Education and human nature
The first lecture
April 8, 2065 438+00
Have a seat, and we'll talk casually. Today, please take some time to talk about children's education.
Let me talk about my feelings first. I really admire all the young teachers in the international experimental school here. This sentence is not empty talk. Why admire? In this era, you are all very young, especially from the modern mainland, and the social environment, you can be here in Miaogang, there is no entertainment place here, and there seems to be no chance to fall in love. Taihu University Hall is really a place of practice. You are in this cold ancient temple, but you are very serious and enthusiastic about educating your children. I admire you in my heart. There are places to do activities in general cities or in rural areas all over the country. But you didn't go out to play at night, you were all very abstinent, and you were still studying and exercising in your spare time. Sometimes I give a lecture casually, and I can come and listen to it if I am interested. This is very rare, so I admire you very much. To be honest, when I was young, I was younger than you. 19 years old goes out to work, and 2 1 year old goes out to lead troops. I can't imagine whether I can feel as stable as you, so I admire you very much. This is the first thing to say.
Secondly, I think we need further research. Further study is for your future. Whether you are engaged in education or change careers in the future, further study is very important. This is called "outlook on life" in philosophy. I often say that this kind of education is wrong now, and I don't talk much about philosophy, because true philosophy and outlook on life are very important. I find that many adults in modern times are older than you, and even when they are 60 or 70 years old, they don't have a correct outlook on life. I'm talking about my personal experience. I often ask some friends, some are rich now, and some are high-paid officials. What kind of person do you want to be and have a correct outlook on life? They answered and said, Teacher, why do you ask? I said yes! I don't know what you want to be! For example, if you are an official, do you want to be immortal or immortal? These are two typical life examples. What about the rich? I often ask, you are rich now. What do you want to do with your life? However, almost five out of ten friends who get rich will say, teacher, I really don't know! There is a lot of money, and I am at a loss. I'm right, this is the problem of education, and there is no outlook on life.
So I told you just now, I think you are young teachers. I'm in my nineties, and I'm old, all young people in their fifties and sixties. This is a fact. Fifty or sixty years old, they feel young! I was a hundred times more energetic when I was in my fifties and sixties, much better than now, and now I am old. But in my fifties and sixties, I don't really have a correct outlook on life. In other words, how many people in China, including 6.7 billion people in the world, really understand life and their own life value and purpose? This is a big problem, which is education.
I was 23 years old that year. When China was at war with Japan, Sichuan University asked me to give a speech. What did I ask? There is always a topic! A classmate suggested that we talk about "the purpose of life". I said that's the problem. I said, what is the purpose of life? Solving the problem of logical proposition first is the main center of the topic. what is the purpose? For example, we are now going out to buy clothes, and the target is the clothing store on the street. This is a purpose. Excuse me, life is born from the mother's stomach. Who has a purpose? Now some people say that life is for enjoyment, which is also a kind of; In the early years of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen led the thinking of the whole people and put forward that "service is the purpose of life". At that time, Mr. Sun, we used to call him Premier Sun. Who dares to criticize Premier Sun? But I'm bold. It is also wrong for me to say that Premier Sun said that "service is the purpose of life". Who comes out of the womb and says I'm here to serve? Don't! So the purpose of life is to enjoy, not to serve, and for what purpose, people later read a little knowledge and added it themselves. I said that the topic you asked me to talk about is wrong in itself, and this topic does not hold water. But you asked me to talk about the purpose of life. I am talking about the second truth. Logically, this proposition itself has an answer. Where is the answer? Life is life.
I just talked about the values of life and the purpose of life, but now I can't figure it out. So what is the value of life when people are alive? This is a problem. Just now I mentioned whether an official wants to become an immortal or an immortal. I didn't say these two words, but Huan Wen, the great hero of the Jin Dynasty. Such a big man, he wants to rebel, he wants to be a great hero. Someone advised him that even if he was scolded for ten thousand years, his life would be remembered forever. He wants to be a hero of a generation, which is his life values. There is such a person in history who publicly stated his purpose.
So what is the value of life? Now I often tell people that I am old, half joking and half telling the truth. I said that life is "born inexplicable". We are all born inexplicable, and so are our parents. Is it funny to be a person who has been doing this all his life?
What I am talking about now sounds farther and farther away from what I am going to talk about today, but it is related to education. I'll come back and talk. This is the problem of education. Today's speech is also for this theme. For example, in our school, I know that some problems happen to children. Although I don't care, I look on coldly and hear the wind, and I already know everything. This is the experience of the elderly. Children's problems are education problems and human nature problems. Just now I mentioned these problems in life, which involve the education of human beings all over the world. Now just talk about education. Education is basically a matter of human nature. How can people have thoughts? Is this thought materialistic or idealistic? How can people have emotions? Why are there joys and sorrows? Moreover, there are two old sayings of all mankind and China people, which can be summarized as: "People's hearts are different, and each has its own face". It's strange to treat us like human beings. We have a population of over one billion in China, and there are six or seven billion people in the world. We have the same eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth and ears, but no two people are exactly alike. You said that he is very similar to him, but there are still differences in comparison. Therefore, China's philosophy is different from that of the West. The dialect of China people is the greatest philosophy and science. If you study science, it is a genetic problem. What is a gene? For example, the most famous doctor who studies genes in Hong Kong came last time. I told him that genes are not the original source of life, and there is something behind them. He said yes, there is a problem. He came again this time and said he found something. I said there was something else, and he hasn't fully found it yet.
Therefore, it is a question what this human nature is all about. The highest purpose of education is to cultivate and point to human nature. Therefore, people in China talk about school and study. How do you explain this ancient Chinese prose? All the teachers in you are studying Chinese studies. China's sinology is to learn Chinese characters, while scholars learn Chinese characters, imitate Chinese characters and learn from them. For example, we sing, dance and practice boxing. Teacher Wang, the master of Shaolin Temple, teaches you Yijinjing. Have you seen it? Dozens of us have learned, which one has learned the same meaning as Mr. Wang's posture and manner? This standard is difficult. I said that learning martial arts, reading, learning articles, acting, singing, can learn to learn exactly the same as the teacher, it is difficult to do. This is a question of learning, and it is also a question of effect. So we engage in education, which is a big problem. The so-called school, China this school word? There is a cross beside the wooden character, in order to build a place where everyone can concentrate on their studies, that is, the school.
So as a teacher, China people's understanding of western education now is love, so I smiled. How many books have you read? Are you talking about America, France, Germany, Holland, Italy or somewhere? The west has a history of thousands of years. Is it a love story? Not even in China? China's sweet words have come out! As for what is sex? These are all problems.
So when it comes to learning and effectiveness, China's Book of Rites is about this effectiveness. As teachers and educators, our task is too heavy. Children are always imitating teachers and parents. Education is not only teaching by mouth, but also reading. Parents' and teachers' behaviors, an idea and an emotional action are all learned invisibly by children. This is education. This kind of education is called "listening". Children and people are born with ears and eyes, and he heard it. Teachers occasionally tell two dirty jokes. You think the child didn't pay attention, but in fact he heard it and was very impressed. Parents, teachers, people in the society, just a move, have already entered. This is education. So education is not just what you teach in class, the whole world and the natural environment are education, so education is such a truth.
There are two sentences in China's Book of Rites: "Teachers are easy to get, but teachers are hard to find". I often mention that there are two kinds of teachers, one is a teacher and the other is a teacher. What were the ancient Confucian classmates like? Teaching all kinds of knowledge is a teacher. You see, teachers in kindergartens and primary schools, and professors with master's and doctor's degrees in universities are just teachers who spread knowledge. I have also been a university professor for many years, and I have also taught master students and doctoral students. I laughed at myself. I graduated from many masters and doctors. I said, little brother, I'll tell you the truth. I believe you will pass the degree exam. Congratulations, although you got your doctorate, it's not your knowledge. This degree is deceptive. With this diploma, you can cheat your food, let alone study. I don't even have knowledge. It is never too old to learn, and scholars are also effective. Where is this effect? It's hard.
I often say, how can there be teachers in current education? I have a class in college, which is very stylish. Everyone knows that Mr. Nan is coming to class, so the students call attention. I said sit down, sit down. Because I'm really scared. Why? I have been leading troops since I was twenty-one years old and have been proofreading on the field. It's all like this. Thousands of people are all tinkering, shouting for attention, long live the commander. At that time, I grew a beard and pretended to be forty or fifty years old. I feel tall and great! However, a year later, I have realized what nonsense this is. This is singing opera! Ten thousand people admire, awesome! As long as you say it, everyone will be afraid; Look at the teacup, and a few cups of tea will come. This taste is very good for most people! But I've realized it's meaningless. Therefore, the orderly who served me at that time had to help me add rice when eating. Although everyone is a handyman to add food to the chief, and I have finished eating and added it myself, the handyman is stupid to see it. Everyone is like this. Why don't you let me add vegetables? He said you didn't want me? I said no! I'm human, so are you. I have two hands to do it. I am an official now, and you support me. Who will support me when I am old? You can't waste your hands when you are alone! Sit down. I'll call you when I need it. This has something to do with education. So when I lead the troops, the soldiers and I are brothers. Talking to a soldier is not like talking to you. Talking to soldiers is simple, "shit". Do you think that's swearing? Sometimes it's a reward. Most of these soldiers are illiterate and have never read a book. Talking to them, as we do today, will kill him, so he is too lazy to listen. Fuck you and fuck me. He'll understand. This is also education.
So, as I said just now, it is easy to spread knowledge, but difficult to find a teacher. China has been talking about education for thousands of years. A teacher influences students with his own behavior, personality and words. Have morality and character, and follow the example of children all your life. This is called being a teacher. For example, if you think about it, all of us here are educated, from kindergarten to junior high school to university. Which teacher impressed you the most? How many do you admire most? I think it's rare. For example, there are 80 or 90 teachers who study boxing and martial arts. I have studied Shaolin and Wudang, and 18 kinds of weapons. I have great respect for teachers who study martial arts. Later, I came to Taiwan Province Province and met one or two. He is very happy to see me. I invited him to have dinner at home. He loves to drink, alas! I was invited once, but I dare not invite again. He ate a meal for six hours, drank slowly and talked about what he had said. He wants me to resume martial arts education in Taiwan Province Province. This teacher, a martial arts student, is illiterate and has no cultural foundation, unlike Mr. Wang here, so I admire Mr. Wang very much.
There are almost more than 100 teachers studying literature, as well as some former Qing juren and celebrities. The real teacher, I only have one teacher, Yuan, and one or two teachers who study literature. I now ask a question for your reference, and everyone will reflect. So many teachers have influenced our lives, which is worthy of emulation and admiration, dear. If you think about it, you will think of it just like your parents. What are there? I think everyone, like me, has been educated since childhood and many teachers have forgotten it. Why? "It's hard to find a teacher." Since we are teachers, we should pay attention to leaving our image to the educated children. After rambling for a long time, I just explained these two sentences: "teachers are easy to find, but teachers are hard to find."
This is about the teacher. Let's come back to talk about education in China now. Let's not talk about western love education. The western concept of love education has been popular for eighty or ninety years. Our education didn't mention this. The original education did not talk about love or not, but it was more serious than love. Our 5,000-year history, the recognized ancestor of the Chinese nation-Xuanyuan Huangdi, all the cultural foundations began at that time, and it has been more than 4,700 years now. Our history also began at that time. We have a goal for this kind of education. Speaking of this goal, I digress again.
The history of education in the west began with religion, which can be said to start with the Ten Commandments of Moses, and then to Catholicism and Christianity, all the way down. Religions in the world are all education, but they have another purpose, so they are called religions. This is a simple explanation of religion. For thousands of years, western education has evolved from religion. China's education began with our ancestor Huangdi. It's not religion, it's humanities education. Therefore, education has three conditions: "being a monarch, being a parent and being a teacher". To be the leader of the people of the whole country, it is the king who knows all the surnames. There are nearly 10,000 surnames in China, but there are actually more than 9,000 surnames, with only a few hundred surnames. There is a book called "Wanxing Tongpu", and the ancestor of our Wanxing Zongfeng is Xuanyuan Huangdi. This is not a religious education, but a "king of work" and a leader; "bosom friend" is to be an elder and love the people as a child; A "teacher" means that the whole country is equal to a big school. He is the principal and a great tutor.
The characteristic of China culture is that the monarch and the minister learn from each other. Being a teacher is detached and independent, superior to the emperor and superior to parents. This is the dignity of a teacher. In China, we call Confucius the Great Sage. As emperors, we have to worship and respect teachers above monarch and parents. The so-called teacher's way is so majestic. In ancient history, there were three fairs. When he became emperor, he had a teacher to give lectures. I often say it, and it's written in the book. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the emperors in ancient China also wanted to learn. A teacher is invited to give lectures every month. The teacher is a bachelor of ministers or a university student in imperial academy. These invited scholars were called lectures in the capital, and this system remained until the Qing Dynasty.
There is also a story that before these princes and princes ascended the throne in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was also imperial education, and the people were invited to take a bachelor's degree in Hanlin and learn well before teaching their children. The emperor and the empress dowager also personally came out to salute the teacher. In a certain generation, the crown prince was unruly, didn't study hard and played around. At this time, he had to applaud. After the prince was slapped by the teacher, the teacher knelt down for him again. Clapping your hands is a teacher's way, and bowing down is a courtier's gift. I'm sorry. The prince went back to report to the old grandmother, the empress dowager, that the teacher hit me. The old lady is unhappy. How can this teacher hit the prince casually? No, grandma, take it out on you! The teacher attending the banquet was invited to the palace, and Empress Dowager Cixi invited her to dinner. But to be polite, so-and-so, our children let you teach, but our royal children are emperors who study but don't study. Hearing this, the minister stood up, but the queen mother, the emperor who studied was a saint, and the emperor who didn't study was a tyrant. The queen mother was stunned and said that you are right, so go and fight.
This is about the history of ancient education, and it is still at the beginning of this dialogue. To sum up, the purpose of education and human nature. So I often eat and tell jokes. I can say that the party, government and army have done everything in my life, and I have done business, and I have rich life experience. But you see, I am over 90 years old, and now they have built a Taihu University Hall. I am also an educator here, just like you, teaching adults. You see, I eat and tell jokes every day, and they all come to Miss Nan. I'm educating! Besides, I am more lonely, and no one listens to me. Therefore, I often tell you over dinner that President Guo has heard of the theory of educational uselessness. We have been talking about it for decades now, and found that there have been educational problems in China 100 for more than a decade.
Let's not talk about the futility of education now. In a word, education is a question of human nature, which is the most important thing we are going to talk about today. Is human nature good or bad, or is there no good or evil? This point is rarely discussed in foreign educational philosophy. China is special. There are several schools. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, we assumed that Confucianism was represented by Confucius and Mencius. Confucianism says that human nature is good, and everyone is born good. How did it get worse later? Thought and behavior have deteriorated under the influence of social pollution, so we teach children to read the three-character classic, "at the beginning of life, nature is good, sex is similar, and they are far apart." These twelve words are too profound to write an educational book of more than one million words. He said that human nature is good and plain, just now. Where is sex? Is the essence of life, where does this idea come from? Starting from human nature. This name is humanity, and this personality is similar. This "phase" is the status quo, a name, not a verb. Human nature is close to goodness, and everyone is a good person. So Mencius said, you see everyone has a loving heart. When you see a person die, alas, it's so pitiful that he still has compassion. Westerners call it love. Everyone has it. See where it happened. Therefore, Mencius said that "everyone has compassion", human nature is good, and compassion is innate and "similar in nature". Why does human nature get worse? Without a good education, habits are broken. This bad habit is influenced by society, family and parents, so it is getting farther and farther away from good human nature. So there are more bad people in society, fewer good people, more our own behaviors and thoughts, more bad ideas and emotions, and less our kindness and purity. "At the beginning of life, the nature is good, the nature is similar, and they are far from learning from each other", so I just mentioned that we should learn the good side.
But he is also a Confucian Xunzi and a student and disciple of Confucius' descendants. At about the same time as Mencius, he put forward different opinions that human nature is evil and selfish. For example, if the baby is hungry and wants to eat, he wants to eat by himself. If they are twins, he will rob them when they are hungry at the same time. Because human nature is evil, education is needed. Education is to correct bad habits into good ones, which is the purpose of education. However, both of them are Confucian philosophies, which are divided into good and evil, and have existed in China culture for thousands of years! At that time, western education was not as brilliant as we discussed.
A contemporary scholar of Mencius is different from others. He is the high posture mentioned in Mencius. Gao Zi said that human nature is neither good nor evil. When people are born, there is no distinction between good and evil. Good and evil are artificially identified, and the right and wrong of things are separated. He said that human nature is like a towel, which can be folded into any shape you want, so you need education to shape it into a good personality. Sue advocates that human nature is evil.
The fourth school, Mozi (Mo Zhai), is different from Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. He believes that human nature is born as white silk, and there is no good or evil, no good or bad. This is similar to Gao Zi's statement, but it is different. It depends on what color social education dyes him. This is about human nature.
What is education about? The basic principle of education is to correct human nature and make people move towards goodness, which is a goal. Therefore, the purpose of education is to improve human nature. Education is politics and law. The leader of a national government wants all people to do good deeds, but the people don't do good deeds, so they use the rule of law and punishment. Therefore, China's education began to be slapped before the Spring and Autumn Period, Warring States Period, Zhou and Qin Dynasties. It's called early summer, and it's not random. Therefore, when we were young, we were born with this kind of education. The teacher sat there and asked you to recite which article of China's View on Ancient Literature, recite three wrong words, hit three times in the palm of your hand and be lightly punished; If you make a big mistake, it will be serious if you hit the palm of your hand.
So the day before yesterday, an old friend of mine, Mr. Yang Lin, was over eighty years old. He said, teacher, you and I are friends for five generations, and I brought my son and grandson to see you. He sat here that day and heard us talking about children's education. He said, why don't we have education? Want to take a taxi! We come from the same background. His son is over forty years old. They are all international students who have drunk foreign water. He spoke here on the spot. He said you asked my son, my son was beaten by me when he was a child, not casually. He made a big mistake. I told him to lie on the stool and take off his pants. I was so angry that I couldn't find anything, so I spanked him with my specialty. My hand hurts for three days. His son is laughing there. Dad, you have been in pain for three days. I have been in pain for more than forty years, and it still hurts. Fortunately, my father beat me up and I changed. If you don't change, you can't change. His father and son smiled at each other, and he said, yes, education is sometimes necessary.
This is whether to fight or not. Now corporal punishment is not allowed in our education. I am not advocating corporal punishment now. Let me tell you a historical story. In fact, it's hard to say whether corporal punishment is necessary or not. For example, when I led troops, I did not advocate corporal punishment. What should I do if I do something wrong? Stand at attention, stand in front, hands flat, each finger holding a newspaper, and stand for an hour. Your hands are not allowed to droop. As long as you keep a low profile, you will be beaten. Try it, stand for ten minutes, and it will kill you. Speaking of which, I didn't punish you physically, but it was more serious than corporal punishment.
We talked about education, the good and evil of human nature, and we all talked about it. Education is to improve human nature, should it be severely punished or just forgiven? There is a big problem. What we are doing now is experimental education. I told President Guo, are we doing this education right? The mood is very heavy. For example, what I just told is the true story of the guests present. For example, a few weeks ago, an old friend came and said that he would take over the head of a government agency. The original person in charge committed the crime of corruption and misappropriated a lot of money. This friend is also doing charity and promoting rural education. This friend's position is not low. He said that the day I took over, I took a taxi with a bag on my back. They haven't gone to work yet, only knowing that the new leader will take over that day. They didn't expect him to arrive early by taxi He said that I pushed the door into the office myself, and a clerk saw it and asked what you do. I'm here to report. I didn't say who I was either. That clerk has a good attitude. Please sit down. I just sat there waiting, but he ignored me. I sat for a long time. I said, man, I'm a guest too. Please pour me a glass of water! The man got up to pour water and talked for a long time. He asked me my last name, and the man thought, Oh, it's very serious. He quickly called a more important officer with his mobile phone and said that so-and-so had arrived here to wait for you. I told you not to call. He is driving on the road. I heard that I arrived first. If he is nervous, it will be bad if something happens.
I'm talking about your problem. Your style has always been democratic and free, which is good. What did you say later? He said, I came up and said, I know the company is losing a lot of money and there are still many bad debts. I tell you, the conclusion of this case has come out now, and I will officially go to work tomorrow. You have a lot of unclear hands. You took the money. Hurry back; If it is too late to return the money at hand, donate it to charity; If it is too late to donate to charity, donate it to the monk temple, Christian church or Catholic church, and donate it quickly. It's too late to dig a hole in your backyard, so don't let us dig it. I'm sorry if you like it. I laughed when I heard it. I said your speech was very interesting. He said the teacher was so good? I said what you said was humorous and interesting, so I had to deal with it this way. When it was really turned out, many people were corrupt. What do you do? Had to be taken to court. This is a question of human nature.
Education is related to human nature. When you say that a young man made a mistake, do you forgive him and let him reflect and correct himself? Or education punishment? This is a big problem of human nature. As to whether to punish him or let him confess, it is difficult to draw a conclusion, so we should improvise. In short, education is the way to inspire and guide human nature towards goodness. If you say you must use love completely, ask him to be inspired automatically, unless he is a saint.
For example, there is a famous case in Qing dynasty, which you probably read in books. A young man committed a crime, robbed people as bandits and was tied to the execution ground. Before being beheaded, as usual, an official will ask, do you have anything to say? Yes He proposed at this time that the official should do it for him. He said I wanted to see my mother. That should be, send someone to pick up mom at once, and both of them will cry. Then, mom said, what do you have to say? He said, mom, you love me very much. I'm going to die, leaving you. I asked you for the last sip of milk. When mom untied it for him, he bit off her nipple. He said, mom, you taught me today. I have loved to take other people's things since I was a child, and you encouraged me to say that I am so smart and excellent, and you taught me every time, so I think it is natural to steal from others, which led to my end today.
So how to teach education is a big problem, so don't jump to conclusions easily. In other words, we educators, how to teach human nature well. Like all teachers, they take care of their children day and night, but the methods of education, the orientation of education and which way to take are worth studying. We are an experimental school here, so it is just right for us to discuss it. We'll discuss it when we have time. I am sorry to have kept you waiting. (To be continued)
(Zhang's record)