Chinese Idiom: 孟母三遷

Chinese Idiom: 孟母三遷

One of the most famous traditional Chinese four-character idioms is 孟母三遷 (pinyin:mèng mǔ sān qiān; Zhuyin/Bopomofo: ㄇㄥˋ ㄇㄨˇ ㄙㄢ ㄑ一ㄢ; literal translation: "Mencius' mother, three moves").

This saying refers to the legend that Mencius' mother moved house three times before finding a location that she felt was suitable for the child's upbringing. As an expression, the idiom refers to the importance of finding the proper environment for raising children.

- Wikipedia.com

歷史故事：孟母三遷

文/蘇珊

【明慧學校】中國著名思想家和教育家孟子出生於山東鄒城。孟子3歲時喪父，由母親撫養長大。

孟家附近有一塊墓地，送葬的隊伍經常從家門口經過。孟子就模仿送葬隊伍哭啼的樣子。孟母對兒子這樣的玩耍很生氣，認為不利於他讀書，便把家遷到了城裏。

到了城裏，他家處於鬧市中，殺豬聲、叫賣聲終日不斷，孟子就和鄰居家的孩子玩起了做買賣的遊戲。

孟母覺得這個地方也很難集中心思讀書，便再次搬遷到學宮對面居住。夏曆每月初一這一天，官員進入文廟，行禮跪拜，揖讓進退，孟子見了，一一記住。孟母想：“這才是孩子居住的地方。”就在這裏定居下來了。

一 天，孟子因不用功讀書而逃學回家。孟母立刻拿起剪刀，把織布機上正在編織的布剪斷了，並且對孟子說：“求學的道理，就和我織布的道理一樣，要一絲一絲的織 上去，才能織成一塊有用的布。你讀書也是一樣，要努力用功，經過長時間的積累，才能有成就。像你這樣不用功，怎麼能夠成就大業呢？”

孟子聽了非常慚愧，從此發奮向學，終於成了一位飽學高德的聖賢。

孟母因為很注重小孩的幼年教育，所以才會注意到自己的孩子因為不良環境的影響，在行為上有了偏差。為了讓幼年的孟子能將心思放在學業上，曾經搬了三次家，留下“昔孟母，擇鄰處；子不學，斷機杼”這個有益的幼兒教育故事。

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have a quick chat with the new middle school science teacher. He and his wife relocated from California to the DFW area for one goal - to raise their three children in a community where emphasis is on spiritual growth instead of materialistic pursue.

He said that in California where they used to live, they were not able to find an Islamic school that incorporates Islamic education into secular subjects. Since they want their children to grow up with practicing Muslims and learn to read the Holy Qur'an from learned scholars, they decided to relocate when they found out about this Islamic school.

For parents who want to raise their children to practice their religion, I agree with him that it is important to live among like-minded people. It is essential that we find the proper environment to raise our children. We want our kids to have good role models and by living close to the mosque, they have more opportunities to see how our religion is being practiced on a daily basis.