We don't need no (Western) education

Children recite Di Zi Gui and the Three-Character Primer at a primary school in Zhejiang province. Provided to China Daily

Popular field of study advocates ancient Chinese answers to modern problems

In a time when China's best and brightest scramble to become world leaders in many disciplines, there is one area where the nation lays clear claim to being ahead - Chinese national studies, or guoxue (国学).

The subject is an oppositional force to "Western" disciplines and usually refers to any field of scholarship that is traditional and native to China, be it Confucianism, Taoism, historical writings, ancient poems, medicine or the arts. "Anything that has withstood the test of centuries and has been passed down today, as long as it has a positive effect in our society, that can be called guoxue," says Ji Jiezheng, a woman in her 50s in a dark green qipao and pearl necklace.

With 100 students, mostly between ages 4 and 6, Ji's Chengxian Guoxue Institute is an example guoxue's rejuvenation. Affiliated with the Beijing Confucius Temple and Imperial College Museum (北京孔庙和国子监博物馆), the institute enlightens the young through introductory Confucianism, calligraphy, painting and handcrafts.

In a world obsessed with piano, Olympic-level math and Disney-inspired English, it seems to many that traditional culture has been missing in a modern child's development. "The ideal life pattern of us Chinese is to first cultivate the moral self, regulate one's family, then go on to attend state affairs, and finally bring world peace," Ji says, quoting the Great Learning (大学), a bona fide Confucian classic. "No matter what career the kids pursue in the future, they first have to learn how to be a moral person."

Chengxian means "to become a virtuous person", which is also part and parcel of Confucian beliefs. "We no longer pay attention to manners and courtesy as before," says Ji.

The institute puts Di Zi Gui (弟子规, Standards for Being a Good Pupil and Child) at the center of its teaching and philosophy. Di Zi Gui is a 1,000-word list of rules and suggestions written in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) by scholar Li Yuxiu, based on his teaching experience of Confucianism to young children. In it a good child is held up as a respectful, moral and harmonious member of a family and community, as one excerpt goes:

"Elder siblings should take care of the young, and the young should respect their elder siblings. ... Don't take wealth too seriously, and you will be free from resentment; be tolerant in your words, and conflict will dissolve naturally."

Prestigious universities such as Tsinghua and Peking have also established research centers that reside within a Confucian embrace. Wuhan University even goes so far as to offer a PhD degree in guoxue, which produced its very first Doctor of guoxue in 2012.

During the 19th century clash between China and the outside world, teachings from the West were labeled "new studies" while the original disciplines became known as "old studies", or guoxue. Advocacy of guoxue's continued ascendancy is ever-present, especially with the rise of the masters of national studies such as Zhang Taiyan (章太炎), Chen Yinke (陈寅恪), Qian Mu (钱穆), and most recently paleographer, linguist and writer, Ji Xianlin (季羡林).

According to Zhang Taiyan's lectures on guoxue in 1922, the subject can be divided into three schools: the study of jing (经学), made up of the Confucian classics; the study of philosophy, which are schools of ancient Chinese philosophy outside Confucianism; and the study of ancient literature. Ji Xianlin, on the other hand, proposed a "broad guoxue" (大国学) in 2008, including all regional and ethnic culture.

Guoxue has become more open to myriad interpretations. In worse case scenarios, and often driven by profit, some merely use it as a name to garnish something completely different.

Guoxue's popularity has boomed through adult training programs that offer to change people's lives and better their careers - a sort of lowbrow self-help Confucianism. It is promoted to CEOs and government officials. One typical Peking University course cost 100,000 yuan ($16,260; 12,225 euros ) per annum, covering the more predictable topics such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese history, but also the more unusual, such as an array of health tips drawn from traditional Chinese medicine.

"The teaching contributes to the happiness of individuals and the harmony of society," says 48-year-old former high-school moral cultivation teacher Li Yaojun, a public speaker, booked by private companies and local governments alike, all year round. Li first used the teachings as educational material for his then 12-year-old daughter, but Li began to believe that such a moral education was equally in need amongst adults.

The guoxue education market is crowded with many players and all seem to appeal to what is a very clear and present need. Such a need can be further illustrated by mass media. A TV program named Lecture Room (百家讲坛, literally, The Hundred Schools of Thought Forum) originally featured eminent physicists, artists and even Bill Gates. It did poorly until it switched to Chinese history, literature and traditional culture.

The program took off in 2004 via lectures by historian Yan Chongnian on the emperors of the Qing Dynasty. Ever since, it has become a star factory for scholars. Yu Dan (于丹) on The Analects of Confucius, Yi Zhongtian (易中天) presenting The Romance of Three Kingdoms and Liu Xinwu (刘心武) lecturing on The Dream of Red Mansions － all became overnight sensations.

"It's also the social environment," says former producer Nie Congcong. "For instance, Yu Dan's lecture on The Analects of Confucius in 2006 was just the kind of chicken soup for the soul the masses needed. Back then, they felt the benefits brought by the reform but also sensed pressure and insecurity. ... So, they look back to history and tradition to seek peace." Almost 10 years have passed since the show peaked, but it cast a long-lasting shadow.

Now, says Nie, things have changed a little. "Right now, (what people want) is all about what's practical. 'Having fun while it lasts' is the attitude. Look at the two most popular TV shows now: game shows and food or health; it's all practical. As to the future, it's a subject ordinary people don't care about."

To some, guoxue is just a hip new buzzword that attracts people and then empties their pockets; to others it brings a sense of certainty from tradition; for a patriotic few it's a hope for some semblance of a national identity in a globalized world. China might have 5,000 years of history, but it could be that guoxue, with its broad scope and contemporary paradoxes, turns out to be a roadmap to a unique Chinese modernity.

Courtesy of the World of Chinese, www.theworldofchinese.com

The World of Chinese

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/22/2014 page27)