The precepts in the wheat field
Gao Mingyong|Chairman of the Zhengbang Think Tank.
For children who grew up in the countryside, the wheat field is a "symbol", in addition to the wheat field, it may also be a corn field, it may also be a rice field, or a plain, or a mountainous area, or a south, or a north, each with its own characteristics, and so on. In short, the cropland is the stage for the growth of rural teenagers.
When I was a child, my brother and I worked with adults to harvest wheat and corn, and we were involved in almost all farm work. When we were tired, it was often my father who told us stories, took us to play games, and forgot the hardships of farm work in the midst of laughter.
What I remember most is the "game in the cornfield", the game is very simple, from this end of the field to the other, to see who arrives first, and at the same time to break the corn cob the most, the face and arms can not be scratched by corn leaves, can not be tripped by the badger hole in the field.
There are three very important elements in this game, the time must be fast, the harvest must be more, and the safety must be safe. Growth is like this, not about any dimension of growth, success, maturity, but to seek a balance. Compared with "education in the wheat field", similar to "precepts in the wheat field", it rings in the ears from time to time like an alarm bell.
Respect for good and abstain from evil: all good and filial piety are the first, no trace of the heart, no filial piety in the poor family;All evil and fornication are the first, and the deeds are not in the heart, and there is no perfect person in the world
I first heard this sentence under the big tree at the entrance of the village in the village, and I didn't know until I grew up that it was also said in "Fireside Night Talk". We all say that morality is the highest law and law is the lowest morality. The evaluation of the moral level can only look at the "heart", the so-called admiration is worthy of the sky, and the prostrate is not to the people;The definition of the legal level is, of course, to look at the "action", and the so-called legal net is magnificent, negligent but not leaky. In the familiar society of rural people, "filial piety" is the highest expectation and the lowest requirement. The clear definition of good and evil, respecting good and abstaining from evil, is almost everyone's life precept.
Punctuality is like jade: get up three times in the morning, and get up three times in the evening
Cherishing time and being punctual is originally a kind of rule, or a kind of respect for oneself and others. When I was a child, when I heard this proverb, I couldn't understand it exactly, and it roughly meant not to sleep lazy. In layman's terms, the "three lights" refer to the head light, face light, and foot light, and the relative "three panics" are head panic, face panic, and foot panic. It is to get up early on time every day, whether you can have more time to wash and tidy up housekeeping, from head to toe, from inside to out, you can clean up and tidy. On the contrary, due to the late wake-up, the time is tight, panicked, lost, and missed. My father joined the army, and his requirements for me and my younger brother were "semi-military", getting up in the morning to exercise like a soldier and folding the quilt into "tofu blocks".
Tolerance and generosity: endure the calm for a while, take a step back and open the sky
I remember when I was in college, I came home for the Spring Festival one year, and just as my old diary was finished, I took out a new journal and asked my father to write a few words of encouragement on the title page. My father thought about it and wrote down this sentence seriously: endure the calm for a while, take a step back and open the sky. At that time, when I saw it, I didn't understand very much, for young people, "forbearance" and "patience" may be difficult to accept by the "young people's minds" of "taking the cloud". As I grow older, I understand the meaning of this sentence more and more, not to be brave for a while, not to fight for a moment of tongue and tongue, to be inspirational with infighting, and to discipline myself with forbearance.
Modesty and prudence: the sky is self-exalted, and the earth is self-exalted
The full expression of this proverb should be "the sky is self-exalted, the earth is self-exalted, and with all things as a reference, you can see your own shortcomings." But growing up, all I heard was the first half of the sentence, but despite this, the general meaning is not difficult to understand. In short, it is to educate people to learn to be "low-key", but this "low-key" is not completely consistent with the current low-key behavior, that is, not to "burn bags". It is roughly that there is a sky outside the sky, and there are people outside the people, be modest, be introverted, don't know that the sky is high and the earth is thick, and you are arrogant.
Prudence and self-discipline: A good knife is difficult to sharpen yourself
There are many similar sayings, for example, the eagle can't see the black on his body. Another example is that it is easy to say, but difficult to do;It is easy to persuade others, but it is difficult to persuade yourself. In life, it is easy to see others clearly, but it is the most difficult to see yourself clearly. The same precepts are also admonished in the West. Thousands of years ago, there was a stone tablet in the temple of Delphi on Mount Olympus in ancient Greece that read "Know thyself". Because of this, we must not only have an enterprising heart, but also a reflective heart and a self-disciplined heart. As "Mozi Non-Attacking" said: "A gentleman is not a mirror in the water, but in the person." The mirror is in the water, and the face of meeting is seen;If the mirror is in the person, you will know the good and the bad. ”
Moderate melancholy: people are happy and there is no good thing, dogs are happy with a pot of soup, and rabbits are happy with a shot
Joy, anger and sorrow are the daily life of everyone, and every experience will bring corresponding emotions. Like Li Bai, cooking sheep and slaughtering cattle is fun, and life must be happy, of course, it is a state of happy life. The problem is not "overjoying", but excessive joy. How to be proud and not forgetful, frustrated but not forgetful, treat calmly, and live a rational life is actually a very big challenge.
The principle of doing things: borrow rice instead of firewood, borrow clothes without borrowing shoes, borrow urgency without borrowing poverty, borrow three without borrowing two
In rural China, there is a very important and easily controversial phenomenon, that is, "borrowing money". Do you want to borrow it?How much to borrow?How to collect debts after borrowing?What if there is a dispute?Behind a series of questions, in fact, there is more of the cruelty and embarrassment of reality. Therefore, "borrowing rice instead of firewood, borrowing clothes instead of shoes", "borrowing urgency instead of borrowing poverty, borrowing three without borrowing two" are the "precepts" facing the problem of "borrowing money". Normally, grain is more valuable than firewood, so why would you borrow rice instead of firewood?Firewood is everywhere, and if a family doesn't even have this, there is only one reason, laziness. Similarly, in the past, even if the rural family was poor, they could make straw sandals by themselves, and they were reluctant to do so easily, which also showed that they were too lazy. "Borrow three and don't borrow two", which means that the money for children's schooling, wedding and funeral events, and money for repairing and building houses must be lent to those who can be lent, and those who are not trustworthy and love gambling cannot be lent. The general meaning is that borrowing urgency does not borrow poverty, and borrowing urgency does not borrow laziness, because "the poor hole will never be filled". 
The rule of interests: the poor die do not plough the land, and the starving death does not work with relatives
This is also a warning of relationship coordination, on the one hand, there are directly related objects such as "father-in-law" and "relatives", and on the other hand, there are interests such as "ploughing the field" and "part-time work", how to balance the two?It is said that a penny is difficult to defeat a hero, when a person is in poverty, even if he works hard for his father-in-law, it is difficult to be recognized and affirmed;Even if a person gets up early and works late for relatives, it is also difficult to be regarded as a normal relationship between employment and employment. Many times, the problem is unsolvable, or it is difficult to find an optimal solution. The reason is not complicated, the tension between mutual expectations and reality, and in the face of interests, these social relations are easy to mutate.
Self-protection: people are good at being bullied, and horses are good at being ridden
More than 20 years ago, the last words my grandmother said to me before she passed away was "People are good at being bullied, and horses are good at being ridden". In the local society, if a person is too loyal and honest, too docile and kind, it is easy to be bullied, deceived and hurt. A person must have his own perseverance and bottom line, not to hurt others, but must have the awareness and ability of self-protection. According to today's Internet parlance, your kindness must be a little sharp.
"Education in the Rye" is a reminder of "what to do", and "Precepts in the Rye" is a reminder of "what not to do". To do well what "should do" and be wary of what "can't do" is to grow like a wheat field, and in the end "we are the sweethearts of wheat fields" (Haizi).
This article was authorized by the author and published in Weihai Evening News on December 19, 2023, A10