In ancient times, the relationship between master and apprentice was unusual. People often describe it as the relationship between father and son. What was the relationship between father and son in ancient times? The relationship between father and son in ancient times was not like this. Now we say that there is a generation gap between the two generations, and the relationship between father and son is not as close as in ancient times.
Why do you say that? Because traditional society mainly relies on family ethics to maintain social stability, it is necessary to straighten out the positional relationship between family members, and the ancient father-son relationship is the most important relationship in family ethics.
We often hear that there were kings, ministers, fathers, sons and sons in ancient society, which means that kings should be like kings, ministers should be like ministers, fathers should be like fathers, and sons should be like sons, and they must never be offside.
The relationship between monarch and minister comes from the relationship between father and son, from which the relationship between monarch and minister can be deduced, and they have strict grades. The monarch is the "father" of a country, and local officials are the parents of the general public. The father-son relationship runs through the country like a main thread.
In the family, as a son's first priority, it is to strictly perform filial piety, and all virtues of filial piety are the first, just as described in Disciples' Rules: sage training, filial piety comes first.
After the death of parents, the son's three-year filial piety is also a manifestation of filial piety to his parents. China's traditional culture is based on the word "filial piety". His parents' lessons, teachings and education should be strictly carried out by his descendants and cannot be violated.
Father-son relationship is the most intimate and fundamental, and it is the most important relationship in the whole family and family relationship. Based on the father-son relationship, the whole family also formed a strict hierarchy.
Unlike now, it is no longer family-oriented, but people-oriented. Personal status becomes prominent, everyone becomes independent, and the relationship between father and son becomes an equal and independent subject.
In ancient times, the most important relationship was the father-son relationship, and the father-son relationship was the closest. When a son has any important matters or decisions, he should discuss them with his parents, especially his father.
The most important relationship in modern times is that of husband and wife. Husband and wife are the closest. When a husband or wife has something important, they make up their minds and find ways to give it to each other, so they won't bother the older generation too much, or don't want to discuss it with them at all. The modern relationship between husband and wife is also different from that in ancient times. In ancient times, husbands sang female harmony, and men were superior to women. Now, the relationship between husband and wife is also equal.
Back to the father-son relationship, the modern father-son relationship liberated people from the hierarchical relationship between families, gained personal freedom, and was no longer bound by the ancient "father-only obedience". Although this family relationship has caused some social problems, it is still better than the strict hierarchical father-son relationship in ancient times.
In this way, we can easily understand the ancient mentoring relationship. There is a hierarchical relationship between them, and there is a strict division between father and son, and they must never deviate.
The master must arrange everything for the apprentice and be responsible for it. Of course, the apprentice should be obedient to the master like his father. Otherwise, you may be expelled from the master school and the mentoring relationship may be cancelled. In ancient times, it was a shameful thing for an apprentice to be expelled from a master school, just as a father had no son.
Some apprentices violate the rules and commit crimes, and the master can directly criticize and punish them, or even take their lives, which is allowed by ancient laws. Ancient laws protected the life of the whole family and industry, not the life of individuals. Personal life is protected by family, family or industry, and the source of personal material life is mainly supplied by family or industry. Individuals should be strictly attached to certain groups.
Masters in each industry have great power and strict hierarchy, which will certainly suppress the creativity of individuals in the industry, which is not conducive to technological innovation, and it is easy to form a conservative line in technological inheritance.
Then, why did there appear the situation of mentoring as father and son in ancient China?
First of all, the mentoring relationship comes from the family relationship based on father and son. Since the relationship between father and son can be extended to the political field, such as the relationship between monarch and minister, the relationship between local officials and people, etc., why can't it be extended to other fields?
In fact, this kind of extension and penetration is inevitable. The relationship between father and son is the basis of the whole social ethics, and political, economic, cultural and other fields are bound to be restricted and influenced by this ethical basis. There is no such relationship between father and son to ensure the stability of industry, commerce, art and academia.
The ancient society pursued stability, that is, long-term stability. To ensure long-term stability, the country must carry out family ethics to the end and extend it to the whole society layer by layer. No one can escape the cultural atmosphere in which father and son are close, monarch and minister are loyal, husband and wife are different, and old and young are orderly.
This is very beneficial to the country, at least it can save a lot of ruling costs, and it can realize the rule and management of the whole society without so many officials, because fathers control their sons, families control their families, and masters from all walks of life control their disciples. Who dares to disobey?
Officials are very idle, some legal affairs are handled within the family, family or industry, and officials are willing to intervene when things can't be done.
It can be seen that for the need of stable political rule, the relationship between mentor and apprentice appeared in ancient times, rather than being taken for granted. Now when it comes to ancient mentoring, such as father and son, it seems to be a noble thing, but there is a profound political foundation behind it.
Secondly, China lacked extensive technical education in ancient times, such as mathematics and physics, which did not become a basic education subject. The education of the whole society is focused on promoting traditional morality. Knowledge about technology has been passed down from generation to generation, only in the hands of a few people, who have become monopolists of knowledge and skills.
The master monopolizes technical knowledge, and of course he can arrange and dispose of his disciples at will. Anyone who doesn't obey or obey the rules will not be admitted, or expelled from school, nor will he learn those specialties.
To say that mentoring is like father and son means not only that mentoring is very close, but also intimate. The most important thing is that the master manipulates and controls his apprentice at will, just like his father, and the apprentice should be respectful to his father.
This is obviously different from modern society, which is a society with widespread technology. Anyone can learn if you want to. If you don't teach me, I will be taught, including martial arts schools, art schools, health centers, art galleries, accounting training, and so on.
Moreover, the relationship between individuals and owners in these organizations is no longer the father-son relationship in ancient society, or even worse than that in modern society, but an equal contractual relationship, which is bound by contracts, laws and systems.
I give you money, you teach me skills and techniques, and no one owes anyone. Mentorship is an equal and cooperative relationship. Once the partnership is over, their relationship is over.
No longer like in the past, the relationship between master and apprentice is a lifelong matter, and the two sides should keep in touch for life. Apprentices should always respect and maintain the authority and status of the master and have a strong personal attachment to the master.
Employees in modern factories have also become free men, independent free men, because they have skills and knowledge, and they have been trained in knowledge and technology since primary school.
The modern school system is implemented by the state, which guarantees everyone's right to education and breaks the monopoly of knowledge and technology and the corresponding personal dependence in the past.