Yan Zhitui, a native of Jiangling (now Jiangling, Hubei), was born in Linyi (now Linyi, Shandong), an ancient writer and educator in China. The early period was deeply influenced by the Confucian family tradition, which laid the foundation of the whole academic thought. In the later period, he advocated the unity of Confucianism and Buddhism, with Buddhism as the main part and Confucianism as the supplement. Yan Zhitui read widely and wrote a lot in his life. Most of his books have been lost. Today, there are two books, Family Instructions of Yan Family and Resentment, and there are two versions, namely, Notes on Urgent Chapters, Prove the Custom by Sounds and Words, and Lingji.

Second, Yan Zhitui's educational thought

Yan Family Instructions is the first systematic and complete family instruction to admonish future generations in China feudal society. It stands on the position of clan landlords and is based on its own personal experience. Yan Jiaxun is the first family instruction with rich content and grand system in the history of Han nationality, and it is also an academic work. Yan's Family Instructions had an important influence on the development history of feudal family education. Later generations called this book Family Instructions Norms. Yan Jiaxun not only plays an important role in the history of education in China, but also attracts people's attention in the history of education in the world. It is more than 1000 years earlier than the first western family education book "Mother Teaching Hall".

(A) on the education of scholar-officials

Yan Zhitui was deeply worried about the decline of aristocratic landlord education in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. How to improve the already weak scholar-bureaucrat education is the whole connotation of his whole educational thought.

(1) Scholar-officials must attach importance to education.

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, although the scholar-officials monopolized education, they despised it. Their children are mediocre and ignorant, seeking only pleasure. They found a part-time job by the shadow under the door, so they completely forgot to study. It can be seen that their cultural level and mental outlook are very bad. Therefore, Yan Zhitui asked the whole gentry class to attach importance to education.

First of all, he inherited the tradition of discussing the role of education from the perspective of human nature, and thought that human nature can be divided into three categories, and the level of sex is directly related to education. He said: "It is useless to be wise without teaching, and it is useless to be foolish without teaching. The man of the mean is ignorant without teaching." .

Secondly, starting from the relationship between education and personal future, he emphasized the necessity of specialized knowledge education for literati. Whether a person has knowledge or not determines his social status. Only by attaching importance to education, acquiring specialized knowledge through study and relying on this knowledge can the children of scholar-officials maintain their original social status.

Thirdly, from the perspective of "profit", he discussed the importance of knowledge education from the aspects that knowledge is also a means of making a living. From the social reality at that time, knowledge is also a kind of capital, which can be used as a means to seek life.

(2) The goal of education is to cultivate talents for governing the country.

Starting from the interests of the imperial clan landlords, Yan Zhitui advocated abandoning metaphysical education and reforming the traditional Confucian education. What he wants to cultivate is neither an empty talker who can't cope with the world, nor an empty and useless doctor of chapters and sentences, but a ruling talent in all aspects that has practical effects on the country. The cultivation of all kinds of professionals depends on the education of all kinds of professionals, thus realizing individual specialization. This view breaks through the Confucian tradition of aiming at cultivating abstract gentlemen and saints, and regards Confucian education as an all-encompassing special education, so that the function of education is no longer limited to the cultivation and popularization of morality, but more importantly lies in the cultivation of various talents.

(3) Morality and art are the main contents of education.

The purpose of scholar-bureaucrat education is to cultivate ruling talents, and ruling talents must be "virtuous and artistic". Therefore, the main reasons of scholar-bureaucrat education include morality and art.

In the aspect of moral education, he inherited the Confucian tradition and took filial piety, benevolence and other moral norms as the main content. He believed that establishing benevolence and righteousness belief was an important task of moral education, and practicing benevolence and righteousness was the ultimate goal of moral education. In art education, Yan Zhitui advocates that extensive knowledge should be the content of education and reading should be the main way of education.

The educational content of "arts" should include "miscellaneous arts" needed by a scholar-bureaucrat in social life, namely, piano, chess, books, painting, mathematics, medicine, archery, pot throwing and so on. These skills have practical significance in life, and also have the value of personal health care and entertainment. It is worth mentioning that, in terms of educational content, Yan Zhitui also suggested that the children of scholar-officials should also attach importance to agricultural production knowledge.

About children's education

Yan Zhitui attaches great importance to children's education, especially preschool education. He believes that a person's childhood is an important stage to lay a foundation, and elders should take advantage of this best educational opportunity to educate young children as soon as possible, the sooner the better. Yan Zhitui thinks that the effect of early education is the best for the following reasons: First, when children are young, their psychology is relatively simple, and various ideas have not yet formed, so they are very malleable. Second, when I was young, I was less disturbed by the outside world, my mind was focused, and my memory was in a vigorous period. I could have memorized the study materials, even when I was old, but when I was old, my brain was not easy to concentrate and my memory gradually declined. At that time, children's education was mainly carried out in the family, and the principles and methods put forward for children's education were those of family education.

(1) Principles and methods of early childhood education:

(1) Early education: The earlier the baby is born, the better.

② Combination of majesty and love: Yan Zhitui proposed that children's education should combine majesty and love.

③ Principle of universal love: Yan Zhitui believes that favoritism should be avoided in family education, and children should be given the same standard of care and education regardless of their intelligence.

④ Attach importance to language education: language is a tool of social communication. Yan Zhitui believes that language learning should be an important part of children's education. Children's language education should pay attention to standardization, common language and dialect.

⑤ Pay attention to moral education: In addition to language, children's education should also pay attention to moral education, including filial piety-centered moral education and determination education.

(2) Contemporary enlightenment of children's education in Yan Zhitui:

① Advocating early education;

② Pay attention to language education;

③ Pay attention to moral education;

(4) Master the principle of emotion;

⑤ Carry out environmental cultivation.

(C) About learning attitude and methods

Yan Zhitui believes that the main purpose of learning is to seek knowledge, be happy, cultivate one's morality and practice, not to talk about pleasure and seek official positions.

In terms of learning methods, Yan Zhitui put forward the idea of diligent study, learning from each other's strong points and learning from others' strong points according to his accumulated experience and the reality at that time.

Yan Zhitui attaches great importance to the role of communication in learning. He advocates breaking the bad habit of studying alone without friends and learning from each other among tutors.

Yan Zhitui advocated a down-to-earth style of study in his study and attached importance to the knowledge gained through personal observation.

In a word, Yan Zhitui's educational thought is more about guiding family education, especially the guidance and cultivation of children, which has a great influence on the abyss.