Private School Thriving in the Spring and Autumn Period
In the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC - 476BC), private schools prevailed and many scholars of different schools of thought spread their teaching in this way.
Confucius, the great educator, devoted all his life to the private school system and instructed most students. It is said that over three thousand disciples followed him, among whom there were 72 sages who went on to broaden the acceptance of the philosophy set out by their master - Confucianism: a philosophy embracing benevolence in living, diligence in learning, and so on.
Besides that, other schools such as Taoism, also taught widely and this led afterwards to 'a hundred schools of thought' in the Warring States Period. During the succeeding years, private schools continued to exist although there were times when state education became fashionable.
Recommendation through Observation in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220)
In 136 BC during the reign of Emperor Wudi (156 BC - 87 BC), the government introduced a system which was named 'taixue'. Usually the students were provided with a free diet and mainly studied the classical Confucian books. Following examinations, those with good marks would directly be given official titles.
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. This obviously restricted the source of talented people and did little to provide any kind of equality for the population as a whole. Such a system could only lead to nepotism and corruption and the need for a different means of selection had to be sought.
The Nine Grades of Rank in the Regime System in the Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties
The Nine Grades of Rank in the Regime System (or Jiupin zhongzheng system), employed the following method: in each state and county there was official acting as 'Zhongzheng' with authority to decide how people were ranked in the local precincts according to ability. By ranking candidates for official positions in this way, the government was able to make a choice of the best people for various posts.
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Travelers' Voices on Ancient Education
1.
May. 16,2009 15:08 Reply
Mr.cool dude(Europe) said:
Ancient EducationAncient Education
e Say aboumore than 2,000 characters, please.
You can post as a mCivil Office'. The erudite scholar Liu Zongyuan was given an official position directly after passing the exam because of his extensive knowledge while another scholar, Han Yu, unfortunately failed and had to be contented with the position of an assistant to a high official.
Inclusion in the list of successful candidates not only relied on the exam result but sometimes also upon the recommendation and instruction of a notable person with authority. The highly reputed poet Bai Juyi (772 - 846) had benefited a lot in this way, with the precondition of his dazzling endowment. When as a teenager he visited the senior poet Gu Kuang, he was not given too much attention but when the old poet saw that the boy's name meant in Chinese 'living free and easy'. He said to the modest and keen young lad, 'Hey boy, living in the competitive capital Chang'an (now Xi'an) is never an easy thing.' Then he began to casually read Bai Juyi's verse. However, after reading the first sentence of the poem, Gu Kuang became surprised and eager to read more, saying hopefully, 'You can write so brilliant a verse, that living in Chang'an will never be a difficulty for you.' This submitted poem was "A Farewell Poem to the Old Meadow", which continues to win universal praise today.
During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, she asked questions of candidates herself in the imperial hall. This was the initialization of the interview. She also created the form of Wushu examinat
2.
Apr. 2,2009 14:09 Reply
Ms.martinez(america) said:
that is amazing that back then they had such good schools and ways of teaching i think it is just wonderful!
Apr. 14,2009 13:25
Ms.olayo(USA) replied:
were you a teacher it seems to me as if
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Apr. 14,2009 13:24 Reply
Mrs.dorits(USA) said:
i would just like to say that the solution for the china education was a great deal because they had highly inteligent obections to teach with
4.
Apr. 1,2009 16:20 Reply
Mr.Mike(USA) said:
This good time being in and history place
5.
Mar. 2,2009 03:47 Reply
Mr.Pradyot Khan(Ind) said:
Good day. Iwant to know theImpact of Ancient Education Systems of China on the Present Systems of education. How can I get informations on the above mentoned topic. Please guide me to collect the informations. Also provide the website of the respective University library where I can get informations.
6.
Dec. 7,2008 11:25 Reply
Mr.Singh(India) said:
Declination in the Qing Dynasty
Since the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) was dominated by the Manchu ethnic group, they gave their people priority 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 was a 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 one of characters depicted in the novel 'Fan Jin Zhong Ju' is quite a typical victim of the declining system. The hero Fan Jin took pains time and time again to achieve a pass the provincial examination. Never one to give up, he was in his fifties when his efforts were finally rewarded. When he got the news that he had finally ranked on the list of successful candidates, he was in a delirium with great joy!