He not only taught Zhu Xi with Confucian classics, but also often taught Zhu Xi the history of success and failure in ancient and modern times. The thought and belief that the anti-gold must win.When Zhu Xi was 14 years old, his father died of illness. Before his death, he asked him to worship Hu Yuanzhong, Liu Zhizhong, and Liu Yanchong as teachers.These three people are his father's good friends, and they all have quite deep attainments in Ercheng's Neo Confucianism.Later, under the careful guidance of the three of them, Zhu Xi made rapid academic progress. Four years later, he was admitted to Juren with excellent results. The next year he entered Beijing for the general examination and easily won the title of Jinshi. He was only 19 years old.As a result, this young and promising student embarked on an official career, served as a local official, and also served as a waiter and lecturer for the Huanzhang Pavilion for a short period of time, giving lectures on "University" for the emperor.

During his long official career, Zhu Xi served local politics wholeheartedly with great political ambitions and outstanding political skills. He strongly advocated the reform of the bad government, enriching the country and strengthening the army, so as to resist the invasion of the Jin regime and unify China.For the sake of the national economy and the people's livelihood, he wrote to the imperial court repeatedly, criticizing the political abuses, and admonishing the emperor to strengthen moral cultivation, so that he was often excluded and attacked by the dignitaries in the court.Although he was very unsatisfactory in his official career, for decades, he vigorously set up prefecture and county schools, built academies, cultivated talents from all over the world, and trained thousands of state officials and academic talents with both ability and political integrity.At the same time, he engaged in academic thought research with great enthusiasm and perseverance, compiled a large number of books, and systematically organized and summarized Confucianism before the Song Dynasty. He wrote 100 volumes of articles and 80 volumes of lecture records. 10 volumes.The wide range of knowledge he has covered, the large number of writings, and the abundance of ideas he has expounded are rare among scholars in feudal society.

During his busy life in politics, teaching, and writing, Zhu Xi paid great attention to his family education. He not only wrote a large number of letters on educating children, but also systematically put forward theories about family education, and personally compiled a book on family education for official families. "Primary School Book", "Family Rituals", "Enlightenment" and other works.His family education theory is very rich, involving all aspects of morality, intelligence, and physical fitness, and has a great influence on future generations.