Mencius, known as Meng Ke, was a renowned thinker and educator during China's Warring States period. Orphaned at three, he was raised by his mother, a cultured woman who prioritized his education to shape him into a worthy man.
Near the Mencius family home was a cemetery, and funeral processions often passed by their door. Young Mencius would frequently imitate the musicians and wailing women in the procession, and even play at burying the dead: digging a hole in the ground, using rotten wood or decaying grass as a corpse. His mother was furious at this behavior, believing it showed no ambition and would hinder his studies, so she moved the family into the city.
Since there were no graves in the city, Mencius could no longer play at burying the dead. So his mother ordered him to study the *Analects* and model himself after Confucius. At first, he settled down to read, but as days passed, his mind began to wander. Their home was in a bustling market—the clang of blacksmiths, the squeal of slaughtered pigs, and the cries of hawkers filled the air day and night. Distracted, Mencius soon abandoned his books and joined his friends in playing at buying and selling. His mother realized that this noisy place made it impossible for him to concentrate, so she moved once more—this time to a house opposite the city's school.
The atmosphere at the academy was truly different, with the constant sound of reading filling the air. Mencius finally settled down to study. Sometimes, he would peer into the academy, watching how the students read and how they practiced the rites of Zhou with their teacher. Back home, he even began to imitate them.
One day, Mencius's mother saw her son kneeling and bowing, and she frowned, thinking he was playing at burying the dead again. When he explained he was practicing the rites of the Zhou Dynasty, her face lit up with joy. Soon after, she sent him to a formal school to study the *Book of Songs* and the *Book of Documents*, where he progressed rapidly. He later became the most renowned Confucian sage after Confucius himself.
Later, the idiom "Three Moves' Teaching" came to describe a loving mother's dedication to her children's success by choosing a good learning environment and educating them wisely.
Source: *Mencius*, "Preface by Zhao Qi"
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "三迁之教" came to describe a loving mother's dedication to her children's success by choosing a good learning environment and educating them wisely.