Ya-Jing

Last night, I had hot pot with some friends and we talked about interesting things. One topic that really stuck with me was about children’s education. Maybe I’m more open to such discussions because I’m about to have kids myself.

There’s a story about a girl named ‘Ya-Jing.’ When she was a little over one year old, she accidentally got her fingers caught under the lid of a flip-top desk. Her fingers were reportedly flattened—it hurt a lot. Of course, she cried. Her mom came over to comfort her.

‘Ya-Jing, oh Ya-Jing, the desk didn’t do it on purpose. You should forgive it, pardon its sins…’

Amazingly, Ya-Jing stopped crying and slowly calmed down.

When my friend got to this point in the story, I was already amazed. Before I could say anything, my friend continued.

‘This way of educating is completely different from how our parents taught us when we were young. I remember back then, when I accidentally bumped into tables or chairs and cried, our parents would blow on the injured spot and then smack the furniture hard, saying, “It’s the table’s fault, it’s the chair’s fault, they shouldn’t have hurt my precious baby.” It seemed like we would also calm down with such consolations. But the truth is, the impact on our hearts is completely different. Ya-Jing was taught to “forgive others, pardon others, and introspect,” while we were taught “it’s others’ fault, not ours, and to blame others.” Maybe you and I had parents who “educated” us this way, and now we’re not ones to “blame others,” but we can’t deny that these harmful ideas have rooted deeply inside us. We may not notice them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.’

I agree with my friend’s perspective. I’m very impressed by Ya-Jing’s everyday education method. Such education requires immense wisdom and is likely based on faith. Reflecting on this, I’m also thinking about my own faith and how I will interact with my kids in the future.

Now, Ya-Jing is two years old. She’s very cute. When we first met last week, she was a bit shy, but by the second day, she was calling me uncle.

By the way, her name comes from the Bible’s Genesis, “Jacob’s Well.” Isn’t it beautiful?