The Study On Traditional Play In The View Of Education

Based on the study on the history of play by the history of society, the history of preschool education and the special history of play, the thesis studies the history of traditional play in China in the view of education. The one side, the thesis discusses the general situation of play at the every stage, including the origin and the development, and analyses the effect of education on the development of play, then delineates the development history of traditional play in China. The other side, the thesis analyses the morality of play, then draws a conclusion that totally traditional play in China advocated moral. So play is a kind of education in life. The thesis also discusses the opinions of play by educationalists at the every stage so that we can clearly hold the role's change of play in the traditional education.The thesis falls the development history of traditional play in China into five stages:The first stage: since the remote antiquity to the West-Zhou Dynasty: the origin of play. On the origin of play, there are such ways as productive labor, military war, social custom, myth and tale, the cultural interchange, and so on. In the schools of tales, Cheng-jun and Xiang were mutually related with play.The second stage: since the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods to the Han Dynasty: the development of play. In the Spring and Autumn and the Waning States Periods, the opinions of play were the contention of a hundred schools of thought, in which there were three important kinds of opinions. They were Confucianists' " study carefree", Taoists' "free and unfettered" and Mohists and Legalists' "non-play". Until the Han Dynasty, because Confucianists' thought became the dominating thought, the opinion of play by Confucianists took superior place. So the morality of play was established.The third stage: since the Wei Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty: prosperity of play (一) In this stage, play was prosperous and was marked official color. The moralityof play decreased, the one side, amusing plays were popular; the other side, moral plays were unpopular. The opinions of play by educationalists either embodied it, or fought it.The forth stage: since the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty: prosperity of play(二) . This stage was a new era for the development of play, and the developmentwas popularized and commercialized. With Confucianists' reviving and the feudalethical code's reorganizing, the morality of play was resumed and intensified. Theopinions of play by educationalists also embodied it.The fifth stage: since the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty: great prosperity of play. With the lash of commerce since the middle period of Ming dynasty, because of the mature of the feudal rule, the enlightening by play became popular, that is to say, the relationship between play and enlightening became intimately and the stress for the morality of play seeped the people's life. In this stage, school education was gradually degenerating, and the opinion of play of educationalists flowed life into the education.Making a general survey of the development of traditional play in China, we can draw such conclusions as the first is the education in the play is very distinguishing; the second is the morality of play was mutually related with the role's changes of the Confucianists and totally play advocated moral; the third is the role of play in traditional education was overall ignored, even denied; the firth is play is a kind of education in life. The real relation between play and education is possible only in the modern education. There are three ways that can realize the relation. The first is aesthetic education embodies play. The second is preschool education promotes the curriculum of play. The third is general education attaches importance to the value of play.