Chapter 19 Section 3 School Education in the Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) inherited the school education system of the Sui Dynasty. On the basis of political unity, economic prosperity, and cultural and scientific development, after more than a hundred years of operation and development, the school education system has been quite complete. It occupies an important position in the history of school education development in my country and the world. During the more than 130 years from the founding of the Tang Dynasty to the end of Tianbao (618-756 AD), the country was the most prosperous and the education was the most developed, forming a fairly complete school education system.

The schools directly established by the central government include "Six Schools" and "Second Schools".The Central Six Schools belong to the direct lineage, including Guozi School, Tai Xue, Simen School, Calligraphy, Mathematics, and Law.Liuxue Zhili was affiliated to Guozijian, and the chief offered wine to Guozi.Among the six studies, the first three are of university nature, and the latter three are of specialist nature. The "Second Hall" is the Chongwen Hall and the Hongwen Hall, which belong to the collateral.Hongwen Museum is directly under the jurisdiction of Menxia Province; Chongwen Museum is directly under the jurisdiction of Donggong.The descendants of the royal family set up a separate royal primary school.

Metaphysics belongs to the Temple Department and is also a university in nature.Jixiandian Academy is affiliated to the Ministry of Education and is actually the Central Library.Medicine is attached to the Imperial Medical Office, Veterinary Medicine is attached to the Taipu Temple, Astronomy is attached to the Sitiantai, Musicology is attached to the Taiyue Department, and Technology is attached to the Shaofu Supervisor. These are all specialists. The "Six Schools" and "Second Halls" set up by the central government initially had 2,200 students. During the Zhenguan reign of Emperor Taizong, the number of students increased to 3,200. Later, the number of students increased sharply. There are more than 8,000 people in the "Six Schools and Two Halls".From Zhenguan to Kaiyuan, the national power is the strongest, and it is also the period when the school is the most developed.

Schools managed by the local government have prefectural schools in each prefecture, state schools in each state, county schools in each county, and city schools and town schools in counties.All schools in prefectures, counties and cities belong to the direct line and are in charge of Chang Shi.The actual development of local schools took place during the Zhenguan era. In 629, the Tang Dynasty also ordered the prefecture to set up medicine, which was also the first in Chinese history.By the Kaiyuan period (713-741 A.D.), prefecture and county schools had a certain scale and formed a relatively complete system.In the twenty-eighth year of Kaiyuan (AD 740), the Tang Empire had 328 prefectures and 1,573 counties.Prefectural schools can admit 50-80 Confucian classics students, 12-20 medical students; state schools can admit 40-60 Confucian classics students, 10-15 medical students; county schools can admit 20-40 Confucian classics students.A school network of this scale is not only unprecedented in Chinese history, but also unique in the world.

At that time, Bohai (now Jilin area), Gaochang (now Xinjiang Turpan area), and Tubo (now Tibet area) all sent their children to study in Chang'an. long.Nanzhao (now Dali, Yunnan) sent their children to study in Chengdu. The number of students was quite large, and hundreds of them returned home.This shows that the Tang Dynasty actively carried out cultural and educational exchanges with the surrounding minority areas. a. Status and quota of enrollment: Hongwenguan and Chongwenguan are aristocratic schools, accepting 50 sons of the emperor, queen mother, relatives of the queen, and prime ministers and other senior officials.Guozixue accepts descendants of senior officials with a civil and military rank above three, limited to 300.Taixue accepts descendants of mid-level officials above the fifth grade of civil and military affairs, with a limit of 500.The four schools accept the sons of low-level officials above the seventh grade of civil and military affairs, with a limit of 500, and handsome young people among the local common people, with a limit of 800.Local schools mainly accept the children of local officials and small and medium landlords.

b Enrollment age and length of study: The age limit for admission is between 14 and 19 years old, and there is no specific regulation on the length of study, which generally depends on the number of classics studied and whether the exam is passed. c Enrollment procedures and ceremonies: Children from aristocratic families and candidates in the imperial examinations can directly enter the central schools to study.Those who pass the local official school examination, the county school students can be promoted to the state school.Outstanding students from prefectural and county schools can also be promoted to the four central schools after being selected by the governors of each state.All food and beverages for students after enrollment are provided by the school.When teachers and students meet for the first time, a grand ceremony is held to offer respect to teachers and perform the "gift of cultivation". Students of Guozixue and Taixue each give three pieces of silk, and students of Simenxue and local schools each give two pieces of silk.In addition, wine and meat are also presented, with unlimited portions.The student's bundle repair is divided into five parts, three parts are given to the doctor, and two parts are given to the teaching assistants.The nature of the bundle repair and the salary is different.Performing the "gift of repair" is to show respect for the teacher.

d Teaching plan: The teaching content is mainly the Nine Classics of Confucianism. According to the number of words, it is divided into three categories: the Great Classics, the Middle Classics, and the Small Classics. "Book of Rites" and "Zuo Zhuan" for three years; "Poetry", "Zhou Li", "Rituals" for two years; "Shangshu", "Gongyang Zhuan" and "Guliang Biography" for one and a half years ;, "Book of Filial Piety" study for one year.The Great Classics and the Middle Classics are compulsory for classes, the Small Classics are optional, and the Classic of Filial Piety is compulsory for the public.The teaching material was stipulated by the imperial court, using the "Five Classics of Justice" edited by Kong Yingda and others.In addition to studying Confucian classics, he also learned calligraphy and various etiquette.

e School administration: Guozijian has one person who sacrifices wine, from the third grade, who is the highest education administrator.Set up two divisions, from the fourth grade, to help the priests and take charge of the government orders of Confucianism in the country.Set up one person to manage students' academic performance from the sixth rank.There is one person in charge of the master book, from the seventh rank, in charge of documents and books, and in charge of seals.All students who fail to teach, who fail to succeed in school for the ninth or ninth year in a row, who do not return to school against holidays, or who engage in miscellaneous performances, will all be expelled from school.

f Teachers and teaching methods: Teachers include doctors, teaching assistants, direct lectures, etc.The students who are assigned to the doctoral degree must complete the subjects they are responsible for, and must not change to other subjects midway.Dr. Zuo is a teaching assistant and a professor of classics, and Dr. Zuo is a direct lecturer.Doctoral assistants are both school teachers and government officials.The size of their teaching positions in the school is based on the level of their positions in the government.For example, a Ph.D. in Guozixue must have the qualifications of the fifth rank or higher, and the teaching assistant must have the qualifications of the seventh rank or higher.The teaching method is divided into scriptures and professors, who read and lecture. There are many doctors who are knowledgeable and good at speaking, such as Xu Wenyuan, who "creates new meanings", "extensive and deciphering", and "the listener forgets to be tired".Students are required to learn another classic once they have completed their study, and the meaning of the scriptures can only be taught after they have mastered the scriptures.

g Exams, further education and holidays: Exams include ten-day exams, monthly exams, quarterly exams, yearly exams, etc., and there are two methods: trial reading (post scriptures) and trial lectures (oral meaning).The usual exams are presided over by doctors, and the annual exams are led by the chief in charge.Its performance is used as the basis for promotion and withdrawal.Students who have mastered the second or third classics can take the imperial examination if they pass the examination; those who wish to stay in prison can be promoted, and the students of the four subjects can be promoted to make up Tai students, and Tai students can be promoted to make up Guozi students, which can improve their political status and Improve economic treatment.Students who have the following three conditions will be ordered to drop out of school: poor grades, failing three consecutive exams, and have been in school for more than nine years;Holidays are divided into ten-day leave (one day off in ten days), field leave (in May), and clothing leave (in September).Field leave and clothing leave are 15 days each, allowing students to return home to visit relatives. If the distance exceeds 200 miles, it will be extended according to the distance.

a Legal Studies: Cultivate administrative officials who are familiar with the laws and regulations of the Tang Dynasty.There are three doctors, one teaching assistant, and 50 students.The children of officials below the eighth grade or the handsome young people among the common people can enroll, and the enrollment age is relaxed to 25 years old.The main content of the course is the current laws and regulations, and the study period is six years. b Mathematics: training talents in astronomy and calendar, financial management, and civil engineering.There are two doctors, one teaching assistant, and 30 students. The admission status is the same as that of law school, and the age limit is 14-19 years old.It is divided into two majors: one is mainly to study classical arithmetic, such as "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", "Sun Tzu's Mathematical Classics", etc.; Ji Gu Suan Jing, etc.Each study period is seven years, and the duration of schooling is limited to nine years.This reflects the high level of mathematics education. c Calligraphy: Training officials who are proficient in writing and skilled in calligraphy.There are two doctors, one teaching assistant, and 30 students.Enrollment status and age are the same.The courses are mainly "Stone Book", "Shuowen Jiezi" and "Zi Lin", and other calligraphy books are also studied. The school is limited to nine years. d Medicine: Cultivate talents who master the knowledge and skills of traditional Chinese medicine.Medicine is divided into four majors: medicine, acupuncture, massage, and medicine.The medical specialty includes five subjects: physical therapy (seven years, equivalent to internal medicine); sores and swelling (five years, equivalent to surgery); children's children (five years, equivalent to pediatrics); ears, eyes and articulation (four years, equivalent to facial features) ; Horn method (three years, cupping and other treatments).Acupuncture majors teach students to understand meridians and acupoints, familiarize themselves with various symptoms, and master the application of nine acupuncture methods.Massage majors teach students the method of information guidance, learn to treat eight diseases such as wind, cold, heat, dampness, hunger, fullness, fatigue, and rest, and also practice bone setting.The pharmacy major and the medicine garden are set together, teaching students to identify various medicines, mastering techniques such as planting, harvesting, storage, and manufacturing of medicinal materials, combining teaching and labor.In a word, medicine attaches great importance to intensive reading of medical classics, combines teaching with practice, pays attention to practice, and determines job assignments based on grades and curative effects. This is an excellent educational method. e Veterinary medicine: teach the knowledge and techniques of treating livestock diseases, participate in treatment while studying, and those who pass the examination will be supplemented as veterinarians. f Astronomy: It is divided into three subjects: astronomy, calendar, and engraving.Students are led by a doctor to participate in business practice, pay attention to observation, and teach while practicing. g Music school: Dr. Le will teach the long-term standing musicians and short-term rotating musicians in batches. Each batch will be coached in three grades according to the difficulty of the music to be learned. The class will be tested every year. According to the proficiency of performance, Evaluate the pros and cons, and then accumulate the results to decide whether to advance or retreat. h Craft school: Masters with the highest skills will teach students. Various crafts are difficult and difficult, and the training period is also different.Four years of fine carving and carving, three years of making cars, sedan chairs and musical instruments, two years of making swords and spears, one year of arrow making, bamboo work, lacquer work, and bow willow, and nine months of learning to make hats and headscarves .The name of the craftsman is engraved on the manufactured utensils as a basis for identification and assessment. The above-mentioned specialized schools have a wide range and many categories, some are combined with administrative or business departments, and some are set up separately, and the forms of their settings are diverse.This is the earliest real science school in the world, and this kind of real science school in Europe appeared in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when capitalism was already quite developed, more than 1,000 years later than the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, private schools spread all over urban and rural areas, with different systems and levels. There were not only preaching and teaching by famous scholars, but also private primary schools for enlightening literacy in rural areas.For example, Yan Shigu (581-645 A.D.) was famous for his examination and determination of the Five Classics, and he "taught teaching as a career" when he was not well-known.Kong Yingda (574-648 A.D.), who co-authored "Five Classics of Justice" with Yan Shigu, was also "professors" before becoming an official.Liu Zhuo (zhuozhuo) is a famous Confucianist. He was well-known all over the world when he discussed studies with various doctors in Guozixue. Later, he returned to his hometown and devoted himself to writing and teaching, tirelessly.Yin Zhizhang is well versed in the essence of all scriptures. He was a doctor of Guozixue, and he still lectures continuously when he returns home.It can be seen that a doctor of Guozixue can also teach students at home.When Han Yu (768-824 AD) and Liu Zongyuan (773-819 AD) were demoted, many students traveled thousands of miles to worship them as teachers.These records in the history books all illustrate the prosperity of private schools in the Tang Dynasty.Private schools also went deep into the countryside.Yuan Zhen (779-831 A.D.) said in the preface to "Ju Yi Ji": "I often see children from village schools competing to learn singing in horizontal city. When I call and ask them, they all say to each other: 'Mr. That is, Bai Juyi), Weizhi (that is, Yuan Zhen) poems.'” From this we can see that the atmosphere of studying poetry in rural private primary schools is quite prevalent.In addition to Jijiupian in the Han Dynasty and Thousand-Character Essay in the Liang Dynasty, the pre-school textbooks that were popular in the Tang Dynasty also included books such as Rabbit Garden Cefu, Taigong Family Education, and Mengqiu. "Tuyuan Cefu" was first written by Du Si, with 30 volumes. Unfortunately, the book has been lost, and only half of the preface remains. The author of "Taigong Family Education" is unknown, and it mostly uses rhymes to describe the moral requirements of daily life in feudal society and the maxims of dealing with others. It was quite popular after the middle of Tang Dynasty, and was later translated into Jurchen and Manchu. It is mostly used in the north and northeast minority areas. use. "Mengqiu", also known as "Li Shimengqiu", was written by Li Han. The main content of the book is historical allusions. Each sentence has four characters, and the upper and lower sentences are in pairs. Each tells a story about a historical or legendary figure, such as " Kuang Heng chiseled the wall, Sun Jing closed the house, Sun Kang reflected the snow, and Che Yin gathered the fireflies.”After the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was widely circulated, and even spread to Japan and Korea.All kinds of "Mengqiu" and similar readings that appeared successively in later generations, such as "Seventeen History Mengqiu" and "Guangmengqiu" all took "Lishi Mengqiu" as a model in terms of style or content. The national power of the Tang Dynasty was strong, and Chang'an, the capital of the country, was not only the political, economic, transportation, and cultural center of the country, but also became the focal point of cultural and educational exchanges between Eastern and Western countries.Japan, Silla, Baekje, Koryo (all today's Korea), Nibhara (now Nepal), Tianzhu (now India), Linyi (now south-central Vietnam), Chenla (now Cambodia), Heling (now Indonesia Java), Pyu (now Burma Pya) and Shizi (that is, Ceylon, today Sri Lanka) and other countries were highly civilized in the Tang Dynasty and sent a large number of students to study in Chang'an to learn Chinese classics, history, law, and etiquette. , literature and technology. Japan is the country that sends foreign students to study in China more frequently and in large numbers.In the Sui Dynasty, there were two batches of overseas students accompanying the mission.In the Tang Dynasty, there were 13 batches of foreign students sent along with the official Tang envoys. Each batch ranged from 10 to 20 students to as many as 20 to 30 students.For example, Jibei Zhenbei and Abe Nakamaro studied at Chang'an Taixue in the fourth year of Tang Kaiyuan (AD 716). After 20 years of study, Jibei studied classics and history, learned all arts, yin and yang calendar calculations, and astronomical arithmetic. Tong Xiao, and then returned to China, made outstanding contributions to the transplantation of Tang culture and the development of Japanese culture, writing and education.Abe Zhongmalu, whose Han name was Chao Heng, stayed in Chang'an to work after finishing his studies. He was an official to secretary supervisor (equivalent to the director of the National Library). 761) forged a deep friendship.When Chao Heng returned to Japan, Wang Wei wrote a poem "Sending Secretary Chao Jian to Japan": "The stagnant water can't be extreme, but you can know the east of the sea. How far is Kyushu? If you travel thousands of miles by air. Xiang Guo only looks at the sun, Returning to the sails but the trade wind. The body of the turtle reflects the dark sky, and the fish's eyes shoot red. Outside the tree and hibiscus, the owner is in the isolated island. Parting from the foreign land, the news is as good as possible." Later, Chao Heng's ferry boat was in distress at sea, and the news spread to Chang'an. Friends thought he was dead, and they were very sad. Li Bai wrote a poem about Chao Heng crying: "Chao Heng of Japan resigned from the imperial capital, sailing around the pot. The bright moon does not return to Shen Bihai, and the white clouds are full of sadness." .In fact, Chao Heng did not die.He drifted to Vietnam with the broken ship, and then returned to Chang'an, where he lived until his death. He lived in China for 54 years. Silla is also a country that continues to send foreign students.For example, in the fifth year of Tang Kaicheng (AD 840), there were 105 overseas students who returned from China only once.During the 150 years from the 9th century to the middle of the 10th century, 90 foreign students from Silla passed the Chinese imperial examinations.Among them was a student named Cui Zhiyuan, who came to study in Tang Dynasty at the age of 12 and became a Jinshi at the age of 18. His "Guiyuan Bigeng Ji" is still circulated in my country and North Korea.Silla attached great importance to Chinese classics and history, and all the books brought back by overseas students were translated into Silla and widely circulated.Influenced by the cultural education of the Tang Dynasty, Silla also established an education system and an imperial examination system based on the Tang Dynasty, and used Confucian classics as the content of the examination. The Tang Dynasty gave preferential treatment to foreign students sent by friendly countries, taking care of their needs in terms of study, clothing, food and housing as much as possible.At that time, more than 70 countries communicated with Tang.The culture of Tang was spread to the east and the west through the exchange of foreign students, so the foreign students played a bridge role in the development of friendly relations and cultural exchanges between Tang and other countries.In the education of foreign students in the Tang Dynasty, the culture-exporting country should not be arrogant, and the culture-importing country should not be inferior. This is a two-way exchange activity.There are many learned monks studying in Chang'an, including those from India and Persia, as well as from Japan and Korea.According to historical records, there were more than 20 learned monks from India who came to Tang Dynasty to participate in the translation of scriptures.In addition to translating scriptures and spreading Buddhism in the Chinese Buddhist translation field, the learned monks also learn Chinese culture.Indian monks are proficient in medicine and are especially good at treating eye diseases. They are enthusiastic about imparting medical knowledge and treatment techniques.In the Tang Dynasty, medical knowledge from India, Persia (now Iran) and other countries was introduced to China, enriching China's medical treasure house.Indian medical books "Prescriptions of Nagarjuna Bodhisattva", "Prescriptions of Brahmans" and "Prescriptions of Brahman Immortals" were all introduced to China during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.The Persian scholar living in China in the Tang Dynasty wrote "Haiyao Materia Medica".The medical skills of Daqin (Eastern Rome) were also well known by people in Tang Dynasty.After completing their studies, Indian astronomers took positions in Tiantai, Chang'an Department, participated in the compilation of almanacs, and translated the Indian "Jiuzhi Calendar".Many Chinese monks went to India, Pakistan, Nepal and other countries to pray and pay homage to the Buddha, and some monks studied Buddhist scriptures in foreign countries for many years.Monk Jianzhen (AD 688-763) of the Tang Dynasty traveled east to Japan, not only imparting knowledge of Buddhism, medicine and architecture, but also learning Japanese culture, and finally came to Japan.Tang Xuanzang (AD 602-664) master returned from the Western Regions and retrieved 657 Buddhist scriptures from India. He organized a special agency to translate them in Chang'an. In 20 years, he translated 75 volumes and 1335 volumes.Master Yijing brought back about 400 scriptures, laws and treatises from India.The introduction and absorption of Buddhist scriptures had a profound impact on ancient Chinese religion, politics, economy, culture, and thought.The speculative philosophy and commentary methods in Buddhist scriptures had a huge impact on Tang and Song Confucian classics.Later, Buddhist classics were introduced to Korea and Japan through China, which influenced the East Asian civilization system.The music, dance, sculpture, and architectural arts of the Tang Dynasty were deeply influenced by the Western Regions, Central Asia, especially India, along with the education and cultural exchanges of foreign students.Mogao Grottoes and Dunhuang sculptures are also deeply influenced by the traditional art of Buddha statue sculpture in the Western Regions.In short, learning extensively and learning from each other is a major feature of the education of foreign students in the Tang Dynasty.Throughout the history of ancient education in the world, the scale of overseas education in the Tang Dynasty is rare.So we say that the education of foreign students in the Tang Dynasty was quite successful. It not only had far-reaching historical influence, but also had important cultural value.