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教师节快乐 Happy Teachers' Day!

What is Teachers’ Day?

Due to the traditional importance of education in China, Teachers’ Day is an especially significant holiday that symbolizes the profound respect that Chinese society has for educators and scholarship.

During this holiday, many Chinese schools host customary ceremonies honoring teachers that are reminiscent of ancient Confucian rituals. Teachers also often receive gifts from school administrators, parents, and current and former students. Some educators even get the day off.

In China, Teachers’ Day takes place every year on September 10th.

Teachers' Day

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Is Teachers’ Day an international holiday?

China isn’t the only country that celebrates Teachers’ Day, however. In fact, almost every nation around the world celebrates some variation of Teachers’ Day, whether it is the international World Teachers' Day or a regional version.

Although celebrating educators is a global phenomenon these days, Teachers’ Day in China is distinct due to its Confucian roots as well as the many transformations this holiday has undergone over the course of China’s long and sometimes tumultuous history.

Before diving into the ins and outs of this important holiday as it is celebrated now, let’s first explore its historical evolution.

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Teachers’ Day in ancient China

Although not designated as an official holiday until the end of the twentieth century, Teachers’ Day in China has a long and fascinating history.

The earliest celebration that resembles the modern holiday first took place, albeit informally, over 2,000 years ago during the Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE). At that time, Teachers’ Day festivities were generally held on the 27th day of the eighth lunar month, a date widely believed to be the birthday of China’s most influential educator and philosopher, Confucius.

Confucius, China’s first teacher

Confucius (551-479 BCE), known as 孔子in Chinese, was born in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-481 BCE) in modern day Shandong Province. His parents were neither peasants nor aristocrats, but belonged to a middle class of common gentry called.

During this period, formal education was generally available only to children from elite families and consisted of a curriculum in the six arts, that is, rituals, music, archery, chariot driving, literacy and mathematics .

Confucius’ ideas about education have had an outsized impact on Chinese society since ancient times.

After ascending through the ranks of various labor and government positions, Confucius quickly earned a reputation as a skilled educator and righteous advisor. In addition to serving as Minister of Crime in his home state of Lu, he dedicated his life to educating others by establishing private academies that centered around Confucian ideology and were accessible to students of all social classes.

Confucius believed in the importance of education at the individual and collective level and taught that the construction of effective societies relied upon the accumulation of knowledge by individuals.

“I have never grown tired of learning, nor weary in teaching others what I have learned,” Confucius stated in his work, The Analects. The doctrines contained in The Analects, as well as the teachings put forth by Confucius and consolidated by his disciples in The Four Books and The Five Classics (四书五经), would underpin attitudes towards education in China for centuries to come.

Confucius taught that education was an important element in the construction of an effective society.

The status of teachers in ancient China

Confucius is often called the father of all educators, and his emphasis on the importance of education meant that teachers in ancient China were also generally held in high esteem.

In ancient China, comprehensive training in the classics was crucial to passing the Imperial Examinations (科举考试), a rigorous test that guaranteed successful male candidates a coveted bureaucratic job. Therefore, many families sought to hire a tutor to help prepare for the exam.

Parents of prospective exam candidates often sent invitation letters to certain teachers, and accepting or denying the invitation was at the discretion of the educator.

Passing the challenging imperial exams was the key to a successful career in ancient China.

Teachers in ancient China were often compensated directly by families who presented tuition in the form of a customary 束脩, which consisted of a bundle of goods that usually included dried meat (肉干) and other commodities or cash based on what the family could afford.

Once inside the classroom, teachers were treated with the utmost respect by students, who kowtowed to and accepted the authority of their educators without question. This customary student-teacher relationship was rooted in the Confucian belief that rigorous education and strict hierarchies are necessary catalysts for harmonious societies.

Teachers were held in high esteem in ancient Chinese society.

Early Teachers’ Day celebrations

Since Teachers’ Day was traditionally conflated with a celebration of the life and contributions of Confucius, commemorating the philosopher remained an important holiday practice throughout much of Chinese history.

Emperors and officials celebrated the holiday by visiting regional Confucian temples, known as 孔庙 These ancient Confucian temples, thousands of which are open to visitors across China today, often house literary collections and cultural relics related to the sage and his disciples.

From the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1912 CE), a formal Confucius Memorial Ceremony was held in provincial capitals around the country to mark the holiday, during which selected teachers were given a hefty bonus by the central government.

In addition to paying homage to Confucius through temple visits and ceremonies, court educators were also treated to extravegant banquets, and teachers around the country frequently received extra compensation in the form of 束脩 .

Confucius was such an important figure that many ancient temples were built in his honor.

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teachers in modern China

The changing status of teachers in modern China

Like many elements of Chinese society, major changes to education occurred throughout the twentieth century as a result of the country’s political transformation after the collapse of China’s final dynasty, the Qing, in 1911.

Changes to education during the communist period.

After a bloody civil war, communist leader Mao Zedong announced the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. In order to strengthen the country’s newfound socialist system, class hierarchies were reconfigured.

Citizens were labeled as either class enemies or honorable members of the working class based on profession and family background. Those who had once owned property or wealth were treated as adversaries, whereas peasants were empowered due to their “good” class backgrounds.

Not belonging to either classification, teachers were caught somewhere in between, categorized as intellectuals who required reeducation along with other scholars, writers, and artists. In order for this intellectual class to break away from their alleged bourgeois backgrounds, teachers were required to become strict advocates of socialist ideology.

After the founding of the People’s Republic, teachers and students were expected to strictly adhere to the party line.

“Our educational policy must enable everyone who gets an education to develop morally, intellectually and physically, and become a cultured, socialist-minded worker,” Chairman Mao stated in his 1957 essay “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People.”

This emphasis on socialist education and the role of teachers as disseminators of socialist theory led to the complete integration of Maoist ideology in the national curriculum, as well as the dissolution of boundaries between school education and party propaganda.

During imperial times, Confucian values of education, respect and hierarchy ruled classrooms. After the founding of the People’s Republic, however, communist leaders rejected these traditional values for a time. Students were even encouraged to resist, reject, and, in some extreme cases, behave violently against teachers who were perceived to lack dedication to the political cause.

During the mid-twentieth century, Chinese students were encouraged to actively support the communist party.

Down to the countryside

During the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many urban youth were removed from school and sent down to the countryside to be reeducated by farmers, a campaign known as the 上山下乡运动, or the Down to the Countryside Movement.

While this movement was going on, academic achievement based university entrance exams were suspended and schools began selecting students based on class background, political attitudes and party allegiance.

Some historians argue that such changes resulted in a decline in the quality of education and the status of teachers in China during this period.

Rethinking education during

Reform and Opening-up

After the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, newly implemented economic reforms called 改革开放 worked to once again elevate teachers’ social status. No longer marginalized as intellectuals in need of reeducation, teachers were to be integrated as members of the working class.

Campaigns to improve housing conditions, salaries and general welfare for teachers were conducted by the government from the 1980s on.

The reinstatement of national school and university entrance exams in 1977 also helped to reposition educators as cultivators of the nation. Conventional education was again seen as a necessary step towards achieving individual and national development.

During China’s period of reform and opening-up, students returned to conventional schools and the status of teachers improved.

Celebrating Teachers’ Day today

Because teaching is generally regarded as an honorable profession in China today, it should come as no surprise that Teachers’ Day remains an important holiday.

Although Teachers’ Day is not a public holiday in China, it is still observed in various ways. On September 10th, many teachers enjoy bonuses from school administrations or even a few hours off work. It is also common for students and families to gift teachers with cards.

教师节快乐

Teachers’ Day vocabulary

教师节 Teachers' Day

老师 teacher

辅导老师 tutor

师傅 master

孔子Confucius, China's most prominent philosopher and educator

六艺 the six arts or subjects in ancient Chinese education

儒学 Confucianism

科举考试 imperial examination

束脩 customary payment for teachers in ancient China

朝代 dynasty

教育 education; to educate

共产党 Communist Party

改革开放 China's economic reform and opening-up

职业 profession

尊敬 respect

仪式 ceremony

庆祝 celebrate

红包 red envelope filled with cash

辛苦 work hard; go to great trouble

Teachers' Day

教师节快乐

Teachers' Day

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