who would be more loyal to the state than the hereditary no-
bility was. Consequently, the ancient curriculum consisted
largely of Confucian philosophy and ethics. Professors were
experts in the Confucian Five Classics, which included works
on history, rituals, poetry, and divination (foretelling the
future or discovering hidden knowledge through omens).
Confucian philosophy emphasized loyalty to the state above
all. Students also studied mathematics, music, and painting
among other subjects.
Confucius thought that all social classes should be edu-
cated, even the poor. As a practical matter, most of the poor
did not have the time or the resources to go to school, so most
boys who went to school came from wealthy families. Th ere
were nonetheless many exceptions. Th e Han emperors set up
their system to fi nd talented boys, not wealthy boys, and this
gave many poor young men an opportunity they would not
otherwise have had. A number of boys from humble back-
grounds did rise up through the system to take important
jobs high in the governmental bureaucracy.
As Chinese culture spread throughout eastern Asia, the
people in Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea adopted Chinese
educational practices. Korea, for example, created an educa-
tion system during t he Th ree Kingdoms Period (57 b.c.e.–668
c.e.) that was very similar to the Chinese system, with a heavy
emphasis on Chinese classics, Confucian philosophy, and
preparation for government service.
In India education was inextricably tied to religion.
Hindu students were expected to learn Hindu scriptures,
rites, and rituals as a preparation for higher knowledge. Ev-
ery student studied with a teacher called a guru. In ancient
times a guru was considered a god in human form. Students
were expected to choose a single guru and stay with him until
their education was complete. To study with a guru, a student
would go to a gurukula, a sort of school that was oft en located
in the forest, away from cities and students’ families. Enter-
ing a gurukula was not easy; a student had to convince the
guru that he was serious about wanting to study and that he
was intelligent enough to learn the material. Gurus believed
that there was no point in teaching those who were not inter-
ested or mentally capable of learning, and tradition forbade
the acceptance of unqualifi ed students. Once in the gurukula,
students studied the Hindu scriptures, or Vedas, memorizing
verses and reciting them in order; a student could not move
on to a new verse until he had recited all the preceding verses
perfectly. Although scriptures were important, students could
also study practical subjects such as mathematics, medicine,
music, magic, or the art of warfare.
Discipline was strict and living conditions austere; stu-
dents had to observe a stringent diet, meditate, practice yoga,
remain chaste, and perform menial jobs for the guru. Some-
times students traveled with the guru to perform rites. When
a student fi nished t he severa l-year course of study, he paid t he
guru for the instruction.
Almost all students in gurukulas were boys. Girls were
not allowed to study; a few royal women were educated, but
ordinary women were not. For the most part, lower-caste peo-
ple were not allowed to study either; education was restricted
to the upper classes. People in lower castes were allowed,
however, to receive training in their occupations. Members of
castes that specialized in various craft s, such as weaving, pot-
tery, or building, would train their children in the traditional
practices of their specialty. Aft er the fi ft h century b.c.e. In-
dian students also studied Buddhism. Buddhism placed more
emphasis on practical living techniques that would pave the
way to enlightenment. Communities of Buddhist monks and
nuns functioned as schools of Buddhism.EUROPE
BY JUSTIN CORFIELD
Th roughout Europe during ancient times there were formal-
ized systems of childhood education involving parents, rela-
tives, and village elders who taught lessons in farming and
hunting and various other adult occupations. Indeed, educa-
tion largely took the form of initiation into adulthood, and
this process varied across the continent and gradually changed
and adapted over time until the Romans extended their rule
over much of western, southern, and central Europe.
Th e tradition among Celts was for boys to be handed
over to “foster fathers” at the age of seven (as was the case in
Ireland) to 10 (as was practiced in Scotland). Th e foster fa-
thers, oft en uncles or longtime family friends, were then re-
sponsible for the academic, artistic, and physical training of
the boys. Th is responsibility was regarded as a great honor,
with accounts that in Ireland “fi ve hundred kyne [cattle] and
better” were oft en given for the training of the son of a “great
man.” A Celtic youth was supposed to have “four and twenty”
skills. Among these skills were the “six feats of activity”: hurl-
ing weights, running, leaping, swimming, wrestling, and rid-Yue ware water dropper in the shape of a frog drinking from a cup,
from Zhejiang Province, southern China, Six Dynasties, third to
fourth century c.e.; such items were made for the scholar’s desk and
used in calligraphy. (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)
education: Europe 381