Little harmony at Shanghai's Confucian school
The Shanghai government has ordered the closure of a private primary school that taught the texts of Confucius with ancient instruction methods, bringing to an end a 10-month dispute that pitted the educational authorities against a group of middle class families who want more control over their children's education.
Meng Mu Hall, named after the mother of the ancient scholar Meng Tzu, opened last September for children whose parents were unhappy at the regimented teaching in the state sector. The first of its kind in Shanghai, it has enrolled 12 full-time students.
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However, Shanghai education officials said this week that the school would not reopen after the summer holiday because it did not conform to the official curriculum and teaching standards, and had not been registered.
While arguments involving organised groups of parents might be commonplace in some countries, they are highly unusual in China where private education is rare and authorities try to keep a tight grip on what children are taught.
The dispute also highlights China's surge of interest in ancient scholars such as Confucius. With Marx having given way to crude materialism over the past two decades, many educated Chinese have begun to look to Confucius to fill what they see as a spiritual void.
Based in Shanghai's southern suburbs, Meng Mu Hall combines a new-age sensibility with reverence for ancient Chinese traditions. Lu Liwei, the school's founder, says some parents are disgruntled with the public system because it places excessive emphasis on exams.
Believing that only education can provide access to the new forms of social mobility that the economy now offers, many Chinese parents have become unusually pushy about their children's schooling. In one city, a boarding school has been opened for children as young as three.
"It all starts so early," says Ms Lu. "In kindergarten the children are already preparing for the exam to get into a good primary school, so that they get into a good high school, so they can get into a good university."
The controversial aspect of Meng Mu Hall has been a curriculum based on traditional Chinese culture. Aged from three to 10, the children not only study ancient texts such as Confucius' Analects but spent a large part of their day reciting them, recreating an ancient teaching method that died out a century ago.
"We see it as an advance, but it is also a return to tradition," says Gu Ruirong, one of the parents and an expert on Taoism.
However, a statement released by the Shanghai Education Commission said the school had not been approved by the government and was teaching an illegal curriculum. "Reciting the scriptures does not meet the requirements for either content or teaching methods," it said.
Confucius, the 6th century BC scholar who emphasised social hierarchy, morality and national unity, is looming ever larger in the life of modern China.
In the early years after the Communists came to power, Confucius was a much-derided figure, associated with class barriers and the stifling of creativity. One of Mao Zedong's many political campaigns was against Confucian thought and the philosopher's house was desecrated during the Cultural Revolution.
Yet with its communist slogans having less traction, the party in recent years has been happy to embrace aspects of Confucius as some of his teachings dovetail usefully with the official rhetoric about creating a "harmonious society".
The government has even launched a series of cultural centres around the world based on Germany's Goethe Institutes which are named after Confucius.
Yet while some of his texts are now celebrated, Confucian teaching methods are not. Education experts have heaped criticism on Meng Mu Hall for bringing back what they believe is the backward practice of recitation of texts. Gu Jun, a sociologist at Shanghai University, describes Confucian teaching practices as "cultural scum". "It's quite a dangerous thing to have those little kids recite scriptures again and again," he says.
However, the school says the exercise in parent-power will continue in private, even if it is closed down.
上海关闭新私塾──孟母堂
上
海市政府已下令关闭一家私塾式小学孟母堂(Meng Mu Hall)，从而结束了一群中产阶级家庭与教育当局之间持续10个月之久的争议。孟母堂采用古代教学方式教授孔子经文，而上述中产阶级家庭也希望在子女教育问题上拥有更大自主权。
孟母堂以古代学者孟子之母命名，创建于去年9月。一些家长因不满公立学校受到控制的教学而把子女送来就读。这是上海首家私塾式学堂，共招收了12名全日制学生。
不过，上海市教育官员上周表示，该学堂在暑假结束后不得重新开放，因为其教学内容不符合国家规定的课程设置和教学标准，而且没有经过注册。
有组织的家长团体参与一些争论，在一些国家或许司空见惯，但在私人教育并不常见、当局试图严密控制儿童教育内容的中国，这一点却非同寻常。
这起争端还凸显出中国对孔子等古代学者的兴趣高涨。在过去20年中，随着马克思(Marx)让路给赤裸裸的物质主义，很多受过教育的中国人开始希望孔孟学说能够填补他们眼中的精神空虚。
孟母堂坐落于上海南郊，结合了新时代感性因素和对中国古代传统的尊重。该学校创始人吕丽委表示，有些家长对公共教育体系不满，因其过分强调考试的重要性。
中国很多家长格外重视子女的教育问题，因为他们相信，只有教育才能让孩子学会中国经济当前提供的新型社会流动性。在某城市，甚至出现了一所针对3岁儿童的寄宿制学校。
“一切都开始得太早，”吕丽委表示，“孩子们在幼儿园已经在准备考试，以便进入一所好的小学，从而进入一所好的中学，最终才能进入一所好的大学。”
孟母堂引发争议之处，在于其以中国传统文化为基础设置的课程。就读于此的孩子年龄在3岁到10岁之间，他们不仅要学习《论语》等古文，还要花大量时间背诵，重现了100年之前就不再使用的古代教学方法。
学生家长、同时也是道学专家的顾瑞荣表示：“我们认为这是一种进步，但也是对传统的回归。”
然而，上海市教委(Shanghai Education Commission)发表的声明说，“孟母堂”没有经过政府批准，属违法办学。公告称：“‘读经教育’的内容和教学方法与义务教育法的要求不相符合。”
作为一位生活在公元前6世纪、强调社会等级、道德和国家统一的学者，孔子正在现代中国的生活中发挥着越来越大的影响。
在中国共产党掌权的初期，孔子曾是一个倍受嘲笑的人物，是与阶级分化和抑制创造力联系在一起的。在毛泽东发动的许多政治运动中，有一个就是反对儒家思想，而供奉这位哲人的庙堂在文化大革命期间也备受亵渎。
然而，随着共产主义口号越来越没有吸引力，中国共产党近年来又乐于接受孔子的某些方面，因为他的有些学说与官方创建“和谐社会”的说法非常吻合。
中国政府甚至参照德国的歌德学院(Goethe Institutes)，在全球开设了一系列以孔子命名的文化中心。
不过，尽管他的某些篇章现在受到追捧，但孔子的教学方式并没有得到认可。教育专家屡屡批评孟母堂重新采用他们认为落后的读经教育。上海大学(Shanghai University)社会学家顾骏将儒家教学方式称为“文化糟粕”。他表示：“让这么小的孩子反复背诵经文很危险。”
然而，这家学堂表示，即便学堂关闭了，这种按照父母意愿进行教学的活动私下里仍将继续存在。
