So why study Di Zi Gui (Students’ Rules)? What do these old precepts from the bygone days of Imperial China have to do with us? Well, there are two main reasons: learning about the Chinese intellectual heritage, and helping us live a happy and successful life.

First, learning about the Chinese intellectual heritage: a very important part of the Chinese heritage is in the intellectual sphere; our forefathers have made remarkable contributions to the realm of thought and philosophy, including the discourse on perennial questions facing the great thinkers throughout world history. Questions such as “What is the good life?” and “What makes a good man?” have been answered with some very unique Chinese answers. Di Zi Gui is a succinct summary of much of that traditional thought and philosophy. Used in traditional China for raising young people into gentlemen, today Di Zi Gui offers a good introduction to the world of traditional Chinese thought. The text is a rich repository of Chinese philosophy, values, mores and norms. Studying Di Zi Gui enables us to learn about the Chinese intellectual heritage.

These days, because of the adoption of vernacular Mandarin (bai hua wen) as the standard form of writing and education since the early 1900’s and the abandonment of classical Chinese (wen yan wen), fewer and fewer students are capable of reading the original works of the great Chinese thinkers because the works are written in that classical Chinese. Thus, for those seeking their Chinese roots, the Chinese intellectual heritage in the realm of thought and philosophy is often off limits, and there is little chance that those seekers can hear their forefathers’ original voices expound on unique, Chinese ideas. True, one can read about the ideas second and third hand via modern books written in the vernacular Mandarin or in English, but for appreciating the spirit of the authors, nothing can replace studying the original. Therefore, to help with accessing the original, we’ve translated Di Zi Gui into plain vernacular (modern day spoken) Chinese and English on this website. By studying the original text of Di Zi Gui we can hear our ancestors’ own voices.

Also, as we have said in the "Introduction" in the Di Zi GuiWeb Page on this website, in today's pervasive Westernized culture, Chinese in general and Chinese children in particular are driven daily to be ashamed of their heritage. Chinese children are especially vulnerable since what most people know these days of the Chinese heritage is only a distorted version. If left unarmed with some accurate knowledge of Chinese culture such as that provided by Di Zi Gui, Chinese children will grow up to be ashamed of their heritage, of their parents and eventually of themselves. Then they won't have the self esteem or inner strength necessary to become good, smart and capable persons. Studying Di Zi Gui and understanding the thinking in it will enable Chinese persons to synthesize traditional Chinese culture with modern life and help strengthen our sense of identity, cultural roots, pride, and self esteem. Then we will not become discouraged and lose hope, or abuse and give up on ourselves; we will persist in striving to do our best in life. Studying Di Zi Gui will give Chinese and Chinese children an accurate knowledge of the Chinese intellectual heritage. Armed with this knowledge, they will not grow up to be ashamed of their heritage, of their parents and eventually of themselves. They will have the necessary self esteem and inner strength to become upright, kind, smart and capable people. Indeed, understanding traditional Chinese thought and taking up the Chinese intellectual heritage is of the utmost importance to each Chinese personally. Therefore, Chinese people especially need to, especially should, study Di Zi Gui.

For those not of Chinese ethnicity, Di Zi Gui will be a good initial exposure to very important aspects of traditional Chinese thought.

To be considered truly educated, young people of Chinese ethnicity should know about some of the important ideas from their intellectual heritage. Would we not expect young people whose ethnicity is, say, that of a Muslim country, whether they practice the Islamic religion or not, to have been exposed to the Koran as part of having received a well-rounded education? Would we not expect young people of Caucasian, i.e. European, ethnicity, whether they practice the Christian faith or not, to have had some exposure to the Christian Bible to be considered well educated? Of course we do. Without some exposure to the Koran it is impossible to fully comprehend and appreciate a Muslim ethnic heritage, and without some exposure to the Christian Bible it is also impossible to fully comprehend and appreciate the Western heritage. Yet, despite the importance their parents place on education and even a “well-rounded education,” very rarely are young people of Chinese ethnicity, included many considered “highly educated,” exposed to Confucian writings. Nor has the thought ever occurred to many such parents. It really is an anomaly that will be wondered at by future generations.

Of course, in this day and age, to be considered truly educated every one, even one not of Chinese ethnicity, should know something about the very important and unique part of the human heritage called the Chinese intellectual heritage.

By providing a useful glimpse into the world of traditional Chinese thought, studying Di Zi Gui can greatly help meet the need for exposure to the Chinese intellectual heritage. Even if, after perusal and study, one disagrees with part or all of the traditional Chinese ideals and standards of conduct, one will still be enriched by the exposure. One will have been given the opportunity to work through the arguments and thought processes of some of the most important thinkers not just in Chinese history but also in world history. Only after having had some such exposure can a person of Chinese ethnicity be considered well educated.

The second reason for studying Di Zi Gui is that, as previous mentioned, doing so will help us live a happy and successful life. The precepts, values, and norms taught in Di Zi Gui are still suitable for us today. In fact, I believe that to live a happy and successful life today, these precepts, values, and norms are the most useful ones to follow.

Nowadays the Chinese Confucian tradition in thought and philosophy has been forgotten and abandoned by many Chinese, because that tradition has long been denigrated, since 1895 in fact, by Chinese ourselves, for being out-dated, irrelevant, the cause of Chinese backwardness, or even for being “dictatorial,” “fascist,” and “designed to keep the masses ignorant and stupid.”

It’s time to reverse that horribly wrong verdict, because the exact opposite is true. If it hadn’t been for Confucius’ teachings, if it hadn’t been those very precepts, values and norms taught in Di Zi Gui, Chinese backwardness would have been even more marked and the ancient Chinese civilization itself might have been long extinguished, just like the ancient civilizations of Babylon and ancient Egypt. Those teachings have never been “dictatorial” or “fascist,” and they have never opposed inquiry and independent thought—as the famous Tang Dynasty Confucian scholar Han Yu has said in his essay Jin Xue Jie, “conduct succeeds with thinking and fails with following (xin cheng yu si wei yu sui).”

In fact, not only are those teachings not out of sync with modern society, but also they are most compatible with and conducive to such a society, to a society based progressively more and more on freedom and volition, and less and less on autocracy and coercion. Those teachings, in fact, constitute the answer to the failure of much of “modern” thought, values and norms to deliver to people the ability to live happy, productive and successful lives today. Following the teachings in Di Zi Gui, I strongly believe and my own personal experience has thus far confirmed, will be a strong guarantee of living a happy, productive, and successful life in today’s world.

Many readers will be surprised at the above statement that Confucius’ teachings are most compatible with and conducive to a modern society based on freedom and volition. How can that be? How can precepts over two thousand years old be most suitable for living successfully in a free society? Aren’t Confucian teachings all about conformity, submission, and obedience? Well, there are very good answers to those questions, and I will set forth the answers in my next commentary, “Confucius' Teachings are Conducive to a Modern Society Based on Freedom and Volition”.

好，为什么要学习《弟子规》呢？那些过去帝王时代中国的陈旧概念跟我们有什么相干呢？有两个主要原因：学习中华思维传统，和帮助我们过快乐和成功的人生。

首先，学习中华思维传统：中华文化遗产的很重要一部分是在于思维界域里；我们的祖先在思想和哲学领域上，包括那些世界历史伟大思想家们一向都要面对的问题上，作出了杰出的贡献，对“什么才是好的人生？”和“怎样才是好人？”等问题，作出了一些很独特的中华答案。《弟子规》把这传统思想和哲学的很大一部分精简地总结。《弟子规》是旧时中国用来把幼年人教育成为君子的，而现在我们可以用来认识中华传统思想。原文满载中华哲学、价值、道德和准则。学习《弟子规》，让我们认识中华思维传统。

因为自从1900年代早期来就采用了白话文来作为写作和教育的标准而抛弃了文言文，所以今天越来越少学生们有能力阅读中华伟大思想家的原著，因为都是用文言文写的。因此，很多时对寻找中华根源的人们来说，思想和哲学领域的中华思维文化遗产是禁区，没有机会亲耳听到祖先讲说独特中华概念的声音。是的，可以二手或三手地在现代的白话文或英语文章或书本里读看这些概念，但要领会作者的精神，没有别的办法能够代替阅读原著了。为了帮助人们阅读原著，我们把《弟子规》翻译为白话文和英语，在本网站刊登。学习《弟子规》原文，让我们能够亲耳听到祖先们的声音。

另外，正如我们在本网站《弟子规》网页的“引言”所说那样，今天普遍西化的社会，每天都使华人，特别是华人孩子，倾向对自己的传统文化感觉羞耻。现在多数人只能看到被歪曲了的中华传统，所以华人孩子们特别容易受害。如果思想没有被一些好像《弟子规》所提供的、对中华文化正确的认识武装起来，华人孩子长大后便会对自己的传统文化、对自己的父母、乃至对自己，感觉羞耻，便没有足够的自尊心和内在力量来做个好的和聪明能干的人。学习《弟子规》，领会了《弟子规》的思想，华人就会有能力把传统中华文化和现代生活相结合起来，让我们得到自我认同感、文化根源感和自豪感，我们就会得到自尊心。拥有了自尊心，就不会颓丧失望，就不会自暴自弃，就会努力向上。学习了《弟子规》，华人孩子们就有了对中华文化正确的认识，思想就会被武装起来，不会对自己的传统文化、对自己的父母、乃至对自己，感觉羞耻，就会拥有足够的自尊心和内在力量来做正直善良和聪明能干的人。的确，认识中华传统思想、继承中华思维文化，是每一个华人的切身大事。所以华人特别需要、特别应该学习《弟子规》。

对于不是华人的人们，学习《弟子规》，是对中华思维传统一些很重要方面，很好的初步认识。

要被认为是一个真正具有教育的人，华裔青年应该对他们自己的思维传统有所接触。对祖籍是穆斯林文化的年轻人，不论他自己是否信奉伊斯兰教，我们不是会预想他对《古兰经》有所接触，才会认为他是一个具有了全面教育的人吗？同样地，对祖籍是白裔即欧洲裔的年轻人，不论他是否信奉基督教，我们不是会预想他对《圣经》有所接触，才会认为他是一个具有了全面教育的人吗？当然啦。不对《古兰经》有所接触，就不能明白和领会穆斯林文化传统，而不对《圣经》有所接触，就不能明白和领会西方文化传统。然而，虽然华裔青年们的家长极端注重教育和甚至“全面的教育”，但是很少华裔青年，尽管是具备了“高度教育”的，对孔教文章曾经有过接触。这真正是件怪事，后代人们将会不解的。

当然，这些年代里，无论是华裔与否，一个人要被人认为真正具有教育，就必须对这个叫做中华思维传统的人类文化遗产非常重要又独特的一部分，有所接触。

《弟子规》为认识中华传统思想体系提供一瞥，能够很大地帮助解决接触中华思维传统的需要。尽管阅读和学习后，不同意中华传统的理想和行为准则，这个接触仍然会令人思想更加充实，会给予人一个机会，去想通不光是属于中国历史上而且是属于世界历史上，最重要的思想家的论点和思维过程之中的一部分。一个华裔人要拥有这种经历，才能称为具有良好教育。

学习《弟子规》的第二个理由是，正如上文所说过，这样做会帮助我们过一个快乐和成功的人生。《弟子规》教导的信条、价值和准则今天仍然合适我们。的确，我认为今天要过一个快乐和成功的人生，追随这些信条、价值和准则最为有效。

今天很多华人忘记和抛弃了中华孔教思想和哲学传统，因为长久自二十世纪以来，这个传统曾被贬斥。贬斥它的人，其实正是我们华人们自己。我们说它过时、对现代没有意义、是中国落后的原因、甚至是“专制的”、“法西斯的”、“愚民的”。

现在是推翻这个巨大冤案的时候了，因为真相正是完全相反。如果没有孔子的教导，如果没有这些《弟子规》教导的信条、价值和准则，中国便会更加落后，古老的中华文明可能会好像巴比伦和古埃及等古老文明那样，老早便灭绝了。这些教导从来未尝是“专制的”或“法西斯的”，从来没有反对过调查事物和独立思考：正如著名的唐朝儒家学者韩愈在他的著名文章《进学解》里说过，“行为成功地达到准则，是因为思考，而行为遭受毁坏，是因为跟随他人。（行成于思毁于随。）”

其实，孔子的这些教导不但不跟现代社会脱节，而且非常合适和有利于这种社会，这种基于越来越多自由和自愿、越来越少专制和强迫的社会。“现代”思想、价值和准则有一个问题，就是不能给予人们快乐的、成功的和有成果的生活这个问题，而孔子的这些教导正好解答这个问题。我坚信，而我自己的人生经历亦证明了，遵守《弟子规》的教导，强有力地保障在今天社会里，能够过快乐的、成功的和有成果的生活。

很多读者会觉得以上所说的有些奇怪，孔子教导非常合适和有利于基于自由和自愿的现代社会么？怎会这样的呢？超过二千年老的信条，怎能非常合适自由社会里面的生活呢？孔子的教导不都是提倡一致性、屈服和服从吗？啊，对这些问题，有很好的答案。我在下一个解说文章，孔子的教导有利于自由和自愿的社会里，将会把答案列出来。