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A good initiative

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-27 07:33

We have seen young enthusiasts of Han Fu demonstrating to confused audiences the benefits of traditional costumes.

We have even read about private tutoring classes specializing in ancient classics where both the teacher and students wore traditional costumes.

We have heard enough about "inheriting," "developing," or "carrying forward" traditional Chinese culture.

No doubt we are proud of our cultural past. Yet what is it? We do not actually know what "Chinese culture" stands for. Nor do we agree on where to start.

That hardly matters most of the time. Indeed, we eat, drink, work, play, and go to bed as usual without bothering about it.

But it does when Tsinghua University wants to do something.

The college has been facing an avalanche of criticism lately, following reports that an experimental class on liberal arts and social sciences are required to take a course on Four Books.

Along with Five Classics, Four Books - The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and Mencius - was rudimentary reading for all people of letters in old China.

That is why some critics ridicule Tsinghua for resorting to an outdated moral compass.

We do have reservations about a Tsinghua professor's idea to encourage, or perhaps require, students to learn Four Books by rote. That was the way the all-important classics were learnt in private classes for children, in the old days. Today's students would rather waste their time rote learning English.

But Tsinghua has done a great job making Four Books required reading. In the first place, it took a sensible first step. Four Books' historical significance in traditional Chinese teaching shows they are the best beginners for anyone with a serious interest in our cultural traditions. Or they would not have remained required reading for children in ancient times.

Some dislike the Tsinghua initiative, saying Four Books are too basic for college students. Yes, they were read by children in the past, but how many of today's PhDs have read them? There is no reason not to expose college students to such essential classics just because they are "too old".

By starting this course, Tsinghua has an eye on improving students' proficiency in traditional Chinese. Some say Four Books are too simple for that purpose. But unless we are talking about professional linguists, we believe they are great examples of traditional literature. Truth is, few of us can fully appreciate their texts without consulting modern translations.

Some of the moral instructions in Four Books may sound irrelevant to the people of today. You can even say they represent only the Confucian aspects of Chinese culture. But let us face it - Confucianism has been a main and long thread running through most parts of our history. The core values they propagate are still there in the depth of our national psyche. Such Chinese concepts as propriety, benevolence, and harmony all have their roots in Four Books.

Reading Four Books can help cultivate a better sense of our cultural traditions. It can also inspire reflections on our moral well-being.

What is wrong with that?

Give Tsinghua a break.

(China Daily 09/27/2008 page4)