Chinese Fables
Selected and Retold by Mary W. Ng
Teaching Children
From Han Feizi
Zeng Zi’s wife had to go to the market in a hurry. Her son followed on her heels, crying.
“Listen to me,” she coaxed her son. “Go on home. When I return, I will slaughter a pig for dinner.”
When his wife returned home, Zeng Zi went to the pigsty to pick a pig for slaughter. His wife hurried after him, saying, “Don’t take my words seriously. I was just coaxing our son.”
Zeng Zi quickly drew his wife aside. “We must keep our word, even to children,” he said to his wife. “Children are like a piece of blank paper. They learn everything from their parents and imitate what they see and hear. If you lie to your son now, he will learn that lying is acceptable. Once you lie to him, he will never trust you again. This is not the way to teach children.”
Having said that, he slaughtered a pig for dinner.
Children learn by word and example.