The Chinese nation has respected teachers and education since ancient times, and regards this tradition as the foundation of social civilization and progress. Teachers are not only teachers who teach, but also teachers who preach. Their moral integrity and behavior have always been strictly restricted. "When it comes to learning, the teacher is strict and the teacher is in trouble. The teacher is strict, and then the Tao is respected; the Tao is respected, and then the people know and respect the learner." ("Book of Rites·Xue Ji") This is what people usually call "the dignity of the teacher". The society attaches great importance to education and respects teachers, first of all, because teachers have high moral integrity and strict self-discipline. Therefore, teachers must start from themselves, cultivate their moral character, and practice knowledge and practice in order to do a good job in education and win respect from society. This simple truth still deserves our in-depth thinking to this day.

The earliest standard of teacher ethics

The ancient scholars must have teachers. In ancient times, the profession of teacher appeared very early. But what the teachers were like at that time and what their demeanor was like, since there is no documentary record, it is difficult for future generations to check.

It is said that when Emperors Yao and Shun were in power, they appointed Qi as "Situ". The title "Situ" later evolved into an official position. Its original meaning is to manage and educate students, which is the current teacher. Why did Yao and Shun appoint a "Situ"? Because at that time, "the people were not close to each other, and the five grades were not inferior"---the social atmosphere was not correct and the world was in chaos. This was a very serious problem, so we had to find someone to take care of it. How to take care of it? The saying at that time was--"Jing Fu Five Religions".

"Respecting the Five Religions" is a very important proposition in the history of Chinese education and culture and is worthy of discussion. First of all, the purpose of implementing education is proposed here, namely the "Five Teachings". The "Five Teachings" implement education for the five main social interpersonal relationships. The ancients believed that father and son, monarch and minister, husband and wife, brothers, and friends were the five most important interpersonal relationships in society, which were called the "Five Ethics." The "Five Ethics" are natural. They are both human nature and the laws of nature.

Conforming to human nature can build the foundation of social ethics, and following the laws of nature can establish social moral standards. This is not only the proper meaning of education, but also the beginning of a civilized society and the basis of a harmonious society. . Later, Mencius further described the "Five Religions" as "relationship between father and son, righteousness between monarch and ministers, distinction between husband and wife, orderliness between elder and young, and trust between friends", making it the core content of Confucian educational thought and the basis of Chinese culture for thousands of years. the mainstream values ??of society. From this we can understand that the source of Chinese education is life education, not knowledge transfer. Ancient sages believed that only by educating students to learn to understand and handle these five types of social interpersonal relationships and learn how to behave can they be able to "cultivate themselves, manage their families, govern the country, and bring peace to the world", achieve personal happiness in life, happy families, successful careers, and promote social development. Harmony and progress.

Secondly, the words "respect" and "application" are also worth recalling. "Respect" is a requirement for educators' professional attitude. "Sages and sages must cultivate their virtues and cultivate their careers without respect." The antonym of "respect" is "si", which means casual, laissez-faire, irresponsible, and unable to fulfill the responsibility of teaching and educating people. "To spread" means to spread and spread. Teachers should preach the scriptures and preach. They should not only understand the principles of life, but also have the spirit of taking the world as their own responsibility, loving others and teaching others tirelessly.

According to this standard, Yao and Shun finally chose Qi to be a Situ and shouldered the important task of educating people. Qi is an ancestor of the Shang Dynasty. He once assisted Dayu in flood control and showed great talent. But as a teacher, it is not enough to have superior talents. Regarding Qi, "Biography of Lienv" states that "Qi's nature is intelligent and benevolent, and he can educate him and make him famous." It can be seen that Qi's achievements were not mainly due to his control of floods, but to his "ability to educate others"---he made significant contributions in education, and was therefore commemorated by people at that time and in later generations. Qi's nature is "smart and benevolent", "smart" is talent and knowledge; "benevolence" is love and character. Having both, they can shoulder the responsibility of educating people. In today’s terms, it is “a teacher who has high education and a model who is upright”, or “having both ability and political integrity”. Only such people are qualified to be teachers. This person Qi is probably the first example of a teacher established by the ancestors of our Chinese nation for future generations. His "smart and benevolent" nature can also be regarded as the earliest professional ethics standard for teachers in our country.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was another era of chaos and strife, so hundreds of schools of thought came together to prescribe peace for the troubled times. In fact, all the masters were professional teachers. They gave private lectures and sat down to talk about Taoism. Each of them had a group of students following him. Although Zhuzi is not a teacher appointed by others, he should still be an educator who is good at teaching and well versed in educating people. Otherwise, how could there be so many disciples coming to follow him? Therefore, many discussions about education and teachers have been preserved in their works. Although they are superficial, they are extremely precious. Many of these classic words have been directly quoted in the teachers' ethics standards formulated by later generations.

Confucius was an outstanding educator in ancient times who was revered as an "eternal teacher". "Confucius was not an official, but retired to study "Poems", "Books", "Li", and "Music". He had many disciples, who came from far away, and they all taught him." ("The Family of Confucius") Confucius retired to his home to organize ancient culture Classics, he probably didn't think of posting recruitment advertisements everywhere, but he still attracted a large number of students from all over to ask him for advice. Confucius' own words can be used to explain this: "If one's body is upright, he will not do what he is told; if his body is not upright, he will not do what he is told."

Confucius unites knowledge and action, and his educational ideas come from his educational practice. "If you cannot correct yourself, how can you correct people?" ("The Analects of Confucius·Zilu") If teachers cannot be consistent in words and deeds and lead by example, how can they educate and educate? What about students? Confucius taught students to "be tireless in learning and teaching", and he himself did the same. In this regard, Confucius's student Zigong commented: "Being tireless in learning is wisdom; being tireless in teaching is benevolence. Being benevolent and wise, the Master is a sage." In the eyes of his students, "benevolence and wisdom" are the distinctive characteristics reflected in Confucius, and it is also the main reason why Confucius is regarded as a saint by future generations. This is in the same vein as Qi's "smartness and benevolence" mentioned above. Can we say that "benevolence and wisdom" is ancient China's highest pursuit of the educator's personality and the demeanor of a teacher?

Zhu Xi hand-scripted the "White Deer Cave Doctrine"

In the sixth year of Chunxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1179), he had just served as the governor of the Nankang Army (now Xingzi County, Jiujiang, Jiangxi). The educator Zhu Xi decided to establish an academy in Bailu Cave at the east foot of Mount Lu. Here, he personally formulated the famous "White Deer Cave Dogma":

Father and son are related. The king and his ministers are righteous. There is a difference between husband and wife. Old and young are in order. Friends have letters.

The purpose of establishing religion on the right. Yao and Shun made a contract to serve as disciples and respected the five religions. This is how it is. Scholars only learn this, and the order of why they learn is also five-fold, as listed on the left:

Learn it extensively. interrogate it. Think about it. Distinguish it clearly. Do it diligently.

The right is the order of learning. Learning, asking, thinking, and discerning are the four things, so the principles are poor. If you do something sincerely, you will have to cultivate yourself, deal with things, and receive things, and there are also important points, as listed on the left:

Be loyal and trustworthy. Be respectful. Punish anger and suffocate desire. Change for the better.

The key to self-cultivation.

Correct friendship and not seek benefits. Know the way and don't count the merits.

The key to doing things right.

Don’t do to others what you don’t want others to do to you. If you are unable to do something, you will seek others from yourself.

The key to connecting things to the right.

This is a major event worthy of special commemoration in the history of Chinese education. Due to Zhu Xi's advocacy and efforts, Bailudong Academy not only continued to sing for hundreds of years, but also developed into "the first academies in the world" and "represented the general trend of Song studies in modern China for seven hundred years" (Hu Shi). And started the educational tradition of ancient academies for nearly a thousand years. The "White Deer Cave Dogma" written by Zhu Xi has been upheld by educators of all generations as a creed of teachers' ethics. For example, Wang Yangming, a great scholar and educator in the Ming Dynasty, once said: "The husband is the method of learning, and the rules of the White Deer are exhausted."

The "Bailudong Dogma" is both the rules for students to seek knowledge and the standards for teachers to engage in education. The two are unified. In this regard, Zhu Xi explained: "Xi secretly observed that the purpose of the ancient sages to teach people was not to make them explain the principles clearly in order to cultivate themselves, and then recommend them to others. It was not just to memorize their affairs for the purpose of gaining reputation. , It’s just about getting profit and salary.” This means that in educational practice, teaching and learning are unified. The purpose of education throughout the ages is only one: to implement education as a person, rather than treating education as a means to pursue personal utility. As Mr. Tao Xingzhi said: "Thousands of teachings teach people to seek truth, and thousands of studies teach people to be real people." It can be seen that real educators in ancient and modern history are opposed to utilitarian education.

The "White Deer Cave Dogma" systematically sorts out the classic discussions on education issues by ancient sages, especially the pre-Qin Confucians: First, it is clear that the "Five Religions" proposed by Mencius are the purpose of education, and "scholars learn That’s all”. Secondly, take the "learn extensively, interrogate, think carefully, discern clearly, and practice diligently" proposed by Confucius in "The Doctrine of the Mean" as the approach to teaching and educating people. He also emphasized that the first four are for the purpose of purifying theory and gaining knowledge and belong to the category of cognition, while the latter "practicing diligently"

is practice. Zhu Xi has always believed that "The Doctrine of the Mean" is a work by Confucius to "teach the mind". It puts forward many important educational propositions and is worthy of lifelong appreciation. After that, Wang Yangming put forward the propositions of "knowledge and practice" and "unity of knowledge and action" on this basis. These insights and propositions also have strong practical significance for us to correct the deviations in current educational work.

The "essentials of self-cultivation", "essentials of doing things" and "essentials of receiving things" listed subsequently are all "things that should be done diligently" and all belong to the category of practice. Zhu Xi believes that people's understanding cannot be separated from practice, and practice can improve people's understanding. "The clearer the knowledge, the more earnest the practice, and the better the knowledge." This repeated process is the process of education.

For educators themselves, they should take this as a "rule and prohibition" and constantly cultivate themselves and improve their morality in the process. There is nothing that I should love, and there is nothing that is not within my duty. Even though the power is inferior to that of ordinary people, the kings of Yao and Shun, and the people of Yao and Shun, are not outside my scope."

This is the most complete and clear exposition of teachers’ ethics in ancient my country.

The standards of teachers’ ethics in academies in the Ming and Qing dynasties

After Zhu Xi, his disciple Cheng Duanmeng and Cheng’s friend Dong Zhu formulated a code based on the "White Deer Cave Doctrine" that could be used by academy students. Apply "Mr. Cheng Donger's Principles of Education" that can be used as a reference for teachers. This doctrine, like the Bailudong Dogma, was widely adopted by academies and official schools in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

By the way, the "principles" of ancient academies and schools have different names. They are also called "dogma", "principles", "norms", "revelation", "discipline", “Precepts and warnings” actually mean the same or similar things, and their contents have a binding effect on all members of the school, including teachers and students. The reason why teachers and students are not required to distinguish is based on a sentence in the "Book of Changes": "A gentleman teaches with friends." That is to say, in ancient schools, the relationship between teachers and students should be friends. The main form of teaching (lectures) is the so-called "getting together with friends, concentrating the spirit, giving lectures, and developing principles." , this is especially true for academies that focus on life education.

Compared with the subtle and general meaning of the "Bailudong Dogma", the "Principles of Mr. Cheng Donger" is specific to the daily life and behavioral norms of the teachers and students of the academy. For example, "you must be respectful when you live," "you must be upright when you walk," "you must look and hear properly," "you must be cautious in your speech," "you must be dignified in your appearance," "you must be neatly dressed," "you must be modest in your diet," and "you must be careful when going in and out." , "Study must be specialized", etc. The advantage is that it is easy to operate, implement and supervise, but it is too trivial and formal, and it is easy for people to abandon the basic and focus on the weak. Therefore, Zhu Xi seemed to be disapproving of this when he was reviewing it, thinking that it was "the legacy of the ancients in primary schools." It was enough to restrain children, but it would be too superficial if it was used to regulate adults.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the style of teaching in academies of the Song Dynasty was followed. Talents from all over the world gathered in the mountains and forests to inspire the Qing Dynasty. It developed rapidly and gradually became the mainstream of education at that time. It has played a positive role in cultivating talents, sharpening moral integrity, and improving morale.

Academies in the Ming and Qing Dynasties generally valued students' moral cultivation. Therefore, the most important thing when selecting teachers was moral integrity. Dai Zhen, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said: "Lectures are based on integrity, talking to each other is based on morality, and talking to each other is based on respect. Since the Song Dynasty, the establishment of academies has been like this." It can be seen that if you are not a highly respected scholar, it is difficult to become an academician. of a life coach.

In the Qing Dynasty, Henan Academy established four standards for teachers’ ethics: first, practicing virtue should be based on the principles; second, studying diligently to practice learning; third, respecting teachers and friends for seeking To hold them together; fourthly, to make friends with others in order to abide by the etiquette and laws. The third article also specifically requires teachers to "study in the same class with students, follow them day and night, appreciate wonders and doubts, and learn from each other's experiences." It emphasizes that teachers and students should interact and communicate together, freely explore knowledge, learn from each other in teaching, and create vivid The lively teaching atmosphere is "also known as the lively place in teaching".

Qunyu Academy has a special "Teacher's Room" with the inscription:

"The Lord is good at being a teacher's virtue, respect him with respect, fear and love him, Follow one step at a time, one day at a time, and the benefits are endless. "

Teachers should have a loving heart so that disobedient children can respect you and timid children can like you. You, I am willing to follow you and be close to you all day long. Use your noble personality to nurture and nourish the children for a long time, and they will be taught throughout their lives. Such standards of teacher ethics are highly desirable even today.