Readers who are fond of history might notice that there were usually wise and insightful mothers behind many accomplished people. As the most critical person in a child’s life, a mother’s values and outlook deeply affect the family and children. For a family, even if it is a poor family, an upright, kind, hardworking, optimistic, and insightful mother is the greatest blessing a family and children can have.
Mother Meng moved house three times so that her child wouldn’t go astray
Mencius’s mother placed great importance on his education. She moved three times, looking for an excellent environment to raise him.
Mencius’s father died when he was young, and she remained unmarried. They lived near a cemetery. Mencius and his friends imitated adults bowing down and crying, pretending they were at the funeral. Then, finally, his mother murmured: “I can’t let my child live here.”
They moved next to a market. Mencius learned from the merchants and played games of killing chickens and geese and bargaining with people. Finally, she said sadly to herself again: “This place is not suitable for my child either.”
They finally moved near a school. Mencius became a well-behaved, polite, and studious boy. His mother said happily: “This is where my son should live!”
This is a famous traditional Chinese story Mother Meng Moved Three Times. She kept Mencius away from indecent and unrefined surroundings and raised him in an environment that fostered learning. Her foresight and sagacity made Mencius a great philosopher of Confucianism.
Mother Tao returned the fish and taught her son to become noble by setting a good example
Tao Kan was a famous general in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. His mother felt in her heart that it was not correct to accept gifts from her son that was government property. By doing this, she showed her son how to be righteous. Mother Tao possibly had many opportunities to teach her son to be an honest official by revealing her true nature to him with her good behavior and actions.
Tao Kan took care of the fisheries when he became a governmental official. He thought of his mother when he ate the salted fish at work. So he packed some salted fish in a clay pot and delivered it to her.
She returned the fish with a letter saying: “You’re a government official now and should not send me any property that belongs to the people. It doesn’t benefit me and makes me worry more!”
She taught her son by setting a good example. Although he grew up poor, he worked as a government official for a long time. He served as a military commander of eight states and conquered the West. He was rewarded for his achievements and was later given the name, The Duke Huan of Changsha.
Mother Ouyang’s courage and sense of responsibility amid adversity influenced her son
During the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a prominent writer and historian named Ouyang Xiu. He lost his father at a young age, and his mother didn’t have the money to educate him. She put great effort into teaching him to become valuable and capable.
They were too poor to buy paper and a writing brush, so she used reed stalks to draw on the sand to teach Ouyang Xiu to read and write. They couldn’t afford books, so she borrowed books from scholarly people for him to read.
Ouyang Xiu acquired valuable traits from his mother. He joyfully read day and night, sometimes forgetting to eat and sleep. Over time by diligently studying, he gained much knowledge of literature. Gaining expertise, he became a renowned literary figure of his generation.
