His father was a poor private school gentleman and lived a frugal life all his life. In his later years, his father wrote a couplet of family instructions as a warning to Lin Zexu. Among them, it also placed the ardent expectations of his parents. This couplet is: "coarse clothes and plain rice are better than tea, and this old lady enjoys it;" Ruling the country and leveling the world, such a thing is handed over to Ercao. "Reading this pair of couplets, a simple and honest old scholar's magnanimous mind, from the page. As an old man, he is old and weak, and his son has reached the age of "weak crown". What should I say to my son at this moment? This old gentleman, who is willing to spend his life in poverty, first made it clear from the above: he is nearly 80 years old and has worked hard all his life. He can't do anything important now, so he should enjoy his life. The old man outlined all the contents of this "clean life" with extremely concise pen and ink: wearing coarse clothes, eating light rice and leisurely drinking light green tea. Nothing more, that's all. This couplet expresses a calm state of mind and an unpretentious pursuit! However, this kind of quiet life content is by no means a negative attitude towards life in which everything is resting and doing nothing. Among them, it also contains a more far-reaching hope of the old gentleman, that is, the second couplet expresses the entrustment to his son: "Let the family rule the country and level the world, and leave such things to Ercao." "I abide by my ambition and ask my son to inherit it; I need my son to continue my unfinished business. What is your ambition and career? " Governing the country with the family and leveling the world. " Since Confucius and Mencius, the master of Confucianism, put forward and expounded this idea many times, scholars for thousands of years have invariably regarded it as their unswerving ambition and lifelong pursuit goal. Lin Zexu's father also pinned this expectation on his son. As the saying goes, my son is the continuation of my life! To prolong life, the most important thing is to continue the ambition and career of our predecessors. If the younger generation just parades through the city under the banner of their predecessors, but abandons their own ambitions and deviates from their own careers, isn't this young generation a disobedient black sheep? The above is the Family Training Meeting written by Lin Zexu's father. What this article wants to "appreciate" is not this pair of couplets, but a pair of "family training couplets" written by Lin Zexu to his children. When Lin Zexu was appointed as a senior official of the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, his prestige and power were in full swing. What is commendable is that Lin Zexu is as sober as ever at the moment. He vividly recalled his father's teaching and entrustment to himself in those years, and thus thought about how he should educate his children and let a good family style be passed down from generation to generation. After careful consideration, he imitated his father's way of self-study, and with a stroke of a pen, he also wrote such a "family training couplet" and hung it in the study of his office. Not only watch it often, but also wake up from the police; Also let family and children understand their good intentions. The full text of this "Family Training Couplet" written by Lin Zexu is as follows: "Children and grandchildren are like me, what should I do with money? If you are virtuous and have more money, you will lose your ambition; My children and grandchildren are not as good as me. What did you leave the money for? Foolish and rich, benefit to increase it. "This pair of couplets, ask yourself and answer, tells a truth that a senior official should save more money for future generations. What's rare is that it was originally a complicated problem of "cutting and confusing". It's a long story with different opinions, but it was concise and clear by Lin Zexu in the form of couplets, which hit the point, just over 30 words. This is both clear and strategic. We have to admire and admire this outstanding national hero who is a politician, general and poet. The first couplet of this pair of couplets envisages a scene of "children and grandchildren are like me". That is to say, if the descendants of the younger generation are as versatile and knowledgeable as themselves, they can completely open up a world and make a career with their own skills. Then, as predecessors, is it necessary to find a way to collect money and leave it to them? Of course, it's totally unnecessary. Leaving a large sum of money and legacy to children and grandchildren who are capable, promising and successful without helping and taking care of them will cause endless harm. Where is this harm mainly manifested? Lin Zexu summed it up in eight words: "Being virtuous and paying more money will damage his ambition". In other words, even junior students with good quality and great potential can develop and exercise their talents, wisdom and ability only through their own hard work. If the seniors in high positions left them a lot of money and legacy, they would not have to work hard and make progress by themselves, so they could easily get the huge wealth left by their predecessors, and they could enjoy a very comfortable and rich life, even be bohemian. This way of life is bound to wear away their spirit of struggle day by day; Disintegrate their enterprising spirit day by day; Kill their intelligence day by day. A young man with virtue, wisdom and potential is bound to become a playboy and an imbecile who gets something for nothing, enjoys success, lacks virtue and talent, and "reaches for clothes and lives". Just like those giant pandas who have been kept in captivity for many years, they don't need to go to the mountains to feed themselves, and they can live comfortably and safely by relying on the food delivered by conscientious breeders on time. As a result, all their outdoor life skills gradually degenerate and disappear, becoming a group of omnipotent parasites. Once they lose the meticulous care of human beings, they will be childless. On the contrary, those tigers who run in the mountains and lions who haunt the vast wilderness can only rely on their perseverance, courage and wisdom to survive because they can't get foreign gifts. It is this way of life that has cultivated and brought up their strong limbs, sharp claws, super running ability and adaptability to the harsh environment of nature. These skills will never be possessed by giant pandas who live entirely by human talent. Have you noticed that those "children of the Eight Banners" in the late Qing Dynasty were all lying in the shadow of their predecessors and sitting in empty seats? As a result, the spirit of struggle left by our ancestors has been eroded; The riding and shooting skills that our ancestors used to conquer the world were abandoned. In addition to caged birds, whoring and gambling, doing nothing, doing nothing, can only degenerate into the scum of mankind day by day. Have you noticed that some "official second generation" and "rich second generation" in contemporary society have inherited the huge wealth of their predecessors, but abandoned the hard work and enterprising spirit of their ancestors and blindly indulged in the extravagant life of debauchery, debauchery and bullying. They really have no skills except spending a lot of money. At best, it is a group of gluttons. The children of the Eight Banners in the late Qing Dynasty, the second generation of the current officials and the second generation of the rich, certainly have many "good youths" with outstanding potential and quality. Later, these "good young people" lost their talents and degenerated into a bunch of dude, so we really can't blame them blindly. It is those short-sighted parents who left them great wealth and laid a hotbed for them to enjoy success and corruption. If those parents who used to be rich or expensive had foresight, they would not leave so much property to their children and grandchildren, let them start from scratch, set sail in the torrent of life, and beat and hone in the storm; Fair competition with the children of ordinary families and increase their talents. Perhaps, among these younger generations, many outstanding talents with lofty aspirations and outstanding talents will emerge. At least not degenerate. If so! The second couplet of this pair of couplets envisages another situation. On the contrary, "children and grandchildren are not as good as me. "In other words, children and grandchildren have no endowment and potential of their predecessors. With your own skills, you can't get ahead at all, you can only blend in with all sentient beings. Is it necessary to leave a large fortune to these children and grandchildren with average or even low quality? In his next couplet, Lin Zexu also gave a clear answer: "Fools get more money, and the benefits increase their excesses." "A group of' sages' with excellent potential may even degenerate into a person who is eating, drinking, doing nothing and spending money after getting a lot of property left by their parents; Then, what will happen to those "fools" with low quality, poor potential and moral corruption once they get a lot of property left by their parents and become "extremely rich"? Lin Zexu said: "Stupid people get more money, but they get more. These eight words provide us with a huge space for imagination and speculation. For those "fools" with low quality, poor potential and moral corruption, huge wealth can only be the engine and booster for them to run amok, do evil, bully men and women and commit crimes in rural areas. Examples like "Official's Son", "Young Rich", "Evil Obstacle", "Rogue" and so on, as well as "My father is Li Gang", people have seen and heard too much. In this pair of couplets, Lin Zexu imagines two contradictory situations: "Children and grandchildren are like me" and "Children and grandchildren are not as good as me", and directly answers the question "What to do with money". "If children and grandchildren are like me", leaving money will "damage their ambitions"; Children and grandchildren are not as good as me, and the money left is "increased". In other words, regardless of whether the offspring of the younger generation are "virtuous or unworthy", ability or intelligence, it is foolish for parents to leave them a large sum of money, which is of no benefit at all. Far-sighted parents must never do this! Everyone has the heart to love his son. However, the way to love your son cannot be ignored! The thoughts expounded by Lin Zexu in this famous couplet can be said to have a long history in the history of China's thoughts. China's ancient history book "Warring States Policy" contains an article "Touching the Dragon and Telling the Queen Zhao". Zhao, the minister in Touch the Dragon, put forward an important idea: "Parents love their children, so their plans are far-reaching. "That is to say, if parents cherish their children, they should take a long-term view. They should not only take care of their children's temporary safety and comfort, but also let them temper, be independent and make contributions in various dangers. Luo Yin, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a poem for a friend, which said: "The national economy has been encouraged, and the family wealth is not for future generations. "... but also bluntly warned officials at all levels that they should make a contribution to the country with their own bodies and never accumulate wealth for future generations. Wang Shizhen, a minister and scholar in Qing Dynasty who was earlier than Lin Zexu, also wrote a pair of "family instruction couplets" to teach the younger generation. Lian said: "following the true tradition of our ancestors, we are diligent and thrifty;" There are two straight ways to teach children and grandchildren, only reading and ploughing. "Reading this couplet, an honest and clean minister scholar yearns for a simple and upright family style, which is deeply moving. The same is true of the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries. Focusing on the background of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and out of the foresight to train reliable successors from generation to generation for the cause of revolution and construction, they passed on the clean family style of * * * people from generation to generation, educating future generations, not loving money, not admiring vanity, being proud of thrift, being ashamed of extravagance, being down-to-earth, working hard and serving the country. Zhu De, the founding father of the Republic, once wrote a five-character poem to his children: "From frugality to extravagance, from extravagance to frugality. Diligence and building the country is always the motto. The venerable old Wuman Zhang Yu also wrote a pair of "Family Training Association": "It is difficult to start a business, but it is even more difficult to keep it. Knowing that material resources are difficult, everything in Zheng Mo is shameful; It is easy to stay at home, but it is not easy to manage the family. If you want to be yourself, you must be a good example. The great leader Chairman Mao set an example. I am not only honest and spotless, but also strict with my children everywhere. Everything is "harmony is the most important thing", and there must be no specialization: you can't enjoy unfair treatment, and you can't use your father's position, contacts and reputation for illegitimate personal gain. Don't leave any property to your children before you die. The descendants of the old people still live the ordinary life of ordinary people. Under the strict instruction of the older generation of revolutionaries, their children have no desire to sit back and enjoy success, are enterprising, keep exercising in prosperity, and keep their integrity in adversity, and gradually grow into outstanding talents in their respective industries and aboveboard qualified citizens, which is naturally respected by the people. Advise those leading cadres who have racked their brains to create a "comfortable nest" and a "golden nest" for their children. If you still have some "party spirit", at least your "conscience", do you take time out of your busy schedule of "stressing honesty on stage and making money off stage"? These two sages, in their short essays, tell the truth of frugality to children how succinctly and thoroughly, how earnestly and incisively! If you are busy socializing and can't spare time to read these two short articles of several hundred words, then carefully read Lin Zexu's 36-word couplet "What are you saving for?" ".This time should be some? Listen to the teachings of sages, ask yourself in the middle of the night, and think about why some people talk eloquently about "Theory of Three Represents Theory". In fact, their horizons and minds are "far-reaching" than feudal literati. Are you advancing with the times or going backwards? Can you still afford the sacred title of "* * *"? Didn't you hear the people angrily calling you an "asset party member"? In recent years, whenever some leading cadres in high positions talk about their children, they can't help but sigh, "Don't be like me." "Don't be like me" is a helpless sigh that Liu Bang, the brilliant Emperor Gaozu, gave to his disappointing son more than two thousand years ago. Nowadays, this kind of exclamation is the turn of a considerable number of leading cadres. When these "great leaders" in high positions were young, who never had a history of hard struggle and success? Through serious study and down-to-earth work, I climbed to the top step by step. However, their children are "unlike me" one by one: poor dedication but strong vanity, love money like life without ambition, pursue pleasure but are lazy to start a business, and are good at "hidden rules" and "larded learning" while ignoring real talents and practical learning. These leading cadres are often puzzled by their children's mediocre intelligence and failure to achieve great things. As everyone knows, these characteristics of children reveal traces of their daily edification and infection. The history of their diligent study and hard work, and the history of their hard work and unremitting progress before reaching a high position, have not been seen by children, or they know very little. What they said and did after "living at the height of the temple", their children were deeply impressed and empathetic. All children's problems, on the one hand, come from the infection of various viruses in society; On the other hand, they copied and cloned their powerful parents. Like father, like son! At the same time, the way parents love their sons in gold cages and feed fish in glass jars itself stifles their vitality of hard struggle and creates their inertia without ambition. What saplings will bear fruit and what seeds will blossom. Some "big leaders" let children enjoy various privileges from an early age, and the material conditions far exceed those of their peers. Moreover, they also designed their future life path early and accumulated inexhaustible wealth for life. In the eyes of children, it seems that it will always be sunny, and there will never be any dark clouds and storms; It will always be straight and smooth, and there will never be any bumps and setbacks; It will always be "the wind wants the wind, the rain wants the rain", and there is no need to work hard or struggle. It is this love way of keeping birds in golden cages and feeding fish in glass jars that cruelly stifles their life motivation of longing for strength and courage to struggle, ruthlessly stifles their ambitious and enterprising spirit, and gradually creates their short-sighted and tireless inertia. Facing their disgraced children, leading comrades can neither "blame others" nor "give preferential treatment to others". Let's find the reason from ourselves. You squander public funds and spend a lot of time, but you fantasize about your children's thrift; You are full of debauchery all day, but you fantasize about the children's hard struggle; You indulge in "hidden rules" and "theft" all day, but fantasize that your children obey the law; You cheat all day, but you fantasize that your children are seeking truth from facts; You deliberately abuse power for personal gain, amass huge wealth, and put your children above the pile of money, but you fantasize that your children are hardworking and simple. Isn't this a pipe dream? To cure the "paranoia" of these leading cadres, this pair of "family training couplets" hung by Lin Zexu in his own room is a good prescription. Our leading cadres at all levels might as well ask people to write about it, hang it in a conspicuous place, invite their wives and children from time to time, read it several times and savor the truth carefully. Perhaps parents and younger generations will benefit. Of course, one dose of medicine can't be expected to solve all the problems at once.