Since the Spring and Autumn Period, a hundred schools of thought have contended, and Confucianism has gradually emerged, becoming the most important school in China's traditional culture after the Han Dynasty's "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone".

The influence of Confucianism on China people is not only deeply imprinted in the lives of China people, but also influenced the education in China. Confucianism holds high the spirit of "actively joining the WTO", so the purpose of children and students' education is to integrate into society and benefit society with what they have learned. The so-called "cultivate one's morality, keep one's family in order, govern the country and level the world" fully embodies the value orientation of China traditional literati.

Different from the traditional culture in China, western education pays more attention to self-liberation, exploring truth and pursuing breakthrough. Especially after the baptism of the Enlightenment and Renaissance, western culture has been pursuing individuality, and at the same time, it has formed an atmosphere to explore the laws of the universe.

Even today in the 2 1 century, with the increasing globalization, the huge differences between Chinese and western traditional cultures still have a very obvious impact on education.

The embodiment of profound differences in education

The differences between Chinese and western education are not superficial differences in teaching methods, but based on different "cores", which drive education to develop in different directions. Specifically, this difference is clearly reflected in the nature of education, value standards, ways of thinking and so on.

First, the essence of education:

From an early age, our teacher told us to be a useful person to society. This idea seems to be taken for granted by China people. Because both the traditional Confucianism and the ideological trend of the new era are telling us to study for the collective benefit and become talents for building a better world.

Under such a cultural background, the essence of education is to let students establish a sense of collective honor and a value system for collective efforts to become talents.

In western countries, education is not a means, because it is an end in itself. The significance of education lies in guiding learners to study and think, and exploring the mystery and truth of the world. Modern science was born in Europe, which has a lot to do with this educational essence.

Second, the value standard:

Because the purpose of education in China is to serve the country and society, we should carry out adequate moral teaching in the process of education. Therefore, students also need to understand the value standards conveyed by various moral stories.

Now, "education-oriented" has become the national education orientation, and moral education has become an important part of education, which once again shows the essence of China's cultural thoughts and values. Because of a strong sense of collective honor, we are willing to contribute, we have strong cohesion, and our education and study have become more practical.

Western civilization always has a strong sense of exploration, and its education emphasizes logic and rationality, which is an inexhaustible motive force for them to constantly explore the mysteries of all things in the world. Therefore, the essence of western education lies in "dialectical inquiry", which has given birth to science and technology and promoted the great leap of human society.

Third, thinking mode:

For the sake of "educational value", China will pay more attention to students' "skills education" in education. We will first consider what majors or abilities the society needs, and then set up corresponding courses to cultivate students' corresponding abilities.

This educational model has become the mainstream model in universities today. In today's vibrant China society, countless new opportunities provide a broad stage for the younger generation to show themselves, and everyone has room to exert their creativity.

The traditional education in the west pays more attention to "liberal arts education", which is what we call "quality education" today, and pays attention to cultivating students' all-round development abilities such as understanding, thinking and creation. Today, some colleges and universities in China have started to offer "liberal arts education", such as Tsinghua University Xinya College and Boya College of Sun Yat-sen University, but these educations still belong to the category of elite education and have not reached the level of popularization.