Emperor Tang Taizong Emphasized Education
 
Emperor Tang Taizong (598 – 649 AD) paid great attention to the education of his children. He personally wrote Model of an Emperor, a book of twelve articles, bestowing it upon the crown prince Li Zhi. The book contained twelve guidelines that a ruler must abide by, including the essence of a ruler, development of loyalty or close relations in subjects, the search for virtuous officials, a review system of officials, acceptance of remonstrance, elimination of slander, refraining from overindulgence, honoring frugality, reward and punishment, focus on agriculture, management of the military, and honoring academia.
 
Emperor Taizong pointed out that “these twelve guidelines are the main principles for a ruler to follow. They will determine whether the nation is peaceful or chaotic, prosperous or impoverished,” and that “this book prepares a person for cultivating oneself and governing a country.” He repeatedly told Li Zhi to model his behavior after the ancient sages and virtuous rulers such as Emperor Yao, Emperor Shun, Emperor Yu, King Tang of Shang and King Wen of Zhou. Taizong also stated in the “essence of a ruler” article, “Without dignity, virtuous action, grace and punishment, one cannot have authority over people from afar. Without benevolence and generosity, one cannot stabilize the citizens of the nation,” and “One must be diligent in handling state affairs with virtuous and righteous actions.” Model of an Emperor has been regarded as the bible for family education by subsequent emperors.
 
Emperor Taizong also wrote other classic articles to his children, such as “Sincere Note to King of Wu” (King Wu was Emperor Taizong’s third son), and “Warning to the Royal Family.” In these articles, he taught, “To be accomplished, one must focus on virtuous action. Performing more kind deeds and gaining virtue is the way to extend fortune.” “The royal family must be diligent with regulating themselves,” and he described how he spent numerous years without sightseeing or entertainment, instead he spent all the time on governing the nation. He educated his children to “think about the hard work by the silkworm farmers whenever you put on a piece of clothing, think about the farmers whenever you eat a meal.”
 
The emperor picked highly respected people with vast knowledge to be teachers for the princes. These included Fang Xuanling, Li Gang, Zhang Xuansu, Li Baiyao, Wei Zheng, among others. He also issued an edict on the etiquette to have for teachers. On the one hand, Emperor Taizong taught his children to respect the teachers and emphasized education, as in “When you see your teacher, think of it as seeing your father”, and “Never slack off in terms of respect for teacher.” On the other hand, he supported strict teachings and encouraged the teachers to offer direct critique and admonition when the princes were at fault. This allowed the teachers to steadily perform their duties due to the understanding, support and encouragement from the emperor.
 
Emperor Taizong focused on details in the education of virtue, using each incident to cultivate quality characteristics in his children’s daily lives. Once, he saw Li Zhi resting under a crooked tree. Taizong said, “Although this tree is crooked, once you engrave an ink line, you could still produce a straight material. The ruler himself may not be brilliant, but if he can accept suggestions and admonitions from others, he can also become brilliant.”
 
Emperor Taizong also emphasized history in education. He instructed Wei Zheng to create the book Good and Evil Actions of Rulers in History, which was conferred upon each prince. They were told to “keep the book on their desk to aid them in their development.” Lessons from the ancients on their accomplishments of kind deeds and failures due to evil deeds were an important factor to focus on for the development of the princes’ cultivation of virtue, righteous behavior and care for the people.
 
唐太宗重视教子
 
唐太宗非常重视对子女的教育培养，亲自撰写《帝范》十二篇赐予太子李治，即包括君体、建亲、求贤、审官、纳谏、去谗、诫盈、崇俭、赏罚、务农、阅武、崇文等为君应当遵守的十二条准则，指出：“此十二条者，帝王之大纲也。安危兴废，咸在兹焉”、“修身治国，备在其中”，谆谆告诫李治：效法尧、舜、禹、商汤、周文王等古代圣哲贤王，“非威德无以致远，非慈厚无以怀人”，“倾己勤劳，以行德义”。《帝范》也被历代帝王奉为家教圣经。唐太宗还写了《诫吴王恪书》、《戒皇属》等经典名篇，教导子女“人之立身，所贵者惟在德行”，指出修养德行的重要性，多做善事、美德充盈才能福泽绵延；教导子女“夫帝子亲王，先须克己”，要自勉自制，严于律己，他讲述了自己数年“外绝游观之乐，内却声色之娱”，把时间放在勤勉朝政上；教导子女“每著一衣，则悯蚕妇；每餐一食，则念之耕夫”，每穿一件衣服、吃一顿饭，都不要忘记蚕妇农夫的辛勤，要培养节俭朴素的品德。
 
唐太宗给几个儿子选择的老师都是德高望重、学问渊博的人，如房玄龄、李纲、张玄素、李百药、魏征等，并专门下诏书规定了对待老师的礼仪。他一方面教诫子女要尊师重教，“见师如见父”，要“宜加尊敬，不得懈怠”。一方面支持老师严格管教，鼓励老师对太子及诸王的过失极言切谏。老师们都能够坚定地履行职责，与唐太宗的理解、支持和鼓励是分不开的。
 
唐太宗非常注意以小见大、深入浅出地进行道德教育，遇事必诲，使子女在日常生活中逐渐培养良好的品质。如有一次，他看到李治在一棵弯曲的树下休息，就教诲他说：“这树虽然弯曲，打上墨线就可以取直成材。做君主的即使本身并不高明，但是能接受别人的规谏，也可以变得圣明。”唐太宗还注意结合史实进行教育，他让魏征编录了《自古诸侯善恶录》，分赐诸子，要他们把书“置于座右，用为立身之本”，从前人善者成、恶者败的事例中汲取经验教训，得到鼓励，从而更加重视自己的德行修养，做正人君子和爱护百姓的人。