Introduction
History has always been a fascinating subject to learn and investigate. It opens the door to the massive scope of human heritage, teaching modern society lessons of the past to make the future better. The Chinese written history, in particular, dates back to over three hundred years ago, comprising events and personalities that helped shape the modern state of the country and the whole world. Thus, the history of China has a lot to offer to contemporary society, including one of the oldest education systems worldwide. This paper aims to give a short overview of Education in Ancient China, discussing the very start of the Chinese education system, its initial purpose and targeted segments of the population. Furthermore, the mandatory subjects and the results of introducing the given education system will be discussed.
How it started
Complex educational practices were in effect from the very beginning of the process of establishing the education system in ancient China. The foundation for the modern Chinese system was already greatly established at those times. The Chinese education system started with establishing formal schools during the rule of the Xia Dynasty and then that of the Shang Dynasty (Guo et al., 2019). During that period, only those who belonged to the class of the privileged could receive education to obtain high administrative positions close to the governmental forces. Additionally, the schools of those times mainly included teaching purely religious rituals as they referred to the great Shang leaders. Then, with the rise of the new Zhou Dynasty, the education system started to change drastically, and the Shang Dynasty, along with its relatively fresh, but inefficient school system, suffered its great downfall.
What changed?
The notion of Tian (Heaven) shifted from the metaphysical meaning given by the Shang rulers to the more moral-based concept integrated by the founder of the Zhou Dynasty. With this integration, the public institution of education was formed, and even common people could study and become a part of the educational system of China (Wu, 2015). Speaking of the education methods, ancient Chinese used bamboo books and practiced religious and moral rituals. The method of rote learning, typical of modern Chinese education, was rather condemned in ancient times – education was a process of individual and spiritual development (Guo et al., 2019). Self-reflection, morality, spiritual practices were implemented and gave rise to the new vision of education. There is no wonder, as the new era brought along fresh ideas and methods.
What did they study?
However, the class division of Chinese society dictated the division in education. The children of nobility and children of the lower classes studied in separate institutions and had different purposes of education, thus, different disciplines were implemented for each. For example, literacy was a privilege for the upper classes and the officials (Wu, 2015). Children from such families were taught to read, write, and count. Their curricula included morality-based education and consisted of such subjects as music, arts, rites, archery, riding, military arts, astronomy, and other naturalistic topics. On the contrary, students from non-privileged families were to obtain knowledge orally, without learning arithmetics, reading, or writing skills (Wu, 2015). Those times, the Chinese education system appreciated the “talented” people who had a high potential to learn and achieve superior results in their studies and rule the country. The well-educated officials were of high importance to the government, so the priority was to give the best of knowledge to these particular people.
However, the class division of Chinese society dictated the division in education. The children of nobility and children of the lower classes studied in separate institutions and had different purposes of education, thus, different disciplines were implemented for each. For example, literacy was a privilege for the upper classes and the officials (Wu, 2015). Children from such families were taught to read, write, and count. Their curricula included morality-based education and consisted of such subjects as music, arts, rites, archery, riding, military arts, astronomy, and other naturalistic topics. On the contrary, students from non-privileged families were to obtain knowledge orally, without learning arithmetics, reading, or writing skills (Wu, 2015). Those times, the Chinese education system appreciated the “talented” people who had a high potential to learn and achieve superior results in their studies and rule the country. The well-educated officials were of high importance to the government, so the priority was to give the best of knowledge to these particular people.
Why education system was implemented?
Such a rigid class stratification system had a direct purpose from the point of view of the governmental officials. Education of a high degree was a necessary tool for building an efficient system of social development and operation (Wu, 2015). The talented people of society had the potential to become officials and run Chinese governmental affairs. Moreover, these people were the carriers of professional knowledge of agriculture, astronomy, geography, technology, botany, and such. Thus, they were the ones to first, make calculated, weighted decisions on the basic social needs and reforms, and second, share this theoretical knowledge with the lower working classes who applied it in practice (Wu, 2015). As a result, it was intended that the knowledge orally obtained from the educated scholars was to assist the ordinary people in using their practical skills, like selecting the most appropriate plants for cultivation or the best climatic conditions for growing particular crops. In such a way, each social class was doing work appropriate to their talents and predisposition to certain jobs or tasks.
Embracing downfall to rise again
Unfortunately, the Chinese education system suffered a great downfall during the reign of the Qui Dynasty. The emperor Shi Huang terminated private schools and commanded them to burn books and scholarly papers, and even bury scholars alive. However, during the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu made Confucianism a national doctrine, and the form of the public education system was established. With that came the rights of ordinary people to get an education (Tan, 2020). Thus, even people from lower classes could have a chance to become a part of the “moral,” intelligent elite. From that moment on, the Chinese education system gained even more socio-cultural discourses, which now could be applied to people of all social classes. During those times, each boy in China could attend school.
The results
Moreover, there was the implementation of the teachings of the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism. The Four books included Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, and Mencius. Accordingly, The Five Classics were the Book of Rites, Classic of Poetry, Book of Documents, the Spring and Autumn Annals, and the I Ching. The teachings were focused on the postulates of Confucianism and promoted moral development and honorable deeds (Tan, 2020). For common people, studying Confucianism was the most effective way to advance into the class of the elite. It is during those times that the first civil service exam was introduced. Confucianism became the main subject to study for the civil service exam. Rural schools were established around the country, and Confucianism as a method of education won its predominance in China. Thus, Confucianism became the most significant influence in the Chinese education system.
Conclusion
Thus, the education system of ancient China yielded promising results, despite the constant changes and turbulent governmental environment. The elite was highly educated and, therefore, could run the country’s affairs. While common people did get a chance to study over time, several illiterate people remained astonishing. Eventually, the principles of Confucianism were gradually integrated and influenced the education system for the better. Confucius, who came from an impoverished aristocratic family, first began a broad pedagogical activity, teaching not only the noble and rich but also the poor. The main criterion for education was the desire for knowledge. It was he who gave an impetus to the penetration of education into the lower layer of Chinese society, for which grateful Chinese still call him the first teacher of China.
References
Guo, L., Huang, J., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Education development in China: Education return, quality, and equity. Sustainability, 11(13), 3750.
(The article discusses the issues of education development in China throughout its history)
Tan, C. (2020). A Confucian conception of citizenship education. The Palgrave Handbook of citizenship and education, 3-15.
(The paper examines a Confucian conception of citizenship education)
Wu, M. (2015). Education and social selection in ancient China: Semantics, conceptual transformation and social change. Paedagogica Historica, 51(3), 247–263. Web.
(The paper investigates the problem of education in ancient China in relation to the social stratification)