Chinese Education

Many contemporary cultures place a strong emphasis on a well-rounded education. Each culture has a specific formula for obtaining an intelligent population. In ancient times, many western cultures failed to place an adequate emphasis on education. China differed from many western cultures. China has a long history of emphasizing education. Contemporary Chinese culture stays true to its ancient roots through a Confucian culture reflected in the modern educational system.

Chinese cultural history is riddled with signs of Confucian thought. Ancient Chinese society defined success by occupation rather than a person’s wealth. According to traditional Confucian thought, there were four main social classes based on occupation. The businessmen, or Shang, were at the bottom of the societal structure. Above the businessmen were the workers, or gong. Second from the top were the farmers, or nong. At the top of the hierarchical structure was the Shi, or scholars (Park & Chesla, 2007). The Shi were considered the highest class because their decisions influencing the whole society, or “mental labor (Hui-Chen Huang).”

The Dynastic cycle, emphasized the Confucian value of a strong respect for one’s family relationships. This strong relationship with one’s family is also known as filial piety. Filial piety is a fundamental value. A strong sense of filial piety incentivized individuals to perform well on civil service exams. If an individual performed well on a civil service examination, not only would they receive a better individual social status, the entire family would gain honor (Tao). These civil service examinations were one of the first systems of meritocratic government appointments. If a person performed well on the civil service exam,...

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...cian values in the Chinese educational system is also empirically supported. The Global Teacher Status Index compiled by the Varkey Gems Foundation conducted a study analyzing teacher’s status and people’s perception of the profession. The study covered 1,000 individuals from 21 different countries. The different categories affecting countries score included, social standing, whether parents would encourage their students to become teachers, whether children have respect for their teachers, and how much they believe teachers should be paid.

China toped the list with a perfect score of 100. The runners up, Greece scored 73.7. Additionally China was the only country in the world where the majority of the respondents ranked teachers as the same status as a doctor. Finally, over 70% of Chinese respondents believed students should respect their teachers (Global Times).