Ancient China and the Importance of Education
Since ancient times, the Chinese people have had a strong tradition of respecting teachers and valuing education. Over the five thousand years of recorded civilization, many notable individuals were dedicated to grand ideas and lofty ideals of building a society that is characterized by virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity. These prominent figures in Chinese history also, fairly consistently, recognized the importance of education and teachers in the process of social development. Confucius (551 BC to 479 BC), the great thinker and educator who lived during late in the Spring and Autumn period (771 BC to 476 BC) of Chinese History, also the founder of the Confucian School of Thought, regarded education as the foundation of human development and of a nation. Based on the precept that “similar in nature, distant in learning” (Zhonghua Book Company Editorial Office, 2006, p.158) – in other words, people are born similar in nature, but nurture draws them apart – Confucius elaborated on not only the role of education in human development and state governance, but also the role of teachers in the social progress. After a long period of declining quality in government-sponsored schooling, Confucius set a precedent for the establishment of private schools. As the most influential teacher in Chinese history, he set forth that the first and foremost requirement for teachers should be they “never be tired of learning and teaching,” pointing out that teachers should serve as a model to their students in the learning endeavor. He believed that modeling was better than preaching. And he, himself, earnestly practiced what he advocated. Led by Confucius, a large number of intellectuals followed in his footsteps, setting a good example not only for Chinese teachers, but also for establishing the image of “Junzi”1 for the whole Chinese society. In ancient China, teachers also had a unique title of respect, namely “Xiansheng” (its literal meaning is “person born first or before another”). “Xiansheng” was a Chinese term of respect for those who were of high moral standing, and it did not distinguish between men and women. In contemporary Chinese language, the word “Xiansheng” typically means “Mr. or Sir”, which refers to men only; however it had a much richer meaning in ancient Chinese. Historically, the Chinese referred to all teachers as “Xiansheng”, regardless of gender. Even in nowadays and in formal contexts, people still refer to respected female teachers as “Xiansheng.” Therefore, even before the first century, respect for teachers became a Chinese cultural tradition. Xunzi (313 BC to 238 BC), an important disciple of Confucius, even advocated that “if a nation is going to rise, it should value the teacher over the master. If a nation values a teacher less than a master, it will fall.” In this way, the social status of teachers was raised to the highest level, on a par with heaven and earth, and even on a par with that of the ruler.
Han Yu (768-824 AD), a famous educator of the Tang Dynasty, wrote an essay entitled “On Teacher and Teaching,” in which he argued that teachers undertake the responsibility to pass on and preserve “Tao.”2 He advocated that “respecting the teacher” has bearing on the development of the morality of a nation, and affirmed the role and status of teachers. Furthermore, he also put forward the idea on how to identify a good teacher and how to become a good teacher. For instance, he used having the understanding of “Tao” as a fundamental criterion for selecting a teacher (Zhou, 2013). In addition, he held an enlightened outlook toward teachers by stating that “sages do not limit themselves to a particular teacher” (which means that people with inquiring minds can learn from anyone who has a strength or talent) and “a student needs not be inferior to a teacher, and a teacher need not to be more virtuous and talented than his students.”
There are many other writings in Chinese history dedicated to how to be an effective teacher, evidencing that the ancient sages in China started the quest for how to be a good teacher and how to teach effectively long ago. For instance, The Xueji, a treatise written by Yue Zhengke, who was a student of Mencius (372-289 BC) between 403 BC and 221 BC, was devoted to issues of education and teaching. It proposed many insightful teaching ideas, such as “teaching according to the ability of the child,” “heuristic teaching,” “timely teaching” (i.e., taking advantage of teachable moments), “gradual progress,” “integration of learning and thinking,” and “unification of knowledge and action.” These principles and methods of teaching and learning still hold true and are practiced widely today (Mao, 1984, pp. 174-177).