To turn Mencius into an erudite man, his mother moved three times, from
the graveyard where his father was buried, to a noisy street, and
finally to a place near schools and temples. There, Mencius focused on
learning and became a great man.
孟子:儒家代表人物,他继承了孔子的思想,周游列国努力实现仁政理想。本集讲述孟子的生平,在他童年的时候,因无心学业从而令孟母三迁的故事,表现孟子少年勤奋好学,到成年不断求学的经过。
孟母三迁
战国的时候,有一个很伟大的大学问家孟子。孟子小的时候非常调皮,他的妈妈为了让他受好的教育,花了好多的心血呢!
有一次,他们住在墓地旁边。孟
子就和邻居的小孩一起学着大人跪拜、哭嚎的样子,玩起办理丧事的游戏。孟子的妈妈看到了,就皱起眉头:「不行!我不能让我的孩子住在这里了!」孟子的妈妈
就带着孟子搬到市集旁边去住。
到了市集,孟子又和邻居的小孩,学起商人做生意的样子。一会儿鞠躬欢迎客人、一会儿招待客人、一会儿和客人讨价还价,表演得
像极了!孟子的妈妈知道了,又皱皱眉头:「这个地方也不适合我的孩子居住!」
于是,他们又搬家了。这一次,他们搬到了学校附近。孟子开始变得守秩序、懂礼
貌、喜欢读书。这个时候,孟子的妈妈很满意地点着头说:「这才是我儿子应该住的地方呀!」
后来,大家就用“孟母三迁”来表示人应该要接近好的人、事、物,才能学习到好的习惯!
[译文]:从前孟子的母亲,选择良好的环境居住,是为了让孩子学好。孩子不肯努力向学,就割断织布机上的布来劝勉他。
Mencius
was born in Zhou State (present Zhoucheng of Shangdong Province) during
the Warring States Period. His father died when he was quite young, so
he lived with his mother. Living close to a cemetery when he was a kid,
Mencius often staged the rites which he saw in funeral processions or
burial services for amusement. Seeing about this, Mother Meng decided
that the place was no good for her son's education, so they moved their
house.
Later, they moved to a place neighboring a boisterous street.
Mencius, seeing the merchants and vendors hawking their goods, began to
imitate their behavior. "This is not the right place to raise my son
either," sighed his mother.
In the end, they moved next to a school. Inspired by what he saw and
heard, Mencius naturally started to imitate the courtesy behavior and
study habits of the students. Observing the change of Mencius, Mother
Meng decided not to move again and settled down at this place.
Wikipedia:
Mencius