What does fortune telling mean to send Yan Hui?

For Yan Hui, many people only know that he is a disciple of Confucius and appears in many chapters of The Analects. For Yan Zhenqing, many people only know that he is a great calligrapher in ancient times from the calligraphy combination of Yan Gu. Few people know that Yan Zhenqing is a descendant of Yan Hui. The Yanshi family not only has Yan Hui, Yan Zhenqing and other historical celebrities, but also Yan Lu, a doctor of Guanglu in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Han Yan, Yan Zhitui in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and Yan Shigu in the Tang Dynasty, all of which have had an important influence on history.

So how did the Yanshi family retain talents? From Yan Hui's apprenticeship to Yan Zhitui's Family Instructions for Yan, from Yan Zhenqing's resolute death to Yan Gaoqing's generous death, we can find out how Yan's clansmen cultivated themselves, managed their families and lived and studied in the torrent of history.

Yan Hui

1. Influenced by his father Yan Lu, Yan Hui joined the ranks of Confucius very early.

Yan Hui, a disciple of Confucius, was called the resurrected Yanzi by later generations, and was the head of Confucius' seventy-two sages. What is commendable is that Yan Hui actually worshipped Confucius under the guidance of his father Yan Lu. Yan Hui's father Yan Lu is only six years younger than Confucius. Because of his poor family, he is determined to change the fate of his family and future generations through learning.

Therefore, Confucius studied with Confucius as soon as he started running a school. Yan Hui was born in the year when Confucius started running a school. Under the influence of his father, Yan Hui was deeply influenced by Confucius since he was a child. Yan Hui worshipped Confucius at the age of thirteen. Although Yan Lu's influence among the 72-year-old sage is far less than that of his son Yan Hui, he has a unique vision and is far-sighted in the family education of his children.

Confucius gives lectures

In ancient times, it was very valuable to be able to read, and it was even more desirable to worship at the door of a generation. Confucius didn't look at his origins, and only 72 sages among the 3,000 disciples remained immortal, which showed that Yan Lu and Yan Hui were outstanding in learning. But what is more important than learning is the education of future generations. Yan Lu led Yan Hui to the road of Confucianism, while Yan Hui gradually formed his own sect-Yan's Confucianism within the framework of Confucius' Confucianism.

Han Feizi pointed out that Yan's Confucianism is one of the eight schools of Confucianism, which focuses on morality. Yan Hui's virtue not only left an immortal cultural heritage to future generations, but also set a code of conduct for his own future generations.

2. Yan Zhitui: He founded "Family Instructions of Yan Family", which was the first of its kind in later generations.

Yan Zhitui is the thirty-fourth grandson of Yan Hui. If the Yan Confucianism founded by Yan Hui sets an example for the descendants of Yan, then the Family Instructions of Yan written by Yan Zhitui has played a good role in admonishing the Yan clan from the aspects of self-cultivation, scholarship, family management and life. This ancient book had an important influence on ancient family education. Chen, a bibliophile in Ming Dynasty, called this book "the ancestor of ancient and modern family instructions". In Song Dynasty, Zhu's Elementary School and Qing Dynasty's Chen Hongmou's Remembrance of Righteousness both quoted the records in Yan's Family Instructions. Dozens of family instructions that appeared after the Tang Dynasty were all influenced by this book to some extent.

Yanshi family instructions

Yan Zhitui didn't make great achievements in literature and politics, but he is famous for his Family Instructions of Yan. I have to say that his achievements in education are more meaningful than those in literature. Yan Jiaxun believes that children should be taught how to be human, not to be kind to women, and not to spoil them, but to stick to their integrity and dignity.

In studying, Yan Zhitui thinks that the fundamental purpose of reading is to open your mind and distinguish right from wrong, so as to understand the truth of being a man. When choosing the object of worship, don't choose deformed and meaningless idols, but take the ancient great sages and great virtues as idols and imitate their behaviors and ways of doing things to improve themselves.

The truth in Yan Jiaxun is still not out of date today. Blindly doting or reprimanding is not the most appropriate way of education. Only by cultivating children with the aim of "governing the country well and managing the family well" will they become useful talents for the country and society.

3. From Yan Zhenqing to Yan Gaoqing, the integrity of Yan's descendants is admirable.

Yan Zhitui is the fifth ancestor of Yan Zhenqing, and Yan's family precepts have obviously played an educational role in Yan's family. Yan Shigu, the grandson of Yan Zhitui, participated in the compilation of historical books such as Sui Shu and Notes on Hanshu in literature, and created an exegetical masterpiece "Correcting the Paradox and Correcting the Custom" in education, which has made outstanding contributions in history, Confucian classics and exegetics.

Many people highly admire Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy. As the saying goes, Yan Zhenqing's handwriting is dignified and steady, just like his own. Contemporary scholars believe that most people who study regular script admire "Yan Gu", and their calligraphy is upright, which symbolizes the integrity between monarch and minister.

Yan Zhenqing sculpture

Yan Zhenqing also explained his unyielding integrity with his life. According to Zi Tongzhi Jian, Yan Zhenqing threatened Li Xilie, the leader of the rebel army, before he died, and he died resolutely. Six months later, the rebellion was put down, Yan Zhenqing's remains were escorted back to Beijing, and Tang Dezong left the DPRK for five days in grief to show his condolences.

Yan Gaoqing is Yan Zhenqing's younger brother. Although he is not as famous as Yan Zhenqing in history, they are very similar in ethics. Yan Gaoqing was also a famous minister in the middle Tang Dynasty. During the Anshi Rebellion, Yan Zhenqing was guarding the plain, and Yan Gaoqing and his son were guarding Changshan together. After Changshan was captured by the rebels, Yan Gaoqing was taken to Luoyang. He was not afraid of An Lushan and denounced him. He was brutally murdered by An Lushan.

Yan Zhenqing and Yan Gaoqing are both relatives of Yan. They abide by the "integrity and dignity must not be lost" in Yan Family Instructions, fight to the death, and show integrity with their lives, which makes future generations admire them. In Song Zhengqi, Wen Tianxiang praised his unyielding loyalty, even though his tongue was broken.

4. Abstract: Yan's family has a long history with its integrity and talent.

Yan Hui became the most proud student of Confucius by virtue of his knowledge. He explained what "virtue" was with his own personal actions. Yan Hui influenced future generations with his noble morality, and set an example for future generations to cultivate self-cultivation and learn from it.

Changhugang scenic spot

On the basis of Yan Hui's thought, Yan Zhitui founded Family Instructions of Yan, which had a far-reaching influence on the descendants of Yan, relying on what he saw, gained and felt in the troubled times of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He attaches importance to "practical learning" and advocates that parents should teach by example and influence their children's conduct with their own actions.

Yan family proved their adherence to family precepts with facts. Even in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, members of the Yan clan continued to become officials. Zhuge Liang's commandments at the end of Han Dynasty, Zeng Guofan's letters in Qing Dynasty and Fu Lei's letters in modern times all illustrate the importance of family education. A family motto that can be passed down from generation to generation is the foundation of a family's longevity.