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.

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.

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.

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.

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 our first episode of the Three Character Classic（三字经）we begin at birth. According to Chinese thought, when we come into the world, we are fundamentally good. But as we grow up, our attitudes and abilities change under the influence of our environment and education – not always for the better. 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.

“High mountains and running waters” (高山流水) is one of the most iconic pieces of classical Chinese music. Its creator played it so beautifully, it was as if he could create this scenery out of thin air. Alas, his story has a tragic end, but before we get to that, in this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) we’ll tell you about the natural materials used to make the eight sounds (八普) of ancient Chinese instruments: gourd (匏), clay (土), leather (革), wood (木), stone (石), metal (金), silk (丝), and bamboo (竹). 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), we talk about the nine generations of relations that make up one’s family, in the traditional definition of the word. There’s a lot of “this person begats that one, who begats etc.” in this episode, so this is one episode where, if your eyes glaze over, your hosts won’t take offense. 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.

A few episodes ago (#14: Servitiude and patriarchy) the Three Character Classic (三字经) took what seemed like a detour from the natural world to discuss the ties between sovereign and subject (君臣义), father and son (父子亲), and husband and wife (夫妇顺). This part of the book appears to take a similar detour with a discussion of benevolence (仁), honor (义), courtesy (礼), wisdom (智), and truth (信). But rather than being detours, they’re included in the chapter on the order of the natural world because there was a belief that natural laws governed relationships and morality. 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.

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.

Horses (马), cattle (牛), sheep (羊), fowl (鸡), dogs (犬), and pigs (豕): These are the six domesticated animals, and the topic of this episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经). This verse follows on from our last episode, in which we talked about another group of six – the edible grains (rice 稻, sorghum粱, beans 菽, wheat 麦, glutinous millet 黍, millet 稷). 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) we continue on the theme of the importance of education. And we illustrate the book’s message with a story about an unfortunate official named Bian He (卞和) from the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋时代) in around 771 to 476 B.C. 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 of the Three Character Classic (三字经) we follow on from our previous two episodes, about the importance of listening to teachers and of filial respect for parents, with one about being nice to your elder brother. (You might be picking up a theme…) In our story, we learn about Kong Rong (孔融), a Qing Dynasty official whose kindness towards his older brother was so great that it ended up in the history books. 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.

Your hosts had very different takes on the topic of this episode: the Doctrine of the Mean (中庸). An idea first put forward by the writer Zisi (孔伋), at its most basic it means that people shouldn’t deviate from the middle road in life (中不偏), which is unchanging (庸不易). In other words, don’t live life to extremes. For the first time in this series on the Three Character Classic (三字经), we’ve come across two different versions of a verse. In the alternative text the author’s nickname (孔伋) is replaced with the phrase “from his pen” (子思笔). (If that doesn't make sense, don’t worry, we talk about it in the show.) 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 part of the Three Character Classic (三字经) talked about the value of devoting your time to learning to valuable things (贵以专). It’s at this point that we move into the second part of the book, which tells you what some of those valuable things are and where you should start. 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.

After the slight detour in the last episode, our discussion on the Three Character Classic (三字经) returns to the main theme of the second part of the book: the arrangement of the natural world. As temperatures plunge across northern China, your hosts say goodbye to autumn (秋) and hello to winter (冬) as they discuss the neverending cycle of the seasons, and look ahead longingly to the return of spring (春) and summer (夏). And we round out the episode with a friendly disagreement about the teaching methods of Confucius. 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) we cover the six main cereals in traditional Chinese agriculture, and tell the story of a mythical figure called Shennong (神农), “the Divine Farmer”. According to legend, he led a group of followers up a moutain, tasting hundreds of plants to find out what was safe to eat, and which herbs could be used as medicines. The oral history of his discoveries became the Han Dynasty (漢朝) text “Shennong’s Compendium of Medicine” (神农本草经). 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 Chinese philosophy, water (水), fire (火), wood (木), metal (金), and earth (土) are five elements that make up the properties of everything in the universe. This episode on the Three Character Classic (三字经) tells the story of the discovery of fire in ancient China. In some cultures, fire was a gift from the gods, but in the ancient Chinese story it’s a discovery of man. This is one of the ways that the centrality of man is highlighted in the Chinese view of the world. ， 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.