Thousand Characters

Chapter 52

[Original text]

The relatives are old, the old and the young are different.Concubine Yu Ji spinning, serving towel curtain room.

【Note】

Relatives: The ancients called people in the line of fathers relatives, and people in the line of mothers and wives called relatives.Old friends: old friends and good friends from the past.Concubine: Refers to wives and concubines.Jifang: twisting hemp thread into thread is called Ji, and making silk into thread is called spinning.The first two sentences of this paragraph tell us that we should try our best to entertain relatives and friends when they meet. Treating guests to a meal is the way of hospitality and it is also human nature, but we should pay attention to treating them differently.The last two sentences talk about what wives and concubines should and should not do in the family. Groups of wives and concubines are old things that are gone forever and have been abandoned by the new era.

【Interpretation】

If you meet family members of your father, mother and wife, or old friends from the past, you should treat them graciously, and the food for the elderly and children should be different to suit their age.Women should manage their own housework well, but also serve their masters with all their heart.

(End of this chapter)