Xie is a well-read person. Five Miscellaneous Groups embodies his reading thoughts. There are many insightful views on reading attitude, reading methods, studying and managing the world, which are enough to "inspire and benefit people" (Preface to Li Weizhen's Five Miscellanies).
The invention of writing and the appearance of books have greatly promoted the development of human civilization and enriched people's spiritual world. Reading is a unique civilized behavior of human beings, and it is one of the main ways for people to cultivate themselves, cultivate their nature and understand. After the emergence of the imperial examination system, reading is increasingly linked to fame and fortune. Scholars' motives are impure and improper, and the purpose of reading is excessively utilitarian and vulgar, which has been widely recognized by secular society. "Tales of Wonders" said: "When you are in Tian Shelang, you will be in the emperor's hall." How many children from poor families are looking forward to promotion and wealth. Xie analyzed the disadvantages of reading caused by the imperial examination system and said:
Poetry was used to select scholars in both the Tang Dynasty and the early Song Dynasty. Although it was not helpful for practical use, people's knowledge and talents were clear at a glance, and their merits were judged by themselves, which was enough for future generations. Self-evaluation measures righteousness, but those who are intelligent and suitable will stick to their ears first, and they will be diligent and not beep. The so-called turning a scholar into a pedant, the public also knows its disadvantages. For our country, it has not been published. Besides, there are miscellaneous subjects in Tang and Song Dynasties, but there is only one way for the country. Scholar with it, however, white and full of struggle, the change of writing style, change day by day, can not be poor, that is, the one who won the first place and took China, in the meantime, there is half a wine defect, and the defect does not cover Yu. They will become pigs in ten years, which is not enough training. Today, it can't be passed down, which is not enough to benefit the body and mind and the world. I don't know why the country regards it as a tool to promote sages. Before Xuan and Zheng, they still participated in various ways, and all officials should take a stand when recommending the monarch. Recently, the recommendation of rural nine pillars is also unique. The top is seeking, and the bottom is responding. Although famous officials and ministers often come out, if you want to leave nothing behind. After the author, the way of recommending talents should be broken, and the qualifications of employing people should be less broken. (Five Miscellaneous Groups, Shanghai Bookstore Press, 200 1 Edition)
He criticized the imperial examination system for "turning a scholar into a pedant", "not enough to benefit the body and mind" and "not enough to rule the world". The imperial examination system is neither a true scholar nor a true scholar. In the late Ming Dynasty, the disadvantages of the imperial examination became more and more prominent, the world was getting worse and people were impetuous. Xie lamented the shortcomings of the times and said: "Today, a few good people take the first as their first meaning, and it is nothing to speak about the latter. As for self-cultivation, it is never intentional. It can be said that it is very inverted. " "The godson of today's people only learns from the ear, but does what he does, without asking." More and more people forget the reading concept of self-cultivation and self-expression. Reading is extremely instrumental and alien, and it is only regarded as a stepping stone and a shortcut and means to acquire the wealth of Zhu Xi. Therefore, the style of study has become more decadent and the reading atmosphere has become more vulgar. He criticized the reading behavior of quick success and instant benefit, pointing out that the virtuous fool of a child is not "poor", but "don't cut off the seeds of reading" and said:
Pei Youyan said: "Our generation can make all kinds of literature emerge in an endless stream, but it is also heaven to have success and make friends with each other." Ye Yun: "It's enough for future generations to be a good person in the township party. If the husband is successful, it's another matter." The two languages are politically the same. Huang said, "All four people have their own careers. The children of scholars can know that it is ok to be loyal to their friends, but don't cut off the seeds of reading. "ah! Nowadays, people only know how to teach their children to get rich, but they can't really teach them to read. Are their children unworthy? Some are rich and famous, some are poor and some are cheap, but none of them can be mentioned.
Deplore the social phenomenon that "there are many people who want money, who are fond of sex, who are good at wine, who are good at chess and who are good at books", and denounce the vulgar words of exhortation that "books have golden houses and hidden treasures".
Reading is the normal life of ancient literati. They like reading, which is "pleasant reading", not difficult reading. The ancients also had many feelings about the pleasure of reading. Xie said that he "read books he had never seen before and experienced scenery he had never seen before. If you get the treasure and taste the strange smell, it will be difficult to talk for a while. " He described this indescribable reading pleasure with an elegant pen: "It is also wonderful to read with a cold lamp and smell the banana outside the paper window on a stormy night." This kind of treatment will be too much, and there is no unbearable scene. "The poetic feeling of' rain hits the banana, reading with a lantern', the pleasure of traveling and enjoying the delicacies of mountains and seas, is the bliss of Xie Xin, which can be understood by people who are not vulgar. Xie is an official in the name of a noble family, but he does not advocate studying hard all night to gain fame. He believes that reading is a way to cultivate self-cultivation, understand learning and enjoy life. It is unwise to die for your family;
When you can't read at night, it's time for you to return to your heart. If you can't sleep, your blood will run out and you will get sick. I try to laugh at those who study hard and vomit blood all night. The ancients read and understood, and the Middle Ages read and learned. Today's study is just to take the imperial examination, but to die for it. Is it confusing? The so-called "Zhuangzi" is called "Zanggu's different career, which is in the capital of dead sheep", which is also called it.
Studying hard all night until vomiting blood, just to get the title, just to pursue fame and profit, has been far from the true meaning of reading.
Xie believes that there are conditions for success in reading, that is, to have books to read and to have certain talent and understanding:
People who are good at reading have three diseases. First, they were obsessed with the fame at that time, just to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the bookshelf, toothpicks, brocade axes and dazzling decorations. They know nothing but donkeys, which means they have no books. First, we should be broad-minded, far-sighted, and do what we can, but we should accumulate as much as possible, and don't talk about things as they are, which means books can also be used; First, knowledgeable, poor years, and short intellectual roots, difficult to transport, remember that such as flow, inch and inch, depending on the meat wall is sincere, it is actually unknown in the world. The husband knows and can be good, and the good can be transported. The ancients are still difficult, and the situation today is also.
If it's just superficial pictures and dazzling decorations, just hiding from them means there is no book; Try your best to search, only greedy for content, shelved, can only be regarded as a bookstore; Diligent in memory, but lacking in understanding, difficult to understand and use, without real knowledge and insight, they are still ignorant people. Achieving "knowing and being good, being good and being lucky" is Xie's first-class reading realm. Xie's criticism of the "three diseases" of good scholars is worth learning today. Besides understanding, diligence is also a necessary condition for successful reading. Even if you are talented, it is difficult to become a talent without diligence. He said: "Some people are not interested in hunting, but they are diligent in coining words. This is a genius, and it is restrained with wisdom. However, if the wood in Nanshan is not straight, but finely ground, will it be beneficial? Unfortunately, people with high talents have taken too many seats and abandoned school. " Too talented not to study, it's a pity.
Xie summed up his years of reading experience and thought that reading and writing complement each other, and the advantage of collecting books is that it is convenient for reading and learning:
When I was young, I could read, remember, and suffer from uselessness; Reading in middle age, knowing what is useful, suffering from forgetting. Therefore, only writing a book, not only through my own handwriting, can't be forgotten. That's why I searched and read the abridged version. I paid attention to the neglected present, and all the lost and simplified versions were for my own use. I only know the benefits of collecting books, but I regret wasting my good study!
Reading is different at different ages, so we should sum up experience and pay attention to methods in reading. We should study hard, remember and use diligently, work diligently, write diligently and think diligently. Otherwise, "if the young don't work hard, the old will be sad."
Xie deeply realized the influence of enlightenment education on reading and scholarship, and said:
Today, many people can't read, but at present, many common words are misunderstood by readers. Of the four tones, up and down are easily confused. So when I was a child, I was a scholar in the village. When I was young, I preached truth, but when I grew up, it remained the same. Mr. Wang made several articles about the truth of the imperial examination, but they were shelved in nineteen bundles of classics. Who can study the heart? There are just one or two things that once spread to the public, the world will not believe. Therefore, those who want to examine the correctness of the four tones should correct them word for word when their children give books, but it is not harmonious with the secular world, which is refreshing and makes people feel tragic. Words like "up, down, dynamic and static" should all be pronounced from the top. Is there anyone who doesn't laugh?
Pronunciation of words, sentence-by-sentence reading of articles, sentence by sentence, sentence by sentence and text, and correct teaching during enlightenment are very important. Words and phonology are the foundation, so we must lay a solid foundation for boys' works, otherwise misreading and misunderstanding will cause far-reaching harm.
Chinese advocates simplicity without complicated grammatical rules. The agility and charm of the article require soul and careful taste to appreciate its beauty. Therefore, the ancients paid great attention to understanding and inspiration in reading, that is, the so-called "what can only be understood, but can't be expressed". "Expo" is an indispensable way and foundation to obtain this "understanding" and is a reading method praised by scholars of all ages. Xie said, "Eight or nine years old is a good time to read history books. As for the chaos caused by the war, I especially like to say. After counting, all of them are finished; However, what the teacher taught me was only chronology, outline and outline, and then I read Historical Records, Hanshu and Zhuzi Outline. He emphasized the importance of reading and discussing with his personal experience, saying: "A scholar who doesn't read official books is as vulgar as eating its meat and abandoning its sea." He also said: "Bo Gu doesn't understand today, and he is also sick; Hook the rope and abandon the history, and the second disease is also. In Mencius, every argument must be proved by quoting classics or poems. Nowadays people are all articles, and they don't know how to quote proverbs. It is for rootless learning. "Xie has a wide range of interests. He reads classics, history, books and collections, and thinks reading is not enough. Step stressed that Bo Gu should understand the present and not be a nerd. Reading can't be "eccentric" just to satisfy curiosity, and learning should have a foundation. Classics and history are the most important among the "four books", and abandoning them is "rootless learning".
Confucius said, "Learning without thinking is useless, and thinking without learning is dangerous." Xie emphasized independent thinking, opposed to dead reading and reading dead books, and said:
Learned but unable to write, the sky is limited, Lu Cheng and Liu Bi also; If you are too talented to learn, people will abandon it. Dai Liang and Li He also. However, if you win by talent, you can go to Tao Zhu. If you study in the kitchen and in the library, I will be at the end of my life.
It is not enough to have knowledge, but also to be able to write; It is not enough to be talented, but also to have knowledge. Reading should be good at thinking and have your own unique opinions. If we can only repeat the thoughts of the ancients and others, then the people are at best "bookcase classics" and will eventually be abandoned.
Traditional Confucianism requires scholars to cultivate self-cultivation, put their families in order, and take it as their responsibility to govern the country and level the world. Xie also believes that academics cannot do without managing the world, saying:
Tang, Yu and three generations of monarch and minister told each other, was it dangerous and tempered? He is a holy man, so he enters and accepts it without doubt. If you get to this point, you can promise yourself to enlighten it as much as possible, just like teaching your children. Master Zeng never stopped training, but in Yu, he just learned Poetry and etiquette because of his materials. Therefore, if the Lord has strengths, he will expand them. When the Lord is short, he is short of breath. When he is calm, he will be polished. When he is in chaos, he will save the square first, which is easy to understand, simple and feasible, and strives for the benefit of the world. When people in the Song Dynasty stuck to what they had learned, they hoped that they would be strong-willed and obedient to themselves. If philosophy, emblem, tranquility and reason are all stupid, they are sincere and sincere, but they don't know what their minds are and what their honesty is. If you are a child of several years old, you will never get tired of studying left, country, class and horses.
He emphasized that scholars should learn something useful, be selfless, have a sense of responsibility, care about reality and manage the affairs of the country well. They should follow the trend and follow the trend. They shouldn't stick to their own opinions, try to dominate others, or be nerds. They will only talk about their integrity and sincerity and make mistakes in the country.
Xie also put forward his own view that "the article is poor and backward" and said:
People have an unchanging saying: "the article is poor and then the work." You can work if you are not poor, and you will be left out if you are poor. Simple business, no books, no books, no rewards; When friends and relatives are cut off, there is no need to levy a banquet; I am ashamed to make a living, and I don't have to ask for help. All day behind closed doors, the book is the enemy, if you want it to work, you can't have it. Not only that, poor writing is not as good as rich writing, cheap writing is not as good as expensive writing, cold writing is not as good as important writing, and lost writing is not as good as reaching the top, but it saves skills and is idle. As for saints who behave easily in prison, poor people often change into one, so it is not appropriate to take this as an example.
Poor and frustrated people can often write articles with outstanding literary talent. The reason is not that "poets should beware of wealth", but that they are poor and frustrated. But don't entangle the secular, concentrate on reading and work hard for a long time.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the mansion was about to be destroyed, and the society was filled with eschatological feelings, materialistic desires and abuses, so many literati living in it were inevitably ups and downs with the world. However, Xie still sticks to the traditional true character of a scholar and continues his "reading seed", so his view of reading has become precious.
(Author: College of Literature, Fujian Normal University)