Study On The Mencius Learned Textbook

Mencius plays a very important role in the process of development of Chinese education history. Mencius has been finished in contention of various schools of thought during Pre-Qin period. Because of prosperity of the academic thoughts, it has rich cultural connotation and value. Mencius has become the important textbook of students on the following generationgs to learn and understand Mencius’s thought, at the same time formed the "Mencius" course. The status of "Mencius" courses is changing constantly since Han Dynasty. Mencius plays a different role in the Five Classics, Four Books and subjects, as the auxiliary course in Han and Tang Dynasty, as the general course and required course in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasites, as the marginal branches subject in Repubilc of China. Due to the different nature of the course, it has also formed the different kinds of materials. In the light of the above, this thesis takes "Learned Textbook " to contain Mencius which is both a textbook and a curriculum in Chinese traditional education, and discusses detailedly the evolution of "Mencius" course and teaching materials, shows the path of the Chinese traditional education development and characteristics with Mencius Learned Textbook. The article is mainly divided into five parts:First, it discusses the educational characteristics of Mencius and several formative factors; Second, Mencius gets the auxiliary course because of Zi Shu in Han and Tang Dynasty. The form and content of materials and teaching has changed, it began to appear the annotated materials with the development need of education and culture in Han and Tang Dynasty; Third, it discusses the transformation process of Mencius from auxiliary to required course. Mencius became the classic in Song Dynasty, also got the imperial examination of subject and teaching materials in Yun Dynasty because of ZhuXi’s the Four Books. These all have prompted Mencius to the core course in school, and appeard many supporting materials, the teaching way was accepted by ideas of Neo-Confucianism;Fourth, it discusses the "Mencius" course status has been further to strengthen and consolidate during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The national teaching material such as Mencius Variorum, Meng Zi Jie Wen, Meng Zi Ji Zhu Da Quan, play the dominant role. The imperial examination, Xin Xue and Shi Xue have an influence on the teaching of Mencius. Fifth, in the process of social transformation in modern times, the core position of "Mencius" course has losed in school education, and finall integrated into the subject system, as a common course of modern school education.In a word, as the development and change of course and teaching material, Mencius reflects the social reform for the choice and requirements of the education content. The value of Mencius itself, thinkers’advocate, leading of the ruling class are key factors to become a classic course and textbook, and Mencius’s thought has been reinterpreted unceasingly in the later generations, makes it adapt to the requirements of the development of times by keeping its value, responds to the social reality, which has been building new education value. Mencius plays a role in these different value system, such as Five Classics, Four Books, and Thirteen Classics. The change of the ideological value and times value of Mencius, deeply influences the Chinese scholars and general public’s values, thinking and code of conduct, meanwhile reflects the Chinese education through a unique road.