【Episode 5 of the 2016 Family Debate Series】Should parents travel far away?
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This post was last edited by leileienn on 2016-4-6 08:37. Confucius said, “As long as one’s parents are alive, one should not travel far; if one must travel, there should be a proper reason for it.” ” This sentence comes from the chapter ‘Li Ren’ in The Analects. It means: Confucius said, “While one’s parents are alive, do not travel far away.” If one is to travel far, there must be a destination. ”Direction, here, refers to direction, place, or location. This statement should be understood in a dialectical manner: it shows that Confucius emphasized that children should support and be filial to their parents (which is not possible when traveling far away), but he did not object to a person going out to strive for their goals once those goals are legitimate and clear. Nowadays, with such advanced transportation, it has become easy for us to travel from the far north to the far south, or from the far northwest to the far southeast. Should we go on long trips then?
There is no question of whether it’s appropriate or not; one must make a decision based on their own family circumstances. If the parents are in good health, can use a computer and WeChat, and the children have time to come back (it would be even better if they can come over), then it doesn’t matter. On the contrary, try not to leave. When economic conditions force you to the point where you can’t earn money at home and can’t afford to buy a house, it depends on the individual. . .
This post was last edited by cflt111 on 2016-3-31 08:08. Kids from rural areas like us should go out, and once we have stable jobs, we should bring our parents here to live with us so that they can enjoy a better life as well.
If one does not travel far, how can one ensure a decent life? That’s a bit contradictory. At the current stage of the development of The Analects, its meaning cannot be understood literally. There is already a consensus on this in the academic community. If the conditions are met, it’s certainly good not to travel far; but if the conditions aren’t met, then there’s time to visit home more often. For parents, the greatest wish throughout their lives is for their children to be safe.
It is still possible to travel long distances when necessary; transportation is well-developed, information flows freely, and video calls via mobile phones allow communication from anywhere, so long-distance travel is feasible.
I think \"you\" here refers to study tours, it’s just my personal opinion