Educational Systems During The Wei, Jin & Southern And Northern Dynasties

The epoch of the Wei, Jin & Southern and Northern dynasties (220-581 AD) is an important period in Chinese history that connects the Qin-Han civilization and the Sui-Tang civilization. So is its position in the development of educational system. Though it has been unjustly said to be "indistinct and disconnected", it is in fact a period when the educational system became diversified. Many types of schools appeared in this period. National university was first divided into two schools, one for the children of aristocrats and the other for the children of ordinary officials. Temple school and primary school for the children of minorities to learn the Han culture was established as well as three specialized universities: calligraphy school, mathematics school and metaphysics school. Metaphysics, history and literature were first taught in official schools. This had a considerable impact on educational systems in the next millennium. Confucianism, Buddhism, metaphysics, science, history and art were taught in private schools. Confucianism gradually lost its dominance in the diversity of learning, but it still occupied an important position in both official schools and private schools. The learning of Confucianism in this period bridged the gap between the Han Confucianism and the Tang Confucianism and even the Song Confucianism. Based on Marxist scientific approach to historical analysis and abundant accumulated historical archives, this paper intends to make a deep survey of this problem.