Brothers

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaOct 2020

2.5

Word count: 832 words
Chapters: 7

Summary

Only with people are there husband and wife; only with husband and wife are there father and son; only with father and son are there elder and younger brothers: the affections of a family are these three and no more. From these onward, extending to the nine degrees of kinship, all are rooted in these three affections; therefore they are weighty among human relations and must not be treated lightly. Brothers are persons of separate forms but shared breath. When they are young, father and mother lead them by the left hand and support them by the right, hold them by the front of the robe and follow at the back; they eat at the same table, wear clothes passed down from one to the next, study the same lessons, and play in the same place. Even a wayward person cannot but love them. When they grow up, each weds his own wife and each raises his own children; even a deeply sincere person cannot but weaken somewhat. Sisters-in-law, compared with brothers, are more distant and thin; now to let distant, thin persons regulate the kindness of the close and thick is like a square bottom with a round lid—it will certainly not fit. Only those whose friendliness and brotherly respect are deep and complete, and who are not moved by outsiders, escape this!

Editor's review

This passage comes from ancient family-instruction literature. It unfolds around the "three affections" of husband and wife, father and son, and elder and younger brothers, focusing on how the brotherly relation changes from sharing a table and playing together in childhood to each wedding his own wife and raising his own children in adulthood; it points out that external ties such as sisters-in-law easily estrange the bond of flesh and blood, and that only deep friendliness and brotherly respect can keep one from being alienated by outsiders. The writing is concise and well layered: it first establishes the root of human relations, then describes brotherly affection, and finally points out the way to maintain it, making it suitable as an introductory reader in traditional family ethics. The phrase "separate forms but shared breath" is vivid and forceful, and the observation about the weakening of kinship after adulthood feels strikingly real; readers can use it to reflect on how siblings get along and where boundaries lie in modern families. It is suitable for family reading or traditional-culture courses, and passages are easy to excerpt as material for ethical discussion.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers concerned with traditional family ethics and sibling relations
Language teachers who need family-instruction texts as classroom material
Enthusiasts of traditional culture interested in ancient family ideas
Readers who wish to read with their families and discuss how to maintain kinship

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting a complete long narrative or novelistic plot
Readers seeking only modern popular psychology
Beginners impatient with classical Chinese who need line-by-line vernacular translation

Reading tips

First read through once to grasp the structure, then go sentence by sentence with annotations to understand expressions such as "separate forms but shared breath."
You may relate the reading to your own experience with siblings, noting passages that move you as you read.
If used for family reading, read only a short passage each time and discuss around "why kinship fades after adulthood."
After finishing, try restating the core ideas in modern language to test whether you have truly understood them.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
兄弟第三
正文一
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正文四
正文五

FAQ

What relationship does this passage mainly discuss?

The passage takes the "three affections" of husband and wife, father and son, and elder and younger brothers as the root of human relations, with the focus on brotherhood. It explains that in childhood brothers share a table and play together and naturally love one another, while in adulthood each weds his own wife and raises his own children, so affection easily weakens; it therefore stresses the importance of deep friendliness and brotherly respect, and of not being alienated by outsiders.

How should "separate forms but shared breath" be understood?

This is a vivid way of describing brotherhood: brothers each have their own physical form, yet they share the breath of their parents and are linked by blood. The passage uses it to show that brothers should by nature be close, preparing for the later lament that affection grows distant in adulthood.

Why does the passage mention sisters-in-law?

Sisters-in-law refers to the wives of brothers in relation to one another. The passage holds that such relations are relatively distant and thin; to let distant, thin persons regulate the kindness of the close and thick is like a square bottom with a round lid—it will not fit. In this way it shows that external ties may affect the bond of flesh and blood, echoing the warning not to be "moved by outsiders."

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.