16 / / 17 There is a long history of educational institutions, both private and public, in China and in the West. Before the Qin dynasty, there already existed a variety of public educational institutions under different names. From the Qin and Han dynasties onwards until later the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were imperial educational establishments under the central government as well as local schools at provincial, prefectural and county levels. The Imperial Civil Service Examination system (keju) was first introduced in the Sui and Tang dynasties. From the Song to Qing dynasties, it became the main mechanism of recruiting officials for the government, giving rise to different levels of government-run educational institutions, where the Four Books, the Five Classics, and the orthodox teachings of Neo-Confucianism as imperial ideology were taught. During the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods, according to the legends, Confucius gathered some 3,000 disciples who were nurtured by four subjects (virtuous conduct, speech, government, cul ture and learning) and six arts (ri tes, music, archery, char iot ry, ca l l igraphy, ma thema t i cs ) ; while Mozi’s advocacy for universal love and antiaggression attracted hundreds of followers. Both are exemplary of early non-governmental education. For a time during the Six Dynasties period, aristocratic families would set up studies at home, and Buddhist monasteries became popular venues for private learning. By the middle of the Tang dynasty, the name ‘shuyuan’ (academy), literally a house of books, came into being, initially referring to rooms in the house for conserving books, similar to a depository for scriptures in a Buddhist temple, then evolving to refer to an educational institution for learning. At the The Traditions in Education Chapter 1 beginning of the Song dynasty, imperial civil service examinations were used more extensively for the purpose of recruitment and selection for government officials. People started pursuing studies to prepare for the exam, flocking to private institutions, such as the Yingtian Academy, many of whose students would successfully pass the civil service examination and enter the officialdom. This emerging trend of private learning, advocated subsequently by prominent Confucian scholars in the Song dynasty, led to the proliferation of academies in many major cities as well as in scenic countryside. They became the most important private educational institutions outside the government school system for nurturing literati and scholar-officials in the history of traditional education in China. While Chinese traditional education was conducted by both government and private institutions, the two educational channels were in fact inextricably intertwined. Shuyuan founders, supporters, teachers and students or their family members often served in or were associated with the government. Wellknown academies also received recognition through state bestowals of books and name plaques, as well as endowment of properties and land by the local government , in addition to private sponsorship. Therefore, it was impossible to dissociate these private institutions completely from the government establishment. The relationship between academies and the civil service examination system also changed with time. Some continued to prepare students for taking civil service examination; some devoted to pursuit in philosophical and political discourse; yet some became centres of political dissent. In the Qing dynasty, academies resumed to serve mainly for the exam preparation, which was no different from government schools. Shuyuan education emphasised learning from great teachers, seeking answers to questions, studying classics, discussing and debating with one another, and cultivating moral integrity. At academies that believed that the purpose of education is the advancement of the common good rather than attainment of power, wealth and status, classes were not confined to the preparation for the examination, so the learning environment was rather flexible – teachers taught freely in pursuit of excellence, and students came and left as they pleased. On the other hand, some academies branded their masters and their schools of thought to attract students, sometimes leading to students blindly following these masters’ doctrines, forming like-minded cliques and becoming intolerant of other teachings. All in all, traditional education in China, be it public or private, placed equal emphasis on the moral character and knowledge. The curriculum, with the core being the study of Confucian classics and moral principles such as the ‘three cardinal bonds (father-son, rulersubject, husband-wife) and five constant virtues (humanity, integrity, propriety, wisdom, sincerity)’, required also the mastery of both literature and history as well as general knowledge of a wide variety of subjects from the hundred schools of thought such as philosophy, mathematics, agriculture, commerce, craft and engineering. As a result, traditional intellectuals were often highly educated and widely knowledgeable. If they served in official positions, they would try to put theories into practice in governance and serving the society. If they were civilians, they would practise law or medicine, improve the community’s infrastructure, build schools to promote education, and foster harmony in the community. The academies from the Song and Ming dynasties best exemplify this education tradition, as they focused on not only the study of classics in four branches of knowledge, but also the cultivation of moral character and virtues. As advocated by Zhu Xi, the NeoConfucian master and a venerated figure in shuyuan education, it is believed that effective investigation of true knowledge could not be accomplished without sincerity in mind and genuine self-rectification. It goes without saying that only knowledge acquired as such would lead to self-cultivation and proper service to the country. Self-cultivation and the pursuit of knowledge should therefore be complementary to each other; and the wish to contribute to the family and the society should be what motivates learning in the first place. In conclusion, traditional Chinese education emphasises both morality and knowledge, expertise and erudition. The shuyuans in the Song and Ming dynasties, in particular, valued especially the cultivation of the student’s temperament and character as the foundation for learning. Among the great shuyuans during the Song Dynasty, Bailudong Shuyuan (White Deer Grotto Shuyuan) in present Jiangxi was perhaps the most influential, while Yuelu Shuyuan in present Hunan has continued up to the present day and still functions as a higher education institution. The treasured heritage of Bailudong Shuyuan is its Regulations (Bailudong Shuyuan Xuegui) written by Confucian master Zhu Xi in 1179 while he was Prefect of Nanchang. This text was held in esteem as a model of regulations for shuyuans over the centuries. It is stated at the outset of the document that shuyuan education aims to impart to students the protocol and moral of the five cardinal relationships 范寬谿山行旅圖 Travelers Among Mountains and Streams by Fan Kuan ╚锟⛿㶇䑑剹ꯗ侷芎溸⯽┿♂气 College Education in China and the West in Historical Perspective 睙┞ꌄ | PART I
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