ep 09 Keeping the bed warm

In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we talk about the Great Learning (大学), a wide-ranging text that talks about everything from how to manage your household and family and to the benefits of self-improvement, through to how to run a country and achieve world peace. The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

Before we come to the end of chapter two of the Three Character Classic (三字经), we have a chunky summary of all the lessons we’ve learned about the social ties in our lives. There’s the kindness between father and son (父子恩), harmony between husband and wife (夫妇从), friendship from older brothers (兄则友), respect from younger brothers (弟则恭), the young deferring to the not-so-young (长幼序), ties of friendship (友与朋), a sovereign's esteem for their subjects (君则敬), and a subject’s loyalty for their sovereign (臣则忠). These are the 10 social obligations (此十义) that we all share (人所同). The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), the book takes a step back to a topic touched upon earlier, namely, how people should approach their relationships with different people in their lives. We’ll talk about the bond between a sovereign and their subjects, and between a father and their child. We’ll also delve into the controversial topic of the nature of the relationship between a husband and wife, and how it has changed from ancient times. The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

The Three Character Classic (三字经) continues to pile on reading for its young readers, this time turning to what are called the six classics (六经), namely the the books of Poetry (诗经), Documents (书经), Changes (易经), Rites (礼记), and the Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋经). In this episode we touch on an underlying assumptions that runs through much of ancient Chinese thought. That is the idea that to be good, you need to be well-read. Being nice isn’t enough – to be a truly good person you need to have an education so you can learn what a good person is and how to become one. The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

The four core texts (四书) on Confucianism is the topic of our next few episodes on the Three Character Classic (三字经). We get started by talking about how, if you want to become a scholar (为学者), you have to start at the beginning (必有初). After you’ve mastered the basics (小学终) you can move onto studying these four classic texts (至四书). The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

As Beijing pluges into winter and temperatures plumet, your hosts for the Three Character Classic (三字经) huddle together in their chilly studio to recount the story of nine-year-old Huang Xiang (黄香), who lay in his father’s bed to warm it up in winter before returning to his own. It’s another one of the tales that's told to Chinese children to drill into them the importance of filial piety. The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

The first of the six classics (六经) that the Three Character Classic (三字经) recommends readers turn to is the Book of Changes (易经), which is actually made up of three books. It presents a method of fortune telling using something called the ‘eight trigrams’, which we explain during the episode. The parts of the book used for predicting the future are, let’s say, limited in their usefulness. But that is useful is the information it contains about China’s early history. The 三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In episode three of the Three Character Classic (三字经) we look at the role a good environment can have on a child’s early development. You’ll hear how the mother of the philosopher Mencius moved house three times to help ensure that the people in their neighhourhood were a positive influence on the budding young philosopher. The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

This episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) is reminiscent of our earliest episodes about study. We talk about the importance of all kids having a good education (凡训蒙) based on careful study of the fundamentals (须讲究). In this case, it means learning how to read ancient texts (详训诂) and understand them despite their lack of punctuation (明句读). In the episode, we tell a story about a scholar visiting his pupil. It might be a bit hard to understand without seeing the two sentences at the heart of the tale, so here they are: 下雨天，留客天？天留，人不留。 And, 下雨天，留客天。天留人不？留。 The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.

In this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经), it’s time to talk about maths. But don’t worry: Because this is a children’s book it’s easy to understand, much to the relief of your hosts, who aren’t especially strong in this subject. The三字经 was written by the Song Dynasty (宋朝) scholar Wang Yinglin (王应麟). This 1,134 character text was one of the first textbooks used by students, and provided lessons on education, morality and ethics, science, literature, and history.