Ancient Tales of Wisdom

Yearn Not For Vanity

Today we have a story about the Chinese Military General Qi Jiguang (戚繼光) of the Ming Dynasty, who was taught by his father from a young age not to indulge in opulence or develop vanity.

Qi Jiguang (November 12, 1528 – January 5, 1588) was a national hero during the Ming Dynasty. He was best remembered for his courage and leadership in the fight against Japanese pirates along the east coast of China as well as his reinforcement work on the Great Wall of China. According to historical accounts, Qi Jiguang’s father, Qi Jingtong (戚景通), was an honest and upright man. He cultivated in his son a yearning for knowledge as well as a firm set of morals. When his father died, Qi Jiguang took over the commandership of the Dengzhou Garrison at the age of seventeen. The rest, as they say, is history.

Qi Jingtong was rather old at the age of 56 before having a son, and he loved the child dearly. He personally taught Qi Jiguang to read books and to practice martial arts. He was also very strict when it came to his son’s character development and moral conduct.

One day, when Qi Jiguang was 13, he tried on a pair of exquisitely made silk shoes and fell in love with them. He walked back and forth in the courtyard lingering and relishing in their elegance. This caught the eye of his father.

His father called him to the study and admonished him angrily, “Once you put on good shoes, you will naturally want to wear good clothes. Once you wear good clothes, you will naturally think about eating good food. At such a young age, you have already developed the yearning for good clothing and good food. In time to come, you will be insatiably greedy and when you grow up, you will pursue delicious food and beautiful clothing. If you were a military officer, perhaps you would even embezzle the soldiers’ pay. If you continue like this, it would be difficult for you to succeed in any undertaking honestly.”

Qi Jiguan’s father then learnt that the silk shoes were a gift from his maternal grandfather. But even so, he ordered Jiguang to take off the shoes and instantly tore them to pieces. He did this to prevent Jiguang from developing the bad habit of indulging in luxury.

The Qi family has a dozen dilapidated thatched huts that had been left in disrepair for many years so Qi Jingtong hired several craftsmen to renovate them. In order to have a presentable place to receive officials from the royal court, he asked the artisans to install four engraved doors in the main hall and had Qi Jiguang supervising the installation.

The artisans considered the Qi family a prominent and prestigious household and thought that it would not be befitting if there were only four engraved doors. They talked to Qi Jiguang privately, “Your family consist of great Generals. For such a prestigious household, all doors throughout the compound should be engraved with flowery embossments, which would be twelve leaves in total. Only this can match the prestige of your family.” Qi Jiguang thought their suggestion was reasonable and brought it up with his father.

Qi Jingtong reprimanded his son sternly for his vain and flashy idea and warned him, “If you pursue vanity, you won’t be able to accomplish great things when you grow up.” Qi Jiguang accepted his father’s criticism and told the artisans to install only four engraved doors.

Qi Jingtong also taught his son that the purpose of studying literature and practicing martial arts was not to pursue personal fame and fortune but to serve the country and the people, and also to cultivate moral conducts such as, “loyalty, filial piety, incorruptibility, and proprieties”.

Under his father’s personal instruction through his words and deeds, Qi Jiguang was content with a quiet and modest existence. He diligently focused on his studies and his practice of martial arts. Later, he became a celebrated General and defended the country against foreign invasion and was also an outstanding military strategist in the Ming Dynasty. His legacy was firmly etched in the annals of history.

Showing off, wallowing in and attaching to things like external appearance, wealth, knowledge, achievements and status in order to gain adulation and praise are all signs of vanity. The root of vanity is egotism. This trait will undermine one’s lofty aspirations and cause one to fall short of being anything great. If one becomes slave to such illusory glory and fights with or even harms others, it will be lamentable indeed.

Even though Qi Jiguang’s family prestige and status could support a life of indulgence and opulence, his father did not wish for him to be brought up in pursuit of these ways, and instead focused on his inner character and upright moral standing.

Many parents who are often eager to give their children the best of everything in our modern materialistic world could well take a lesson from this approach, and teach their children to appreciate that success in life does not depend on what you wear or what you own, but should be a reflection of the strength of your character and moral values.