Knowledge And Control: The Sociological Analysis Of Ancient China's Scientific Education

The sociological control of knowledge is a basic proposition in Sociology of scientificknowledge. It holds that all the knowledge, including the knowledge of natural science, interms of social significance, not only depends on people's social position, identity and classinterests, but also roots in specific cultural types. An important view in Sociology ofEducation is that education has a function of cultural reproduction and social stratification.It holds that education, as a principal mechanism of constructing social collective memory,is a stage for political authorities to show their discourse power, and a place for interestsgroups, especially for power groups, to make cultural and social reproduction. A pair ofbasic concepts of "knowledge" and "power" is involved in these two propositions. From the relationship between knowledge and power, and by the analysis of AncientChina's scientific education, this article suggests that specific social, historical and culturalcontexts breed the unique Chinese traditional science. The changes of scientific paradigmsroot in power's control regulation knowledge, whereas ancient China's scientific educationis the important means and its inevitable outcome of power's control of knowledge. As occur in specific contexts, we have to describe ancient China's social-life patternsand cultural types before we make theoretical analysis. Enlightened by the almanac school's"long-term" view of history, we endeavor to seek individualities in universals and in viceversa, that is we convert ourselves from common culture's universals to specific culture'sindividualities and seek the kernel and universal concepts in the historic developing processof specific culture, so as to find the basic clue preserved by ancient China's social historyand culture. And by analyzing its backgrounds we reveal the close relationship between thebackgrounds and the development of knowledge. Firstly, the article draws an outline of thesocial life in ancient China from its geographical conditions, mode of production andpolitical formation; Secondly, based on the events of systematizing Confucianism, itanalyzes Confucianism's fundamental influences on the development and changes ofChinese traditional culture, and points out "He" is penetrated in ancient China's thoughtsand culture. It is the background of unique material and spiritual life that constructs China'sparticular knowledge paradigms and special qualities of scientific education. It is required that historic research needs adequate historical data to recognize andgrasp the original states objectively. Wit adequate materials, manifestation of the modes ofeducation practices and historical development, the article focuses on the organizing modes, IIIselecting of educational knowledge of ancient China's scientific education, make themcorrespondent to the production, transmission and exchanges of knowledge respectively. Italso explores the relationship between ideology and scientific education, the selection andevolvement of scientific educational knowledge and the power's determination expressed inexamination systems. So it concludes that the basic features of its organizing modes is "nodistinguish between politics and education", that the key principles of its knowledgeselection is "value usefulness above thing-in-itself", and that the important mechanisms ofpower's direct control of knowledge is to make the examining systems for the assessmentsystems of knowledge. It is obvious that, at the very beginning, education, as a key variable,has participated in the production and evolvement of knowledge, and become an importantpolitical strategy and technology to regulate the formation and development of knowledgesystem. Though with the care of Needham Puzzle, the research is not meant to provide apermanent solution. The author believes that Needham Puzzle is a problem more aboutphi...