Three Characteristics and Advantages of Confucian Moral Education

Abstract

The Confucian moral education thought in ancient China is one of the most important parts of the world moral education thought. It is also a vast treasure trove that we can forge ahead into the future and meet the challenges of the new century by learning from it. From a macroscopic point of view, the characteristics and advantages of Confucian moral education thoughts in ancient China are at least reflected in three major aspects. First, “the learning goal of being a sage”: the pursuit of highest standard of moral education goals; Second, “the touch of the blood and soul” (profoundly cultivating human nature in an aesthetical way): the aesthetic-oriented moral education model; Third, “the unity of Inner knowledge and actual action”: the self-cultivation method of putting knowledge into practice.

This article in Chinese was originally published in the journal of educational research (Beijing), issue 8, 2002. The author has made some modifications before the English publication this time. Thanks to Ms. Jie Ren and Mr. Jieming Jiang for their helps with the first version of translation of this article.