This is a very interesting sentence. People have different interpretations in different contexts, which is also in line with the characteristics of traditional rural proverbs.
This proverb has two meanings in rural areas in the past: one is that couples of different ages pay attention to life, and the other is the requirement of being a man. Among them, in most rural contexts, the first meaning is more. Some people think that the second meaning is that some people will make this statement far-fetched to avoid embarrassment.
In rural areas, a person's adulthood begins at the age of 20 (in the past, the adult age of men was 20), and reaches the age of 50 (in some rural customs, 50 years old enters old age, and in some places it will reach 60 years old) and 60 years old. Every age group has two characteristics: one is the characteristics of physiological needs and health care; Second, the goal of life and the accurate positioning of life.
It must be explained here that this proverb refers to men from the social background at that time, regardless of the first meaning or the second meaning. Because whether it is marriage, family or career, rural people used to think that men were dominant. Of course, from the present society, this concept is incorrect.
Since this proverb has two different interpretations in rural areas, the following is an explanation of the two meanings contained in this proverb.
1, 20 left
"Twenty to go" is generally easy to be ignored. When saying this proverb, it is often omitted intentionally or unintentionally. In fact, this stage is very important for a person's life, and it is a golden age for starting a family and laying a foundation. The author will talk about this item, and the following items can be briefly mentioned.
The so-called married, married must have a marriage, married a wife to have their own small family; Starting a career is also learning to save. If a man doesn't get married around the age of 20 and doesn't learn and accumulate knowledge and experience, then all ages after the age of 30 are just castles in the air.
The "twenty" in this item refers to young men around the age of twenty. "Go" means diligent or diligent.
One is the love, marriage and married life of young people.
In the old countryside, the marriage custom etiquette of young men marrying their wives includes "three books and six rites" and a whole set of procedures.
In the rural areas at that time, it was parents' orders and matchmakers' words to strictly abide by this traditional custom and etiquette for wealthy families. Men and women never met before they got married and entered the bridal chamber. For ordinary rural families, although these customs and etiquette are indispensable, there is no problem after accepting and asking names and Najib. Marriage is basically settled, communication between men and women is much more flexible, and the rules have changed.
Generally speaking, the man can go to the woman's house, commonly known as the future son-in-law in the countryside. After a man goes to a woman's house, he has to go to her house more often. First, the woman's family's human feelings should be done. For example, in the future, parents-in-law and relatives will attend weddings, funerals and funerals, generally following the arrangement of the woman's family; Second, when the farm is busy, you should work hard and take the initiative to go to the woman's house to help. If there are other things that need help, you should also take the initiative to help.
The advantage of this is that the frequent contact between the man and his fiancee can promote the feelings between them, and it is also easy to be recognized by the woman's family and even the villagers. When getting married, some problems are easy to solve, such as bride price, the woman's asking price is enough, and she will not deliberately make things difficult.
This is the knowledge that ordinary rural families "have to leave" before marriage. "Go" here means "be attentive" to the fiancee's home.
After marriage, "going" here means another thing. "Walking" means "running" in ancient Chinese. Today, "walking" also means "running" in many dialects. This proverb uses "leaving" to describe the intimacy of young couples' lives (mainly refers to the number of times), which is meaningful.
Second, the life knowledge and experience accumulation stage.
Some people say that "leaving" means that young people go out to see the world. This statement also has some truth. However, the rural elderly believe that there are three kinds of "walking" situations:
First, people who learn. In the past, when the conditions of rural families were good, children were trained to study in order to brighten the threshold. Scholars have to study outside and go out. By the age of twenty, I will go out to participate in scientific research and strive for fame. In the past, transportation was inconvenient. From the countryside to the county, and then to the city, if you become lucky, you will enter the capital to take the exam after passing the juror. Most people walk. No one has asked for it for ten years. If you want to become famous in one fell swoop, you have to walk on two legs.
Scholars who can get out of their villages and hometowns must have studied hard and reached the level of taking exams before they can go out. Since parents try their best to train their sons to study, they have ardent expectations for their sons, and they must hope that they can go out of their hometown and succeed.
Second, people who study art. In the old rural families, after all, only a few people have the ability to train their sons to study, that is, some families with better family economic conditions. The way out for sons in most families is not to study, mainly because they can't afford to read, but to concentrate on agricultural production and learn another skill. A skill is usually called a craft. There is a saying in the countryside that "one skill in hand does not worry about food and clothing", or "one skill in hand does not worry about food and clothing".
In the past, in rural areas, craft was a common name for engaging in various industries, which referred to both manual skills and business. Needless to say, handicrafts can only be recognized as "craftsmen" in agricultural land through the master's teaching technology, hard study and experience accumulation. In the old countryside, doing business is also regarded as a craft, which requires learning from teachers and apprentices.
In the process of learning craft, whether it is handicraft or business, the word "diligence" is indispensable. Only by studying hard and practicing hard can we get off to a good start and get married by these skills. If you don't study hard and practice hard, you must be a poor student. There is a saying in the countryside: "If you are not proficient in learning arts, it will do harm to others", which will not only harm yourself to lose the opportunity to make a living, but also cause losses to others.
In the past, rural artists were called "people who eat hundreds of meals", and their craft was to walk from village to village and walk more. Therefore, it is reasonable for rural people to understand "walking" as "diligence".
Three kinds of people. In the past, influenced by feudal ideas, rural people thought that "everything is inferior, and only reading is superior", which meant that all industries are inferior, and only reading is the right way. In the old countryside, many people have neither the conditions to study nor the opportunity to learn skills, so they can only farm. At that time, such people accounted for the majority in rural areas.
Farming also has good skills, good skills and bad skills. Good farming techniques are often called "handle type". If you want to plant good fields, you must learn some ancient skills. If you are open-minded and eager to learn, go to the "old school" and visit their fields more. So the "walk" here also includes "diligence".
There used to be a saying in the countryside: "Thirty is not rich, forty is not rich, and fifty is a dead end." Without the "walk" at the age of 20 and the savings of skills and experience, it is difficult to develop at the age of 30, and it is difficult to live a rich life at the age of 40. Even the setbacks and failures at the age of twenty are the wealth of later life.
2, 30, if you want
In the sense of husband and wife life, rural men of this age are committed to supporting their families and careers because of the great pressure of starting a business and family economy, and their functions and interests are gradually declining. Women of this age, as the old saying goes, "thirty is like a wolf, forty is like a tiger", and they are very demanding of their partners.
Therefore, men of this age should maintain vigorous physical strength and energy, and maintain the mentality and desire of husband and wife life, so that husband and wife life can be harmonious and happy. This is the reason for the so-called "thinking over thirty".
In the sense of starting a business, it is to have your own ideas. In the present words, it is to have an ideal and goal in life and work hard for it. As the old saying goes, "standing at 30" not only means establishing one's own values of life stability, but also means making efforts to achieve something in one's career.
3. Resign at 40
From the aspect of husband and wife life, after forty years old, men's physical function and function are declining. At this age, we should pay attention to health care, and the husband and wife should live moderately and not be willful. The same is true for the temptation of the outside world. Be vigilant and cherish your health. "Abstinence" here does not mean forbidding or abstaining from the life of husband and wife, but paying attention to one degree, while for women outside, abstinence is needed.
In the old countryside, people got married earlier. Most men should be grandfathers by the time they are 40. They want to set an example to their children and grandchildren. I should "quit" some bad behaviors and habits, otherwise, they will pass on bad habits to their children and grandchildren, which will affect their growth.
As far as being a man is concerned, there is an old saying, "forty is not confusing", that is, when you reach forty, you should keep an open mind, look at everything, be rational in dealing with people and not be confused by foreign things. "Caution" here means being alert and keeping a clear head.
4. Count fifty times
From the aspect of husband and wife life, after 50 years old, men's physical function and physique further decline, and their interest in husband and wife life declines. The number of times a year or a month is very small, basically according to a fixed time.
There is a saying in the countryside: "It is better to take ten pills for one night", which shows that men should pay attention to the importance of health preservation at this age.
In terms of life, according to the past rural people, at this age, loess is on the lips. In the past, people's average life expectancy was not long because of the low living standard. Many rural people regard their 50th birthday as their "birthday" and can buy life-saving materials and clothes for their last needs. People think that at this age, people may die at any time. So the days after 50 are calculated on a monthly basis.
Of course, some people say that there were many children in rural families in the past. After entering the age of 50, we should count unmarried children, and hurry to do the children's lifelong events while there are still a few years left. People who are 50 years old live this life, which is called "counting the days", that is, counting the days.
Fifty or sixty.
In the sense of husband and wife life, rural people used to think that old people entering this age should learn to let go of husband and wife life completely, which is conducive to health and longevity.
As far as the family is concerned, in the past, most men were the heads of the family in rural areas, and everyone in the family listened to the words of the head of the family. People think that when people reach the age of 60, they should let young people do it, stop interfering in their affairs and enjoy their old age.
In the past, there was a saying in rural areas that "a person who is 60 years old cannot leave the field", that is, people should stop engaging in agricultural production after 60 years old and young people should do it. As the old saying goes, "the waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves before, and the new people on earth chase the old ones." This is the law of nature.
6. Concluding remarks
This proverb came into being under the background of people in the farming age. At that time, the productivity was low, the living standard in rural areas was not high, and the average life expectancy of people was not long. It was a summary of people's life experience at that time, which was reasonable at that time.
Now that the living standard in rural areas has improved, the average life expectancy of people has increased by at least 20 years. The age group in this proverb naturally does not adapt to modern rural society. However, some of them are still worth learning and thinking about.