The research curriculum in the strict sense is based on the research and development of the discipline system, and it is an expansion and supplement to the school curriculum in terms of academic methods and depth and breadth. In the basic principles of research and education, we pay attention to systematic, knowledgeable, scientific and interesting. At present, the main force in the field of research and learning is the travel agency, which uses the experience of perennial operation to superimpose some knowledge learning on tourism products and switch the original tour guide into a research tutor. The fact is that travel agencies do not have academic genes, which is not enough to fully support the educational requirements of research. When organizing students to study and purchase off-campus services, schools should fully consider the academic and management capabilities of the selected institutions.
We take the two-day "Literary Journey" as an example to explore several key points of the design of humanities research.
The educational logic behind the route design. Along the way, the study is a large shift in time and space, a time and space conversion on a line, which seems to be the displacement of the site, behind which is cultural design and theme design.
The two-day literary tour chose the Forbidden City, The Prince of Gong's Mansion, the Grand View Garden and the National Botanical Garden as study locations. At first glance, several study points cannot find a logical connection. The actual situation is that a "Dream of the Red Chamber" connects four research bases.
At the Forbidden City, students will experience the richest part of Cao Xueqin's family lineage. The Forbidden City was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the two emperors were directly related to the rise and fall of the family of Cao Xueqin, the author of Dream of the Red Chamber. Cao Xueqin's grandfather served as a fat man for Jiangning weaving during the Kangxi Dynasty. When Kangxi toured the south, he did not live in the Cao family only once, and the Cao family's personal relationship with the Kangxi Emperor was the lucky code of the Cao family. In "Dream of the Red Chamber", Yuan Fei Province personally built the Grand View Garden, which stemmed from the experience of the Cao family in taking over the driving many times. From the most prosperous period of Rongning Erfu, we can also glimpse the highlight moment of the Cao family. In the royal majesty of the Forbidden City, students feel that the Cao family is favored by the god of destiny, experience the imperial grace of that era, and locate the rich genes in Cao Xueqin's life. Only in this way can we better appreciate Cao Xueqin's frustration when she wrote "Dream of the Red Chamber" in the yellow leaf village in the wilderness.
A Prince Gong Mansion, half of the history of the Qing Dynasty. The Alxa Palace, which is separated from an alley by the GongWangFu, is said to be the prototype of the Rongning Second Mansion in the Dream of the Red Chamber. From the Gong King's Mansion, you may be able to find the appearance of the former Cao family mansion. The design of Daguanyuan originates from the garden of Gongwangfu, and middle school students familiar with the dream of the Red Chamber will see the shadow of Daguanyuan in Gongwangfu. The Huazhi Hutong next to it is said to be the residence that Jia Lian bought for You Erjie. At Prince Gong's Mansion, students will learn the archetypal theory of literary works from Dream of the Red Chamber. There are traces of human literary creation. The so-called inspiration is nothing more than a spray after a thick accumulation of hair.
The great thing about Daguanyuan is that it is the first classical garden built according to literary works, adding a new category to the history of Chinese gardens. In the study and design of Daguanyuan, according to the characteristics of the field, we focus our study on the excavation of the relationship between the name, style, pattern and the fate of the characters in each courtyard, learn the allegorical expression in classical Chinese literature writing, and feel the ideal country where young boys and girls lived in the past.
Huangye Village in the National Botanical Garden is the place where Cao Xueqin wrote "Dream of the Red Chamber". From the path of Huangye Village, following the water system to explore the source of the cherry ditch, and finding the true location of the "Mushi Qianmeng", students will once again understand the realistic writing basis for baoyu and Daiyu's previous marriage in "Dream of the Red Chamber". Having already walked through the Imperial Palace, gongwang mansion, and daguan garden, and suddenly turned to the remote corner of Huangye Village and in front of the low portal, Cao Xueqin's mental journey in the middle of the road and the basis for the writing of "Dream of the Red Chamber" will be deeply imprinted on the hearts of students.
Such a literary journey, from the prosperity and decline of Cao Xueqin's family lineage all the way through, to the prototype basis for the creation of literary works, brings students a shocking experience that cannot be achieved by pure textbook explanation. This is the beauty of academic team design courses.
Formal design in humanities research. The difficulty of on-site teaching of humanities research is that there are many people, and in a fresh environment, students are curious and distracted, it is difficult to concentrate on inquiry-based learning, and the research effect is greatly reduced. When developing the curriculum, we fully take into account this characteristic of primary and secondary school students, and design a closed-loop approach of "pre-learning + middle school learning + after-school summary", so that research and learning do not flow into sloppy flowers. Before the trip, we prepared the basic materials of the destination and the study content for the students; before the official departure, the study tutor will teach the day's research focus once in the form of graphics and videos to deepen the impression; during the study, in order to let the students concentrate on the experience, the tutor only reminds the confirmation at the key points; after the end of the study, there is a prize in the form of a diary or half proposition to collect the research results and encourage students to reverse output. Such a closed loop of learning allows the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body to play different roles at different nodes, so as to achieve the goal of research and education. Practice has proved that after each study, the effect achieved is far better than the continuous indoctrination of the on-site tutor.
A comparative perspective on the design of humanities research. Humanistic education emphasizes intellectual knowledge with thinking, reason, and judgment as the main characteristics, not knowledge in a certain field; it requires students to carry out knowledge activities based on "common sense" and "general knowledge" and aimed at approaching wisdom. The fundamental goal of humanistic education is the emancipation and growth of the human mind. This requires a vision of building thinking in a larger cultural context, rather than just being confined to one's own people and speaking to oneself.
In an open and pluralistic world, how do we cultivate a patriotic teenager with cultural self-confidence and reason? Under the comparative vision, juxtaposing Chinese culture and world culture, and looking for the common world outlook, outlook on life and values of human beings, can we better highlight the advantages of Chinese culture and make cultural self-confidence more natural and more conscious.
Specific to the design of humanities research, the same theme is placed horizontally in world culture for comparison and connection, vertically establishing a sense of history, and examining the whole picture of the development of events in the long river of time. In a word, the research theme is designed in the dimensions of ancient and modern China and foreign countries, providing multi-perspective thinking.
Research and learning is still a new thing in China, especially the depth and complexity of the humanities, and the understanding of each research team has its own focus, which is also the charm of humanistic education. The study of how to build the cultural self-confidence of young people and assume the function of cultural rejuvenation still needs to be jointly explored and promoted by schools, governments and all aspects of society.
(The author is a professor at Beijing Language and Culture University)
China Teachers Daily, October 27, 2021, 12th edition
Author:Zhang Qiang