Yan's family can last for hundreds of years, largely because of strict family education and profound family studies, so that many Yan's descendants can be independent. Yan Zhitui taught his children and grandchildren to strengthen their personal cultivation in books such as Mianxue and Save trouble. Children are required to properly handle family ethical relations in the terms of godson, brother, late marriage and family management. Titles such as Feng Cao, Mu Xian, Shi Ming, and Implication Event give children various warnings in social communication.
Yan Family Instructions is rich in content and profound in truth, one of which is to attach importance to the education of children. Children are the future of a family, the hope and sustenance of parents, and parents can never ignore them. On the issue of godson and godson, Yan Zhitui advocated the combination of godson and godson, and opposed doting. He said that parents just love their children without paying attention to education, and always meet their children's requirements in life, completely relaxing without restrictions; Children should be admonished for doing wrong things, but should be rewarded; If you say something wrong, you should blame it, and if you blame it, it will go away; It is not good to educate children like this for a long time. When children grow up, they will eventually become morally corrupt people. To this end, he proposed that love should be taught, strict and kind.
On the issue of having more children, Yan Zhitui advocates equal treatment and no favoritism. He believes that some parents prefer sons to daughters, often out of extreme selfish or stupid prejudice, which has actually deviated from the parents' way. If parents do not solve the problem of "loving children and valuing everyone" ideologically, but only treat their children equally as far as possible in educational methods, it is still easy for children to feel their parents' preference and be hurt mentally. This is extremely unfavorable to their growth.
Studying hard to become a useful talent is also an important proposition of Yan Zhitui in family education. He asked his children and grandchildren to concentrate on their studies and be diligent, diligent and persistent. He said that since ancient times, even a wise monarch still needs to study hard, let alone ordinary people. Yan Zhitui thought that the purpose of learning was to benefit himself, so he clearly pointed out: When we study, we should temper our mind and cultivate a keen eye, so that we won't make mistakes in dealing with people. Some people become conceited after reading dozens of books, bully and insult their elders, and despise and ignore their peers; People hate him as an enemy and an owl. It is better not to study than to hurt yourself by studying like this.
Yan Zhitui also saw that the environment has a great influence on children's growth, especially in adolescence. Children are in a period of long knowledge and long body, and are easily infected by society. He asked to be cautious with the people around him, and "be careful to make friends". Yan Zhitui's caution in making friends is not to restrict making friends, but to encourage making friends, oppose reading behind closed doors and ask for mutual learning. However, we must always pay attention to those who come into contact with children to prevent them from going astray.
In Yan Zhitui's view, learning a skill is the premise and foundation of self-reliance. He quoted a proverb: "It's better to accumulate wealth than to learn skills." Yan Zhitui advocates self-reliance. He said that fathers and brothers can't rely on them for a long time, and the property at home can't be maintained forever. Once something unexpected happens, they have to leave their homes, and no one will take refuge. Therefore, the most effective way is to stand on your own two feet in the world. Among the skills, nothing is easier to learn and most useful than reading. Through reading, we can understand the civilization and history of China and expand the scope of knowledge. We can not only know people's success and failure, happiness and sadness, but also reach the point where ghosts and gods can't escape.
Paying attention to advocating morality and being content with the status quo is also one of Yan Zhitui's main viewpoints. Yan Zhitui criticized the extravagance and waste of aristocratic life in Family Instructions, and advocated frugality in view of the extravagance and waste of aristocratic life. Yan Zhitui also criticized the envy of the gentry, reprimanding these people for overreaching themselves because their eyes could not see their eyelashes. In view of the envy of the elite, Yan Zhitui made a special discussion on talents in Mu Xian: First, he called for attaching importance to talents; Second, it is pointed out that we should be good at discovering and using talents; Third, emphasize the need to care for talents.
There is an article devoted to health preservation in Yan Family Instructions, which introduces various health preservation methods. Yan Zhitui believes that we should not be arrogant or greedy, otherwise there will be no life to support. The author also put forward the viewpoint that "you can't hesitate to live, but you can't pity to die", which is the inheritance and development of Mencius' thought of "giving up your life for righteousness" and has always been valued and advocated by gentlemen. Yan Zhitui attaches great importance to the maintenance of life, and takes disaster avoidance as the first priority of health preservation. Although he attaches importance to the existence value of individual life, he does not blindly cherish life. He has two completely different attitudes towards the value of life: one is the worthless loss of life, which Yan Zhitui thinks is a great regret; The other is the loss of precious lives, which Yan Zhitui thinks is not a pity.
Yan Zhitui's Family Instructions for Yan Family is an important work in ancient China, which "narrates the method of managing the family and distinguishes the absurdity of the customs of the times", and scholars of all dynasties have highly praised it. Wang Sanpin praised "ancient and modern family precepts as ancestors". Yuan Zhong believes that Yan Family Instructions is the most correct and farthest in ancient and modern family laws. Wang Yue's evaluation is higher, and he thinks that "the chess piece heals the stone, and the word turtle is taught. All children can buy a book at home as a clear training, not just for the sake of beauty. " Yan Family Instructions is a bright pearl in the history of China's cultural development.