"Yan Family Training" Research

In Wei, Jin and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the whole land fell apart to several countries, regimes are replaced frequently, wars burst from time to time,and people became destitute and homeless. Born in this period,Yan Zhitui lived a hard life. His parents both passed away when he was nine, and he was raised up by his brother Yan Zhiyi. During that turbulent period, he was captured many times and his life was often at risk. Until the Northern Zhou Dynasty perished and the Sui Dynasty was built, he was summoned by Yang Yong, the prince of the Sui Dynasty, to reedit the Book of Wei Dynasty as a scholar. He continued his job until his death in his sixties.Yan Zhitui lived in a period full of wars, regimes of Liang, Qi, Zhou and Sui were replaced frequently, and he did not have a safe place to live and almost got himself killed several times, but he still insisted on integrity and elegance. He devoted his whole life to Admonitions for the Yan Clan and some excellent strategies for ruling families he brought up are acclaimed by later generations as "the source of family instructions of ancient times and nowadays". His family was deeply affected by "the Family Instructions" and carried on this spirit generation by generation. His descendants treated "the Family Instructions" as rules and carried forward family business handed down. Thus, many outstanding figures arose in his descendants.Made up of twenty articles,Admonition for the Yan Clan is the first family instruction possessing an integrated system in Chinese history. It not only comprises rules for family teaching and philosophy of life, but also has unique comments on customs of south and north areas, Buddhism language and mysterious talk and scholarship study. This paper performs an overall and comparatively systematic study on Admonitions for the Yan Clan from the perspectives of belief, ethics, teaching and article on the basis of former studies:The first chapter, through research on family evolvement of Yan Zhitui and his life experience,sorts out the social and family background of forming and development venation of Yan's thinking, discusses the reality and thinking basis of Admonitins for the Yan Clan authored by Yan Zhitui,lists loyal subjects and refined scholars in Yan's descendants, and further demonstrates the importance of Admonitions for the Yan Clan.The second chapter expounds Yan Zhitui's overall perspectives of Confucianism,Buddhism and Taoism in the book of Admonitions for the Yan Clan through the three and other aspects which are as follows: to build a cultural family for generations and cultivate oneself and manage household; to be devout to Buddhism and illustrate Buddhism by virtue of Confucianism; to draw upon efficient views of Taoist School but discard negative inaction of Taoism. His inheritance of worldly ideals and handing principles of self-cultivation, family-management and interpersonal interaction are analyzed in this part, with a devout belief in Buddhism, practice of doctrine and advocacy to integrate Confucianism with Buddhism. The author then discusses his drawing of nutrition as well as rejections in Taoism but adoptions of some positive ideas in Taoism's regimen theories. Besides,this chapter also analyzes how Yan Zhitui's formed,developed and evolved via analysis of background,experience, time and essay genre respectively.By analyzing the influences of thoughts like Confucianism,Buddhism,Taoism and Mohism on Yan Zhitui, Chapter three explains ethical thoughts in Admonitions for the Yan Clan and discusses the cultural background of thoughts following: the marriage should be matched with an affectionate husband and a meek wife; the father should be gentle and the children filial; the elder brother should be fraternal and the younger be respectful, showing respect for each other's family ethical ideas; the monarch and his subjects follow moralities and behave in certain ways; be cautious to make friends and treat friends with honesty; be polite and well to get along with others; be thrifty and content.Chapter four mainly illustrates the educational ideas in Admonitions for the Yan Clan from the perspectives of the function, contents, methods and attitudes of education. Yan Zhitui believed education serves for and aims at recreation,accomplishment both physically and psychologically,self-reliance with use of what has learned, purify atmosphere and national prosperity. In order to achieve an eqquipment with both morality and arts, moral education, mainly deals with the ethics,virtues and propriety while artistic education focuses on artistic literature and acrobatics. Yan Zhitui advocated education from an early age and practising what one preaches, treating students impartially and a clear distinction between reward and penalty. In scholarship, he took his stand on hard work and persistence in study, wide reading but being versed in some areas, conscientious attitudes, flexibility, practicism and modesty and eager to learn and improvement in each other by active discussion.On basis of an analysis of social and cultural background, chapter five discusses the "birth" of Yan's innovative thoughts from perspectives of the origin and style of the Five Classics which is the original source of Admonitions for the Yan Clan,illustrates the internal conditions of composition that is proposed by Yan Zhitui and clarifies the primacy and secondary of writing functions and "ratifies" innovative ideas in the form and content of essays.Admonitions for the Yan Clan shows great foresight and sharp insight of Yan Zhitui, whose thoughts and methods in education still play a significant role on today's educational practice. There is no doubt that his ethical ideas in admonitions was a feudalism-governed ideology formed at that time and nowadays many of these ideas have become out of accord with times. Nevertheless, from a general perspective most of the ethical ideas in Admonitions for the Yan Clan still have guiding significance. Under the cultural environment then, by combining the thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism together, Yan Zhitui proposed his unique ideas of building a cultural family for generations, devoting to Buddhism and absorbing positive thoughts from Taoism. Admonitions for the Yan Clan combines the body and function of the three thoughts with openness and tolerance, displaying the spirit basis of his family education. With an objective and wise mind, Yan Zhitui analyzed different characteristics of essences in essays, integrated the past with the present and the south with the north according to situation requirements and finally formed relatively complete innovative ideas in essay reformation, leaving extremely precious cultural treasure for the descents.