Chinese classics make a comeback
Print Edition
DRESSED in Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) style clothing, 6-year-old Chen Quanjin is chanting ancient Chinese classics with several other children about the same age as their heads sway from side to side.
Instead of taking piano lessons or attending English learning courses, Chen spent his weekend doing traditional Chinese studies at the Chengxian Guoxue Institute in Guozijian, China’s highest education institute from the 13th to 19th centuries.
Chen has mastered the Dizigui, a Chinese book dating back more than 300 years that lays out standards for being a good child and student. He says the three-character verses are understandable and trip off the tongue.
“Older siblings should befriend younger ones; younger siblings should respect and love older ones. Siblings who keep harmonious relationships among themselves are being dutiful to their parents,” Chen quotes from the work.
With students aged mostly from 4 to 10, the Chengxian Guoxue Institute aims to expand children’s exposure to traditional culture through introductions to Confucianism, Chinese calligraphy and other traditional values, says director Ji Jiejing.
“Traditional Chinese culture should not lose its grip on young Chinese as it is good for their moral development and the cultivation of their character. Some wisdom delivered through the Chinese classics might help children deal with the challenges in their own lives,” Ji said.
“As a kind of enlightenment, I think traditional Chinese learning can start at an early age, say around 4, so the philosophy will be deeply rooted in their hearts.”
The popularity of the Chengxian Guoxue Institute reflects a resurgence of interest in traditional culture. In recent years, Chinese students’ English learning craze has, to some extent, led to the neglect of their mother tongue. So there has been a pressing call for a school system that attaches enough importance to teaching traditional culture.
Beijing’s Tongzhou district is a pioneer in teaching traditional culture. More than 50 primary and middle schools there have compulsory Chinese language lessons and one period a week focusing on cultural traditions. They are working with experimental textbooks for the lessons, which began in 2009.
“We try to find innovative ways to instill traditional culture into students, such as chanting the classics with morning gymnastics and holding couplet-writing competitions,” said Lu Hongli of Tongzhou’s Teacher Research and Training Center.
“They gradually develop an aesthetic sense of Chinese classics and the spirit of Chinese culture,” Lu said.
The experimental textbooks used in Tongzhou district were developed by the China Traditional Culture and Art Center. Initiated by the Ministry of Education, they are the first in a series of experimental textbooks for primary and middle schools.
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