CHAPTER XVI.

_A FATHER'S ADVICE TO HIS SON._

Tseng Kuo Fan.--"Neither envious nor fawning."--Repose of Manner.--Cultivation of Land.--Early Rising, Diligence in Business, and Perseverance.--Dignity.--Family Worship.--Reading.

Some extracts from a Chinese father's letters to his son will probably do more to explain what is thought admirable in a Chinese young man than pages of commentary. The son in this case was the late Marquis Tseng, during many years Chinese Minister in London. The writer was his father, the celebrated Tseng Kuo Fan, in whose honour a temple has been put up at Wuchang opposite Hankow. Grandson of a Hunan farmer, son of a humble scholar, this Chinese Chesterfield passed his first examination at twenty-one; and continuing steadily to pass examinations, he was a Hanlin student at twenty-eight, Chief Examiner for the Province of Szechuan at thirty-two, Deputy-Supervisor of Instruction in Peking, and nominally in charge of the education of the future Emperor at thirty-four. During the Taiping rebellion he had to become a General; and it was during all the troubles of this rebellion his letters were written. It was his devoted brother, then a Viceroy, who published the Life and Writings of Tseng Kuo Fan. The latter, just as his son was becoming a man, wrote to him as follows:

"From my earliest years I have been a student of the ancient sages. Among their thousand words and myriad sayings there is no sentence more striking or suggestive than the little phrase of four characters, _pu chi, pu chʽin_ (neither envious nor fawning). _Chi_ means to be envious of the virtuous, and malignant towards the influential. The fact that any one lacks the spirit or the ambition to walk in the path of rectitude is no reason why he should be afraid of the success of others. _Chʽin_ means that you will sink all to gain name and wealth, and then be in a constant state of unrest lest these treasures should be lost. Such a disposition as either the former or the latter is the characteristic of the 'small man.' As Viceroy of Chihli I constantly see men of equal rank and abilities manifesting a spirit of envy, animated only by the spirit of self-seeking and suspicion. If you desire to secure happiness in this life, you must get rid of the spirit of envy. If you desire to act properly and set a good example, you must abhor the character of the sycophant. The one leads to the other's injury, and the other is the spirit of the robber. I dare not affirm that I have swept my heart of these two evils; but I wish, nevertheless, to warn you and your brothers of these deformities."

Here is a characteristic bit of Chinese advice:

"With regard to your walking, I observe that your manner is too animated. Are you more quiet now? Your utterance is also far too rapid for clearness of pronunciation. You should cultivate more repose of manner. Are you improving in these two respects? These two cautions you are to keep constantly in mind, and see if you cannot make a change for the better."

One has constantly to remind oneself in China that the stolidity one sees around one is assumed in accordance with etiquette, and that in reality far more emotion is felt than shown in a land where only street arabs dare to be altogether natural and smile when they see one.

In all the throes of the revolution the busy statesman yet had time to think, like Mr. Gladstone, of _la petite culture_:

"I think it would be well for you to select several plots of land, and devote them exclusively to the raising of vegetables. At our cantonments I have turned many of our braves into gardeners. The land has been laid out in beds thirty feet by five, separated by paths and little water-ways, so that the vegetables should not be drowned after heavy rains. In the province of Szechuan I first saw gardening of this kind. The processes of irrigation are there carried to great perfection; and they seem certainly to have caught the ideas and practice of the ancients. In our region of the country very little land is set aside for the cultivation of vegetables. I wish my family to set the precedent of taking seemingly sterile tracts of mountainous land or wet, marshy places, and making them useful in raising fruit and vegetables. Though the cultivation of tea may yield greater profit in some of the valleys, yet I am convinced if my scheme is carried out no one need complain of poverty in all that region. All that is needed is to be judicious and persevering."

But his letter on hearing of his son's marriage is more striking. It will be observed there is no comment on either the looks or character of the new bride, no hope ever expressed that she may be such as to conduce to his son's happiness. Any such idea would be strange to a Chinaman:

"Your letter containing an account of your marriage has been duly received. It will be a great pleasure to your mother to have a daughter-in-law. I am also greatly rejoiced that the affair is so happily ended. Now that your household is established, it behoves you to follow the example of successful men in regulating your domestic affairs. One habit to be especially cultivated is that of early rising. In summer and winter alike in our family our ancestors were never in bed after four o'clock in the morning. My great-grandfather, Ching Hsi-kung, and grandfather, Hsing Kang-kung, usually arose before daylight in all seasons of the year. My father, Chu Tʽing-kung, if he had any important business on hand, would often rise once or twice during the night, and begin operations often before dawn. You yourself can bear witness to that fact. I trust that these family habits, which have been conserved with such good effects these many generations, will not be discontinued. You should set an example of early rising, diligence in business, and perseverance before your wife, and thus lead her to cultivate the same virtues. Here, as in all things, practice makes perfect. As to myself, I have found that when I lacked in perseverance nothing was completed, and character as well as business suffered. This I consider disgraceful in the extreme. Afterwards, when appointed to military command, I made up my mind to execute my sovereign's will to the best of my abilities. However, even in this good purpose I regret that I have so often lagged, much to my shame and discomfiture.

"I observe with respect to your general deportment that you are too frivolous by far. This is a most grievous defect. If there is one virtue more than another which our ancestors emulated, it was that of dignity. In everything it is proper that one observe a decorous and dignified behaviour.

"These three admonitions, then, you are to keep constantly in mind--namely, early rising, perseverance, and decorum. Thus you will preserve the traditions of the family, establish your own character, and that of your household. Lack of perseverance is my crowning defect, as levity is yours. By diligence in the correction of these blemishes, we shall sustain the habits and traditions of our ancestors, cover up my past deficiencies, and complete your own character, which is my highest desire for you. By thus setting an example before your younger brother, you will do more to bring good fortune to the family than in any other way.

"In view of the removal of your uncle to another place, you are now in the responsible position of head of the family. Our ancestor, Hsing Kang, was very particular in the management of his family. There were four things which he insisted upon as of prime importance--namely, early rising, cleanliness, the continuance of the practice of ancestral worship, and, fourthly, wisdom in intercourse with our relatives and neighbours. If they are in trouble, you are always to be ready to lend assistance, and also to rejoice with them in their joy. If they are estranged, you are to act the part of peacemaker. In sickness you are to manifest sympathetic interest, and at funerals you are to offer condolences. These four things, together with your studies and the cultivation of the garden, are to be kept constantly before your mind, and diligently observed. If because of your studies you cannot attend to these various duties, you are still to keep a general oversight, and be well informed as to what is going on.

"With reference to family worship, your mother is to be specially careful to reserve the best utensils in the house for that purpose; also the best of the food and drink are to be used. No family can expect long continuance of prosperity or life which neglects these important particulars."

It should be borne in mind this is the letter of a follower of Confucius and a member of China's most learned Hanlin College; yet he does not treat family worship and the utensils to be used for it as otherwise than "most important."

It might be a busy London lawyer writing this advice to his son on study:

"The present will be a good time for you to read extensively in miscellaneous literature, and add to your general information on all subjects. It is most difficult in this busy and confused world to get time for quiet study and meditation. When the opportunity is given you, you should by no means allow it to pass unheeded. On the 16th of next month I expect to start from Nanking on a tour of inspection up and down the river, and may not return till the end of the month. It will give me the greatest pleasure to hear of your perseverance in study, and I trust you will continuously put forth your powers in the line of intellectual advancement."

After noticing the simplicity of spirit and careful attention to details in these letters, it is touching to read this later one:

"TO MY SON CHI-TSE,--

"For successive years I have had my memorials to the Throne copied and filed away. I am now selecting the more important ones to be carefully copied for your use. Together with my letters I trust you will have them carefully deposited at home, so that they can be handed down from generation to generation of our descendants. But the letters to you and your brothers especially are on no account to be cut in boards or printed for the perusal of others. Very few of these letters or memorials are worthy of public notice. The series of essays and poems which I have written after the style of the ancient worthies, and collected in a volume entitled _Li Tʽuan Chai_, has been copied, and can be given to others for inspection. It will soon be printed, and disposed of for general circulation. But the letters, memorials, and essays outside of that volume are to be sacredly preserved. Some of these were written when I was a young man, and my style was unformed. Their publication would bring no glory to the family. If any of our friends should crave their perusal, you will in courteous language decline to allow them to be seen."

His directions were disregarded, or we should not have these letters. There is a whole book full of them; but these few extracts will give some insight into the nature of a very exemplary Chinese father's admonitions, perhaps even more from what he leaves out than from what he says. The son thus carefully trained seems in every way to have done credit to his father. One of his sons, again a lad of singular charm and great promise, died early; another seems more pleasant than distinguished. His nephew and adopted son is one of the prominent, though possibly not leading, members of the party of progress in Shanghai.