China is one of the most fascinating countries in the world and, also, one of the oldest. In fact, there are texts that refer to that, already in the XVI century a.C. There were schools in China, although they were not like the ones we can find today. However, despite the fact that many things have changed, there are still others that are preserved in a very similar way to that of education in ancient China.
Education in ancient China | How was it?
1. Different educational systems according to the ruling dynasty
One of the most important aspects when it comes to deepening education in ancient China is that you can not talk about a homogeneous education , but it is an education that varies over the centuries according to the emperor and the dynasty that occupied the throne. As an interesting fact, it is worth mentioning the Han Dynasty , since it was the driving force of a public school system that allowed any Chinese citizen who wanted to study to have access to education regardless of their economic level.
2. An education for the elites
Although under the Han government, education was accessible to all of society regardless of their economic position, the reality is that only the most affluent citizens could study. This was not so much due to the fact that education was expensive, but rather that the children helped their parents in their respective jobs , whether farmers or artisans. In this way, only the children of some wealthy merchants they could do without helping their parents at work, which allowed them to have free time to go to school.
3. An education for men only
However, in addition to the economic barrier that existed between rich and poor at the time of studying, education in ancient China was reserved by law only to men . The women they were not allowed to go to school, since their function in traditional Chinese society was to marry and be good wives and mothers. However, it was allowed that women will study in their own homes , which led to some cases of wealthy citizens who paid tutors to give private lessons to their daughters in their own homes. However, this was always intended to increase the chances of daughters finding a good husband, so their role in Chinese society did not really change much.
4. Culture was concentrated in cities
Another of the most representative aspects of education in ancient China was that the schools were concentrated in the cities . In general, it was normal to assign a room of the palaces or the temples for this work, but there was no building exclusively dedicated to teaching. In fact, the schools were run only by one or two teachers, who were the only ones who taught the different classes to all the students there were.
5. Confucian influence
Education in ancient China was also very different from the current one because of the subjects taught. Broadly speaking, classes at school were limited to learn to read and write . They also learned to draw, but in most cases, the most common works consisted of reading and copying the Texts of Chinese philosopher Confucius , which was considered the model to be followed by the well-educated and educated Chinese citizen.
6. Access to government positions
Another of the most important aspects of education in ancient China was that it allowed access to government posts, which was a milestone in the history of humanity, since, until now, the government was reserved for people from confidence of the king or emperor of the day. Thanks to the Chinese evaluation system, who passed the tests, had the right to access a position in the government , either in the capital or in one of the different cities of all of China .
7. The beginning of meritocracy
In fact, the only way to gain access to government posts, with the exception of those related to the emperor's family, was to pass the examinations for officials that were held in China. In this way, those who studied more and obtained better qualifications, had the right to a position in the government, as well as a greater economic and social rewards . This is what today is known as meritocracy, that is, the government of those who have made merits to achieve it, and has its origins in education in ancient China.
8. Imperial universities
In addition to the basic schools where what was learned mainly was to read and write, Emperor Wu, of the Han dynasty, also sponsored the creation of what would be equivalent to our universities . In these schools it deepened much more in all the arts and disciplines . In fact, this is where the "boshi" worked, which were the ancient doctors from China, who instructed the "Boshi disciples" so that they too would become future doctors of the empire.
As you can see, education in ancient China had some points in common with current education, for example in terms of exams and the way in which progress could be made thanks to good grades. However, it has also changed a lot in other elements, for example in the restrictive and elitist that was formerly, reserved only for men who had an economic situation that would allow them not to have to work.