Tongmeng xuzhi 童蒙須知

Tongmeng xuzhi 童蒙須知 "What must be known about primary education", also called Zhuzi tongmeng xuzhi 朱子童蒙須知, is a treatise on education written by the Neo-Confucian master Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130-1200) during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279).

The short book describes how boys learned to behave in different social contexts, how to clothe, to speak and to walk, to clean the home and order their belongings, and of course, to read and write. The Tongmeng xuzhi is a basic text for pupils and provides them help in daily life and to prepare for the "greater studies" (daxue 大學). They have to learn the "three arrivals" (sandao 三到), namely that of the heart, that of the eyes, and that of the mouth. Of all these, the "arrival of the heart" is the most important, because if one cannot concentrate on one's job, the eyes will not perceive the crucial matters of a text, and the mouth will not be able to express the fundamental meaning when reciting a text. The same is valid for writing which has to be learnt with greatest care, and conversation which has to start, for a young boy, in a modest, humble and serene way, with a low voice and without joking.

The book is included in the series Dongtingyutang kanshu 東聽雨堂刊書.