_A FATHER'S ADVICE TO HIS SON._
Tseng Kuo Fan.--"Neither envious nor fawning."--Repose of
Manner.--Cultivation of Land.--Early Rising, Diligence in
Business, and Perseverance.--Dignity.--Family
Worship.--Reading.
Some extracts from a Chinese father's letters to his son will probably
do more to explain what is thought admirable in a Chinese young man
than pages of commentary. The son in this case was the late Marquis
Tseng, during many years Chinese Minister in London. The writer was
his father, the celebrated Tseng Kuo Fan, in whose honour a temple has
been put up at Wuchang opposite Hankow. Grandson of a Hunan farmer,
son of a humble scholar, this Chinese Chesterfield passed his first
examination at twenty-one; and continuing steadily to pass
examinations, he was a Hanlin student at twenty-eight, Chief Examiner
for the Province of Szechuan at thirty-two, Deputy-Supervisor of
Instruction in Peking, and nominally in charge of the education of the
future Emperor at thirty-four. During the Taiping rebellion he had to
become a General; and it was during all the troubles of this rebellion
his letters were written. It was his devoted brother, then a Viceroy,
who published the Life and Writings of Tseng Kuo Fan. The latter,
just as his son was becoming a man, wrote to him as follows:
"From my earliest years I have been a student of the ancient sages.
Among their thousand words and myriad sayings there is no sentence
more striking or suggestive than the little phrase of four characters,
_pu chi, pu chʽin_ (neither envious nor fawning). _Chi_ means to be
envious of the virtuous, and malignant towards the influential. The
fact that any one lacks the spirit or the ambition to walk in the path
of rectitude is no reason why he should be afraid of the success of
others. _Chʽin_ means that you will sink all to gain name and wealth,
and then be in a constant state of unrest lest these treasures should
be lost. Such a disposition as either the former or the latter is the
characteristic of the 'small man.' As Viceroy of Chihli I constantly
see men of equal rank and abilities manifesting a spirit of envy,
animated only by the spirit of self-seeking and suspicion. If you
desire to secure happiness in this life, you must get rid of the
spirit of envy. If you desire to act properly and set a good example,
you must abhor the character of the sycophant. The one leads to the
other's injury, and the other is the spirit of the robber. I dare not
affirm that I have swept my heart of these two evils; but I wish,
nevertheless, to warn you and your brothers of these deformities."
Here is a characteristic bit of Chinese advice:
"With regard to your walking, I observe that your manner is too
animated. Are you more quiet now? Your utterance is also far too rapid
for clearness of pronunciation. You should cultivate more repose of
manner. Are you improving in these two respects? These two cautions
you are to keep constantly in mind, and see if you cannot make a
change for the better."
[Illustration: FORTRESS OF REFUGE, COUNTRY HOUSE, AND MEMORIAL ARCH.
_By Mrs. Archibald Little._]
One has constantly to remind oneself in China that the stolidity one
sees around one is assumed in accordance with etiquette, and that in
reality far more emotion is felt than shown in a land where only
street arabs dare to be altogether natural and smile when they see
one.
In all the throes of the revolution the busy statesman yet had time to
think, like Mr. Gladstone, of _la petite culture_:
"I think it would be well for you to select several plots of land, and
devote them exclusively to the raising of vegetables. At our
cantonments I have turned many of our braves into gardeners. The land
has been laid out in beds thirty feet by five, separated by paths and
little water-ways, so that the vegetables should not be drowned after
heavy rains. In the province of Szechuan I first saw gardening of this
kind. The processes of irrigation are there carried to great
perfection; and they seem certainly to have caught the ideas and
practice of the ancients. In our region of the country very little
land is set aside for the cultivation of vegetables. I wish my family
to set the precedent of taking seemingly sterile tracts of mountainous
land or wet, marshy places, and making them useful in raising fruit
and vegetables. Though the cultivation of tea may yield greater profit
in some of the valleys, yet I am convinced if my scheme is carried
out no one need complain of poverty in all that region. All that is
needed is to be judicious and persevering."
But his letter on hearing of his son's marriage is more striking. It
will be observed there is no comment on either the looks or character
of the new bride, no hope ever expressed that she may be such as to
conduce to his son's happiness. Any such idea would be strange to a
Chinaman:
"Your letter containing an account of your marriage has been duly
received. It will be a great pleasure to your mother to have a
daughter-in-law. I am also greatly rejoiced that the affair is so
happily ended. Now that your household is established, it behoves you
to follow the example of successful men in regulating your domestic
affairs. One habit to be especially cultivated is that of early
rising. In summer and winter alike in our family our ancestors were
never in bed after four o'clock in the morning. My great-grandfather,
Ching Hsi-kung, and grandfather, Hsing Kang-kung, usually arose before
daylight in all seasons of the year. My father, Chu Tʽing-kung, if he
had any important business on hand, would often rise once or twice
during the night, and begin operations often before dawn. You yourself
can bear witness to that fact. I trust that these family habits, which
have been conserved with such good effects these many generations,
will not be discontinued. You should set an example of early rising,
diligence in business, and perseverance before your wife, and thus
lead her to cultivate the same virtues. Here, as in all things,
practice makes perfect. As to myself, I have found that when I lacked
in perseverance nothing was completed, and character as well as
business suffered. This I consider disgraceful in the extreme.
Afterwards, when appointed to military command, I made up my mind to
execute my sovereign's will to the best of my abilities. However, even
in this good purpose I regret that I have so often lagged, much to my
shame and discomfiture.
"I observe with respect to your general deportment that you are too
frivolous by far. This is a most grievous defect. If there is one
virtue more than another which our ancestors emulated, it was that of
dignity. In everything it is proper that one observe a decorous and
dignified behaviour.
"These three admonitions, then, you are to keep constantly in
mind--namely, early rising, perseverance, and decorum. Thus you will
preserve the traditions of the family, establish your own character,
and that of your household. Lack of perseverance is my crowning
defect, as levity is yours. By diligence in the correction of these
blemishes, we shall sustain the habits and traditions of our
ancestors, cover up my past deficiencies, and complete your own
character, which is my highest desire for you. By thus setting an
example before your younger brother, you will do more to bring good
fortune to the family than in any other way.
"In view of the removal of your uncle to another place, you are now
in the responsible position of head of the family. Our ancestor, Hsing
Kang, was very particular in the management of his family. There were
four things which he insisted upon as of prime importance--namely,
early rising, cleanliness, the continuance of the practice of
ancestral worship, and, fourthly, wisdom in intercourse with our
relatives and neighbours. If they are in trouble, you are always to be
ready to lend assistance, and also to rejoice with them in their joy.
If they are estranged, you are to act the part of peacemaker. In
sickness you are to manifest sympathetic interest, and at funerals you
are to offer condolences. These four things, together with your
studies and the cultivation of the garden, are to be kept constantly
before your mind, and diligently observed. If because of your studies
you cannot attend to these various duties, you are still to keep a
general oversight, and be well informed as to what is going on.
"With reference to family worship, your mother is to be specially
careful to reserve the best utensils in the house for that purpose;
also the best of the food and drink are to be used. No family can
expect long continuance of prosperity or life which neglects these
important particulars."
It should be borne in mind this is the letter of a follower of
Confucius and a member of China's most learned Hanlin College; yet he
does not treat family worship and the utensils to be used for it as
otherwise than "most important."
It might be a busy London lawyer writing this advice to his son on
study:
"The present will be a good time for you to read extensively in
miscellaneous literature, and add to your general information on all
subjects. It is most difficult in this busy and confused world to get
time for quiet study and meditation. When the opportunity is given
you, you should by no means allow it to pass unheeded. On the 16th of
next month I expect to start from Nanking on a tour of inspection up
and down the river, and may not return till the end of the month. It
will give me the greatest pleasure to hear of your perseverance in
study, and I trust you will continuously put forth your powers in the
line of intellectual advancement."
After noticing the simplicity of spirit and careful attention to
details in these letters, it is touching to read this later one:
"TO MY SON CHI-TSE,--
"For successive years I have had my memorials to the Throne copied and
filed away. I am now selecting the more important ones to be carefully
copied for your use. Together with my letters I trust you will have
them carefully deposited at home, so that they can be handed down from
generation to generation of our descendants. But the letters to you
and your brothers especially are on no account to be cut in boards or
printed for the perusal of others. Very few of these letters or
memorials are worthy of public notice. The series of essays and poems
which I have written after the style of the ancient worthies, and
collected in a volume entitled _Li Tʽuan Chai_, has been copied, and
can be given to others for inspection. It will soon be printed, and
disposed of for general circulation. But the letters, memorials, and
essays outside of that volume are to be sacredly preserved. Some of
these were written when I was a young man, and my style was unformed.
Their publication would bring no glory to the family. If any of our
friends should crave their perusal, you will in courteous language
decline to allow them to be seen."
His directions were disregarded, or we should not have these letters.
There is a whole book full of them; but these few extracts will give
some insight into the nature of a very exemplary Chinese father's
admonitions, perhaps even more from what he leaves out than from what
he says. The son thus carefully trained seems in every way to have
done credit to his father. One of his sons, again a lad of singular
charm and great promise, died early; another seems more pleasant than
distinguished. His nephew and adopted son is one of the prominent,
though possibly not leading, members of the party of progress in
Shanghai.