People at birth,

　　are naturally good.

　　Their natures are similar;

　　their habits become different.

　　If, negligently, not taught,

　　their nature deteriorate.

　　The right way to teach,

　　is with absolute concentration.

　　Formerly, the mother of Mencius

　　chose a neighborhood.

　　When her child would not learn,

　　she broke the shuttle from the loom.

　　Dou Yanshan,

　　had the right method.

　　He taught five sons,

　　each of whom raised the family reputation.

　　To feed without teaching,

　　is the father's fault.

　　To teach without severity,

　　is the teacher's laziness.

　　If a child does not study,

　　it is improper.

　　If he does not study while young,

　　how will he act when old

　　Jade that has not been polished

　　cannot be used.

　　Person that has not studied

　　cannot know righteousness.

　　Being a human child,

　　there is little time.

　　He should engage teachers and friends;

　　and practice etiquette.

　　Xiang, at nine,

　　could warm (his parent's) bed.

　　Filial piety towards parents,

　　should be carried out.

　　Rong, at four,

　　could yield the (bigger) pears.

　　To behave as a younger brother towards elders,

　　is one of the first things to know.

　　Begin with filial piety and fraternal love,

　　then see and hear.

　　Learn to count,

　　learn to read.

　　One to ten,

　　ten to a hundred,

　　a hundred to a thousand,

　　a thousand to ten thousand.

　　The three forces:

　　heaven, earth and man.

　　The three lights:

　　sun, moon and stars.

　　The three principles:

　　duty between sovereign and subject,

　　love between father and child,

　　harmony between husband and wife.

　　We speak of spring and summer,

　　we speak of fall and winter,

　　These four seasons

　　revolve without end.

　　We speak of north and south,

　　we speak of east and west,

　　These four directions

　　depend on the center.

　　We speak of water, fire,

　　wood, metal and earth.

　　These five elements

　　have their origin in the numbers.

　　We speak of benevolence, duty,

　　propriety, wisdom, and truth.

　　These five virtues

　　must not be compromised.

　　Rice, fine millet, beans,

　　wheat, glutinous millet, and common millet.

　　These six grains

　　are those which people eat.

　　Horse, ox, sheep,

　　chicken, dog, pig.

　　These six animals

　　are those which people raise.

　　We speak of joy, anger,

　　we speak of grief, fear,

　　love, hate, desire.

　　These are the seven emotions.

　　Gourd, earthenware, skin,

　　wood, stone, metal,

　　silk, bamboo,

　　yield the eight musical sounds.

　　Great great grandfather, great grandfather, grandfather,

　　father and self,

　　self and child,

　　child and grandchild,

　　from child and grandchild,

　　on to great grandchild and great great grandchild.

　　These nine generations

　　that make up your family.

　　Kindness between father and child,

　　harmony between husband and wife,

　　friendliness from elder brothers,

　　respect from younger brothers.

　　Precedence between elders and youngers,

　　support between friends,

　　Respect from the sovereigns,

　　loyalty from the subjects.

　　These ten obligations,

　　are the same for all.

　　When teaching the ignorant,

　　there should be explanation and investigation.

　　Carefully teach the old [texts],

　　clearly identify sentence and paragraphs.

　　Those who would learn,

　　must have a beginning.

　　The basic schooling finished,

　　they go on to the Four Books.

　　There is The Analects,

　　in twenty chapters.

　　In this, the various disciples

　　have recorded the wise sayings [of Confucius].

　　The works of Mencius,

　　in seven chapters.

　　speak of the road to virtue,

　　talk about benevolence and righteousness.

　　The Doctrine (Way) of the Mean,

　　by the pen of Kong Ji;

　　the mean does not slant to one side,

　　the way does not change.

　　He who wrote The Great Learning

　　was the philosopher Zeng, [its teachings]

　　ranging from developing as an individual

　　to governing in peace.

　　The "Classic of Filial Piety" mastered,

　　and the "Four books" done,

　　the "Six Classics",

　　can be started.

　　The Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, the Book of Changes,

　　the Rites of the Zhou, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals

　　are the Six Classics,

　　which should be explained and analyzed.

　　There is the Lian Shan,

　　there is the Gui Cang

　　there is the Duke of Zhou,

　　such are the three systems which elucidate the Book of Changes.

　　There are standards,

　　there are instructions, mandates,

　　there are oaths, orders,

　　such are the mysteries explained in the Book of Documents.

　　Our Duke of Zhou,

　　wrote the Rites of the Zhou,

　　in which he established the six classes of officials

　　thus giving form to the government.

　　The Elder and the Younger Dai,

　　wrote commentaries on the Book of Rites.

　　They published the sages' words,

　　and set in order ceremonies and music.

　　We speak of the Airs of the States (Guo Feng),

　　we speak of the Minor and Major Odes (Ya) and the Songs.

　　These are the four sections of the Book of Poetry,

　　which should be chanted over and over.

　　When the age of the Book of Poetry ended,

　　the Spring and Autumn Annals were produced.

　　These Annals contain praise and blame,

　　and distinguish the good from the bad.

　　The Three Commentaries:

　　there is that of Gong Yang,

　　there is that of Zuo

　　there is that of Gou Liang.

　　When the classics are clear,

　　read the philosophers.

　　Pick out the essentials,

　　and remember their facts.

　　The five philosophers:

　　there is Xun, Yang,

　　Wen Zhongzi

　　Lao Zi (Lao Tzu), and Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu).

　　The classics and the philosophers mastered,

　　read the histories.

　　Examine the connection between the eras,

　　know the ends and the beginnings.

　　From Xi and Nong.

　　to the Yellow Emperor,

　　they are called the Three Sovereigns.

　　who lived in ancient times.

　　Tang and Yu,

　　called the Two Emperors,

　　one abdicated after the other

　　and theirs was called the Age of Prosperity.

　　The Xia had Yu,

　　the Shang had Tang,

　　the Zhou had Wen and Wu;

　　they are called the Three Kings.

　　The Xia handed the throne from father to son,

　　making a family of all under Heaven.

　　After four hundred years,

　　the Xia ended.

　　Tang ended the Xia,

　　the dynasty was called Shang.

　　After six hundred years,

　　it ended with Zhou (Dixin).

　　King Wu of the Zhou

　　slew Zhou (Dixin).

　　Eight hundred years long;

　　the longest dynasty ever.

　　When the Zhous made tracks eastwards,

　　the feudal bond loosened,

　　shields and spears flaunted,

　　wandering advisers held in high esteem.

　　Began with the Spring and Autumn Period

　　and ended with the Warring States Period.

　　Five feudal lords ruled,

　　seven feudal states arose.

　　The Qin of the Ying clan,

　　started to unify all the states.

　　The throne passed for two generations

　　and Chu and Han contended.

　　Gaozu rose,

　　and the Han dynasty ruled

　　until the reign of Xiaoping,

　　when Wang Mang usurped the throne.

　　Guangwu rose,

　　and founded the Eastern Han.

　　Four hundred years,

　　ending with Emperor Xian.

　　Wei, Shu and Wu,

　　contended for the Han trophy.

　　Called the Three Kingdoms,

　　it lasted until two Jin Dynasties.

　　Followed by the Song and the Qi,

　　then the Liang and Chen,

　　they are the Southern dynasties,

　　with the capital at Jinling (Nanjing).

　　The Northern Dynasties are the Wei of the Yuan clan,

　　which split into East and West,

　　the Zhou of Yu Wen clan,

　　with the Qi of the Gao clan.

　　Finally, under the Sui,

　　the empire was united.

　　but not passed on,

　　it lost the succession.

　　Tang Gaozu

　　raised a righteous army,

　　ended the disorder of the Sui,

　　established the foundation of his dynasty.

　　Twenty times the throne was transmitted,

　　in a period of 300 years.

　　The Liang destroyed it,

　　and the dynasty changed.

　　The Liang, Tang, Qin

　　Han and Zhou,

　　called the Five Dynasties,

　　each exist for a reason.

　　The fiery Song arose,

　　and received the resignation of the Zhou.

　　Eighteen times the throne was transmitted,

　　and then the north and the south were reunited.

　　Liao and Jin

　　each called a dynasty.

　　The Yuan extinguished the Jin

　　and finished the Song era.

　　Taizu arose,

　　set up the great Ming,

　　called himself Hong Wu.

　　The capital was at Jinling (Nanjing).

　　until Cheng Zu

　　moved it to Yanjing (Beijing).

　　Seventeen generations

　　until it ended with Chong Zhen.

　　The power of the eunuchs unchecked;

　　bandits flourished like a forest.

　　Li Chuang revolted,

　　divine artifacts burned.

　　The great ancestor of the Qing

　　received destiny's call;

　　Peace in the four directions,

　　achieved great stability.

　　The twenty one histories

　　are complete.

　　They record government disorder;

　　understand prosperity and decline.

　　Read the history books,

　　examine the records,

　　connect the ancient with the present,

　　and you'll be as close as an eyewitness.

　　Recite them with the mouth,

　　examine them with your heart;

　　do this in the morning;

　　do this in the evening.

　　Formerly, Zhong Ni,

　　took Xiang Tuo for his teacher.

　　The ancient sages were virtuous,

　　yet studied diligently.

　　Grand Secretary Zhao

　　studied the Analects.

　　He, although already an official,

　　studied diligently.

　　Splitting reeds and weaving them,

　　cutting bamboo slips.

　　They had no books,

　　yet knew how to exert themselves.

　　One tied his head to the roof beam;

　　another pricked his thigh with an awl.

　　They were not taught these,

　　but came up on their own to toil hard.

　　One put fireflies in a bag.

　　another used the glare from the snow.

　　Although their families were poor,

　　they studied unceasingly.

　　One carried firewood,

　　another hanged (books from the) horns.

　　Although they toiled with their bodies,

　　they overcame their hardships.

　　Su Laoquan

　　at twenty-seven

　　began to show his energy,

　　and study the books.

　　When already old,

　　he regretted his delay.

　　Like them, the young

　　should think of this early.

　　There was Liang Hao

　　who at eighty-two

　　replied to the Great Hall,

　　and came out first among many scholars.

　　After he had succeeded,

　　everyone called him exceptional.

　　Like them, the young

　　should think appropriately early.

　　Rong at eight years old,

　　could compose poems.

　　Bi, at seven years old,

　　could make a poetic essay on weiqi.

　　They were clever

　　and people called them special.

　　Like them, young students

　　ought to imitate them.

　　Cai Wenji,

　　could judge from [the sound of] a lute.

　　Xie Daoyun,

　　could compose poems.

　　They were girls,

　　yet they were quick and clever.

　　Like them, boys

　　should alert yourselves.

　　In the Tang dynasty, Liu Yan

　　when only seven years old,

　　was rated a child prodigy

　　and appointed Corrector of Texts.

　　He, although a child,

　　was already an official.

　　Like them, young students,

　　should exert yourselves and concentrate.

　　Those who work like them,

　　will succeed as they did.

　　The dog guards the night;

　　the rooster proclaims the dawn.

　　If, negligently, you do not study,

　　how can you become people?

　　The silkworm produces silk,

　　the bee makes honey.

　　If one does not study,

　　what is the use of being human?

　　When young, study;

　　when grown up, perform.

　　Influence the sovereign above,

　　benefit the people below.

　　Make a name for yourselves;

　　honor you father and mother.

　　Shine light on your ancestors,

　　bring prosperity to your descendants.

　　People bequeath to their children

　　chests full gold.

　　I teach children,

　　only one classic.

　　Diligence has merit;

　　play has no advantage.

　　Guard against it;

　　exert your strength.