Ancient Wisdom of Managing the Household

石地Beijing Reading Hall International Cultural Development Co., Ltd. · ChinaMay 2023

Rating 3.0
Word count
105K words
Chapters
74
ISBN
9787899003428

Tags

Society and Culture Ancient SocietyClan SocietyFamily EthicsHumanistic CareSelf-CultivationSocial ConductHousehold ManagementLife WisdomMoral CultivationFamily Precepts

Summary

In ancient Chinese history, the "family" was a large clan living together, the central representative of the patriarchal society. In modern terms, the "family" was a clan association, not like the small family of just a couple, or parents and children, that emerged from following Western culture in the early twentieth century. Of course, whether a large multi-generational clan living together or a small household of a young couple, the family is always composed mainly of parents, husband and wife, brothers, sisters, and children. The basic unit of the world, the state, and society is the "family." The "qi" in "qijia" (regulating the family) was pronounced in ancient times like the "chi" in "chijia" (managing the family), sometimes like the "zhi" in "zhiguo" (governing the state), and also carried the dual meaning of maintaining and governing. This book gives you an overview of the wisdom of family governance in ancient times.

Editor's review

Ancient Wisdom for Family Governance, compiled by Shi Di, focuses on the wisdom and practice of traditional Chinese family governance. The book is not a mere compilation of historical materials but seeks to distill enduring principles and behavioral norms of family governance from ancient family instructions, clan rules, ritual codes, and anecdotes of notable figures. Its contents cover multiple dimensions—diligence and frugality in managing the household, filial piety and fraternal duty as family tradition, effective child-rearing, and harmonious relations with neighbors—with the core aim of exploring how to establish order, transmit culture, and cultivate virtue within the family, the most basic social unit.

From an editor's professional perspective, the book's value lies mainly in two aspects. First, it provides modern readers with a window into traditional thought on family governance. The cases and aphorisms cited mostly come from classics such as The Family Instructions of Master Yan and The Family Instructions of Master Zhu, supplemented by the author's organization and interpretation, making this wisdom across the ages easier for contemporary readers to understand and relate to. Second, the book has a clear contemporary relevance. As modern family relationships face many new challenges, revisiting ancient reflections on family responsibility, getting along among members, and wealth management may offer different inspiration and help us reconsider what constitutes a good family ecosystem.

It should be noted that the book's discussion is rooted in a specific historical and cultural context, and some ideas inevitably carry the limitations of their era. While drawing on universal wisdom about self-cultivation, responsibility, and planning, readers should also maintain critical thinking and absorb it dialectically in light of contemporary social values. Overall, this is a thoughtful reader that guides readers to look back at tradition and reflect on family building today.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Not a good fit for

Reading tips

  1. Read it alongside one or two original ancient family instructions (such as Zhu Bailu's Maxims for Managing the Family) to feel the tension between the original text and the interpretation
  2. Reflect on your own family life while reading: which principles transcend their era, and which need reinterpretation
  3. No need to finish in one go; suitable as a bedside or desk book to dip into a chapter or two in leisure, savoring it quietly

About the publisher

Beijing Reading Hall International Cultural Development Co., Ltd. China · Founded in 2006

Beijing Reading Hall International Cultural Development Co., Ltd. is a private publishing house whose list focuses on the popularization of traditional culture and humanistic reading, with additional coverage of foreign literature and biography. Its books span familiar essays, Eastern philosophy, literary appreciation and social fiction. Representative titles include A Centenary Tribute to Beethoven, Reading the Analects to Clarify One's Aspirations, Reading the Book of the Later Han to Clarify One's Aspirations, Reading Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals to Clarify One's Aspirations, Is Einstein a Spy?, A Collection of Famous Russian Poems, and Duras and Her Mother, reflecting a sustained engagement with classic reading and with Chinese and foreign figures and literary subjects. Among its authors, works by Shi Di are notably concentrated in the catalogue. The house favors series such as "Reading a Classic to Clarify One's Aspirations," guiding readers toward traditional texts while balancing scholarship and readability. As public information is limited, other features of its publishing program remain to be verified.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 序 言
  3. 第一章 张绪教子
  4. 以史为鉴警后人
  5. 萧嶷维系兄弟情
  6. 韦祖征教侄
  7. 相夫教子
  8. 教子有方
  9. 杨坚以严待子
  10. 兰陵公主忠贞不贰
  11. 李绩严厉约束子孙
  12. 郑氏教子
  13. 第二章 宣宗训女
  14. 执法如山
  15. 颍考叔重圆破镜
  16. 桑下之谋
  17. 晏子辞纳爱女
  18. 陶朱公以巧致富
  19. 孟尝君劝谏田婴
  20. 触龙谏赵太后
  21. 卓氏冶铸致富
  22. 文帝废肉刑
  23. 琴音唤佳人
  24. 文君当垆卖酒
  25. 万石君忠孝治家
  26. 挥金教子
  27. 王霸妻劝夫
  28. 王丹教子交友
  29. 马援修书诫侄
  30. 郑均教兄以廉
  31. 断织劝夫
  32. 折像散财
  33. 孟光试夫
  34. 第三章 有才有识的“贤内助”
  35. 王祥和他的继母
  36. 陶母责子
  37. 留书激父
  38. 顾颉之诱焚债契
  39. 行事不如十岁小儿
  40. 宋太祖身教治家
  41. 廉洁传家久
  42. 教帝有方
  43. 爰盎绝处逢生
  44. 韩安国大度
  45. 刘秀信义宽待朱鲔
  46. 寇恂酒醪释仇
  47. 宋弘智全夫妻情
  48. 郑敬巧语缓僵局
  49. 药松床下诌诗
  50. 邓训信义结胡人
  51. 步骘忍辱求安
  52. 陆逊忍辱负重
  53. 笼络人心得天下
  54. 李冲秉公施政
  55. 赛典赤宽厚得人心
  56. 第四章 贤内助智释翁婿之嫌
  57. 朱元璋施计收人心
  58. 以古为鉴巧废后
  59. 吕蒙正待人以宽厚
  60. 廉洁之道在于不取
  61. 任速哥雪恨
  62. 脱脱大义灭亲
  63. 张子明舍身不辱使命
  64. 夏原吉智救下吏
  65. 太后公心拒垂帘
  66. “杨倭漆”智保二臣
  67. 岳正枉施离间计
  68. 田文以谦服吴起
  69. 第五章 孟尝君诚心待冯谖
  70. 廉颇负荆请罪
  71. 信陵君谦恭待士
  72. 信陵君屈身求贤
  73. 范雎忍辱负重报恩怨
  74. 朱家侠义救季布

FAQ

Is this book a collection of original ancient family instructions? Not entirely. The book takes ancient wisdom on family governance as its theme; the author summarizes, interprets, and elaborates on the basis of organizing and citing classic family instructions and historical stories. It is a popular work of compilation.
Does the wisdom in the book still guide modern families? Many principles distilled in the book—diligence and frugality, harmony, valuing education, caution in speech and action—have universal spiritual cores. But in application, readers need to creatively transform and select them according to modern family structures and social environments.
Does author Shi Di have other related works? Mr. Shi Di has compiled many popular readers related to traditional Chinese culture and historical wisdom, covering themes such as handling affairs, self-cultivation, and strategy, with a style leaning toward modern interpretation and dissemination of classical culture.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

石地 Author · China · 1955

Shi Di, male, born in 1955, is a Chinese writer and online thinker. He moved with his family in childhood and left junior middle school in the second year; in 1978 he entered the Department of Mathematics at Beijing Normal University. After graduation he served as a middle school principal and a research institute director, among other posts. From 2005 he was director of the editorial department of Tianya Community, and later became a freelance writer. His writing covers a wide range of subjects, with 175 works in the collection spanning essays and miscellaneous writings, health, management, Eastern philosophy, literature and biography. These include commentaries on figures such as Beethoven and Einstein and on Russian poetry, practical works on medicinal diets and food therapy for common ailments and on time management for Harvard managers, and historical and philosophical essays on the Analects, the Book of the Later Han and the Lüshi Chunqiu. He is also the author of such books as Collected Essays on Building Ants and The Ignorant Youth.