Xu Zhiqiang (xuzhiqiang)
Mencius (372 B.C. - 289 B.C.) is a famous Chinese Confucian philosopher. In his day, Confucian evangelizing private schools were all the rage. Could a Confucian private school prove popular in China today?
In Shanghai, a full-time Confucian private school recently opened, attracting 12 schoolchildren aged four to 12 years old, who were taught for more than 10 months. Mencius's Mother temple was established and supported by parents who prefer traditional Confucian education to the somewhat hidebound examination-oriented public education of today.
The name of the school originates from history. To turn Mencius into an erudite man, his mother moved three times, from the graveyard where his father was buried, to a noisy street, and finally to a place near schools and temples. There, Mencius focused on learning and became a great man.
The actions of Mencius's mother are reflected in the parents from the Shanghai school. Some of them are well-educated businessmen, teachers, and engineers; all are avid for their children to succeed. They believe, as Mencius did, that man is innately good, and that his nature can be enhanced or perverted by his environment.
To avoid the defects in the public education system, these parents organized Mencius's Mother Temple. Of course, they have added a few modern elements.
The basic tenet of the school is "Read classical Chinese, respect Confucius and Mencius, sing Shakespeare, calculate mathematics and physics." To give you an idea of the coursework, here is the study timetable for a 10-year-old child in Mencius' Mother Temple:
6 a.m. to 7 a.m.: Get up, jog, and then read "junior norm."
7 a.m. to 8 a.m.: Breakfast and sweep the house.
8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: Read and recite the core Confucian literature -- The Four Books (The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, and the Works of Mencius) and The Five Classics (Book of Songs, Book of History, Book of Changes, Book of Rites, and Spring and Autumn Annals).
1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Read and learn Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream or Sonnets.
In their spare time, they are taught Yoga, swimming, and science.
In the evening, programs often consist of reading a chess manual, writing in a diary, or watching teleplays such as China's "
Romance of the Three Kingdoms" or Korea's "
Dae Jang Geum."
"In public schools, the teaching is dull and a piece of normal text will crawl on for nearly one week," one boy said.
After four months at Mencius's Mother Temple, he said he could almost recite the
Book of Changes and understand
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
"I believe that after three to four years education in Mencius's Mother Temple, they will be outstanding in their future study and life," Lu Liwei, one of the founders, told the media.
Lu emphasized that a student's moral education is important and will be especially enhanced by Confucian study in private schools.
"Someone said it is a new experiment on the children. I don't think so," Lu said.
Confucianism dominated China's education system for more than 2,000 years, but was gradually discarded after the
May Fourth Movement of 1919.
During the 10-year-long
Cultural Revolution, which began in 1968, Confucianism was completely cast away.
Over the years that followed, gradual reform and the opening up of society changed China dramatically, but Confucianism remained submerged in the face of rampant commercialism. In contrast, the Confucian spirit was kept alive in other Asian countries such as Korea and Singapore.
In recent years, after the initial accumulation of fortunes, people finally began to rediscover the real values of Confucianism. They realized that Confucian ideals such as geniality, goodness, assiduity, and courtesy are precious to modern society. More and more scholars argued for the resumption of Confucian ideals in Chinese society.
It is in this context that Mencius' Mother Temple appeared.
"I read the Confucian books in 1997 and found that many things I learned in public schools were useless," a businessman said.
He wants to send his child to a Confucian private school.
But the future of Mencius's Mother Temple may be at risk. Educational administrators in Shanghai have expressed concern over the private school and pointed out that it violates the Compulsory Education Law, which requires children to attend public schools at a certain age.
"The Confucian private schools are not qualified to raise funds and recruit students. Personality education is important to children, but it also lacks the collective environment in which to grow up," one administrator said.
Mencius's Mother Temple is not the only private school in China. There are similar private schools in the cities of Xiamen and Guangzhou and in Hunan province that have carried on for some years -- but all of them intentionally keep a low profile.
英国《金融时报》 上海关闭新私塾：孟母堂（转载） 上海市政府已下令关闭一家私塾式小学孟母堂，从而结束了一群中产阶级家庭与教育当局之间持续10个月之久的争议。孟母堂采用古代教学方式教授孔子经文，而上述中产阶级家庭也希望在子女教育问题上拥有更大自主权。
孟母堂以古代学者孟子之母命名，创建于去年9月。一些家长因不满公立学校受到控制的教学而把子女送来就读。这是上海首家私塾式学堂，共招收了12名全日制学生。
不过，上海市教育官员上周表示，该学堂在暑假结束后不得重新开放，因为其教学内容不符合国家规定的课程设置和教学标准，而且没有经过注册。
有组织的家长团体参与一些争论，在一些国家或许司空见惯，但在私人教育并不常见、当局试图严密控制儿童教育内容的中国，这一点却非同寻常。
这起争端还凸显出中国对孔子等古代学者的兴趣高涨。在过去20年中，随着马克思让路给赤裸裸的物质主义，很多受过教育的中国人开始希望孔孟学说能够填补他们眼中的精神空虚。
孟母堂坐落于上海南郊，结合了新时代感性因素和对中国古代传统的尊重。该学校创始人吕丽委表示，有些家长对公共教育体系不满，因其过分强调考试的重要性。
中国很多家长格外重视子女的教育问题，因为他们相信，只有教育才能让孩子学会中国经济当前提供的新型社会流动性。在某城市，甚至出现了一所针对3岁儿童的寄宿制学校。
“一切都开始得太早，”吕丽委表示，“孩子们在幼儿园已经在准备考试，以便进入一所好的小学，从而进入一所好的中学，最终才能进入一所好的大学。”
孟母堂引发争议之处，在于其以中国传统文化为基础设置的课程。就读于此的孩子年龄在3岁到10岁之间，他们不仅要学习《论语》等古文，还要花大量时间背诵，重现了100年之前就不再使用的古代教学方法。
学生家长、同时也是道学专家的顾瑞荣表示：“我们认为这是一种进步，但也是对传统的回归。”然而，上海市教委发表的声明说，“孟母堂”没有经过政府批准，属违法办学。公告称：“'读经教育’的内容和教学方法与义务教育法的要求不相符合。”
作为一位生活在公元前6世纪、强调社会等级、道德和国家统一的学者，孔子正在现代中国的生活中发挥着越来越大的影响。
在中国共产党掌权的初期，孔子曾是一个倍受嘲笑的人物，是与阶级分化和抑制创造力联系在一起的。在毛泽东发动的许多政治运动中，有一个就是反对儒家思想，而供奉这位哲人的庙堂在文化大革命期间也备受亵渎。
然而，随着共产主义口号越来越没有吸引力，中国共产党近年来又乐于接受孔子的某些方面，因为他的有些学说与官方创建“和谐社会”的说法非常吻合。中国政府甚至参照德国的歌德学院，在全球开设了一系列以孔子命名的文化中心。
不过，尽管他的某些篇章现在受到追捧，但孔子的教学方式并没有得到认可。教育专家屡屡批评孟母堂重新采用他们认为落后的读经教育。上海大学社会学家顾骏将儒家教学方式称为“文化糟粕”。他表示：“让这么小的孩子反复背诵经文很危险。”
然而，这家学堂表示，即便学堂关闭了，这种按照父母意愿进行教学的活动私下里仍将继续存在。（作者：Geoff Dyer）
