The Question About The Relationship Between Literature And Language In Chinese Curriculum

Since the ancient time, China has a long history of language education and literature. Fromthe Spring and Autumn periods and the Warring States period until the reform in the lateQing Dynasty, China’s traditional Chinese education has developed progressively, andlanguage education and literature education have also experienced many ups and downs, andthe relationships between them are in constant change. The question of the relationshipbetween language education and literature education has been existed for a long time.Since Chinese became the independent subject in1904,the argument concerning therelationship between literature and language had always existed, and showed differenttendencies in different periods: at the very beginning of Chinese becoming the independentsubject, under the guidance of ideological of Social utility and Chinese body westernmaterial, Chinese curriculum were divided into Chinese literature (or Chinese language)which emphasized on language education,with focusing on instrumental and Reading andlecturing Confucian classics which paid attention to enlightenment. Renzi Guichoueducational system formulated in the early Republic consolidated Chinese literature (Chineselanguage) and Reading and lecturing Confucian classics in Guimao educational system intoChinese, which formed an consolidated education that taken language education as mainbody and literature education as supplement. The instrumental of language education hadbeen strengthened, with valuing practical applicability; literature education had threw off theshackles of Confucian classic, at the same time, the connotation of educational function’shumanistic had been identified. During the May Fourth Movement period, with Mandarin andChinese were set up respectively, vernacular had become the dominant of teaching material.Under the influence of the May Fourth New Culture Movement, literature education wasadmired to an significant position which concerned life and a country, and involving moreand spiritual dimensions. Literature education was affected by “the practicability”, however,its aesthetic function has been ignored. Equally, language education had been neglected, too.At the time of war, Chinese education was endowed with strong political overtones. Againstthe background of war,“the practicability” of language education had been reinforced, withattaching importance to relation to real life and the practice,and cultivating students’listening, speaking, reading and writing skills had become the emphasis of Chinese teaching.In meantime, literature education contaminated with political color. It means that its ownaesthetic function was ignored, with ideological education function affiliated it had beenexpanded unlimitedly. In the1950s, with the impact of the Soviet Union’s education, wecarried out the separated teaching of Chinese and literature. As two independent subjects,literature has equal important status with Chinese language. It may even be that literatureeducation once beyond language education, literature education received unprecedentedattention. From late1950s to the mid-1980s, Affected by the pragmatic, the idea that Chineseeducation using as a tool had formed. Language education "unified" and literary educationvanished. After the mid-1980s, by the impact of humanism, literary education began torecover and was taken seriously gradually, which made the literary education obtaining aparallel position with the language education. Accordingly,"aesthetic" and "appreciate"turned into the characteristics of education. However, language education was weakened, and the systematic of language knowledge and language training were fading gradually. In otherwords, the students’ ability of language practical application was attaching more importance.Language education and literary education struggled in the dual hovering, at the same time,which was influenced by the factors such as politics, foreign ideology and educational theory.In the argument of the relationships between language education and literature education,whether language education or literature education is in the dominant position, which is theresults of the normal academic discussion rather than the product of political and powerstruggle. For the impacts of the traditional curriculum culture, we should treat it with caution,and we should learn from the traditional curriculum culture, at the same time, we shoulddiscuss it form the purpose and the task of Chinese curriculum even more. For foreignlanguage education ideology, we must adopt it with a dialectical attitude. Firstly, we shouldacknowledged its own advantages and value in foreign language education, and the goodreference value to the development of language education in China and the dispute betweenChina’s language, and literature. Secondly, we should recognize that language education inChina has its own traditions and the actual, and the foreign educational thought can not beapplied blindly.Chinese education has not constructed a thoroughly and systematical language andliterature education, which is one reason why our language and literature education appearsblind and chaotic situation. To resolve this issue and make language education and literatureeducation have their own relative independence, it is necessary for us to build an scientificand reasonable language education and literature education. Only with the guide of specificand operable teaching system, can language education and literature education be sure to beimplemented.