The Textbooks of Basic Dunhuang Education: Implications for Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This chapter draws from the Dunhuang library collection of basic textbooks in ancient China to illustrate the continuous connection between Dunhuang and education, may it be Buddhist or secular. The examination of these texts provides clear evidence of a thousand years of systematic educational practices in China from Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian texts in different formats, private and official, and at different levels, from basic education to higher education. From these early texts and practices, this chapter will examine the meaning and implications for curricula, teaching, and learning then and now.