After a golden time at the Lama Temple, it was a short walk to the nearby Confucius Temple, a much quieter and thoughtful place. I think I've seen enough curved up roof edges and beautifully beamed structures for a while, so it was refreshing and different to see this tiled entrance gate to the Imperial School which was based in Confucian thought and discipline.
For nearly 2000 years Confucian philosophy had so permeated Chinese culture that to reach the highest levels of education a student had to memorize all 5 classics of Confucius. These are represented on 190 12x4 ft tall stone blocks, carved on both sides with the entire collection of writings. Here they are!
Talk about a labor of love. Look at the artistry and detail of that stone carving. Each symbol is about 1.5 inches tall. The trip to this temple was worth it for this sight alone, as far as I was concerned, but then I'd been doing a temple walk for the previous 3 hours. But I'm glad I did this one too. Two big facts I'd forgotten were:
1. that Confucius lived before Socrates and the great Greek philosophers and was a near contemporary of Lao Tze, whose philosophy is the foundation of Taoism - some might know the I Ching as one of his works.
2. The Confucian educational system leading to the Imperial Exam was the dominant educational force in China for almost 2000 years, until the early 1900's, at which point its empahsis on liberal arts was abandoned in favor of one more heavily emphasizing math and technology.
For my educator friends out there --- in approximately 550 BCE Confucius apparently said "Teach according to the student's ability" and "Provide education for all people without discrimination." Old words made new over and over again.
Grabbingthewave@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment