CONFUCIUS AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION IN OLD VIETNAM One of the most characteristic in the tradition of Asian peoples, that is easy to be recognized, is their devotion to the spiritual. This tendency in our time of struggle for life may be harmful to the nation in its materialist strengthening. But this devotion, itself is not bad, as thanks to which man evolves slowly but surely from animal level to the civilized. That is to say, he is growing more and more delicate and subtle in his behaviour towards his brethren and his environment, contrary to what is meant in the Latin proverb: "Homo lupus homini: man behaves towards man like wolf towards wolf". In similar sense that Confucius, when his disciple asked him about energy, he answered: "Do you mean the energy of the South, the energy of the North or the energy which you should cultivate to yourself? "To show forbearance and gentleness in teaching others and not to revenge unreasonable conduct:--This is the energy of the South, and the good man makes it his devotion. "To lie under arms and meet death without regret:--This is the energy of the North, and the forceful makes it their study. "Therefore the superior man cultivates a friendly harmony, without being weak:--How firm is his energy! He stand erect in the middle without 1
inclining to either side:--How firm is his energy! When good principles prevail in the government of his country, he does not change from what he was in retirement:--How firm is he in his energy! When bad principles prevail in the country, he maintains his course to death without changing:-How firm is he in his energy!" _ (The Doctrine of the Mean) This teaching had such a deep and wide influence that during centuries Vietnamese and Chinese people worshipped the School Master as the Eternal Saint. In the people, there was a studious trend so attractive that the country-girl dreams of a teacher with his brush and the young man takes for ideal the learning to become mandarin first and teacher after. For as mandarin, he practised the Confucius way of life and as teacher when he had accomplished it. And Confucius who was considered as the symbol of the Ideal Teacher was immortalized by a Vietnamese model teacher in South Vietnam at the end of Nineteenth Century in this famous poem: "To realize filial piety between parent and children And righteousness between King and Officers, We are obliged to the Saint Confucius Whom Heaven had sent to us. His adjustment on moral principles of classical books And accomplishing his mission He travelled up hill and down dales, The following hundreds generations have been still Pitied and regretted his death. Now, if the wisdom of CHÂU's dynasty And the political insight of HAN's goes together, There would be no more exaction of the people By the rulers". _ (Nguyễn-Đình-Chiểu from "Dương-Từ Hà-Mậu") Today, on the occasion of the anniversary of the most representative of the Asian Ideal Teacher, let us remember that classical concept of education and see how it had such a great and lasting credit beyond time and space. First of all, Confucius concieved education as teaching and learning. Teaching is giving value to others and learning is receiving it from others. 2
Two functions of education according to Confucius, are self-completion and completion of other man, the union of which defines what he means by the Human Way. He said: "Now the man of Human-Way or perfect virtue wishing to be established himself, he seeks also to establish other; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others". _ (Analects, Ch. XXVIII) This Human-Way, which is the essence of Confucianism, is the doctrine of All Pervading Unity, comprehending Heaven, Nature and Man, that is to say all the universe in its immanence and transcendence together. The task of education, define as above "Self realization and realization of other" was his mission along his long life of more than seventy years. Now a question arises: "Whom Confucius taught and whom he learnt from?" In feudal time of the old CHÂU's dynasty, it was the rule that the noble ruler class monopolised instruction. Confucius was the first person who revealed to all social classes the knowledge which had been till then kept in secret, or reserved. He spread instruction equally to the rich as well as to the poor. Had he not declared: "In teaching there should be no distinction of classes". By those words he indeed was the pioneer of a democratic revolutionary in the feudal conception of education of his time. His great disciple, coming two centuries later, in the name of Mencius, applied it in a theory of government which revolutionized the feudal system of political values. He said: "The subjects are the important element The worship of Earth and Grain come next The sovereign is the least important". _ (Ch. VII _ 60)
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Not only Confucius revolutionized the system of feudal education of his time, but he also had a new style of learning, for he said: "When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teacher: I will select their good qualities and follow them; their bad qualities and avoid them". _ (Analects Ch. 21, book VII) This method of learning, though very practical and popular, needs a judgment of worth in selecting good and bad qualities among the companions. The norm of judgment used by Confucius in this matter is sincerity and objectivity, as he had judged Lao-Tzu, his opponent in tendency of thought, according to the famous Chinese historiography, TzuMa-Chien: "Confucius came to CHÂU to consult Lao-Tzu about ritual (and spoke of the heroes of Old). Lao-Tzu said: 'All those men, of whom you speak, have long since mouldered away with their bones. Only their words remain. When a capable man's time comes, he rises ; if it does not, then he just wanders wearily around. I have heard that good merchants keep their goods buried deeply to make it looks as if they had none and that a superior man whose character is perfected will feign stupidity. Give up, Sir, your proud air, your many wishes, mannerism and extravagant claims. They won't do you any good, Sir. That's all I have to tell you". Confucius came back said to his students: "I know that birds can fly, fish can swim and beasts can run. Snares can be set for things that run, nets for those that swim and arrows for whatever flies. But dragons, I shall never knew, they ride wind cloud up into the sky. Today, I saw Lao-Tzu. What a dragon". Lao-Tzu's lines about Confucius manners illustrated the well-known scorn of the mystics for Confucianism. Despite this, Confucius continued to praise Lao-Tzu comparing him with the dragon, the symbol of ultimate reality, which manifests-itself mysteriously in the universe that we cannot grasp with our conceptual knowledge. Confucius said:
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"In the sky there are forms, on the earth there are bodies" Therefore, Confucius respected the principle education which is "not to criticize other systems of thought which are different from ones own". Once his disciple Esze-Chang having asked: _"How virtue was to be exalted and delusion to be discovered?" The Master said: _"Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles, and be moving continually to what is right: -- This is the way to exalt one's virtue. You love a man and wish him to live; You hate him and wish him to die. Having wished him to live, you also wished him to die. This is the case of delusion". We see that Confucius meant by education aiming to completion of oneself and others, realizing the perfect virtue of human-heartedness. By human-heartedness which is the essence of his "Doctrine of the Mean", he wants to harmonize what Pascal called the double reason in man's nature: The heart and the brain, or wisdom and virtue. The best result of his education is the religious feeling of master and pupil, teacher and disciple, so deep that they live or die together. In one of the propagate journeys of the Master and his pupil, the Master was mistook by the people of KHUONG for a cruel governor. They isolated the pupil from the Master. Several days after this, when they met again, the Master asked the pupil: "I was afraid you were killed". To this, the pupil answered: "So long you are living, I dare not to die". This relationship of the master and pupil is the effect of the living model of the teacher's virtue, not of his intellectual knowledge. Confucius continually insisted on the practical side of education, on the living model of virtue that the Master teaches. According to him, intellectual knowledge and practical action must go together. Therefore, he conceived the best education as follows:
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"It is by the Odes (poetry) that mind is aroused; "It is by the Rule of Propriety that the character is established; "It is from Music that the finish is received". _ (Analects VIII) That is the ideal of Confucian education aiming at the equilibrium of knowledge and action, of the brain and the heart, of science and virtue, of reason and faith. The Confucian principles of education expounded above had deep influence in Vietnam through centuries since its liberation from Chinese domination. We were against Chinese administration, but we accepted its culture and continued to develop Confucianism, chiefly among the intellectual leadership class. Thus we find many examples of the ideal teacher as Confucius had conceived and put in practice in China more than a thousand years ago. The first Vietnamese models of Confucian teacher to be mentioned are Chu-Văn-An of thirteenth century, Võ-Trường-Toản and Nguyễn-ĐìnhChiểu of ninetieth century. Many secondary schools in the South Vietnam actually bear the name in commemoration. Concerning Chu-Văn-An, the illustrious Vietnamese seventeenth century, Lê-Quí-Đôn wrote as follows:
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"He was always strengthening his character and purifying his mind, never seeking reputation in the world. He had transformed his house into a school teaching Confucianism. He told to his beloved disciple Tử-Sĩ: "Learning is to become a complete man for himself first and after to complete others, so that his favour might reach the people and he handed down to following generations. This is the mission of a Confucianist". In the year of 1314 he was appointed by the King to the function of national college President. At this occasion, his disciple, the Prince Dan eulogized him by this poem:
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"Education now revived and good habits will flourish again Because we have the right man in the right place. His knowledge in classics is deep, and wide in history. Our country has its politics renewed by honouring Taoism, And worshipping Confucianism. We see the return of peace time like HAN's dynasty With a simple life. Old and young enjoy the pleasure of bathing together In the river. Our King SHUN has no more politic affair to be busy with. For we have a good Minister equal to the great models HUA and DO". Of course, after being the National College President a few years he was invited to take the function as Premier of the State. The first thing he had to do was to present the request of executing seven officials traitors. Not receiving an answer from the King to his request, he resigned at once and returns to his position of a school Master, finding pleasure in mountains and rivers, which are the habits of wise and virtuous men in Asian tradition. The Vietnamese historian of seventeenth century, Lê-Tùng praised this petition as follows: "Even spiritual beings are moved by the righteousness in the request of the seven executions. This depends on the great Confucianism in Vietnam". And the scholar Lê-Quí-Đôn also praised the virtuous effects of his spirit of education as follows: "He was very grave in teaching, maintaining a mind rectified and investigating the ultimate principle of things. He always repressed evil doings and heresies. His great disciples like Phạm-Sư-Mạnh and Lê-Quát were loyal to the Master's doctrine". Thus, in the following generation after his death, the class of intellectual unanimously continued to praise him as the model Master. Here they eulogized:
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"His virtue is high like a thousand mile mountain above our head. "His spiritual wisdom is pure like water of a lake in autumn". This tradition of model education was not interrupted in Vietnam. After achieving the advance southwards five centuries later, in the province of Gia-Định another star of wisdom appeared as model of virtue to many generations of national heroes and heroines. This star was Võ-TrườngToản (1792) a real teacher of Confucianist wisdom. The Governor of Vĩnh-Long, Phan-Thanh-Giản, on behalf of his great disciples erected a stele for his commemoration. The text of this stele is: "The way of Heaven is unity, but man's knowledge about it is divers. That's why it is so difficult to accomplish great work in a life. All the more reason, for us, born in the world without meeting a Saint, without approaching a wise man. It is hard for us to know the All Pervading Unity of the Universe. "Contemplating mount 'Thái', we wish to attain the top. "Looking at the Ursa Major, we stretch ourselves to the star". Towards the retired Master of Gia-Định, Sir Võ, we truthfully devoted ourselves. We know that his learning was profounder and substantial, and his teaching penetrating and comprehensive. Unfortunately the revolt of Tây-Sơn happened he retired from the world and open a school to teach several hundred pupils. Many of them became illustrious and occupied high position in political affairs or in scholarship. When peace was reestablished in the country under the Gia-Long's dynasty, they were considered as good official, some even sacrificed their life to preserve their virtue, other died to accomplish their trustworthiness, and all had realized great work for the nation. When the King came in Gia-Định, he requested advice from Sir Võ. The knowledge of Sir Võ comprehends all the classics and histories, and he particularly knew well the Four Classics of Confucianism. He transmitted to his disciple Chiểu, the secret significance of Mencius: "Understanding words and nourishing energy". 8
He put down this notation on the book of "Great Learning", one among our Confucianism's classics: "The book of Great Learning consists of one thousand and seven hundred words, which, in developing, brings up infinite things, but we can reduce them for the first time in two hundred words, for the second in one word, and finally in no word at all". That is his way of learning and teaching, in the same analytic and synthetic way, which can be applied to understand the essence of every doctrine. That is the spirit of realization in the wisdom, stressing more on the spirit than on the letter. Had not Mencius said: "If you are going to believe everything that had been written, it be better that nothing had been written". _ (Mencius, VII, Ch. 2)
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That is the national spirit of education that the Saint Teacher Confucius left to the following generations which the two great model teachers Chu and Võ had enlightened on the shore of South-East Asia. Thus, the concept of traditional education that the Saint Confucius left to the following generations had been enlightened by two preceding Vietnamese illustrious model masters of this shore of South-East Asia. On the point of the impact with Western culture, we had the last but no the least classic master in our well-known Nguyễn-Đình-Chiểu, whose image has been still living until today, in the heart of the South and the North Vietnamese's. Here he was pictured by a contemporary French writer: "A beautiful old, tall man, with a calm face, rather pale but very noble, always dressing in white and black cotton, never using silk and crepe. In class when giving lectures to the pupils, he wore a black cloth gown, with a black turban around his head, in solemn and serious attitude : That man is master Chiểu (Đồ-Chiểu), who though old and blind was animated by a faithful devotion to the "Near Man doctrine" of Confucius, whom he commemorated by a following poem:
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"Every country is obliged to Confucius, his doctrine is faithfully educating the people, "So that they know human-relationship and the way to establish order in society. "I remember his words: 'continuing the past and opening the future'. "Reality, he is worthy of the title of Saint talented King. "Everywhere he is respected and worshipped. "His disciples were also honored in the world". We see now, the old democratic principles "no distinction of classes in education" of Confucius was spread across Asia, passing beyond the economic, political, linguistic and racial boundaries to survive through time and space and flourish in fine cultural harvest, that generations and generations of men have remembered.
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