尊老爱幼
Respecting the Aged and Caring for the Young
尊敬老人，爱护儿童是中华民族的优良传统。几千年来，人们一直把尊老爱幼看作一种社会责任和行为规范。战国时期的孟子就曾说过：“老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼。”告诫人们要像尊敬自己的老人一样尊敬别人的老人，像爱护自己的孩子一样爱护别人的孩子。It is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation to respect the aged and love the young. For thousands of years, people have considered it a social responsibility and the code of conduct to respect the aged and care for the young. Mencius in the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) said that one should respect the elderly relatives of other people as one's own, and take good care of others' children as one's own.
给老人拜寿
Offering birthday felicitations to the old in a traditional way
中国有句古语：“百善孝为先。”意思是，孝敬父母是各种美德中占第一位的。一个人如果连自己的父母都不孝敬，就很难想象他会遵纪守法，热爱祖国和人民。An old Chinese saying says, 'Filial piety surpasses all the other virtues.' It would be unimaginable that a person who shows no filial piety to his parents would abide by laws and love his homeland and people.孔子的弟子子路非常孝顺，小时候家境贫困，经常自己用野菜充饥，却从百里外的地方买米背回家孝敬父母。早在汉朝时，政府就曾多次发布命令，提倡、奖励孝敬老人的行为。当时政府发给70 岁以上的老人一种拐杖，用这种拐杖的老人，在社会上可以得到特殊的优待和照顾。汉文帝的母亲生病时，文帝每次都要亲自尝过汤药的冷热后，才端给母亲。东汉时有个叫黄香的人，从小孝敬父亲，为了让父亲睡得舒服，他夏天用扇子为父亲扇凉席子，冬天用身体为父亲暖温被窝。清朝康熙、乾隆年间，都曾多次举办过“千叟(sǒu) 宴”，将高寿老人请到京城，设宴庆寿。Zilu, a disciple of Confucius, displayed deep filial affection to his parents. Born in a poor family, he often fed himself with wild potherbs, but carried rice home from a hundred li away for his parents. As early as in the Han Dynasty, the government issued many orders advocating, encouraging and rewarding behavior related to treating the old with filial respect. At that time, the government distributed a kind of walking stick to those over 70, and those with the stick could get special treatment and care. When the mother of Emperor Wendi of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) was ill, the emperor tasted the decoction of medicinal ingredients in person each time before he carried it to his mother. In the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), Huang Xiang treated his father with filial respect from his childhood. In order to let his father sleep more comfortably, he cooled the old man's sleeping mat with a fan in summer and warmed the quilt with his own body in winter. In the Kangxi and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), thousands of elderly men were invited by the emperor to the grand imperial banquet in the capital.中国人对后代的关怀爱护是爱中有教，慈中有严，包含着强烈的道德责任感。中国有句古话：“养不教，父之过；教不严，师之惰。”意思是说，生养孩子如果不好好教育，这是父亲的过错；教育学生不严格要求，这就说明老师太懒惰了。在中国的家庭中，做父母的会为子女的成长提供尽可能有利的条件，同时希望通过自身的良好行为和持续不断的教育，使子女成为品德高尚、对家庭和社会都有积极意义的人。孟子小的时候，母亲担心住家周围杂乱的环境对他的成长不利，连续搬家三次，直到把家搬至学校旁边，孟母才放下心来。家庭教育历来为中国人所重视。古人留下了大量有关教育子女的著作，都蕴含着中国人对子女最真切的爱护和期望。Chinese people's solicitude for their descendents is to educate with love and discipline with tolerance, embodying a strong sense of moral responsibility. An old Chinese saying goes, 'Feeding without teaching, the father should be responsible for his fault; teaching without strictness, the teacher would be blamed for his laziness.' In a Chinese family, parents would try their best to provide favorable conditions for their children's growth, and meanwhile expect their children, through their own good behaviors and continuous education, to become nobleminded contributing members both to the family and the society. When Mencius was young, his mother was afraid that the chaotic living environment would have a negative impact on his growth, and thus moved three times, until they settled down near a school. Chinese people have valued family education since remote antiquity. A number of books on educating children left by ancient men have embodied Chinese people's earnest solicitude and expectation for their children.
孟母三迁图
A painting telling the story 'Mencius' Mother Moved Three Times'
尊老爱幼的传统在当代得到了继承和发扬。现在，中国的老人和儿童都有法定的节日：农历九月初九的“老人节”和公历六月一日的“儿童节”。尊老爱幼这种传统美德，保证了家庭的和睦和社会的稳定，也为中华民族繁衍发展提供了坚实的社会基础。The tradition of respecting the old and caring for the young has been carried forward in modern times. At present, the old and the young in China have their own legal holidays — the Elder's Day on the ninth day of the ninth month of Chinese calendar and the Children's Day on the first day of the sixth month of Gregorian calendar. The traditional virtue of respecting the old and caring for the young has guaranteed the harmony of families and the stability of the society, and meanwhile provided a firm social foundation for the multiplication and development of the Chinese nation.
中国有法定的“老人节”和“儿童节”，继承和发扬尊老爱幼的道德教育
The Elder's Day and the Children's Day in China demonstrate the fine moral teaching of respecting the aged and loving the young
以上图文来自
中国文化常识 / 任启亮主编. — 西安：陕西师范大学出版总社有限公司, 2015.5
