Some Reflections on the Mencius in Core Curriculum

通識教育核心課程中的《孟子》

黃俊傑(Chün-Chieh Huang)

《通識教育季刊》 2卷3期 (1995/09) Pp. 123-137

https://doi.org/10.6745/JGE.199509_2(3).0009

摘要

本文主旨在於論述以《孟子》這部經典作為大學通識教育核心課程授課之諸般問題。全文共分三部份：第一部份首先說明《孟子》之所以值得開授作為核心課程之理由，及是在於《孟子》這部經典展現中國文化的三大特質：(1)中國的文化理想與政治現實之間的緊張性。(2)中國人生觀中的深度與廣度。(3)中國知識份子的「憂患意識」。
本文第二節接著析論《孟子》之所以值得考慮作為通識核心課程講授之理由在於：(1)孟子思想中蘊涵人與宇宙之和諧觀與整體觀。(2)孟子對人性問題持有深刻之見解。本文第三節則討論《孟子》核心課程的教學策略以及具有代表性及教育價值的章節。

並列摘要

This essay expresses my considered opinion on the teaching of the Mencius in core curriculum in colleges and universities in Taiwan. The essay is divided into three parts, as to why, what, and how the Mencius should be taught: (A) why it is indispensable in the said curriculum (its importance). My answer is: this classic helps us understand, as nothing else does, at least three essential traits of Chinese culture: (1) the tension between cultural idedals and political reality in china, (2) the depths and width of Chinese view of human life, and (3) the special quality of Chinese intellectuals, their ”consciousness of sorrows” (yu-huan i-shih).
Then, (B) We shall consider what in the Mencius should be taught (its content).Our view is twofold: (1) homo-cosmic holism, and (2) radical view of human nature. Then we shall see (3) how these two points cohere to produce that unhappy tension between homo-cosmic ideal and political reality.
Finally, we consider (C) how it should be taught (its pedagogical strategies). Mencius' ideas can be presented in a sharply focussed manner as follows: (1) to hit the focal point of Mencius' dynamic holism, and (2) to study his key passages.
This essay expresses my considered opinion on the teaching of the Mencius in the core curriculum in the universities among the Chinese communities, such as Taiwan. The essay is divided into three parts, as to why, what, and how the Mencius should be taught: A. why it is indispensable in the said curriculum (its importance); B. what in the Mencius should be taught (its content); and C. how it should be taught (its pedagogical strategies).