What kind of education was practiced in the Western Zhou Dynasty?

First, the Western Zhou Dynasty's "Learning from Politics"

"Learning in the official" is the main feature of the education system in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The main manifestations are that academics and education are controlled by the government, and laws and regulations, ancient books and documents, and ritual vessels used in sacrificial ceremonies are all controlled by the government, and ordinary people have no contact at all. Without academic education, there is no school education. There is only education on productive labor and social life in a broad sense, which is usually carried out in production and life. The political system of the Western Zhou Dynasty was feudal lords and nobles. The governor and doctors have their own hereditary territory, and most of the government's official positions are hereditary, which is called "Shi Qing Shi Lu" in history. Under this system, the school education to train the ruling class to govern the country is bound to focus on the aristocratic children, the so-called "sons of the country", and their education is naturally arranged by the government.

Learning is reflected in the separation of officials and teachers and the unity of politics and religion. Officials have both administrative duties and teaching tasks. For example, the host of Chinese studies in the Western Zhou Dynasty is called Da Lesi, who is in charge of sacrifice and national etiquette. He is the highest ceremony and music official in the country and is also in charge of Chinese studies education. Sinology is not only a place for teaching, but also a place for the state to hold major ceremonial activities, such as offering sacrifices, shooting in the countryside, and offering prisoners. Rural schools at all levels are also places for local drinking ceremony, shooting ceremony, discussing politics, supporting the elderly and respecting the virtuous. Political activity itself is an important part of school education, and students receive all kinds of education in the process of participating in politics.

Under the system of "learning depends on officials", a relatively perfect school education system has been formed from the central government to the local government, with the six arts of etiquette, music, archery, imperial examination, calligraphy and mathematics as the main educational contents.

Second, the educational system and contents of schools in the Western Zhou Dynasty

Schools in the Western Zhou Dynasty have a relatively complete system, which can be divided into two categories: one is Chinese studies and the other is rural studies. See the following table for the school system of the Western Zhou Dynasty:

The Western Zhou School takes "Six Arts" as its basic educational content. The so-called "six arts", that is, ceremony, music, shooting, royal, calligraphy, number. Among the six arts, there are also "big arts" and "small arts". Ritual, music, shooting and defense are great skills, which are university courses, while books and numbers are minor skills, mainly for primary schools. It can be seen that the educational content of Guo Xue in the Western Zhou Dynasty is quite rich, and the basic contents are etiquette, music, shooting, imperial examination, calligraphy and mathematics. The educational tradition of "Six Arts" also had a far-reaching impact on the education in the later feudal society.

Third, the decline of official school and the rise of private school.

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were a period of great social turmoil and great changes in China. The education of "learning in the official" is declining, and a new educational form-private school has begun to rise to meet the needs of the new situation.

The reason for the decline of official learning is, first of all, the world turmoil.

The more important reason for the decline of official schools is that old education has lost its value.

The decline of official learning reflects that the old education system of "learning in official" has not adapted to the requirements of the new era.

The reasons for the emergence of private schools are: first, the spread and downward movement of academics; Second, the emergence of a new class of scholars.

The rise of private schools is of great significance in the history of education in China.

First of all, it broke through the situation that "learning is in the official" and school education is monopolized by the government since the Western Zhou Dynasty, and expanded the educational target. Confucius advocated "teaching without class" and put it into practice in private schools. The object of education has expanded from a few nobles to civilians, which has opened up a broad road for the wide spread of knowledge.

Secondly, private school is a special educational place, which breaks the old official education system of integrating politics with religion and integrating officials with teachers, making education an independent activity. Teachers in private schools began to become a relatively independent social occupation, taking sages with knowledge and skills as teachers. Teachers are free to give lectures, and students are free to choose teachers. At that time, there was competition in private schools. It was said that even Confucius' private schools had "three more and three less".

Third, private schools have made new progress in educational content and methods. In terms of educational content, it broke through the scope of the "six arts" in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and all factions were free to impart their own political and moral values and new knowledge and skills. In terms of educational methods, private schools can have no fixed educational places, but take teachers as the center and students' active learning as the driving force, so running schools has considerable flexibility.

Fourthly, the development of private schools has accumulated rich educational experience and promoted the development of pre-Qin educational theory. Private schools have not only produced a large number of outstanding educational thinkers, such as Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Xunzi, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Shang Yang and Han Fei. Moreover, there have appeared such as The Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Xunzi, Laozi, Zhuangzi, The Book of Shang Jun, Han Feizi, etc., which recorded a lot of educational thoughts.

In a word, the emergence and development of private schools is the necessity of historical development and the historical change of the education system. Under certain historical conditions, private schools rely on free running schools, free running schools, free lectures and free competition to develop education, which not only conforms to the historical trend, but also opens a new era in the history of education in China.

Fourth, train scholars and Xia Ji Gong Xue.

In the fierce competition, strength and strategy are the basis of winning, and talents are the key to enhancing strength and adopting correct strategies. At that time, the rulers with unique vision in various countries opened the door to recruiting talents. In the early days, Qi Huangong used Guan Zhong, and Qin Mugong used Prissy. Later, Shang Yang, Sun Bin, Wuqi, Su Qin and Zhang Yi were all prominent ministers who were born scholars.

The atmosphere of cultivating scholars promoted the further prosperity of private schools during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The public office or private door of cultivating scholars is like a private school or a collection of private schools, and the Xia Ji School of Qi has a great influence.

Gong Xue, Xia Ji was built under Jiyumen, the capital of Qi during the Warring States Period. It is a national institution established by the rulers of Qi State to train scholars. With the help of the country's financial and material resources, it lasted for a century and a half, and almost concentrated scholars of various schools at that time. Although Xia Ji Gong Xue was officially opened by Qi State, it is actually a collection of many private schools.

Its characteristics mainly include:

First, "talk without cure", that is, scholars do not hold specific official positions, generally do not undertake administrative affairs, in case the rulers consult, but engage in their own academic research and lecture activities every day. Therefore, Xia Ji Gong Xue actually plays the role of a "think tank".

Second, free debate. Jixia Academy adopts the policy of academic freedom and inclusiveness, and all factions occupy a certain position in Jixia Academy. In order to get their theory recognized, they have to convince others through public debate, which enlivens their thinking and prospers their research. In the "regular meeting" held in Gong Xue, not only teachers and tourists of the whole school can participate freely, but also students can participate in the rebuttal debate. This kind of democracy and equality between teachers and students in the academic field is helpful to broaden our horizons, and is also conducive to the growth of talents, which has played a great role in liberating and invigorating students' minds.

Third, learn from teachers. Xia Ji Gong Xue's teaching method is very special. In teaching, students can attend classes freely and implement the policy of freedom of study tour. At that time, there were both individuals and groups who came to Jixia Xuegong. You can ask to join at any time, or you can leave at any time, without any restrictions. After students come to Jixia Xuegong, not only one teacher, but also other teachers can come to attend classes for advice. This flexible teaching system enables students to be exposed to various theories, breaking the limitations of academic schools, and all schools criticize and absorb each other in Jixia Academy, which promotes academic development.

Fourthly, in terms of student management, Xia Ji and Gong Xue formulated the first student code in history-Disciples' Duties, the full text of which is contained in Guanzi. From respecting teachers to respecting morality, from eating and drinking to dressing, from classroom teaching to after-class review, there are strict regulations. From the standpoint of disciples, we can see the overall characteristics of Jixia Xuegong in managing students, which embodies the purpose, plan and organization of teaching. This theory has been passed down from generation to generation and has far-reaching influence.