Social Science homework help. X C E R P T S F R O M H O U S E I N S T R U C T I O N S O F M R . Y A N ( Y A N S H I
J I A X U N )
Introduction
It was common for successful men in China and elsewhere in East Asia to write down “House Instructions” for the
benefit of their heirs and descendants. As you read these instructions, you may think about what their purposes in
doing so may have been. This particular set of house instructions was written by Yan Zhitui (531-591), who was from
a leading family of scholars and officials of the period of north-south division (317-589). Accordingly, he served four
different, short-lived dynasties, including several whose rulers were foreigners — men of Turkic warrior clans who
ruled northern China.
Document Excerpts with Questions (Longerselection follows this section)
From Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1999), 541-546. © 1999 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights
reserved.
Excerpts from House Instructions of Mr. Yan (Yanshi Jiaxun)
…
as soon
as a baby can
recognize facial
expressions and understand approval
and disapproval,
training should be begun
 so that he will
do what he is told to do and stop when
 so ordered.
After a few years of this, punishment with
the bamboo can
be minimized, as parental
strictness
and dignity mingled with
parental
love will
lead the boys and girls to a feeling of respect and
caution
 and give rise to filial
piety. I have noticed about me that where there is merely love
without training this result is never achieved. Children
eat, drink, speak, and act as they please.
Instead of needed prohibitions they receive praise; instead of urgent reprimands they receive
smiles. Even
 when
 children
 are old enough
 to learn, such
 treatment is still
regarded as the
proper method. Only after the child has formed proud and arrogant habits do they try to
control
him. But one may whip the child to death
and he will
still
not be respectful, while the
growing anger of the parents only increases his resentment. After he grows up, such a child
becomes at last nothing but a scoundrel. Confucius was right in
 saying, “What is acquired in
infancy is like original
nature; what has been
formed into habits is equal
to instinct.” A common
proverb says, “Train
a wife from her first arrival; teach
a son
in
his infancy.” How true such
sayings are!
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Questions:
1. How does Mr. Yan’s advice on child-rearing fit with modern Western
notions?
2. On what grounds can Mr. Yan compare the training of a child to the training
of a wife? What assumptions does this imply about newly married wives?

A wife in
presiding over household supplies should use wine, food, and clothing only as the
rites specify. Just as in
the state, where women
are not allowed to participate in setting policies,
so in
the family, they should not be permitted to assume responsibility for affairs. If they are
wise, talented, and versed in
 the ancient and modem writings, they ought to help their
husbands by supplementing the latter’s deficiency. No hen
 should herald the dawn
 lest
misfortune follow. …
Questions:
3. What roles does Mr. Yan prescribe for women?
4. How do Mr. Yan’s prescriptions compare to those of female authors such as
Ban Zhao and Song Ruozhao?
Longer Selection
From Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1999), 541-546. © 1999 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights
reserved.
Excerpts from House Instructions of Mr. Yan (Yanshi Jiaxun)
Preface
Of books written
by sages and worthies that teach
men
to be sincere and filial, to be careful
in
speech
and circumspect in
conduct, and to take one’s proper place in
society and be concerned
for one’s reputation, there are more than
 enough
 already. Since the Wei
 and Jin
 periods
prudential
writings have reiterated principles and repeated practices as if adding room upon
room [to the household] or piling bed upon
 bed. In
 doing the same now myself, I do not
presume to prescribe rules for others or set a pattern
for the world, but only to order my own
household and give guidance to my own
posterity. …
The habits and teaching of our family have always been
 regular and punctilious. In
 my
childhood I received good instruction from my parents. With
my two elder brothers I went to
greet our parents each
morning and evening to ask in
winter whether they were warm and in
summer whether they were cool; we walked steadily with
regular steps, talked calmly with
good manners, and moved about with
as much
dignity and reverence as if we were visiting the
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awe‑inspiring rulers at court. They gave us good advice, asked about our particular interests,
criticized our defects and encouraged our good points ‑‑ always zealous and sincere. When
I
was just nine years old, my father died. The family members were divided and scattered, every
one of us living in
 dire straits. I was brought up by my loving brothers; we went through
hardships and difficulties. They were kind but not exacting; their guidance and advice to me
were not strict. Though
I read the ritual
texts, and was somewhat fond of composition, I tended
to be influenced by common
practices; I was uncontrolled in feelings, careless in speech, and
slovenly in
dress. When
about eighteen
or nineteen
years old I learned to refine my conduct a
little, but these bad habits had become second nature, and it was difficult to get rid of them
entirely. After my thirtieth
year gross faults were few, but still
I have to be careful always, for in
every instance my words are at odds with
my mind, and my emotions struggle with
my nature.
Each
evening I am conscious of the faults committed that morning, and today I regret the errors
of yesterday. How pitiful
that the lack of instruction
has brought me to this condition! I would
recall
the experiences of my youth
long ago, for they are engraved on
my flesh
and bone; these
are not merely the admonitions of ancient books, but what has passed before my eyes and
reached my ears. Therefore I leave these twenty chapters to serve as a warning to you boys.
Instructing Children
Those of the highest intelligence will
develop without being taught; those of great stupidity,
even
if taught, will
amount to nothing; those of medium ability will
be ignorant unless taught.
The ancient sage kings had rules for prenatal
training. Women
when
pregnant for three months
moved from their living quarters to a detached palace where they would not see unwholesome
sights nor hear reckless words, and where the tone of music and the flavor of food were
controlled by the rules of decorum [rites]. These rules were written
on
jade tablets and kept in
a
golden
box. After the child was born, imperial
tutors firmly made clear filial
piety, humaneness,
the rites, and rightness to guide and train
him.
The common
 people are indulgent and are unable to do this. But as soon
 as a baby can
recognize facial
 expressions and understand approval
 and disapproval, training should be
begun so that he will
do what he is told to do and stop when
so ordered. After a few years of
this, punishment with
the bamboo can
be minimized, as parental
strictness and dignity mingled
with
parental
love will
lead the boys and girls to a feeling of respect and caution
and give rise to
filial
piety. I have noticed about me that where there is merely love without training this result
is never achieved. Children
 eat, drink, speak, and act as they please. Instead of needed
prohibitions they receive praise; instead of urgent reprimands they receive smiles. Even
when
children
are old enough
to learn, such
treatment is still
regarded as the proper method. Only
after the child has formed proud and arrogant habits do they try to control
him. But one may
whip the child to death
 and he will
 still
 not be respectful, while the growing anger of the
parents only increases his resentment. After he grows up, such a child becomes at last nothing
but a scoundrel. Confucius was right in
 saying, “What is acquired in
 infancy is like original
nature; what has been
formed into habits is equal
to instinct.” A common
proverb says, “Train
a
wife from her first arrival; teach
a son
in
his infancy.” How true such
sayings are!
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EXCERPTS FROM HOUSE INSTRUCTIONS OF MR. YAN (YANSHI JIAXUN)
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Generally parents’ inability to instruct their own
children
comes not from any inclination
just to
let them fall
into evil
ways but only from parents’ being unable to endure the children’s looks
[of unhappiness] from repeated scoldings, or to bear beating them, lest it do damage to the
children’s physical
being. We should, however, take illness by way of illustration: how can
we
not use drugs, medicines, acupuncture, or cautery to cure it? Should we then
view strictness of
reproof and punishment as a form of cruelty to one’s own
kith
and kin? Truly there is no other
way to deal
with
it. …
As for maintaining proper respect between
 father and son, one cannot allow too much
familiarity; in
 the love among kin, one cannot tolerate impoliteness. If there is impoliteness,
then
parental
solicitude is not matched by filial
respect; if there is too much familiarity, it gives
rise to indifference and rudeness.
Someone has asked why Chen
 Kang [a disciple of Confucius] was pleased to hear that
gentlemen
kept their distance from their sons, and the answer is that this was indeed the case;
gentlemen
did not personally teach
their children
[because, as Yan
goes on
to show, there are
passages in
the classics of a sexual
kind, which
it would not be proper for a father to teach
his
sons.] …
In
the love of parents for children, it is rare that one succeeds in
treating them equally. From
antiquity to the present there are many cases of this failing. It is only natural
to love those who
are wise and talented, but those who are wayward and dull
also deserve sympathy. Partiality in
treatment, even
when
done out of generous motives, turns out badly. …
Brothers
After the appearance of humankind, there followed the conjugal
 relationship; the conjugal
relationship was followed by the parental; the parental
was followed by the fraternal. Within
the family, these three are the intimate relationships. The other degrees of kinship all
develop
out of these three. Therefore among human
relationships one cannot but take these [three] most
seriously. …
When
brothers are at odds with
each
other, then
sons and nephews will
not love each
other, and
this in
turn
will lead to the cousins drifting apart, resulting finally in their servants treating one
another as enemies. When
this happens then
strangers can
step on
their faces and trample upon
their breasts and there will
be no one to come to their aid. There are men
who are able to make
friends with
distinguished men
 of the empire, winning their affection, and yet are unable to
show proper respect toward their own
 elder brothers. How strange that they should succeed
with
the many and fail
with
the few! There are others who are able to command troops in
the
thousands and inspire such loyalty in
them that they will
die willingly for them and yet are
unable to show kindness toward their own
 younger brothers. How strange that they should
succeed with
strangers and fail
with
their own
flesh
and blood! …
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Family Governance
Beneficial
influences are transmitted from superiors to inferiors and bequeathed by earlier to
later generations. So if a father is not loving, the son
will
not be filial; if an
elder brother is not
friendly, the younger will
 not be respectful; if a husband is not just, the wife will
 not be
obedient. When
a father is kind but the son
refractory, when
an
elder brother is friendly but the
younger arrogant, when
a husband is just but a wife overbearing, then
indeed they are the bad
people of the world; they must be controlled by punishments; teaching and guidance will
not
change them. If rod and wrath
 are not used in
 family discipline, the faults of the son
 will
immediately appear. If punishments are not properly awarded, the people will
not know how
to act. The use of clemency and severity in
governing a family is the same as in
a state.
Confucius said, “Extravagance leads to insubordination, and parsimony to meanness. It is better
to be mean
than
to be insubordinate.”1 Again
he said, “Though
a man
has abilities as admirable
as those of the Duke of Zhou, yet if he be proud or niggardly, those other things are really not
worth
being looked at.”2 That is to say, a man
may be thrifty but should not be stingy. Thrift
means being frugal
and economic in
carrying out the rites; stinginess means showing no pity for
those in
poverty and urgent need. Nowadays those who would give alms are extravagant, but
in
being thrifty are stingy. It would be proper to give alms without extravagance and be thrifty
without being stingy. …
A wife in
presiding over household supplies should use wine, food, and clothing only as the
rites specify. Just as in
the state, where women
are not allowed to participate in setting policies,
so in
the family, they should not be permitted to assume responsibility for affairs. If they are
wise, talented, and versed in
 the ancient and modem writings, they ought to help their
husbands by supplementing the latter’s deficiency. No hen
 should herald the dawn
 lest
misfortune follow. …
The burden
of daughters on
the family is heavy indeed. Yet how else can
Heaven
give life to the
teeming people and ancestors pass on
their bodily existence to posterity? Many people today
dislike having daughters and mistreat their own
flesh and blood. How can
they be like this and
still
hope for Heaven’s blessing? …
It is common
for women
to dote on
a son‑in‑law and to maltreat a daughter‑ in‑law. Doting on
a
son‑in‑law gives rise to hatred from brothers; maltreating a daughter‑in‑law brings on
slander
from sisters. Thus when
these women, whether they act or remain
silent, draw criticism from
the members of the family, it is the mother who is the real
cause of it. …
1 Analects 7:35.
2 Analects 8:11.
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Social Science homework help