Anthony Rud

ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationship between the concepts of humility and competition in Confucianism and Daoism, and discusses their relevance to contemporary education. It argues that while both philosophical traditions value humility and caution against excessive competition, they do not outrightly reject competition; instead, they advocate for a harmonious balance between humility and competition through yielding (rang) and showing reverence (gong) or acting through non-action (wei-wu-wei) to resolve conflicts and promote healthy competition. The insights gleaned from this exploration carry significant implications for the moral development and mental well-being of students, particularly in the context of high-stakes testing cultures in China and other countries. They also offer valuable support in nurturing students’ qualities such as openness to learning, humble leadership, and appreciation of diversity and multiculturalism essential for success in a diverse and interconnected world.

This chapter discusses the background information and the origins of the philosophy of Chinese moral education at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, as embodied in the earliest books in China.The ideas and concepts include the heart-to-heart transmission of a 16-word-maxim, the culture of family and state, and the principles of the moral development of the superior man in The Book of Changes. Also included are the philosophies in The Book of History, such as Jizi’s propositions of heaven and human interactions, the framework of the Five Elements, and the Duke of Zhou’s doctrines of cultivating morality to match the mandate of heaven, filial piety, righteousness, and the moral education system of rites and music.

This chapter discusses concepts of moral education in the Study of Xuan or the Neo-Taoism that challenged and enriched Confucianism. It starts by analyzing Wang Chong’s cosmology based on qi and his dismissal of heaven’s role in moral education. After that, it covers the different attitudes toward Mingjiao (the teaching of Confucian rites) and nature of three representatives of the Study of Xuan. These include Wang Bi’s proposal of using nature to reinterpret Mingjiao, Ji Kang’s advocacy of transcending Mingjiao and pursuing a natural life and spiritual freedom, and Guo Xiang’s ideas about the independent evolution of human nature and the integration of Mingjiao and nature. The chapter concludes by discussing the characteristics of the Wei-Jin Style.

This chapter covers the philosophies of moral education of Confucius, Mencius, and Hsun Tzu. It starts with Confucius’ ideas of rule by morality, which highlight the integration of politics and moral cultivation, then comes to the spiritual core of benevolence and the doctrine of the mean, and the concept cluster made up of faithfulness, credibility, reciprocity, filial piety, and righteousness, as well as their implications for moral education. Next it focuses on Mencius and Hsun Tzu by contrasting their philosophies, for example, Mencius’ proposition of “good nature” versus Tzu’s “evil nature” argument, Mencius’ themes of benevolence and righteousness versus Hsun Tzu’s solemnizing rites and valuing laws, and Mencius’ roles of the heart and qi in cultivating morality versus Hsun Tzu’s use of rites to eliminate evil intentions and shape good habits.

This chapter explores the contexts, reasons, and the process of the rise of Confucianism to state ideology. It first introduces background information related to the renaissance of Confucianism in the Han Dynasty and then discusses Jia Yi’s philosophy, for example his cosmological concept of heaven’s role in promoting the moral development of people, and his idea of using moral education as the foundation of good politics. The following section examines Dong Zhongshu’s contributions to the philosophy of moral education, which include his proposition of making Confucianism the sole ideology, the doctrine of the three grades of human nature, his portent theory about interactions between heaven and man, and his framework of the “Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues” as the goal and content of moral education.

This chapter describes a period of conflict and the integration of the three teachings/religions.The first section deals with religious Taoism’s adoption of Confucian moral education principles such as filial piety and loyalty, as represented by Ge Hong; it also discusses Ge’s interpretation of morality as a prerequisite for becoming a celestial being. The second section focuses on Buddhism’s conflicts, adoption, and fusion with Confucian doctrines, including Hui-yuan’s insistence upon monks’ exemption from secular rites and his concepts of karma and reincarnation for religious/moral education purpose; Hui-neng’s ideas about retrieving Buddha’s nature, sudden enlightenment, confession, promoting good and eradicating evil in facilitating people’s moral development; and Qi-song’s efforts to incorporate filial piety into Buddhism.

This chapter deals with the philosophies of Taoism, Legalism, and the Mohist School during the era of the “Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought”. It first discusses Lao Tzu’s metaphysical concepts of Tao, wordless teaching, and the idea of following nature. Then it elaborates on Chaung Tzu’s renouncing of “wisdom” and knowledge, and his idea of following natural laws to preserve spiritual serenity and health. Next it covers philosophy in Legalism, including Guan Zhong’s advocacy of using the human tendency to pursue gain in order to promote moral education, and Han Feizi’s belief in replacing moral education with legal education. Last, the chapter centers on Mo Tzu’s propositions for nurturing “universal love” and “austerity”. The chapter also interprets the moral education concepts of all these philosophical schools by using comparisons.

This chapter examines the crises of the philosophy of moral education in the Qing Dynasty. The first half concentrates on the moral education concepts of three philosophers of enlightenment, Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi, and Gu Yanwu, who agonized over the fall of the Ming Dynasty, criticized the empty talk of Neo-Confucianism and advocated practical learning. The second half discusses how the philosophers responded to Western challenges in the late Qing Dynasty. It covers the advocacy by the Self-Strengthening Movement of using Confucianism as the Substance and Western science and technology as Utility—Chinese Substance and Western Utility—and discusses the reformists’ advocacy of interpenetrating Chinese learning and Western learning.

The introduction addresses the rationale, significance, and content of the book. It defines and legitimizes the philosophy of Chinese moral education and justifies the necessity for conducting historical research on this subject in a global era. It discusses the role of the philosophy in shaping Chinese culture and, more specifically, how its frameworks and concepts have given rise to Chinese national characteristics, value system, human relations, and modes of conduct; it also attempts to explain why Chinese culture has proved so enduring. It sets the ground rules for selecting philosophies of Chinese moral education, delineates the main content of these, and lays out the structure of the book.

After recapitulating the philosophy of Chinese moral education and exploring its cultural impact upon Chinese culture, the closing chapter further discusses its limitations, its declining influence, and the contemporary moral crisis, as well as the need and prospect for renewing and regenerating this traditional philosophy in contemporary China. We argue that though this philosophy seems obsolete in modern times, it still contains concepts and ways of thinking that are valuable for China and the rest of the world. The chapter concludes by discussing the conceptual renewal of the philosophy and its significance for today’s world with respect to solving the issues of humanity and nature, humanity and science, social relations, international conflicts, and the clash of civilizations.

This chapter deals with the School of Mind of Neo-Confucianism. It first discusses Lu Jiuyuan’s belief in the heart instead of the heavenly principle as the substance of the universe and his sudden enlightenment approach to moral education, and then introduces the Goose Lake Meeting, which showcased the distinctions between Chu Hsi and Lu Jiuyuan regarding the approaches of “honoring moral nature” versus “following the great path of investigation and study”. The second section covers Wang Yangming’s contribution to the School of Mind and thinking about moral education, including his propositions of the heart as the origin of the heavenly principle, the extension of innate knowledge, the unity of knowing and acting, and his famous instruction of four sentences.

This chapter covers the early twentieth century, when the Chinese criticized traditional moral education and used Western philosophies to replace Confucian doctrines or refresh traditional Chinese philosophy. It first discusses Chen Duxiu’s criticism of the Confucian teaching of rites and his introduction of Western ideologies in reconstructing the Chinese national character and solving social crises; it then examines Liang Shuming’s advocacy of renewing classic Confucian doctrines and using these as an attitude to life supervising modern knowledge and social system, as well as his perspective about world cultures; next it explores Cai Yuanpei’s integration of Kant’s concepts of the phenomenal world and the noumenal world with Chinese traditional philosophy, creating the theory of “the Unity of Five Types of Education”; last, it scrutinizes Tao Xingzi’s effort to transform Dewey’s philosophical frameworks into the life education theory to fit with Chinese national conditions.

This chapter concentrates on the philosophy of moral education in the School of the Principle of Neo-Confucianism during the Song Dynasty. The moral education concepts and approaches of five Confucian philosophers are discussed in detail. The chapter explores and analyzes Zhou Dunyi’s cosmology of the Supreme Ultimate, Zhang Zai’s cosmic concepts of qi and the role of the heart in governing nature and the sentiments, the Cheng Brothers’ ontological framework of the heavenly principle and their contribution to compiling moral education textbooks, Chu Hsi’s proposal of preserving the transcendental li and eradicating human desires, and his moral education approach to investigating concrete objects and events to attain moral truth.

The essays comprising this book are diverse in terms of their particular interests, theoretical orientations, and value commitments. What unites this eclectic collection is its central purpose: to examine school lunch as an educational phenomenon. Education is a multifaceted process, connected with every dimension of the human experience. The authors whose work appears here are interested in how various aspects of school lunch affect the health, the intellectual, moral, and emotional development, and the overall well-being of those whose lives are affected—directly or indirectly—with this aspect of schooling. We are interested not only in the near-term educational effects of particular school lunch practices, but also in those that are far-reaching and long-lasting.

The book depicts a unique historical and cultural phenomenon, the philosophy of Chinese moral education, in an attempt to capture the essence of Chinese culture. While tracing the historical journey of this philosophy, the book rearranges and interprets the conceptual frameworks concerning moral education in various Chinese philosophical schools and religions. In so doing, it summarizes the ideas of human relations, man and nature, cosmology, moral virtues, and educational approaches, posing intriguing questions about how they have influenced Chinese characteristics, social norms, and value orientations. In particular, the book brings up discussions on the culture of family and state, the challenges that the philosophy had encountered in early modern and present China, as well as the prospect of regeneration of the philosophy and its significance for our world today. This is the book to read if you want to have a deep understanding about China and its belief and educational system.