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The Making of the “Junzi”

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The Making of the “Junzi” The Making of the “Junzi”: A Modern Perspective on the Pedagogy of Junzi in the Analects Thesis Presented in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts and Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Kai Liang, B.A. Graduate Program in East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2015 Thesis Committee: Xiaobin Jian, Advisor Galal Walker Copyright by Kai Liang 2015 Abstract This thesis investigates the pedagogy of junzi in the Luny which is also known as Analects. The Analects has been passed down for about 2000 years, and its pedagogy sustained as a tradition in Chinese culture still needs to be further explored today. Currently, the field of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) mainly borrows ideas, methodologies and strategies from the field of English as a Second Language (ESL). This thesis is looking into how the pedagogy of junzi in the Analects may inspire the CFL. Through analyzing the pedagogy of junzi in the Analects, this paper reveals the characteristics of its pedagogy and discusses its value to today’s Chinese language pedagogy in CFL. According to the research in this paper, the Analects uses shared experience, related concepts and contexts to illustrate and construct the meaning of junzi. Additionally, the Analects points to xue, a dynamic process which involves other mental and physical activities, as the approach to becoming a junzi. Through examining concepts and terms related to junzi and xue found in the Analects, and analyzing how they functioned in a constructive framework to define the meaning of junzi and xue, the features of the pedagogy were revealed and in turn discussed with respect to their value in CFL. Keywords: pedagogy, Chinese language, junzi, xue, the Analects, Confucius ii Dedication Dedicated to my parents and family. iii Acknowledgments I wish to express gratitude to Professor Xiaobin Jian, my advisor, who provided me with guidance and encouragement throughout the whole process of my research. I also thank Professor Galal Walker who continually provided me with valuable suggestions and direction. Finally, I am also grateful to my classmates in course EALL 7705 who shared and exchanged opinions with me during the 2015 Spring semester. iv Vita Education B.A., Chinese Language & Literature, Qingdao University College of Education, 2005 Work Experience 2013 to present The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures of the OSU, Research Assistant 2005-2013 Qingdao Tourism School, Chinese teacher 2012-2013 Singapore Top Leaders Edutech PTE. LTD, Lecturer 2012 Chinese Selected Poems, Associate Editor-in-Chief 2012 OSU Chinese Flagship Qingdao Center, Chinese Language Tutor 2012, 2013 Chinese Ocean University, Business Management (EMBA), Lecturer 2006-2009 Qingdao Tourism School Admissions Office, Admissions office staff Publications The Echo and the Call: Research On the Modernity of China, China Global Culture Publishing House, 2012. v A Grain of Corn, China Global Culture Publishing House, 2012. Poems included in The Selected Poems of the Bandao Poem Forum 2011, China Yanshi Press, 2012. Poems included in Peninsula Poems, Shandong Pictorial Press, 2010. Five stories published in Qingdao Literature, 2012. Vol. 12. Over 40 articles and poems published in Chinese Selected Poems, Red Bud Education Digest, The Guide of Writers, Qingdao Evening News, Qingdao Morning Post, Peninsula City News, International Times( Malaysia). Field of Study Major Field: East Asian Languages and Literatures vi Table of Contents Abstract...............................................................................................................................ii Dedication..........................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................iv Vita......................................................................................................................................v List of Figures.....................................................................................................................x Introduction: The Field of Chinese Language Pedagogy....................................................1 Chapter 1: The Analects and its Pedagogy..........................................................................5 1.1 What the Analects is...............................................................................................5 1.2 What pedagogy the Analects used..........................................................................5 Chapter 2: Junzi in the Age of Shifting Paradigms.............................................................7 2.1 Background: libengyuehuai 礼崩乐坏 and the call for junzi..............................8 2.2 ren 人 vs. min 民..................................................................................................10 2.3 ren 人: junzi 君子/yeren 野人/xiaoren 小人.....................................................18 2.3.1 junzi 君子 vs. yeren 野人.................................................................................18 2.3.2 junzi 君子 vs. xiaoren 小人................................................................................20 2.4 junzi 君子 vs. qi 器...........................................................................................24 vii Chapter 3: Becoming a Junzi: Xueyizhidao 学以致道 and the Learning Process in the Pedagogy of Junzi.............................................................................................................27 3.1 The process of xue: haoxue 好学, si 思, xing 省, guan 观, cha 察, xi 习 and xin 行...................................................................................................................34 3.2 xue 学 and haoxue 好学....................................................................................34 3.3 si 思 and xing 省...............................................................................................35 3.4 guan 观 and cha 察...........................................................................................37 3.5 xi 习 and xing 行...............................................................................................41 Chapter 4: Assessing the Progress of Becoming Junzi: Key Indicators...........................46 4.1 shierhouyan 时(PARTS)然后言..........................................................................46 4.2 wenzhibinbin 文质彬彬.......................................................................................51 4.3 boxue 博学............................................................................................................52 Chapter 5: Discussions.....................................................................................................54 5.1 The pedagogy of junzi in the Analects.................................................................54 5.2 Issues and challenges...........................................................................................56 5.2.1 Between min 民 and junzi 君子, between jiao 教 and xue 学.........................56 5.2.2 Between qi 器 and junzi 君子...........................................................................57 5.2.3 From zhizhi 知之 to haozhi 好之 to lezhi 乐之..............................................57 viii 5.2.3.1 An interpretation of zhizhi 知之, haozhi 好之 and lezhi 乐之.......................57 5.2.3.2 What we can do and cannot do with the “zhizhi, haozhi and lezhi”..............59 References.........................................................................................................................62 ix List of Figures Figure 1. The Evolution of the Chinese Character Xi.......................................................32 x Introduction With more and more economic and culture communication between America and China, the number of American Chinese language learners is increasing rapidly. This trend shows that a more effective and practical Chinese language pedagogy needs to be introduced in the field of Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL). Nowadays, in both China or in America, the CFL pedagogy and learning theories are mainly borrowed from the field of English as a Second Language (ESL). However, in America, CFL has very little research focusing on the application of early traditional Chinese perspectives, such as those found in the Analects. As a classic of Chinese traditional culture and thought, the Analects recorded Confucius’s and his disciples’ conversations and debates. The pedagogy of early Chinese has been a focus of research in China throughout its history. In America, and even the English speaking world as a whole, the CFL learning system grossly underestimates the pedagogical value of these early Chinese traditions. In the last decade, with the application of Galal Walker’s and Mari Noda’s Performing another Culture Approach (hereinafter referred to as PCA), America’s Chinese language teaching and learning has had some change in its pedagogical theories 1 and practices. The PCA emphasizes “context,” which gives language a clearer meaning and has American language learners participate in the Chinese culture through using Chinese language. This pedagogy is based on human cognitive characteristics, which is more effective than traditional Chinese language pedagogy, especially on the basis of ESL. Because the PCA puts cultural context in a very significant position in language teaching and learning, learners need to participate in an authentic
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