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The First Button

发布时间：

2026-08-04

The First Button

Sun Zuodong

Recently, I attended an admission banquet for the grandchild of my revered first teacher, Mr. Wang Kuimin, and was filled with profound emotions. Mr. Wang guided me in my formative years. I once wrote about his life and deeds in the acknowledgments of my book, and he holds immense significance to me.

Mr. Wang raised a son and a daughter. Nurtured by the fine family traditions over the years, both children are gentle, courteous and virtuous. His son is a renowned lawyer; his daughter possesses both integrity and talent, and earns widespread respect wherever she goes. Every younger generation of the family has achieved success: his elder grandson and granddaughter have graduated from university, while his younger grandson has been admitted to the Top-notch Future Technology Program at Harbin Institute of Technology. The program boasts an outstanding faculty team led by academicians, with national leading talents serving as head teachers. It adopts a full mentorship system, allowing students to chart their own academic paths. Upon graduation, its students will grow into promising young talents prioritized for cultivation by the nation.

After the banquet, I chatted with the boy’s father for nearly an hour. I told him: Your son is exceptional, and his parents are even finer people; best of all are his grandparents—this family boasts an excellent foundational character. As an ancient saying goes, "If one cannot even tidy up one’s own house, how can one govern the world?" This saying fits this family perfectly. Many devote their lives to teaching and educating other people’s children, yet overlook a simple standard: if one fails to cultivate self-discipline and a harmonious family, and cannot raise one’s own children well, how can they guide others? The outstanding conduct of the younger generation stems from the words and deeds of their parents, whose noble character is passed down through the ancestral family traditions.

During our conversation, I joked with him about the anecdote of three generations of the Kong family. Kong Li once said to Kong Ji, "Your father is not as good as my father," and then said to Confucius, "Your son is not as good as my son." Beneath this lighthearted jest lies a fundamental truth: temporary knowledge and opportunities are merely foliage, while enduring family traditions passed down from generation to generation are the deep roots anchoring one’s life.

We all know this from daily experience of dressing: if the first button is fastened crookedly, every subsequent buttonhole will be misaligned, and only when you reach the last button will you realize the entire garment hangs askew. General Secretary Xi Jinping encouraged young people that they must fasten the first button of their lives correctly. Family tradition is the very first button of a family’s heritage. Whether one engages in politics, business or academic research, staying true to one’s original aspiration and abiding by moral bottom lines constitutes the most vital first button on life’s journey. If this button is fastened straight, one will tread a steady, smooth path ahead. If the starting foundation is skewed, no amount of later effort can fully set things right again.

The same logic applies both to nurturing people and handling all affairs. To forge a lasting, steady path forward, the core lies in upholding fundamental principles from the very start. May the young man take this to heart, seek truth, pursue reality, and uphold his original conscience. Glories and accolades fade in the blink of an eye, yet the inherited family ethos and inherent moral character endure across generations. Much like that first button, once fastened upright, it keeps one’s life "garment" neat and unblemished for all time.