China has Imperial College, India has Buddhist College, and Egypt has court schools and scribes schools.
According to documents, there was a court school in Egypt at the end of the ancient kingdom, which was the place where Pharaoh educated princes, grandchildren and nobles. In addition to studying writing and calculation in the imperial court, these noble young people also went to government departments for internships, received practical business training, and then served as officials respectively. During the Middle Kingdom period, government affairs became increasingly heavy, and a large number of officials were needed, which made it difficult for imperial schools to meet the requirements, so government departments set up official schools for training. According to documents, Sima Fu once set up a school to train Sima officials, the secretarial office set up a school to train secretarial officials, and the treasurer's office set up a school to train financial officials. These schools take officials as teachers, take law as teaching, recruit children of nobles and officials, and undertake the dual tasks of cultural training and professional training. The temples in ancient Egypt have distinct secularity. They are not only places for religious activities, but also institutions that handle professional affairs such as astronomy, water conservancy and architecture for Pharaoh. During the period of the Middle Kingdom, many schools were built in temples to train religious and professional personnel. The Rishen Temple built in Heliopolis and the Karnak Temple built in bibis are both institutions of higher learning with high-ranking monks and rich books. Besides general knowledge, these schools also teach advanced science and technology, such as astronomy, mathematics, architecture and medicine. Not only are young Egyptians interested in learning competing to come to study, but even Moses of Judaism, Thales and Plato of Greece have visited here. Government-run vocational schools focus on training officials who perform official duties, while temple schools focus on training professionals with different emphasis.
In ancient Egypt, the school of scribes was the oldest. Literati are proficient in writing, good at writing articles and being an official, so they are usually called literati and respected. Because the scribes are not hereditary, and the official scribes have high status and good treatment, many slave owners' children and ordinary people with lofty ideals attempt to "learn the literati." In order to meet this requirement, many scribes set up schools to recruit students. This private school of scribes teaches writing, calculation and related laws and regulations. Advanced schools also teach mathematics, astronomy and medicine. Due to different school levels, students' study years are also uneven. Wealthy children enter schools with high level and long years of education, while children with poor family conditions enter schools with low level and short years of education. Many young people become officials by entering the school of the scribes, and even a few women study in the school of the scribes. The school of scribes plays a role in easing class contradictions. "Taking monks as teachers" and "taking officials (calligraphers) as teachers" have become the characteristics of ancient Egyptian education.
Indian education in the 6th century BC is generally called "Brahman education". Among the schools of Brahmins, the most distinctive one is "Ancient Confucianism". "Ancient Confucianism" refers to the literati who have certain research on Brahmanism classics and are enthusiastic about education. The Confucian school they run at home is called "Ancient Confucianism School". Students are mainly Brahmins and other high castes. After the children enter school, they move into Confucianism and live with it. The research period is 12 years. This kind of education takes the doctrine of Brahmanism as the guiding ideology and the Brahmanism classic Vedas written in Sanskrit as the main content. The teaching method is mainly recitation, and there are also some discussions.
Indian education around the 5th century BC is generally called "Buddhist education". The founder of Buddhism is Sakyamuni, who opposes the caste system and advocates "equality of four surnames". The most important place of Buddhist education is the temple, which is different from the brahmin's home and school. Children in Buddhist temples are equal to men and women. Children over 8 years old are allowed to enter the temple to practice. After 12 years of study, they will pass a grand ceremony for assessment. Only those who pass the exam can become official monks. Men are called monks and women are called monks. This kind of school takes Buddhist classics as the main learning content, and monks use common dialects instead of complicated Sanskrit when teaching various subjects. Argumentation and discussion are often used in teaching, which is flexible and full of vitality.
High-level and large-scale monasteries are equivalent to higher education. Besides educational activities, they also engage in academic research. The most famous temple at that time was Nalantuo Temple. There are many teachers and students in the temple, and academic discussions and speeches are often held, more than 100 times a day. The discussion included Brahmanism, Buddhism, philosophy, science, art and other aspects, which attracted a large number of foreign youths and scholars from China, Korea, Mongolia and other countries, and had an important impact on education in China and many Southeast Asian countries.
Schools and Education in Ancient China
1, Garden: the name of the school in the Yin and Shang Dynasties.
2. Preface: The name of the school was in the Zhou Dynasty. Mencius on Teng Wengong: "Set it as a study to teach it." The ancients often referred to local schools in order of priority, or generally referred to schools or educational undertakings.
3. Chinese studies: Pre-Qin philosophers are divided into two categories: Chinese studies and rural studies. Chinese studies are designed for emperors or princes, including Chinese studies and primary schools. The teaching contents of business schools and primary schools are mainly based on "six arts" (etiquette, music, archery, bending, calligraphy and mathematics), especially in primary schools.
4. Rural studies: compared with Chinese studies, it generally refers to local schools.
5. imperial academy: the educational administration and the highest institution of higher learning in feudal society of China. From Wei and Jin Dynasties to Ming and Qing Dynasties, either imperial academy or imperial academy was set up, or both were set up at the same time. The names are different and the system has changed, but they are all the highest institutions to educate the children of princes and nobles. The students studying in this school are called imperial academy students and imperial academy students. "Zhang Hengchuan": "Because I entered the capital, I watched Tai Xue." Preface to Send Ma Dongyang: "Dongyang Ma has been in imperial academy for two years."
5. imperial academy: imperial academy was established in the Han and Wei Dynasties, renamed Guo Zi School in the Western Jin Dynasty and imperial academy in the Sui Dynasty. Since then, imperial academy and Imperial College have been called each other as the highest institutions with educational administrative functions. For example, imperial academy was established in the Ming Dynasty, but it was called "imperial academy" in the Preface to Sending Ma Sheng to Dongyang.