"Essentials of Good Customs" is a classic on rural political education and agricultural guidance written by Wang Jie, a minister of the Yuan Dynasty. When Wang Jie served as the general manager of Shunde Road, he wrote this book based on imperial edicts and local governance needs, using the "Thirty-Three Things" as the code of conduct promoted by local society, taking into account the dual goals of "farming" and "educational education."
The book clearly states at the beginning: "The thirty-three items will make people work diligently in farming and mulching, uphold human ethics, and uphold customs, far away from punishment." In other words, by popularizing agricultural production, standardizing ethics and morals, and strengthening customs systems, we can reduce reliance on punishment methods and thereby stabilize social order. Its first item is "farming and mulberry farming", and subsequent items cover many aspects such as tree planting, saving, raising livestock, building water conservancy, educating the people, filial piety, etiquette and education.
"Essentials of Good Customs" is like a collection of policy declarations and local governance guidelines. It embodies the concept of the Yuan Dynasty that the central and local governments jointly nourished the people with "good customs" and taught proper customs with etiquette. Later studies believe that Wang Jie's work played a practical role in local grassroots governance and rural cultural education, and is regarded as a rural affairs document with practical significance.
If you are interested in the history of institutional governance, rural education, customs and regulations, and agricultural policies in the Yuan Dynasty, "Essentials of Good Customs" is one of the important documents for understanding the integration of local governance and Confucian education in the Yuan Dynasty.
