Dizi Gui (Standards for Being a Good Student and Child) is an ancient Chinese text for children that teaches moral values and etiquette. It was written during the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (康熙帝) (1661-1722) by Li Yuxiu.
Beneath the conservative, “old-school” verbose of this ancient classic, one can still find gems of wisdom that remain surprisingly relevant to our modern society. A new lesson is covered in each issue.
According to the Classics of Confucianism, no man is infallible to making mistakes—even saints are capable of mistakes as well. What is important is how we deal with them.
The mistakes of a gentleman are displayed like the eclipses of the sun and the moon: when a gentleman makes a mistake, everyone sees it; and when he corrects it, everyone admires
The ancient Chinese text for children, Dizi Gui, sheds some light on this issue: “If one corrects one’s mistakes, then people will not take the mistake to heart. But if one covers up one’s mistakes, it will be seen as committing a further mistake.”
Since ancient times, people have held the belief that admitting to and amending one’s mistakes is one of the most important virtues a person can have. Owning up and changing for the better earns others’ forgiveness and respect.
On the other hand, if one fails to amend his mistake, and further tries to conceal it, then he loses his self-respect and earns the disdain of those around him.
George Washington and the Cherry Tree
One well-known tale of “honesty is the best policy” is that of young George Washington and the cherry tree. While there is considerable dispute over whether this incident actually happened in real life, it remains a great teaching example of how taking responsibility for one’s mistakes is the best thing to do.
When the first US president George Washington was six years old, he was gifted a hatchet that he, like most young boys, was extremely fond of. He excitedly went about chopping everything that came his way.
One day, after amusing himself in the garden by chopping up some of his mother’s peasticks, he decided to try the hatchet on something more challenging. He found a beautiful, young cherry tree that his father was very proud of, and tested the hatchet on the tree, cutting through it so much that it died.
Not long afterwards, his father discovered what had happened to his beloved cherry tree. Storming into the house, he demanded to know who had done this terrible deed, but no one could tell him.
Just then, young George appeared with his hatchet in hand.
“George,” his father said in a terrible voice. “Do you know who has killed my beautiful little cherry tree yonder in the garden? I would not have taken five guineas for it!”
Faced with this awful situation, George staggered under his father’s question for a moment. But he bravely decided to face the consequences and spoke the truth. “I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet.”
Looking at the young boy’s brave expression, his father’s anger dissolved. He took his son in his arms and said, “Glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son, is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold!”
‘When the River Bursts its Dam’
On the other hand, a negative example of taking responsibility for one’s mistakes is King Li of Zhou (died 828 BC), the tenth king of the Western Zhou Dynasty. During his reign of over sixteen years, he was a ruthless and corrupt monarch who imposed heavy taxes on the people to pay for his decadent lifestyle.
As mutterings of unhappiness spread amongst the people, the self-conceited king passed a new law that allowed him to punish, by death, any person who criticised of him or his policies. Every man was closely monitored and sentenced to death if they were caught criticising him. As a result, people did not dare to talk to each other on the street, much less have a discussion.
King Li was very proud of this, and bragged to his minister Zhao Gong about his ability to silence the people’s tongues.
Zhao Gong replied, “Your Majesty, you have only managed to stopper the people’s mouths, and that is akin to damming a river. When too much water accumulates behind the dam, the river will burst through and flood many homes.
“Similarly, when the people have been silenced for too long, they will one day tolerate the silence no longer, and their resentment will explode into rebellion.” King Li, however, ignored Zhao Gong’s words of advice.
True to Zhao Gong’s words, three years later, the people rebelled against King Li. Even the king’s soldiers refused to protect him. The disgraced King fled and died a fugitive.
Zi Zhang (子張), a disciple of Confucius, once said, “The mistakes of a gentleman are displayed like the eclipses of the sun and the moon: when a gentleman makes a mistake, everyone sees it; and when he corrects it, everyone admires it.”
Once a person has a sense of shame and remorse, it is a sign of wisdom. On the contrary, if a person continues to be conceited and to look for justifications for his behaviour, then he is bound to be friendless and will reap what he has sowed.
Sources: The George Washington Foundation and Clearwisdom.net
