Ancient Chinese Education
6 min readBeginning of Ancient Education
The historical importance of education in Chinese culture is derived from the teachings ofConfucius and philosophers of the middle and late Zhou eras.Education in China has been anequalizing force from ancient times.It has become the means by which individuals from even the humblest backgrounds can rise to great heights.At the same time，it is also a powerful mechanism for implementing the ethical and social norms of Chinese society.
In the Spring and Autumn Period，private schools prevailed and many scholars of different schools of thought spread their teaching in this way.Confucius，the great educator，devoted allhis life to the private school system and instructed most students.It is said that over 3，000
disciples followed him and 72 of them made outstanding achievements.Besides that，other schools such as Taoism were also taught widely and this led afterwards to”a hundred schools of thought”in the Warring States Period.
Development of Ancient Education
In 136 B.C.during the reign of Emperor Wudi（156 B.C.-87 B.C.），the government introduced a system which was named”Taixue”or Great Academy.Usually the students were provided with a free diet and mainly studied the classical Confucian books.Students who were admitted to the”Taixue”were destined for careers in the civil service after they passedthe internal exams and were competitively selected for various positions.Initially only fifty-
five students were admitted to the Great Academy.By 8 B.C.，the Academy had an enrollment of three thousand students.During the Han Dynasty provincial schools were established andthe Confucian tradition of education was spread across China.In the Han Dynasty there had been no system for testing a person’s ability，and the most prevalent method was merely through observation.Officials would see who was intelligent and recommend individuals to their superior.The curriculum at the Great Academy was based on the Confucian“Five classics”and classes were taught by professors of the”Five Classics”who were known as Boshi.The basis of Chinese education did not change throughout the imperial history till the reign of the last Qing emperors.
In the Sui Dynasty，Imperial Examination as the main form of education began to be put into practice.It lasted more than 1，300 years until the last examination during the Qing Dynasty.It enjoyed a long and dominant position in the history of ancient Chinese education.
The Tang Dynasty adopted the personnel selection system and gradually refined it.The main subjects of the examinations were writing and study of classical books, which were the most popular, as well as mathematics, law, calligraphy, etc. Most of prime ministers duringthat feudal period were titled “Jinshi”, and were good at writing. The candidates almost always came from two sources. These were students of official schools and also intelligent people undergoing the exams in their local county, who were entitled “Juren”when they achieved the necessary qualifications to take the central government examinations held each spring.
The form and content of the exams varied from one another. The one testing knowled ge of the classical books followed the method of filling in blanks. Usually one page of a book was chosen and several lines would be omitted. The candidates were required to fill the missing lines. Alternatively, they might be required to explain some of the lines in the book. Thereforethe need to be able to recite the work was important. While the tests for “Jinshi”were not so easy, they required a talent for literature.
Candidates who passed the highest imperial examination would have a promising future as court officials. The dragon had always been regarded as the symbol of mighty power and especially that of the rights exercised by the emperor; consequently the success of examination candidates was proudly called “stepping into the dragon’s door”. The most successful scholar was then granted the title of “Zhuangyuan”.
In the Song Dynasty subjects raised by government had been much less than that in theTang Dynasty, but the examination for “Jinshi”was still fashionable. Most of the prime ministers of high rank also had to pass the exam in a subject which then was regarded as an exclusive subject of prime ministers. Meanwhile, regardless of form and content, the system underwent great innovation.
Firstly, the extension of matriculation was broadened. In the former dynasties like the Tang Dynasty, each year the “Jinshi”were no more than twenty to thirty in number but in the Song Dynasty, there were as many as hundreds of people passing the exams and even those who failed the exams many times could apply for tolerance of the emperor and so serve as officials with less important positions.
Secondly, the frequency of exams was limited to a fixed once every three years. The local tests came first in autumn and in the following spring the qualifying candidates would trudge to the capital for the higher imperial examination.
Thirdly, so far as content was concerned, while the earlier examinations laid much stress on the ancient classical texts, the great reformer Wang Anshi(1021-1086) advocated an innovation which was much more practical. He changed the blank-filling of verses into composition about the verse, giving free reign to the ability of the candidates. However, this was opposed by other grandees and did not last for long.
Finally, to prevent the practice of favoritism, examinees’ names were closely covered ontheir papers which were then exchanged among different local examiners. This did indeed greatly reduce the incidence of cheating.
In the Song Dynasty, few governmental schools were erected, but it was the vogue for scholars to set up numerous private educational organizations-“Shuyuan”. The function of this kind of school was to cultivate talented people, to encourage a devotion to learning, as well as to spread culture. The four most reputed “Shuyuan”were named Bailudong Institute of Jiangxi, Songyang Institute and Yingtian Institute of Henan, and Yuelu Institute of Hunan.
Scholars were invited to give lectures and students were provided with dormitories, desks and food while basically studying on their own. Subsequently, most of these institutes became places where students prepared for exams.
With the coming of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination system reached its period of full bloom. Great attention was given to the administrative procedures and the tests became more rigorous. The Ming government managed to found schools, and strengthened their function to be the only road by which people could take the exams. The provincial and metropolitan examiners tested only “eight-legged”(eight-part) essays. Candidates were required to write in a fixed style with a fixed word count-it had to be eight paragraphs, while imitating the tone of the classics. But this method neglected other forms and contents. Thus it was harmful as it stifled both creativity and imagination.
Decline of Ancient Education
Since the Qing Dynasty was dominated by the Manchu ethnic group, they gave their peoplepriority over the Han people. Manchu people attending the imperial examination were not tested but required only to undertake some translation, yet the Han people were still formed a majority of the examinees. As the tight hold on affairs held by the Qing Dynasty became more and more unpopular, the education system also needed fresh ideas and input as it wasa disservice to the country.A trend appeared towards the way in which the positions of court officials could be purchased and this sometimes even gave rise to unlawful pass to the degraded system.
It is interesting to note that Fan Jin, one of the characters depicted in the novel of The Scholars by Wu Jingzi, is quite a typical victim of the declining system. The hero Fan Jin took pains time and time again to achieve a pass in the provincial examination. Never once to giveup, he was in his fifties when his efforts were finally rewarded. When he got the news that hehad finally ranked on the list of successful candidates, he was in a delirium with great joy!
In contrast to western education, particularly in regard to the model of higher education in Medieval and Renaissance universities where students were encouraged to engage in disputation, traditional Chinese education consisted primarily of rote learning and memorization of the Classics. Candidates for the Imperial Examinations were required to memorize a vast amount of classical materials and were never required to demonstrate the ability to either theorize or challenge a particular premise. The purpose of the scholar class after all was: the creation of bureaucratic generalists familiar with an accepted ethical outlook and body of knowledge, not with the growth of knowledge or with academic specialization.
