Formal Confucian Education

Formal education before Confucius's time was mainly through government-run schools. However, when Confucius was around thirty years of age, in 522 BCE, he opened a private school of his own. Confucius was the first truly private instructor of this time period.

In this school, students were taught Confucianism in small groups led by a teacher or master in his home. Confucian schools were very strict and disciplined, and had a set curriculum. Students studied five classic Chinese texts: The Classic of Changes (also known as the I Ching), The Classic of Poetry (also known as the Book of Odes), The Classic of Rites, which described many old rituals and ceremonies, The Classic of History, which captured many speeches and writings from the early Zhou period, and the Spring and Autumn Annals (also sometimes called the Lin Jing), which represented several hundred years of summarized history from the State of Lu, Confucius's home province. Students were also taught martial arts, Zhou rituals in practice, and artistry.

Confucian schools, in addition to being strict, give us some of our legacy of high stakes testing today. These schools, which were a bit like finishing schools in that they taught many important social values and were primarily socializing institutions, were very linked to government exams. People had to pass a government administered exam to become a public servant, and the pressure to pass the exam was very intense. Many people who went through the Confucian schools did not pass the exam, which led to a pool of educated people who found employment elsewhere, such as in writing or poetry.

Confucian schools were very popular, and were often used as finishing or polish schools by the wealthy or the socially ambitious. It is estimated that close to three thousand students were enrolled in Confucius's own private school during his life time. Many of these students became disciples of Confucius, and continued on in his tradition with private schools of their own. Even today, modern Confucian schools exist and may be gaining in popularity again!

Sources

The Confucian School from Indiana University.

Ancient Education from TravelChinaGuide.com

Confucian Schools by ClearHarmony.net

Chinese Education powerpoint by Stan Garrad.