Finding Wisdom In the Past

By+Yuan+Yuan

Dressed in clothing in the style of the Han Dynasty that ruled China 1，800 years ago， a group of students bow to a statue of Confucius and their teacher， who takes the tip of his brush to a scroll to signify the beginning of primary education for these children.

The ceremony， called the First Writing Ceremony， or the Enlightenment Ceremony， was an important ritual in the admission of children into their school that lasted for millennia in China. Now a growing number of schools have picked up this old tradition.

“It was one of the four most important ceremonies for people in ancient times，” said Meng Fanjia， the founder of Beijings Liangyou School， which hopes to promote guoxue， or national studies. “The ceremony signals to the children that their life of learning has started and that it will be a lifelong process.”

Liugeng School in Shawan Town of Guangzhou， south Chinas Guangdong Province， has held the ceremony for 14 years in a row. “We were among the first across the whole country to start holding the ceremony again and it proves to be effective， in both encouraging kids to learn and in cultivating the right attitude toward their studies.”

In a world obsessed with piano， mathematics competitions and English learning， education in China has begun to worry scholars， some of whom have chosen to turn to guoxue for a solution.

Turn to the past

Guoxue usually refers to any field of scholarship that is traditional and native to China， including Confucianism， Taoism， calligraphy， ancient literature， medicine and arts.

“Anything that has withstood the test of centuries and has been passed down， as long as it has a positive effect in our society， that can be called guoxue，” said Ji Jiezheng， the head of Chengxian Guoxue Institute. Affiliated with the Beijing Confucius Temple and Imperial College Museum， the institute， founded in 2004， enlightens the young through introductory courses on Confucianism， calligraphy， painting and handcrafts. Chengxian means “to become a virtuous person，” which is a core tenet of Confucian beliefs.

“The ideal life in traditional Chinese culture is to first cultivate the moral self， regulate ones family， then go on to attend state affairs， and finally bring world peace，” Ji said， quoting Great Learning， a Confucian classic. “No matter what career the kids pursue in the future， they first have to learn how to be a moral person.”

The institute puts Di Zi Gui， or 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 by scholar Li yuxiu during the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）. It is based on his personal experience of teaching 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 reads：

“Elder siblings should take care of the young， and the young should respect their elder siblings ... dont take wealth too seriously， and you will be free from resentment； be tolerant in your words， and conflict will dissolve naturally.”

Before Meng decided to open Liangyou School， he had been involved in many businesses， including interior design， IT business， opening bars and cafes. He earned a lot of money but eventually ended up bankrupt. His wife divorced him and took away their child.“Those were the darkest days in my life and I couldnt find a way out，” said Meng， who tried to read ancient classics to help relieve his pains.

“It worked surprisingly well and I was astonished to learn the broad wisdom of ancient Chinese philosophers，” said Meng. “But we never got a chance to learn carefully about it at school， which is a real shame.”

For Meng， there are a lot of ideas that modern people regard creative or new that had actually already been written down 2，000 years ago by such philosophers. “For example， people now realize that they should use different methods to teach students with different personalities， but this is a basic education rule of Confucius，” said Meng. “Even so， in modern schools， tens of students still gather in the same classroom， listening to the same lesson taught by the same teacher. Isnt it ridiculous？ Weve almost forgot the precious cultural treasures left by our ancestors.”

Liang Dong， a former host at Phoenix Tv and vice President of Chinas biggest search engine baidu.com， quit his job after he read the book Reflections on Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） and endeavored to spend his lifetime learning TCM. Now he runs Zhengan TCM Clinic in Beijing as well as hosting a Tv program called Guoxue Classes on the Travel Channel， which introduces TCM and Chinese characters.

“TCM amazed me when I witnessed how an experienced TCM doctor cured my wife in only two hours， though she had been sick and struggled for more than ten days in hospital，” said Liang， who started to learn TCM while working. The more he learns TCM， the more effort he puts in.

“Our ancestors are more than great，”said Liang. “TCM not only cures diseases but helps to adjust the physical body to a much healthier condition. What is more important is that it guides people to cultivate a calm mind. It is more than just treating diseases and it combines with other elements of traditional Chinese culture.”

A booming trend

For Zhai Hongsheng， guoxue is not just the combination of the traditional elements， but has practical applications for modern society. Zhai is famous for giving lectures on combining traditional wisdom with modern marketing and business management. “Some entrepreneurs in Japan use methods from The Art of War， the earliest book of tactics in China that has a history of more than 2，000 years.”

Although it is believed that guoxue education should better start at childhood， it is still never too late to start. “Teaching contributes to the happiness of individuals and harmony in society，” said 48-year-old former high-school moral cultivation teacher Li yaojun. Nowadays， Li is a public speaker， invited 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.

Training programs for adults have exploded in recent years， offering to change peoples lives and better their careers. Such courses are even aimed at CEOs and government officials.

Liao Binyu， better known by his pseudonym Zhou yixuan， is a 28-year-old man from Guizhou Province. He was considered strange in school， as he refused to learn anything else except for ancient classics. He has been hired as the vice Director of China Culture Development Research Center of Peking University due to his prominent understanding of the ancient classics， in particular his knowledge of the I Ching—an ancient text believed to date back to as early as the 9th century B.C. that describes a method of divination based around the random selection of one of 64 predictions through chance. The pseudonym Zhou yixuan is in fact a play on the name of the text upon which the I Ching is based—Zhou Yi.

Since late 2010s， prestigious universities such as Tsinghua and Peking have established research centers for guoxue. Wuhan University in central Chinas Hubei Province even goes so far as to offer a PhD degree in guoxue， which produced its very first doctor of guoxue in 2012.

One typical Peking University course cost 100，000 yuan （$16，260） per annum， covering the more predictable topics such as Confucianism， Buddhism， Taoism and Chinese history as well as an array of health tips drawn from traditional Chinese medicine.

“Guoxue education has become a market， and people tend to put more emphasis on appearance than the true meaning or essence of guoxue，” said An yiru， a 30-year-old writer who already published four books on analyzing ancient Chinese poems. “Fads will come and go. People chase it as it is in vogue right now.”

Feng Xuecheng opened Chinas first private guoxue institute—Rushang Institute in Chengdu， southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， in 2003. In 2008， he opened another one in Guangzhou. Feng doesnt charge any money for guoxue education at all.

Feng is happy to see the booming popularity of guoxue in the country. “When I opened the institute in Chengdu in 2003， many journalists came to interview me as it was rare， but now just in Guangzhou， there are more than 100 such institutes，” said Feng.

“The institute is a place for me to share my understandings on the ancient classics and I hope more people would come and join in the discussions，” said Feng.