Traditional and Contemporary Chinese Classical Literature Education

Traditional and contemporary circumstances of Chinese classical literature education
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Traditional and contemporary circumstances of Chinese classical literature education
Circumstances in the classical Chinese education system
2100-1600 BCE Xia (Hsia) Dynasty, 1600-1050 BCE Shang Dynasty and 1046-256 BCE Zhou (Chou) Dynasty: Western Zhou (ca. 1046-771 BCE), Eastern Zhou (771-256 BCE)
During the pre-Qin Dynasty era, the education system was relatively undeveloped. The literature available dated to this period is known as ‘the literature of earlier ancient times.’ the education system before and during these periods was largely informal but over the next centuries it became formal and evolved from simple to complex content based on documented literature CITATION Chi60 \l 1033 (Chinese Cultural Research Institute, 1960). Information was taught in informal setups in families and they passed it on to other generations. But during the Xia Dynasty, a new system of education in formal setup started to emerge. Formal schools were established known as the Xiao.
The Zhou era divided the schooling system into two, East XU and West Xu. East Xu was exclusively for the children of nobility while the West Xu was meant for children of the ordinary citizens. The Zhou Dynasty established more schools and later divided them into state schools and village schools. State schools were exclusively for the nobility and consisted of elementary and higher-level colleges. The village schools were divided into four, Shu, Xiang, Xu, and Xiao only exceptional students who satisfied their evaluation criteria got a chance of entering college. Academies started springing up in the kingdom and they were established by the emperor’s order. The educators lectured on the 100 Schools of Thought and some of the notable educators of the period were Tzu, Zou Yan, Lu Zhonglian.
The late Xia Dynasty featured teachings on Confucianism. Confucius, 551–479 BC, an iconic figure of China and its education system lived during this period. He developed the schools of thought that were studied by students in later dynasties. The curriculum was mainly based on The Four Books and The Five Classics. The four books were, Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, Confucian Analects, The Works of Mencius and the five classics were the Book of Poetry, The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals. The primary aim of Confucianism education was to teach social behavior and political teachings CITATION QIn14 \l 1033 (Gu, 2014). Confucianism taught men how to act and behave (in ancient China education was only for men). The education was meant to enable the civilization to grow and prosper as well as establish a social order based on common knowledge. The main reason for educating children was to enable them to have good paying jobs and rise to various important ranks within the kingdom. Suitability for public office depended on memorizing the classical literature.
The early system of education necessitated children to go to school (in temples) every day from 6.00AM to 4.00PM CITATION Kar17 \l 1033 (Carr, 2017). This was for the few boys who were not enslaved and their pa...