mind is supreme in carrying out this inquiry; (c) scientific discovery requires
active engagement of the learner; (d) one derives intrinsic enjoyment and
pleasure by participating in this process; and (e) knowledge as produced by
such learning must be put to ethical use. It does not require a stretch of imagi-
nation to find affinity between Bacon’s vision of learning and modern princi-
ples of academic learning and intellectual functioning in the West. In Pel-
tonen’s (1996) evaluation, “there remains today much that Bacon would
recognize as part of the [scientific] program he inaugurated” (pp. 23–24).
In a much earlier period (77–6 B.C.), also articulating the Confucian con-
ception of learning, the proliferate Chinese writer and historian Liu Xiang
(Wang &Wang, 1992) told a story in his bookShuo Yuan (On Royal Gar-
dens), written also to give advice to his king:
The king of Jin, Ping Gong, asked his blind musician Shi Kuang “I am already
seventy. I’d like to learn, but I am afraid it’s too late.” Shi Kuang replied “Why
not light a candle?” Ping Gong was offended “How could a subject ridicule his
king?” Shi Kuang responded “How dare I, a blind subject?! I have only heard
that love for learning in young age is like the light from the rising sun; love for
learning in adult prime age is like the bright sunlight at noon; and love for
learning in old age is like the light from the candle. Lighting the candle or grop-
ing in darkness, which one is better?” Ping Gong brightened “How marvelous!”
(p. 124)This story is still widely read and told by Chinese people (Wang, 1992).
The appeal of the story resides less in what the blind musician said to the king
than in the fact that a powerless subject dared to challenge his king on the
topic of learning. His persuasion manifests itself in the process of how an ar-
rogant king was transformed and enlightened by the love for learning. Like
Bacon’s passage, this story also reveals five essential ideas about learning in
the Chinese tradition: (a) A person without the desire to learn is one without
aim and power; not even the king can be exempt; (b) the pursuit of learning
enables and dignifies powerless individuals (to the degree that they are legiti-
mized to challenge the otherwise powerful); (c) learning is a lifelong process;
(d) love for and commitment to learning are sine qua non for lifelong learn-
ing; and (e) the purpose of learning is not to produce objective knowledge but
to cultivate/perfect oneself morally.
The two visions of learning articulated by both Bacon and Liu Xiang are
what we term cultural beliefs about learning. Cultural beliefs about learning
include ideas about purposes and processes of learning as well as related af-
fects, which are necessarily a part of motivation for learning. We focus on
Western and Chinese cultural beliefs about learning because these two cul-
tures (despite diversity within the West) have very different value systems,
histories, and developments, even though both emphasize learning. In spite
of dramatic historical changes, both Western and Confucian beliefs have en-
386 LI AND FISCHER