| The debate over the Reading of Confucian Classics in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China is a crucial issue in the history of Chinese modern ideology and culture,which involves many important aspects of the transformation of Chinese culture-with Confucian classics as the main part,from tradition to modern times.Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty praised six arts and ousted hundreds of schools,the follow rulers have been vying to respect Confucius,and Confucianism has become the Bible in the field of ideology.However,by the end of the Qing Dynasty,with the impact of Western Classics and the further development of educational reform,the situation of traditional Confucian education dominating the world is no longer sustainable.During the process,the questions of whether people should read the classics,how to read the classics,whether the schools should set up the classics courses,and how to set up the classics subjects gradually become apparent.Therefore,people from all walks of life started a series of debates about this issue,which opened the debate of reading classics in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China.After the establishment of the Republic of China,the Ministry of Education of the Nanjing Provisional Government thought that reading the classics was incompatible with the Republic,so he ordered the abolition of the subject of reading the classics in primary schools.But the fruits of the revolution were quickly stolen by Yuan Shikai.In order to restore the monarchy,Yuan Shikai set off a wave of respecting Confucius and reading scriptures,which became the focus of debate among scholars.But after the Yuan Shi-Kai failed,Li Yuanhong succeeded himself as President.After that,with China joining the ranks of World War I allies,people gradually had no time to think highly of the problems of the classics,and the debate of reading classics in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China came to an end.During the period of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China,the characters involved in the debate on the classics were complicated and varied,and people's cultural choices not only depended on the policy changes of the government,but also included many social factors,such as the educational background and the influence of the community.The factors of age and interpersonal relationship have more or less affected people's views on the problem of reading classics,so that thepeople who participated in the debate of reading classics in this period have different ideas.According to their opinions,they can be roughly divided into those who are in favour of reading classics,those who oppose reading classics and those who compromise between China and the West.The first group considers reading the classics clearly as their main ideological orientation,and strongly advocating reading the classics;while the second opposes reading of the classics,because they think that the study of classics is incompatible with the Republican system of government,that reading the classics is contrary to the freedom of belief,and that they advocate the abolition of the classics.In addition,Others have chosen compromise,believing that the classics is not unreadable,but must be read selectively.It should be said that the scholars from all walks of life in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China were not mature in their thoughts on Confucian classics,but they actually promoted the curriculum of primary and secondary schools and the modern transformation of Confucian classics,which profoundly affected the modernization process of China.The long debate on reading the classics also hindered the development of education and society in modern China and interfered with the normal life of the people.Undoubtedly,it can provide a real and reliable historical reference for dealing with the problems of "reading classics hot" and "national learning fever" in the present society. |
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