Hooked on classics

Every Saturday afternoon, a dozen students meet at the canteen of Renmin University of China in Beijing. They do not come for food or tea as others do. Instead, they gather for a Chinese classic, called The Book of Odes. Undistracted by noise and the smell of food, they spend four hours reading, debating and sharing views on the ancient poetry, which dates back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC). The students are pursuing their major, Chinese Classics, a two-year labor of love.

In 2005, Renmin University, noted for its social sciences studies, established a school called Chinese Classics. This marked a renaissance of Chinese Classics in China's universities after decades of neglect.

Ji Baocheng, president of Renmin University, says the rediscovery of Chinese Classics has become "necessary to restoring China's cultural confidence".

The school set up a four-year bachelor's degree and two-year master's degree, and has enrolled around 130 undergraduates and 30 graduates to date. "As opposed to Chinese language learning, the Chinese Classics is a combination of Chinese literature, history and philosophy as an integrated whole," says Chen Junchan, a senior student at the school.

Two years ago, Chen was a sophomore of the Chinese Language department at Renmin University, but she transferred to the new school after passing an exam and an interview based on her understanding of Chinese Classics.

There were even some who abandoned popular majors to take up the new course, such as Liu Fang, who previously majored in finance.

Students chanting works by Confucius at the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province. Photos by Luo Bo

"I chose finance because it was a guarantee of a well-paid job on graduation, but I can't say I enjoy it," admits Liu, who is happy with her move to a subject she has loved since childhood.

When she was young, Liu's parents asked her to recite Chinese classical poems. By primary school, she had already read A Dream of the Red Chamber, the most popular Chinese classic novel, almost 20 times. At secondary school, Liu started to compose her own poems.

Like Liu, many of the students in the school were nurtured on Chinese literature or traditional art.

One of the features of the course is a series of reading courses analyzing about 20 traditional classics, including Lao-Ztu, Chuang-Ztu, Mencius, The Odes of Chu, Yimutology, The History of the Han Dynasty and poetry of different dynasties, all of which were written by China's most distinguished writers, philosophers or historians. In the past, they were the required reading for Chinese scholars.

"The students must be patient and know the original readings by heart," says Deputy Dean Sun Jiazhou.

However, it is not easy to either teach or learn these works. Liang Tao, an associate professor of the history of ideology, considers it a long-term mission. "Every classic book deserves lifelong digestion and can be increasingly internalized into one's personal wisdom."

The students also come up with different methods to digest the classics. Wu Qinli, a senior, for instance, joined Yi Dan Xue Tang, a Beijing-based organization dedicated to the sharing and spreading of traditional Chinese culture. One of its modes is reading classics aloud in the morning. "Breathing fresh air and learning through reading is a wonderful experience," says Wu.

The school emphasizes self-study. For the History of China's Historiography, the class divides into groups, and each is asked to prepare a group presentation.

Chen Junchan's group was responsible for introducing three types of historical works. For a whole week, they spent hours each night reading the materials sentence by sentence and discussing every detail. "We seemed to act like the ancient scholars, the only difference was that we did not put on long gowns," she says.

Source: China Daily