Ling Xiao
As teachers, we bear the social responsibility of teaching our younger generation knowledge and skills as well as helping them develop good character and moral standards; as Chinese teachers, we bear the responsibility of teaching students the Chinese language and helping them learn about Chinese culture. As a Chinese educator, I believe that there is a lot in the Chinese culture that can not only be used as language material but also as materials to help students develop good character. Whenever I have an opportunity, I conduct a lesson around this belief. The following is a true story that happened in this kind of Chinese classroom.
Many American high school students like to eat Da Bai Tu (Big White Rabbit), a brand name milk candy made in Shanghai, China. I sometimes use them as motivational treats to reward them for their achievements and efforts in leaning Chinese in class. One day I found that one of my unopened candy package of Da Bai Tu was stolen. I thought: This is not just about a package of candy; it is about a child whose character and world view is still in the process of developing. As a teacher I have the responsibility to help the child to see and correct this mistake. But how could I deal with this in a way that is loving and still related to Chinese? I thought about it and came up with an idea of dealing with this through the teaching of Chinese mottos that praise traditional Chinese virtues.
The next day I played two short videos of Chinese stories related traditional Chinese virtues. One story was entitled Zhou Chu Zi Xin (meaning Zhou Chu Making a Fresh Start). The motto for the story was: Ren Shui Wu Guo, Guo Er Neng Gai, Shan Mo Da Yan! The meaning of the motto is: To err is human, but isn’t it beautiful when one sees his mistake and corrects it? The story talked about a young man named Zhou Chu in the Jin Dynasty. Zhou Chu was a bully when he was young and people in his hometown hated him. He was feared by people as one of the “Three Harms”, the other two being the evil dragon and the fierce tiger. People wanted to get rid of him. So they persuaded Zhou Chu to go and kill the dragon, hoping that, instead of killing the dragon, the dragon would kill him. Zhou Chu did what people asked him to. He left his hometown, found the evil dragon, and fought with it for three days and three nights, trying to kill it. Back in his hometown, People thought he was killed by the dragon. So they went to the streets, setting off fireworks to celebrate. At this time, Zhou Chu came back and overheard people gossiping about him. He felt ashamed of his wrongdoings and decided to make a fresh start. He was so determined to change that he later became a very successful local official, loved by people in his hometown.
While students were listening to the story I had them learn the motto, some idiomatic expressions such as gai guo zi xin (meaning making a fresh start) and a few vocabulary, such as evil, dragon, tiger. After hearing the story, we had a brief discussion. I asked students to discuss how it was true that “to err is human”. I also asked volunteers to share personal testimonies of how they corrected their own mistakes. At some point, a student commented: “Those people who persuaded him to kill the evil dragon were so mean! Why didn’t they bring him to court?” I was impressed with the insightful comment that he made about what other people did to Zhou Chu and I was also amused by his comment about the legal action. So I responded, “I completely agree with you! But very often, we human beings only see what others do is wrong but do not see what we do ourselves may also be wrong! Those people who tricked Zhou Chu were also doing something that I think wrong in another way. How about if Zhou Chu were killed?” But I also told them that at that time, the legal system was very different and there was no way to bring him to court. At last I reemphasized the motto and praised Zhou Chu for correcting himself and becoming a person that brought benefits to both himself and the people around him.
Then I played another story called Zhou Li Wang Ju Jian (meaning King Zhou refuse to take advice). The motto for the story is: Guo Er Bu Gai, Shi Wei Guo Yi! The meaning of the motto is: If one makes a mistake but refuses to see it and correct it, that is truly a big mistake! The story was about the king of Xi Zhou Dynasty. He was very cruel to his people. His cruelty brought tremendous sufferings to common folks. So some people, including his officials, started to criticize him. One of his high-ranked officials that he trusted also pointed out what he did wrong and advised him to change. But instead of correcting himself, the king became so furious at those people who criticized him and advised him to make changes that he ordered they all be arrested and killed. Three years later, people revolted and killed the king.
We had the same kind of learning activities and discussion with this story. Students learned idioms like lao bai xing, which literally means old hundred sir names, but is used to refer to common folks. They also learned the motto. During our discussion, one of the students commented: “This king is evil! Why did Chinese people choose him to be the king? Do Chinese people also elect the king every 4 years like we elect our President?” I was truly amused by the innocent questions! So I replied with a true answer but with humor, “Chinese people didn’t elect kings like Americans elect a president. The position of a king was either gained by sacrificing many lives of common folks in wars or was given by the king’s dad.” The class laughed cheerfully.
In the last few minutes of class, I drew the students’ attention again to the mottos. As a conclusion, I said, “It is easy for us to do something wrong because none of us are perfect. But it takes more courage to correct one’s wrongdoing and this kind of action deserves praise and admiration.” Pausing for a second to make sure all students were paying attention, I continued to say, “I believe the student who took a pack of Da Bai Tu yesterday without my permission has learned our lesson well. I hope that he/she will realize what he/she did wrong and I hope that he/she has the courage to correct it. I also think that maybe after many years he/she will still remember what we did in class today and will be thankful that he/she has corrected the mistake.”
The bell rang. I dismissed the class and then turned to clean the white board. My mind started to think about other things and completely forgot what I just taught, but when I turned back, I saw an unopened pack of Da Bai Tu lying on my desk. I smiled: what a beautiful moment!
I didn’t try to find out who this student was. But I believe that the stories had an influence on him/her, which made him/her correct his/her mistake. And I believe that the influence from traditional Chinese virtues taught in these stories will have an ever-lasting impact on the student’s character.
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