Confucius' Education Style and Students

Confucius went through different stages in his life. Combining what Confucius said at different stages of his life, we can get a general idea of his life.

Confucius once said, "I am ten and five years old and I aspire to learn." It means that when Confucius said he was fifteen years old, he set his mind to learn the way to escape life and death, but although he had this ambition, he had not really made up his mind yet.

"At the age of thirty, Confucius waited until he was thirty before he made up his mind that he must practise.

"Forty and not confused", when Confucius reached the age of forty, all his doubts, misgivings and confusions were broken. Therefore, Confucius said: not confused means that one has no more doubts about everything and is not moved by material things, money and so on. When a person stops the endless pursuit of material things and money, Prajna intelligence comes to the fore, enlightenment comes to the fore, wisdom comes to the fore, and he begins to focus on deep inner happiness, spirituality, and moral upliftment.

"When he was fifty, he knew the destiny of heaven". By the time Confucius was fifty years old, he had already obtained the fatal destiny pass. The Mandate of Heaven is also known as the Fate Tong, and a person who has obtained the Fate Tong can know what the philosophy of life is in being a human being. He could know the true meaning and value of life. He also knows the predestination of man - what is the passing of man all about?

"When he was sixty and his ears were obedient", by the time Confucius was sixty years old, he had the kung fu of ears obedience. To have a smooth ear is to have heavenly eyes and ears. Some people are also called clairvoyant eyes and smooth ears, which is the divine power of heavenly eyes and ears. With heavenly eyes and ears one can see the truth from a great distance.

"When Confucius reached the age of seventy, he attained the power of the omission: he was free from all confusion of the three realms and was not subject to the three realms of birth and death. In other words, Confucius had already broken the cycle of birth and death in the three realms and had no more doubts about what happened in the three realms. He also spoke of the eight virtues of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, faith, righteousness, harmony and peace. Confucius thus laid a solid foundation for Chinese education.

Confucius began to study hard at the age of fifteen and slowly became a famous educator and thinker in ancient China. Confucius was a great man who devoted his life to education. He has a pivotal place in the history of Chinese education.

When it comes to Confucius' education, the first thing that comes to mind is his private school. The purpose of Confucius' private school was for people to learn morality and to renounce evil and promote good. In Confucius' "The University", he said: "The way of the university is to understand virtue, to be close to the people, and to stop at the highest good. " meaning: the aim of the university is to reveal high moral character, to make people get rid of old habits, and to reach the highest state of goodness.

In terms of the content of education, Confucius paid particular attention to moral education. Moral education had always been an important element in ancient society, and Confucius attached particular importance to it, in keeping with the social trends of the time. Among the specific contents of moral education, "benevolence" and "ritual" were the core ideas of Confucius' teaching. Confucius believed that rites were moral norms, external rules of behaviour that one had to accept in social life. Ren, on the other hand, is the highest moral code of conduct, expressing man's concern and love for life and its values. The relationship between benevolence and ritual is like the relationship between content and form. With benevolence, rites can be more enriched.

Confucius' methods of education are many, the most famous of which are: teaching according to one's ability and teaching without discrimination.

Confucius said, "Above the middle person, one can speak to the superior; below the middle person, one cannot speak to the superior."

The meaning is: a person above the medium qualification can be told profound truths; a person below the medium qualification will be difficult to make him understand profound truths. This fully reflects Confucius' way of teaching according to his ability.

There is another story about Confucius' teaching according to his ability.

Once, when Confucius had finished his lecture and returned to his study, his student Gong Xihua brought him a glass of water and Confucius drank it while taking a rest.

At that moment, Zi Lu hurriedly came in and loudly asked his teacher for advice, "Sir, if I hear a right proposition, can I do it immediately?"

Confucius looked at Zi Lu and said slowly, "You should always ask your father and elder brother, how can you do something just because you hear it?" So Zi Lu ran off to ask his father and elder brother.

Just as Zi Lu left, another student, Ran You, quietly approached Confucius and asked respectfully, "Sir, if I hear the right advice, should I do it immediately?"

Confucius immediately replied, "Yes, it should be put into practice immediately."

After Ran You had left, Gong Xi Hua asked curiously, "Sir, how can you answer the same question in opposite ways?"

Confucius smiled and said, "Ran You is humble and hesitant, so I encouraged him to be decisive in his actions. But Zi Lu was a strong and aggressive man who was not thorough, so I advised him to listen to others and think twice before he acted."

This is Confucius' educational philosophy of teaching students according to their different personalities, with the aim of enabling them to serve their own shortcomings so that they can handle things properly.

In addition, Confucius also advocated that there is no class in education: students are given the opportunity to receive education regardless of whether they are poor, rich, noble or lowly. Confucius believed that everyone had the right to education and that some people should not be deprived of it for the sake of rich or poor, noble or poor, wise or foolish, good or evil.

When Confucius started his school, he also followed his philosophy of "education without discrimination" when admitting students. Confucius recruited students regardless of whether they were noblemen or commoners, or whether they were Chinese or foreigners, as long as they had the desire to learn. Confucius' 3,000 students came from different countries such as Lu, Qi, Jin, Song, Chen, Cai, Qin and Chu, breaking not only the national boundaries but also the distinction between yi and xia at the time. Confucius took in Gongsun Long and Qin Shang from the state of Chu, who were regarded as 'barbarians' by the Chinese, and also wanted to live in the 'nine barbarians' to teach them, fully embodying Confucius' educational philosophy of 'teaching without discrimination'. Confucius' educational philosophy of 'teaching without discrimination' is fully reflected. Among Confucius' students, there were those from the noble class, such as Nan Guan Jing Shu, Sima Niu and Meng Yi Zi, and many from commoner families, such as Yan Hui, Zeng Sen, Min Zi Qian, Zhong Gong, Zi Lu, Zi Zhang, Zi Xia, Gong Ye Chang and Zi Gong. The education of the common people better reflects the essence of Confucius' spirit of 'teaching without discrimination'. Confucius' idea of 'teaching without class' allowed every student to enjoy equal rights to education, which was undoubtedly an amazing innovation in a society with a strict hierarchy at the time.

In terms of the purpose of education, Confucius believed that "if you learn, you will become an official", which means that Confucius encouraged students to become officials if their conditions and energy allowed them to do so, so that they could better contribute their abilities and knowledge to society and serve the people.

In terms of the quality of teachers, Confucius believed that teachers should have a variety of personalities. Confucius set a good example by being knowledgeable and humble in learning everything about knowledge, culture, art, etc. His aim was to enrich himself first, for Confucius knew that only when he himself had a bucket of water could he give his students a glass of water.

First of all, as a teacher you should never tire of learning, love to learn and live to learn. Only when the teacher himself is knowledgeable can he teach his students better. This is why Confucius spent his entire life learning, as evidenced by the fact that he travelled four times in his life to ask Laozi for advice and rites. At the same time, Confucius believed that "teaching others without tirelessness" was a character that every teacher should possess. To teach is to teach students patiently and tirelessly, to give them care and love, and not to give up on each and every one of them.

Of course, Confucius, as a great educator, not only advocated teaching students according to their abilities, but also practised teaching methods such as inspiration and guidance, and the importance of learning, thinking and acting together. A glimpse of these educational philosophies can be found in Confucius' quotation.

"In all things, if you hesitate, you stand, but if you do not hesitate, you fall." Meaning: In anything, preparation leads to success, and failure to prepare leads to failure.

Confucius also said, "Wealth moistens the house, virtue moistens the body, and the heart is wide and fat, so a gentleman must be sincere in his intentions." The meaning is: wealth can trim a house, morality can trim the body and mind, and a broad mind can make the body and mind comfortable, so a gentleman must be honest in his intentions.

"A gentleman has all that he has, and then seeks all that he has." The meaning is: one has good virtues before one can ask others to do good.

"If you are unwilling to give to others, do not give to others." This means: do not do to others what you do not wish to be done to yourself. By reminding students to put themselves in their own shoes, Confucius is able to adopt an appropriate way of getting along with others.

"If you have a fault and do not change it, it is said to be a fault." Meaning: to have a fault and not correct it is a real fault.

"If you do not tolerate small things, you will mess up big plans." Meaning: failure to endure in small things will spoil big things.

"If a man has no distant worries, he will have near worries." Meaning: if a person does not have a long-term plan, worries will soon arise.

On the relationship between education and the economy, Confucius suggested that the economy is the basis for developing education. Only when the economy is stable and people are living and working in peace and happiness can education be developed steadily. The success of Confucius' educational philosophy led him to produce many outstanding students, with 72 famous and outstanding students out of his 3,000 students. Some of these students even compiled Confucius' ideas into a book, the Analects. Confucius' students were divided into four subjects: virtue, speech, government and literature. The most famous of these students were summarised by later generations as the 'Four Subjects and Ten Philosophies'. The most famous students were Yan Hui, Min Ziqian, Ran Bernou and Zhong Gong. In the subject of speech, the students were Zai I and Zigong. In the subject of government, they are Ran You and Ji Lu. In Literature, they were Ziyu and Zixia. These 10 men were the most outstanding representatives of the disciples of Confucius. In the Tang Dynasty, when the rituals of Confucius' sacrifice were set, these were the "Ten Philosophers".