Editor's note:
Since the late Qing Dynasty, Western learning has swept the land of China, and Chinese culture has encountered unprecedented crises. A large number of knowledgeable people have devoted their efforts to think about where Chinese culture is going and explore how education can effectively inherit the academic tradition and Taoism with Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism as the core.
In this era of great changes that have not been seen in three thousand years, our national culture and the sacred learning tradition that have been passed down for thousands of years have encountered unprecedented blows and destruction from both inside and outside. Its own life is hanging on the line and its future is very slim.
Only through experience can one know the difficulties. More than a hundred years of debate and reflection, more than a hundred years of confusion and despair, more than a hundred years of exploration and practice, and the blood and sweat and experience of countless predecessors who have been admired by us provide rich historical basis for the article "The Main Differences between Western and Chinese Education".
Although we are grassroots, we always dare not forget the grace of raising our country. We are willing to take over the wishes of our predecessors and continue to work hard to explore the way out of Chinese civilization and the future of Chinese education. After decades of dedicated and silent efforts, this article has been formed to enjoy the readers.
Editor: Mr. Pan Lin
Preface
Education is the foundation of the evolution of human civilization and it shares the same direction with the development of human society. Only when different educational methods are suitable for their symbiotic civilization can they return to the essence of education and reflect the value of education.
Regarding education, Western civilization focuses on the external cultivation of people, and focuses on "teaching", which can be understood more as teaching and learning; while Chinese civilization focuses on the internal cultivation of people, and focuses on "education", believing that the fundamental of education lies in the transformation of education - "nurturing to do good". This is roughly the difference between Chinese and Western education.
Since modern times, Western civilization has risen strongly in ethnic social differentiation, geopolitical friction and territorial separatism and expansion, and has destroyed the diversity of human civilization through barbaric methods such as war, massacre, plunder, and deception, forming a situation where Western civilization is dominant.
The modern society dominated by Western civilization is affected by various factors such as Western practical rationality supremacy, ideology opposition, civilization and cultural conflicts and ethnic survival anxiety, and the problems faced by them are endless, and these problems are almost all related to education. In China, education issues are more reflected in anxiety and entanglement caused by conflicts between Chinese and Western educational concepts. The root cause is that for more than a hundred years, China's education has ignored the differences between Eastern and Western civilizations, and regards Western civilization as the universal civilization of modern society, which has led to the alienation of Chinese and Western education. The two different educational ideas and different educational methods of China and the West are regarded as backward and progress, and as tradition and modern, and are swayed among them.
Since the May Fourth Movement, Chinese education has begun to be fully westernized, the development space of Chinese civilization has been severely squeezed, and local Chinese education (Chinese-style education) has been squeezed out of institutional education. On the one hand, Chinese civilization has been deconstructed as a whole by Western civilization. Western civilization has been constantly plagiarizing, tampering, eroding and transforming Chinese civilization in the name of science and development, and Western education is very popular. On the other hand, for its own survival, Chinese civilization caters to the West, and also judges, belittles and transforms itself by the standards of Western civilization. Western education is named Chinese education. Chinese education is no longer in a kind of manner. True Chinese education is no longer in absent way, and it is in name only.
After entering the new century, China's national strength has become increasingly strong and cultural rejuvenation is about to emerge. However, Chinese civilization has been marginalized for a long time, and its life is hanging on the line, and its anger is like a fucking spring. Traditional Chinese education is seriously excluded by Western education, which is in absolute advantage. At present, we must use the essence and characteristics of Chinese civilization to clarify the source and summarize the main points to revitalize Chinese education and continue the Chinese cultural context. If Chinese-style education is not restored to its original appearance, there is no way to talk about reviving culture, and it will really become a show and dress-up, let alone Chinese civilization is compared with Western civilization.
Mr. Pan Lin stood at the height of the development of human civilization, understood the fundamental differences between the East and West civilizations, and from a broad perspective and historical perspective, he found that the wisdom crystallization of Eastern and Western civilizations are the result of the development and evolution of human cognition.Western civilization has developed natural science from man’s understanding of nature and social science from man’s understanding of society. Therefore, Western education has always focused on nature and society. Eastern civilization has developed life science from people's understanding of themselves. Chinese-style education has always focused on people themselves and is a true human-oriented education. As long as humans reproduce, survive and exist, life science is indispensable and will inevitably develop. It is just that Western civilization is too strong at present, and the development space for life sciences is very small, so that humans question the significance of the progress of natural sciences and social sciences in various conflicts and anxiety, which in turn hinders the leap and sublimation of human civilization.
Based on the fundamental differences between Eastern and Western civilizations, as well as the system division of natural sciences, social sciences and life sciences, we sorted out the main differences between Western education and Chinese education, in order to reveal the root causes of contemporary education problems, regain cultural confidence, and contribute our own strength to exploring the current new system that combines Western education and new academy education and complement each other, and reshape the socialist education system with Chinese characteristics.
Chinese and Western Saints (Confucius and Socrates) Dialogue
The main differences between Western and Chinese education
text/Oriental Life Research Institute
editary education is a tool for the growth of human individual life and an indispensable means for the continuation and development of human social life. The essence of education is to indicate the direction for the growth of individual life, to reproduction, prosperity and poverty alleviation for mankind, and to continue to inherit the country and the nation. The value of education is to use human civilization to indicate the direction of growth for all people and to point out the path of development for all society.
The diversity of civilized culture determines the geographical factors and differences of different education systems. All the problems of contemporary education are related to the promotion of a single civilization in the name of modern times and denying the existence of diversified civilizations. The single civilization and the so-called " universal value " downplay the differences between different education systems. The most prominent thing is that for more than a hundred years, Chinese education has self-denialized in poverty and weakness, ignored the characteristics of Chinese culture, and used Western civilization as the yardstick for the progress of human civilization. "Western education" has been fully implemented in China. The academies of "Chinese education" have become schools, and have changed from primary schools, middle schools, and universities to schools such as primary schools, middle schools, and universities. The academies with Chinese cultural characteristics that have been passed down for thousands of years have disappeared. Chinese civilization has been "becomeded" in history and is hidden behind modern Western civilization.
Today, if Chinese education wants to get rid of various problems, return to the essence of education, and reproduce the value of education, we must reflect on the current education system, accurately grasp the characteristics of different civilizations, clarify the differences between "Chinese education" and "Western education", and actively explore the revival of academy education, take academy education as a useful supplement to modern (Western) education, and reach a consensus. In order to improve the socialist education system with Chinese characteristics, we will work together to rejuvenate the nationality.
Before formally listing the differences between "Chinese education" and "Western education", we will first make a brief definition of "Western education" and "Chinese education": the so-called Western education refers to the education system that has been fully introduced and quickly promoted to the national level under the concept of 's comprehensive westernization of . The so-called Chinese education refers to the new Chinese education system formed by inheriting the educational tradition of the Confucian Academy in the early 21st century under the guidance of the country's major policies such as "improving cultural soft power", "rejuvenating the excellent Chinese traditional culture", and "returning culture", and introducing precious experiences of excellent education and civilization inheritance of Oriental schools such as Buddhism and Taoism, and combining the characteristics of the times.
There are several major differences in the two types of Chinese and Western education systems, which are summarized as follows:
1. Different talent training. Western education has always been centered on empirical sciences such as natural sciences and social sciences, and cultivates scientific and technological talents in the field of empirical sciences, and the cognition of "three views" is seriously westernized; Chinese education has always been centered on life sciences, and centered on the traditional Eastern sage culture represented by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and cultivates life-oriented talents who abide by the way of gentlemen, and the cognition of "three views" has distinct oriental characteristics.
2. Teaching and educating people have different emphasis. Western-style education teaching and educating people focuses on teaching, insisting on taking the knowledge and abilities mastered by students as the standard, with unified teaching concepts, unified teaching content, and unified teaching standards, so that students' abilities and standards are basically unified; Chinese-style education teaching and educating people focuses on educating people, always focusing on physical and mental growth and life awakening, focusing on teaching according to people and aptitude, the students trained are blooming, and their achievements vary from person to person.
3. The truths revealed are different. The content of Chinese and Western education is both scientific and pursues truth, but the attributes of the truth revealed by each are different. What Western education reveals is that the "principle of matter", "principle of relative", "principle of form and structure" and "principle of physical nature" are all object nature truths; what Chinese education reveals is that the "principle of nature", "principle of absolute", "principle of existence" and "principle of metaphysical nature" are all subject nature truths.
4. The goals achieved are different. Western education aims to help mankind achieve external freedom and liberation. This freedom and liberation is short-lived and temporary; Chinese education can help mankind obtain internal freedom and liberation, which is eternal and ultimate.
5. The results obtained are different. Western education only recognizes that people have experience and wisdom, denies that people have transcendental wisdom, and believes that only God (God) has innate divine wisdom (that is, transcendental wisdom). Through education, people can only gain perceptual cognition based on senses and intellectual cognition based on logical reasoning, that is, Western education can only bring people empirical wisdom. Chinese education believes that people have both empirical wisdom and transcendental wisdom. Education can not only bring people empirical wisdom, but also open up transcendental wisdom.
6. The direction of human nature growth is different. Western education regards human beings as biological existence, and believes that human nature education lies in fully respecting and protecting human biological growth; Chinese education regards human nature as virtue (Buddha nature), and believes that human nature education lies in respecting biological growth, purifying and subliminating human nature to fully demonstrate human virtue (Buddha nature).
7. The cognition of educational objects is different. Western education regards artificial instrumental existence and is instrumental education; Chinese education regards artificial value existence and is life-oriented education.
8. Different ways of education inheritance. Western education is a single inheritance of academic traditions, and the inheritance method is mainly based on form and inheritance; Chinese education has both academic traditions and Taoist traditions, and the inheritance method is to use "three transmissions (form transmission, heart transmission, and spirit transmission)".
9. The learning sequence method is different. Western education starts from the causal position, emphasizing step by step, starting from the basics, and constantly accumulating knowledge and experience to become a talent. It is a learning method from the cause to the result; Chinese education starts from the fruit position, emphasizing taking sages and classics as examples, and standing on the fruit position, constantly deepening, strengthening, enriching and improving oneself is a learning method from the cause.
10. The roles of teachers and students are different. Those with high Western education (knowledge) will be teachers. Teachers and students emphasize equality in relationships, and whether or not there is an emotional connection between students and teachers does not affect knowledge learning. Those with high moral character in Chinese education are teachers, and those with upright body are examples. A teacher must obtain the "dignity of the teacher's way" in order to set an example and show the realm of sages. Scholars must "respecte teachers and respect the Tao" in order to achieve the transmission and inheritance of personality, realm, ethics and character between teachers and students.
1. Different education performance. Western-style education is more manifested in exam-oriented education, academic education, and academic education, while Chinese-style education is more manifested in mental education ( quality education ), personality education, and lifelong education.
12. Self-noneness is different. Western education focuses on individual self-realization and always emphasizes individual self-personalization growth and development; Chinese education focuses on cultivating the "big" personality of learners and constantly absorbing themselves until "I will have no self".
13. Different philosophical thinking methods. Western education mainly focuses on formal dialectics; Chinese education always focuses on existence dialectics, as well as formal dialectics.
14. Different learning purposes. Western-style education emphasizes "learning for others", while Chinese-style education emphasizes "learning for oneself".
15. Different educational thinking patterns. Western education uses binary opposition thinking to recognize the world, and regards everything as real things; Chinese education uses univariate symmetry to recognize the world, and regards everything as abstract principles.
16. Different educational codes of conduct. Western education emphasizes external morality, while Chinese education emphasizes self-discipline morality.
17. The learning content is different. Western education focuses on metaphysics, focusing on the inheritance of knowledge and skills, and what we learn is popular; Chinese education focuses on the inheritance of metaphysics, and focusing on the inheritance of righteousness and knowledge, and what we learn is the learning of saints.
18. The learning level requirements are different. Western education emphasizes learning with the senses and brain, while Chinese education emphasizes learning with the spirit, the mind and life.
Conclusion
We have never denied the value and significance of Western education, and we also oppose making either-or choices between Chinese and Western education. Only promoting Western-style education is like walking on one leg, which is also the root cause of various problems and disadvantages of contemporary education. Facing the differences in the education systems of China and the West and adhering to the equal emphasis on Chinese and Western education is the only way to solve various contemporary educational problems and disadvantages.
We believe that Chinese and Western education should complement each other, but cannot replace each other. Western and Chinese education are just like the two wings of a bird, and the two wheels of a car are indispensable. In the context of cultural rejuvenation, to achieve a beneficial supplement to modern education by Chinese education, we need to actively explore the revival of academy education so that the carrier of the Chinese education system can truly be realized.
(To be continued)
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