Education Chinese Style – Part 3

February 10, 2010

It seems that many of the six-thousand students I taught over thirty years felt the same way—that learning would make them mad like Acts says in the New Testament: 26:24 And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

Emperor Wudi

In China, during the early Han Dynasty, a different moral standard was set where earning an education was valued. Emperor Wudi from 141-187 BCE (two hundred years before Jesus Christ and five hundred years before Constantine), solidified the ideological framework of official Confucianism with a blending of Confucian, Taoist, and Legalist elements.

It looks like China may be officially returning to Confucianism or some form of it. Confucius taught that a ‘gentleman’ is the ideal figure. Among the traits of this ideal man is continued learning to develop moral character and to gain knowledge that is useful in serving others.

In China, teachers are treated with respect. Not so in the United States. Although a few students were respectful when I was a teacher, many were not. To understand what I mean, read the prologue from my memoir, Crazy Normal.

See Part 1

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.

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Education Chinese Style – Part 2

February 10, 2010

There is no evidence that the Christian Bible supports literacy or education. After the Roman Empire collapsed, the Catholic Church did not attempt to educate the masses. It was much easier to tell ignorant, uneducated people how to live and what to do. The illiterate kings and peasants looked to the Pope and educated priests for guidance. It was sort of like those with sight leading the blind.
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Proverbs (Old Testament)
1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
9:9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
16:21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

Daniel
1:4 children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chalde’ans.

Acts (New Testament)
26:24 And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.

Romans
15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
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I looked for passages in the Bible that would focus on the importance of gaining an education similar to what Confucius taught.

Confucius

I didn’t find anything. If you find something, let me know. Instead, this is the sentiment that I discovered, “Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.”

 See Part 1

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.

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Education Chinese Style – Part 1/7

February 10, 2010

Words are cheap. Actions speak loud, and the Chinese are not smarter than everyone else is.  They just work harder and have different values than Americans. The best way to learn about another culture is by comparing and contrasting that culture with yours to see the similarities and differences.

With that in mind, let’s examine Christianity first. Emperor Constantine lived 280-337 AD. He ruled the Roman Empire and is responsible for Christianity eventually becoming the state religion a century later. From that time, Christianity, more than any other influence, set the tone for morality and ethics in the West.

One of my primary Biblical sources is a Concordance of the Holy Bible given to me by a student teacher in 1982. When I checked to see what that Concordance had to say about the importance of ‘education’, I found nothing in the index under that word. I then looked up the word ‘learning’ and discovered six passages. I also looked up ‘teacher’ and there were a few references but nothing significant. That hunt to discover the importance of learning to early Christians was a revelation.  Those passages from the Bible will be covered in Part 2.

Also recommended The Reasons Why China is Studying Singapore

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar. 

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China’s Heart and Soul

February 9, 2010

The Introduction for China, Heart and Soul by Stephen L. Koss says what I thought when I first went to China in 1999.  “My impressions had formed from decades of Cold War Red scares…” I am sure that most Americans who have never visited China still feel the same. Most of the Western media earns a FAILING grade when it comes to reporting on China. They are usually wrong in so many ways.

Forbidden City, Beijing, China

If you are open minded and want to discover the real China and learn the differences between what you read and hear in the Western media and from American politicians, I suggest you visit Tom Carter’s work and spend two minutes and forty-two seconds to see China through his eyes.  Or, even visit China from the eyes of someone special and precious to Tom Carter. This Blog is written in English and Chinese.

See The First Emperor: The Man Who Made China

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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When China Speaks

February 9, 2010

It may not always be in the interest of the United States when China offers advice, but it would be best to listen carefully. When countries compare histories, China’s light would shine against many Christian and Islamic nations that have often waged wars needlessly. China’s philosophical and religious foundations from Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism have had a large influence over “many” but not all of China’s decisions.

1492 by Gavin Menzies

In  1421, a huge Chinese armada sailed across the Pacific, then the Indian Ocean.  The Chinese did some exploring and trading, then went home to stay. There were no wars—no land grabs or invasions. Seventy years later, Columbus crossed the Atlantic and found the Americas. In a few centuries, many ancient civilizations vanished and millions died.

For more than two thousand years, China was a super power and the leaders of China never used that power to wage wars of conquest like the West. Then in the 19th century, the Chinese became the victims of Western Imperialism.

So, when the Chinese Foreign Minister urges patience in Iran nuclear talks, maybe America, in its endless ” wisdom“, should listen before millions die in more needless wars. I’m sure that China doesn’t want a nuclear Iran any more than the rest of the world. Afer all, Tehran’s future missles are closer to Beijing, and China is no stranger to problems with Islam.

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

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