"Family discipline" refers to the discipline within the family, that is, the direct instruction and personal teaching of the father and grandfather to the children and grandchildren, the parents to the family, the patriarch to the clan, and also includes the exhortation of the elder brother to the younger brother and sister, and the entrustment between husband and wife.
In ancient my country, as a form of family education, it was an indispensable spiritual bond for maintaining and developing a family.
Stylistic perspective
"Shuowen Jiezi": "Teaching is also preaching." It can be seen that "training" is a way of behavior, specifically, an act of teaching Taoism.
Tracing the origin of the "Xun" style, it was first named the style, which should have appeared in the "Shangshu".
"Shangshu" is a compilation of political speeches during the period from Yao to Zhou.
Kong Anguo mentioned in the "Preface to the Book of History": "There are hundreds of texts on Dian, Mo, Xun, Gao, oath, and life" ("Selected Works", Volume 45), which refers to the six "each" in the "Book of History". do their jobs" style.
As one of the "Six Physiques of Shangshu", the original "Xun" was also born on the basis of politics.
This is the "Public Affairs Instruction", which records the admonitions about the rules of governance, including the monarch's instructions to the successor of the throne and his ministers, and the ministers' exhortation to the monarch.
With the development of society, the style of "training" has roughly undergone a transformation from "training for political affairs" to "training for family education", and at the same time, in the process of interpenetrating with other styles, its connotation boundaries continue to expand.
Based on the preaching meaning of "xun" in a broad sense, those articles whose main content is lecturing and admonitions can be regarded as "xun" style essays.
Take the "Shangshu" as an example, although many of the chapters are not titled with "training", they are actually "training" style in terms of their content.
As Kong Yingda said: "The name of the "Book" chapter is based on the event. There is no style, and it is just a text."
In general, whether it is in the name of "xun" in the "xun" style, or in the article without the name "xun", but it is actually in the "xun" style, it reflects the "xun" as a kind of ancient The characteristics of literary style played a certain social function in ancient times - the role of political discipline.
Therefore, as a style of writing, "training" was originally "established by events" and served the political needs of the time. As a kind of "royal political training", it also played the role of a "royal family training". In a sense, it can be seen as a precedent for traditional Chinese family training.
Whether it is the pre-Qin period "Gao", "Ling", "Proverbs", "Ming" and other styles of instruction and preaching, as well as the later rising "Ji" style, they are all synonymous with the "Xun" style in the function and nature of their style. The same work.
In addition, there are other styles such as "rules" and "orders", which are often used in the context of "instructions and instructions", and have similar functions to the style of "training".
For example, "Ling" originally originated from the political edict, which is an ancient political application style.
"Wen Xin Diao Long - Zhao Ce Pian" says: "Prevention of edicts is the text, and those who are instructed to do so." Liu Xie believes that the words of admonition are the most practical kind of edicts.
Just like "instruction" and "commandment", when "order" extends from "decree" to the family, it becomes "family order" and begins to fulfill the responsibility of family education.
And "rule" itself has the normative meaning of "without rules, there is no square and circle", "Shuowen Jiezi": "rules, there are laws." That is to say, "rules" means conforming to the laws.
Wu Zengqi's "Writing and Style": "This style has no teachers in ancient times, and the Tang people took it as its meaning. Every time later generations have rules and regulations, this is also the meaning." These rules and regulations are actually some "advisement" "regulation In ancient times, "rules" often appeared in families, schools and other places.
The treaty that the elders regulate the behavior of the young children also forms the statute of the family - the family rules.
"Ling" contains a stronger mandatory meaning, while "rules" are more restrictive, but as a style of writing, they both play the social role of teaching, admonishing, and persuasion, and can be viewed in a broad sense. to fall within the category of "admonition".
The ancient Chinese style has rich connotations and denotations, it is constantly developing and changing, and there are often inextricable links between various styles, such as the "Xun" and "Proverbs", "Advice" and "Ling" mentioned above. "Regulations" and other literary styles are produced in different "special occasions", but have similar social functions.
In ancient China, the complexity and uncertainty of style made the boundaries between styles blurred. "Regulations" and so on are all practical styles with the function of "instructions", and in fact, they are often regarded as the same style.
home training
Traditional family training is a cultural phenomenon in ancient China, which embodies the educational concepts and life wisdom accumulated by ancient Chinese over thousands of years.
The word "family instruction" first appeared in "Bian Rang Biography" in the Later Han Dynasty: "If you are an orphan, you will not be able to do your family instruction." It means "parents' teaching", that is, family education.
Family motto is rooted in China's profound historical and cultural soil and is a unique family rule for Chinese people.
The wisdom of family management, family management and family development contained in it is also the "family heirloom" that maintains thousands of families in ancient China for a long time.
Broadly speaking, as long as the words and words that teach future generations how to cultivate themselves and keep their family together are "family motto".
For example, Duke Zhou's "Book of Commandments to Uncle Birds", Cao Cao's "Internal Commandments", Zhuge Liang's "Book of Commandments", "Book of Commandments to Nephews", Sima Tan's "Ming Ziqian", Tao Yuanming's "Ming Zi", etc. home training".
After the Tang and Song dynasties, a large number of family precepts in the form of rhymes appeared, such as Du Xunhe's "Tidi and Nephew's Book Hall", Lu You's "Shi'er", and Shao Yong's "Children's Song", "Teaching the Son's Song", "Education and Persuasion", etc. .
Chen Zhensun highly praised "Yan's Family Instructions", and in "Zhizhai Shulu Resolving Problems", he said that "the ancient and modern family instructions are the ancestors", which is in a narrow sense.
Chen Zhensun's statement is well-founded, because from the history of family instruction, "Yan's Family Instruction" marks the maturity of traditional Chinese family instruction and is a model of family education in all dynasties.
It is a family of words of its own, creating a new style of "family motto". It is the first work of instruction style named after "family motto", and can be called "the ancestor of family motto".
"The foundation of the world is in the country, and the foundation of the country is at home." During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, family culture rose, and family awareness became increasingly strong.
There has been an important change in the system of selecting officials, from the "inspection system" in the Han Dynasty to the "Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System" in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and family background is the main basis.
People pay more attention to "family style", "family voice" and "family learning".
"Yan's Family Instructions" talks about the importance of maintaining a good family style in chapters such as "Teaching the Son", "Managing the Family" and "Feng Cao", such as "Managing the Family": "If you are angry and ruin your family, you will be wrong. If the punishment is not fair, the people will be at a loss. The generosity of family management is like a country."
The opening chapter of "Whethering" mentions: "A scholar and a gentleman in the world, valuing his ability is beneficial to the ears of things. He doesn't just talk about falsehoods. , To be able to do things that are beneficial to others or the society, to talk eloquently and on paper, is worthy of salary and official position.
"Family Motto" is a unique family rule in ancient China, and it is also a unique practical style of Chinese literature.
Tutoring Traditions
Since ancient times, China has been good at summarizing the experience and lessons of the rise and fall of the family: "The family that accumulates good will have surplus Qing, and the family that accumulates bad will have surplus disaster." Short, evil and evil will stop in one's body, goodness and goodness will reach their descendants." ("Gongyang Zhuan: The Twenty Years of Zhaogong") Therefore, for the sake of descendants, we should do a lot of good deeds.
Advocate a good family style, such as: "Father, son, brother, brother, husband, wife, and family, and the family is upright. If the family is right, the world will be settled." King, minister, minister, father, father, son." Many people understand it from the perspective of feudal ethics, but I think the more important connotation of this sentence is that everyone should perform his "job", and fathers should be like fathers. , do what a father should do.
Other family members also perform their "jobs", so that the "family" is "balanced", and by extension, the world will be peaceful.
"Book of Rites, Daxue": "Those who want to rule their country must first organize their family." "One family is benevolent, one country is benevolent;
In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu An, the king of Huainan, told a story:
In the past, King Zhuang of Chu had won the Jin Dynasty between He and Yong, and he returned to Sun Shu'ao, but he did not accept it. ...... said to his son: "I will die, and the king will seal the daughter. The woman will give up the fertile land, and if there is a hill between the sand and stones, the land is really rocky and the name is ugly. Jingren and ghosts, the more People do not benefit from people." When Sun Shuao died, Wang Guo entrusted his son with a fertile land, but his son did not accept it. According to the custom of Chu State, the second generation of heroic officials was awarded the title, but Sun Shuao was the only one who survived. ("Huainanzi: Human Training")
Sun Shuao was a hero of King Zhuang of Chu, and he could have been granted a fertile territory, but he chose "Nuqiu" because the place was sandy and rocky, and even the place name was ugly, so no one could despise him.
But then what?
The descendants of other heroes who chose fertile territory soon perished, and only the descendants of Sun Shuao survived.
Because everyone wants fertile land, they will fight, and no one wants to have poor land, so there is no fear of life.
Professor Chen Zhenghong of Fudan University wrote a book "Bloodline: The Family of "Historical Records". What is the family?
Just some big families that have prospered for generations.
The prosperity of some aristocratic families, the reason why a family has existed for a long time, there are spiritual elements, there must be some places worthy of our reference in cultivating good family style.
Let's look at a few examples.
"Wu Taibo and Taibo's younger brother Zhongyong are both sons of Zhou Taiwang, and Wang Jili's brother. Ji Lixian has a holy son Chang, Taiwang wants to establish Jili and Chang, so Taibo and Zhongyong ran to Jingman and got tattoos. Cut off the hair to show that it is unavailable, so as to avoid the season calendar. The season calendar is fruitful, and it is the king of Ji, and Chang is the king of Wen." ("Historical Records: Wu Taibo's Family")
"The Family" of "Historical Records", "The Family of Wu Taibo", tells the story of a brother's humility.
Taibo and his younger brother Zhongyong are both sons of Zhou Taiwang in Zhou Dynasty. They also have a younger brother named Ji Li. Ji Li has a son Ji Chang, who is very popular with Zhou Taiwang.
Zhou Taiwang wanted to pass the throne to Ji Chang, so he had to find a way to pass his position to Ji Li first.
Taibo and Zhongyong saw Zhou Taiwang's thoughts, so they ran to the wild land in the south at that time, so that their younger brother Ji Li could safely inherit the throne.
Later, Ji Li really inherited the throne, and his son Ji Chang also inherited the throne. Ji Chang was the later famous Zhou Wenwang.
This is the story of the "De Rang" of the Wu family. The descendants of the Wu family have the motto of "De Rang" in their family motto. In many places, the Wu family's ancestral hall has the words "De Rang legacy" on the lintel.
Confucius said: "Tai Bo (Tai Bo) can be described as the most virtuous. Three, it is said that the world gives way, and the people have nothing to gain."
"Ding Chou, Cui Qi established Duke Zhuang's half-brother, Chu Jiu, who is Duke Jing. Mother Jing is also the daughter of Lu Shusun Xuan. Jing Gong, with Cui Qi as the right minister and Qingfeng as the left minister. The alliance with the countrymen said: 'Whoever does not join Cui Qing will die!' Yan Zi looked up to the sky and said: 'The infant is not the only one who is loyal to the king's profit, society and grain!' Abandon it.' Qi Taishi said: 'Cui Qi killed Duke Zhuang', Cui Qi killed him. When his younger brother resumed writing, Cui Qi killed him again. When his younger brother resumed writing, Cui Qi abandoned him." ("Historical Records: The Family of Qi Taigong")
The three brothers of Qi Taishi faced Cui Qi, a powerful official who usurped the throne. Qi Taishi insisted on his duty as a historian and insisted on writing "Cui Qi killed Duke Zhuang", and Cui Qi killed Qi Taishi.
Qi Taishi's younger brother succeeded him as the historian, and he wrote this again, and Cui Qi killed him again.
Qi Taishi's younger brother took over as the historian, and insisted on writing like this. Cui Qi was afraid and had to let him go.
The three brothers of the Qi family adhere to the spirit of the historian's record, the so-called "good, good and evil, virtuous and unworthy" (Sima Qian's "Historical Records: Taishigong's Preface"), "not false beauty, not hidden evil" (Ban Gu "Han Shu· Sima Qian's Biography").
This spirit of record is not only a historical spirit, but also a professional ethics and a personality spirit.
This is the allusion that Wen Tianxiang's "Song of Righteousness" said "in the history of Qi Taishi".
"After that, King Wu collapsed, and King Cheng was young, and he was in strong protection. Duke Zhou was afraid that the world would hear about King Wu's collapse and he would go to the bank. Duke Zhou practiced and took over the government on behalf of King Cheng. Uncle Guan and his group of brothers spread rumors in the country, saying: ' The Duke of Zhou will not be conducive to becoming a king.' The Duke of Zhou told Taigongwang and Zhaogongshi, saying: 'The reason why I am ignorant and regent is that the world will be surrounded by Zhou, and I will not be able to sue my predecessors, Taiwang, Wang Ji, and Wen. The three kings are worried The world has been working for a long time, and now it will be completed later. When the king of Wu is finally finished, and the young king becomes the king, the general will become Zhou. That's why I think it is like this.'... King Cheng is long and can listen to the government. So the Duke of Zhou returned to the king of Cheng, and he became the king. Wang Lin Dynasty." ("Historical Records: Lu Zhou Gong Family")
This story is that after the death of King Wu of Zhou, his son King Zhou Cheng was too young.
Zhou Gongdan, the younger brother of King Wu of Zhou, saw this situation, and replaced King Cheng of Zhou to manage the affairs of the dynasty, which left people speechless.
Zhou Gongdan disregarded the rumors and rumors of the world, and when Zhou Chengwang grew up, he returned to the government.
At this time, the world finally knew that Zhou Gongdan was a selfless man.
Sima Qian called this story "the gift of the yoke".
("The Family of Duke Zhou of Lu") The third part of Bai Juyi's "Five Poems of Proclamation" in the Tang Dynasty "gives the king a law to resolve doubts": "The Duke of Zhou was afraid of the day of rumors, and Wang Mang was modest and not usurped. Know." Zhou Gongdan's spirit is a sense of responsibility and a character of keeping his promises.
The above-mentioned humility, due diligence, and trustworthiness are the basic moral norms that the ancients believed to adhere to in life and life, and also the basic creed of many families to survive in the world and establish religion.
The purpose of family rules and mottoes is not to "follow the rules of the world", but "to tidy up the door and tear up the descendants". It is precisely because it is said to relatives of the same clan and ancestors that it is more sincere and credible. The so-called "husband and wife" Believing in the same words, believing in your relatives; doing the same orders, and doing what you obey." ("Yan's Family Instructions: Preface") Take "Yan's Family Instructions" as an example, this book has a total of 20 chapters, including Preface, Godson, Brother, Marriage, Family Management, Feng Cao, Muxian, Articles, Names and Reality, Affairs, Rescue, Suspension, Commandment, Health, Returning to the Heart, Documentary Evidence, Sound and Ci, Miscellaneous Arts, Final System, etc. , involving many aspects such as inside and outside the family, and the way the scholar lives in the world.
For later generations, under the premise of clarifying its inherent historical limitations, there are many ideological contents in it, which still have practical significance.
Don't spoil children: "Parents are dignified and kind, and children are fearful and filial. I see the world, there is love without education, and it is impossible to do so; food and beverages, do whatever you want, you should be admonished and rewarded. Laughter instead, to have knowledge, it is called the law. If you have been accustomed to arrogance, you can copy it, beat it to death without power, anger grows and grow resentment, catch growth, and eventually lose morality.” ("Yan Family Instructions, Teaching Son")
Being good at choosing friends: "So living with good people is like entering the room of Zhilan, and you will become fragrant for a long time; living with evil people is like entering a place with abalone, and you will smell bad for a long time."
("Yan's Family Instructions Muxian")
Exhortation to study: "Since ancient times, King Ming and Sage Emperor have still had to study diligently, even if they are ordinary people!" "When you are alive, you will have a career: farmers measure and cultivate crops, merchants discuss bribes, craftsmanship is used to refine instruments, and artisans ponder magic. The warriors are used to bowing and horses, and the scribes talk about the scriptures. It is often seen that the scholars and officials are ashamed of being involved in agriculture and business, and they are poor laborers. , so that all the year round." ("Yan's Family Instruction Mianxue")
Loyalty and duty: "The materials used by the country are no more than six things": one is "the minister of the court", the second is "the minister of literature and history", the third is "the minister of the military", the fourth is "the minister of the vassal screen", and the fifth is "The minister of mission", the sixth is "the minister of creation".
"Human nature has strengths and weaknesses, how can you be blamed for being beautiful in six ways? But when everyone knows the point of interest, and can hold a post, they will be ashamed."
Living in peace and thinking of danger: "In a world of peace and prosperity, I don't know that there will be disasters and chaos; I don't know the urgency of wars and wars when I live in a temple; I don't know the hardships of cultivating crops to protect my salary; Therefore, it is difficult to handle the affairs of the world." ("Yan's Family Instructions: Involving Affairs")
Focusing on the basics of agricultural work: "The ancients wanted to know the difficulty of harvesting crops, and the way to work on the basics of high-quality grains is also. The husband's food is the people's heaven. Bow it, cut it out, collect it, beat it, winnow it, and put it into the warehouse, is it safe to take farming lightly and pay more attention to the last one?”
Shoudao and Chongde: "A gentleman should abide by the morality and respect morality, and when he is waiting for a price, his title will not rise, and his trust should be trusted by the mandate of Heaven."
("Yan's Family Instructions Save Troubles")
"Yan's Family Instructions" is an earlier family motto in my country. It provides various norms and instructions for the daily behavior of the clansmen. The emphasis on character cultivation is an important part of it. For example, "Yan's Family Instructions Mianxue": To read and learn, we want to be happy and eyesight, which is good for ears." "Yan's Family Instructions Mianxue": "Scholars seek to benefit ears. Seeing people reading dozens of books, they will be arrogant, and they will be arrogant and contemptuous of the elders; People are sick like an enemy, and evil like an owl. It is better to have no learning if you learn to hurt yourself." Regarding "learning from oneself", "Yan's Family Instructions" has a more clear statement:
Scholars in ancient times were for themselves, to make up for their deficiencies, but today’s scholars are human beings, but they can talk about it.
In ancient times, scholars were human beings, and they practiced the way to benefit the world; today's scholars are self-cultivation and self-cultivation to make progress.
Scholars are still planting trees, and they play with their flowers in spring, and they grow in autumn; when they lecture on articles, they are also in spring, and self-cultivation and good deeds are fruitful in autumn.
("Yan's Family Instruction Mian Xue")
Interestingly, Yan Zhitui pointed out that the connotations of the so-called "for oneself" and "for others" by ancient and modern scholars are different, but both ancient and modern, there is one thing in common, that is, the ultimate purpose of our "dissertation" is to "" Self-cultivation."
Serve the country with loyalty: "The husband's life should not be spared, nor should it be cherished. Taking risks and fears, doing misfortunes, greed to hurt life, slander and death, this is what a gentleman cherishes. Practice precepts and filial piety and see thieves, If you offend by performing benevolence and righteousness, you will sacrifice your body to help your family, and you will save your body to help the country. The gentleman is not to blame." ("Yan's Family Instructions: Health Care") "A person who seeks the Tao is also a self-seeking; It is impossible to do both things. Sincere ministers choose the master and abandon their relatives, and filial sons settle down and forget their country, each has his own way." ("Yan's Family Instructions: Returning to the Heart") This is the thought that loyalty and filial piety are difficult to achieve, and it is advocated at critical moments to abandon filial piety and be loyal. .
During the period of the Six Dynasties, the Central Plains were turbulent, and many large families in the Central Plains moved south with their families, and still maintained the ideology of the Central Plains culture in their thoughts.
The dominant idea of "Yan's Family Instructions" is the traditional Central Plains culture.
In order to survive and develop in the relatively unfamiliar South, these large families paid special attention to the education of family members.
Yan Zhitui recalled that he had received strict tutoring since he was a child: "My family's style is always strict. The color is fixed, the wings are strong, and it is like a strict ruler." ("Yan's Family Instructions: Preface") Another example is the "Jinlouzi" of Xiao Yi's "Jinlouzi" of the Liang Dynasty, which collects some of the teachings in history There are famous sayings of good words, such as the inscription of Jin Ren of Heji Temple, "If you don't talk much, you will fail if you talk too much;
With a good foundation of Central Plains culture and strict family education, many large families were born in large numbers at that time.
Liu Xie, a famous literary theorist at that time, said: "In the forest of the gentry, Xia Wei soars; Wang and Yuan Lianzong use the dragon chapter, Yan and Xie Chongye use the phoenix, and the disciples of He, Fan, Zhang and Shen are innumerable. Also." ("Wen Xin Diao Long: Timing Chapter") Liu Xie said that Wang, Yuan, Yan, Xie, He, Fan, Zhang, Shen and other families were all famous big families at that time, and many talents appeared.
In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Yuxi wrote a poem: "In the old days, Wang Xietang flew into the homes of ordinary people."
Hakka house rules
Below, we will focus on the Hakka rules and family teachings that we have collected and sorted through surveys and other methods.
The traditional Hakka family rules and family motto are one of the representatives of the Chinese home motto culture, which contains the family and country feelings of loyalty and filial piety, the code of conduct of goodwill and neighborliness, and the survival wisdom of hard work and frugality.
For families, Hakka people attach great importance to the education of "filial piety".
For example, "Liu's Family Regulations" (the first year of Song Jiatai) included "filial piety to parents" as an entry in the general rules of the family rules: "Jing Yun: mourning for parents, giving birth to me, and wanting to repay the virtues, Haotian is extremely ignorant. Therefore, filial sons are relatives. : To live is to pay respect to him, to nurture him to be sincere, to be ill when to worry, to be mourned by mourning, and to be strict when sacrificed, so he fulfills his duties as a son." Filial piety" entry: "The kindness of parents, the sky is high and the earth is rich, and the kindness is extremely human. I conceive a child in October, breastfeed in three dynasties, push dry and wet, protect my arms and caress, worry about diseases, smell hunger and fullness, regulate cold and heat, my parents have suffered a lot of hardships. Only then can the children grow up. Those who are children are lucky to have their parents have a long life, and they are eager to raise filial piety, and it is difficult to repay the grace of God. The time limit of life is also limited. What is the benefit?" Emphasizes that repaying the kindness of parents for birth and raising is the ultimate human relationship, especially emphasizing that parents should perform filial piety in time when they are alive.
"Loyalty to the homeland" is a key emphasis in the Hakka rules and family motto.
For example, "Zhang's Family Regulations" (Qinghe Zhang's Qing edition) has the entry "loyalty to the country": "The country and the people have a relationship with each other. The people are loyal to the country, the country is prosperous and the people are healthy. It is right. Advise my people to take this as honor. Serving the country, going through the fire and going to the soup. For the country's stability, the army and horses carry guns, for the country's revitalization, agriculture, engineering and business. Go on. Execute government decrees, abide by discipline and guidelines. Go to the public service enthusiastically, and pay taxes and grains early." Tang Chen Chong wrote "Twenty Rules of the Chen Family Model of Yimen", which reads: "Let the famous ministers be rewarded, and the office will be a master scholar. The public loses." Da Ze was a loyal minister and a good general, and a poor man was a Confucian scholar and a good scholar, but no matter whether he was poor, he had to be anxious for the country's urgency.
This is the profound accumulation of "family and country feelings" in Chinese culture for 5,000 years.
Hakka people attach great importance to etiquette and humility when interacting with people.
For example, "Xie's Family Instructions" (Qing edition) requires: "Internal and external relatives, no matter if they are in the same position, should be greeted with courtesy. It is not allowed to laugh, be disrespectful, or disrespectful." "points out: "To go in and out is to go with each other, to share good and bad luck, to get together at times when Yan enjoys the celebration. If you connect them with the meaning of love, why is it not the friendship of the world, one family, all things in one? Gou or because of small Anger can lead to disgust, and a few words make up a disaster, and it is rare to be isolated and unfamiliar because of the best friendship of the family."
Because the Hakka people "live in a foreign land", they understand the difficulty of life and the difficulty of happiness, so they emphasize diligence and thrift to manage the family.
For example, "Zhong's Family Instructions" (printed in the Qing Dynasty) has the entry "forbidding wandering and idleness": "Each one person seeks a job, performs his duties, and must not be flamboyant and spend his days idle." There is also an entry "abstain from extravagance". "The way to govern life is to open up resources, to reduce expenditures, to open up, to be diligent, to be frugal, to be thrifty, not to be diligent, to see losses immediately, to be luxurious in the customary situation, to be uneasy about simplicity, to be self-reliant backbone, it is inevitable It was moved by Xi. Hee hee! Ten years of diligence are hard to come by, and once they are exhausted, how can they be revered and deprived of China, and they can eat without worry.”
Judging from the Hakka family training that has survived to this day, the ancient family rules and family training indeed embodies the survival wisdom of the ancients for thousands of years.