History of Education in China

By Charline & Yaling

30 century B.C.- 1600 B.C.

庠者，养也；校者，教也；序者，射也 Basic needs, wisdom, experiences, shoot

16th century B.C. late "Xia Dynasty"

16th century B.C. during the late "Xia Dynasty" (1523-1027 B.C.).

Oracle bones

11th century -17th century (3600yrs)

Curriculum:

文武 (knowledge and Kongfu)，礼仪 (polite behavior)，乐舞 (music and dance)，天文 (astronomical)，历法(history and laws) www.chinaeducenter.com

Papermaking and printing

770-221 B.C. Han The teachings of Confucianism during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770-

221 B.C.), the curriculum were mainly based on The Four Books and The Five Classics.

The Four Books:

The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, Confucian Analects and The Works of Mencius.

The Five Classics: The Book of Poetry (also known as The Book of Songs, The Book of

Odes), The Book of History, The Book of Rites, The Book of Changes, and The Spring and Autumn Annals.

Acknowledged subjects of the Confucian culture in the feudal society in ancient China.

Confucianism probably is the biggest influence in education of China throughout the entire Chinese history.

Later in Han dynasty, a form of public education system was established.

Not only elites but common man can also use education as a path to become a better man, a gentleman.

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Confucianism

六德 morality (智、信、圣、仁、义、忠)，wisdom, righteousness, loyalty, holy

六行 behavior （孝. 友、睦、姻、任，恤)、filial piety, friendly, harmony, marriage, responsibility, sympathy

六艺 skill (礼、乐、射、御、书、数 )

courtesy, music, shoot, imperial, books, math,

During Han dynasty, the first civil service exam was set up.

Confucianism was one of the key subjects to study for the civil service exam.

Provincial schools were established countrywide and the Confucianism tradition of education was spread all over China.

The civil service exam used till Qing dynasty.

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The end of the Qing dynasty

1911 until now More western influence on Chinese

education. After the defeat of the British army in the

Opium War (1840-1842), scholars and government officials suggested a major restructure of education system, developing new areas such as foreign language, science and technology.

In 1911, the Qing Dynasty itself was overthrown by revolution, and a republican form of government was established.

At that time, government completely abandoned the traditional way of education.

New educational models from European, American and Japanese were set up in China.

Basic Education

3 yrs pre-school 6 yrs primary school (5-yr in rural areas in

1980s to 1990s) 3 yrs junior high school 3 yrs senior high school 2-3 yr colleges (vocational-technical) 4 yr colleges (bachelor’s degree) 2-3 yr Master degree 3 yr Doctoral degree

Learning mostly through

1) Listening2) note-taking 3) reading the textbook

Activities such as problem solving, critical analysis, collecting evidence and experimentation are rare

http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=338&catid=13&subcatid=82www.open.edu

Learning Dimensions

Moral Intellectual (math,

languages, biological, history, geography…)

Physical ( PE, sports)

Aesthetical (arts, drawing, music…)