Narrated by Lydia Peng
Recorded and organized by Capricon

Coming across a good book is like having a good teacher or meeting a good friend. The experience soothes our hearts and influences our thinking and actions. "Classics Can Be Read This Way" is such a book.

When we studied the Analects of Confucius in high school, some students memorized the chapters with the sole purpose of passing the exams. Many didn't try to understand the true meaning of the book and even considered it pedant & trite and therefore resented it. In "Classics Can Be Read This Way", Yi Zhongtian and Yu Dan, with their expert knowledge as scholars and historians, used interesting real-life examples to guide us through and show us the vast wisdom of Chinese classics. It's such a shame that the greatness of many Chinese classes was compromised by many ineffective teachers.

This led me to realize that the most important people in our formative years are our parents and teachers. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they can make children learn the great lessons of the great Chinese classics from examples in their daily lives?

When Yu Dan was only four or five years old, her father taught her to observe people at gatherings. He told Yu Dan, "According to Confucius, one can find a teacher in every three people. You see a lot more than three people at any gathering, you can definitely learn something from someone. See which ones have good manners and which ones are learned." So Yu Dan ventured around, observing people. She reported to her father that she saw people spitting on the floor or yelling in public and there were definitely not good role models. Her father told her, "You can think of these people as a difference kind of teachers. Confucius says to model after goodness and caution ourselves not to follow bad behaviors. When you see people's bad behavior, ask yourself if you have also made the same mistakes."

Those parents are rare that can teach their children the wisdom of Chinese classics through examples form everyday lives. It goes to show that being "well read" is much more practical than "widely read".

Speaking of modern day teachers, I want to mention a story told by Yu Dan about a tribal chief.

In an ancient tribe, the chief eagerly encouraged the young people to leave home to explore the world to broaden their horizon. The chief gave each young man three words before they left. They were to look at the three words when they encountered difficulty. They would receive a gift of another three words when they returned home.

When these young men ran into trouble, they took out the three words and saw, "Do not fear."

Years later, after learning great skills, these young men returned home feeling accomplished but tired. They received from the old chief the promised gift of another three words, "Do not regret."

The first three words represented a gift for the first half of a person's life and they symbolized the Confucian philosophy of worldliness and social engagement. The latter three words represented a gift for the second half of a person's life and they symbolized Chuang Tzu's philosophy of detachment and otherworldliness. A life striving for achievement and growth should have the endurance for heavy burden and the ability to tolerate humiliation. A life retiring from the hardship of striving & achieving should be relaxed and thus render weightless the heavy thoughts of everyday life.

In addition, Yu Dan mentioned another true story that deeply moved me. Lin Xiuzhen was an ordinary poor peasant woman. All her life she took care of old people in her village. She never did anything earth-shattering, nor did she read any classics by old sages. According to Yu Dan, when rich people did this, it's called charity, but when poor people did it, it's godliness. Lin Xiuzhen warmed her community with a heart of benevolence. Unknowingly, she practiced the spirit of benevolence, which was mentioned 109 times in the Analects of Confucius. This further proves that Chinese classics not only found in the Emperor's study but also in the lives of everyday people.

A good teacher always encourages the students not to be afraid in the face of defeat and to try their best to accomplish their work, and not to be overly concerned about the outcome once the work is finished. This is the spirit of a good teacher: to encourage students to have doubts and to ask questions, but not to judge them solely by their grades.

Yi Zhongtian's approach was to remind the readers from a historical point of view: The world is complicated and so is human nature. What we see is not necessarily the truth, and in life this is often the case. It's mainly due to "historical image" and not "historical fact" that Emperor Yongzheng was called a tyrant and Cao Chao was called a villainous warrior. We are reminded that "there is no such gold as truly pure gold, and there is no such person as a perfect person." Where there are people, there are flaws and weaknesses.

After reading "Chinese Classics Can Be Read This Way", I really feel that we should incorporate the ancient knowledge into our own life experiences so as to reach spiritual enlightenment and see life with wisdom. Ultimately, by practicing what we learned from these classics, we will enrich our lives and the heritage we leave for future generations.