Using the Fables of Zhuangzi to Design Classical General Education : Blended Learning

Abstract

In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, classical education has become more important, and the direction of classical education in universities is changing. Therefore, I designed a college classical course to develop the necessary capabilities among students in this rapidly changing era. Among the Chinese classics, <i>Zhuangzi</i> was selected as a recommended book by many universities. The fables contained in <i>Zhuangzi</i> lower the threshold for the study of the classics and enable philosophical thinking. Therefore, I designed a program based on the Zhao San Mu Si (朝三暮四) and Paoding Jie Niu (庖丁解牛) fables in <i>Zhuangzi</i> as a blended learning class. The two fables are well known as idioms, but the meaning of the two idioms in <i>Zhuangzi</i> is different from the content of the idioms. Therefore, if the two fables are used for teaching purposes, from the perspective of viewing classics to approaching classical texts, new directions can be proposed for classical education. Thus, the first part of the fable of Zhao San Mu Si (朝三暮四) is conducted as an online class, and the last part as a face-to-face class, allowing learners to think about the meaning of “Liangxing (兩行)” through the foolish monkey stories. Paoding Jie Niu (庖丁解牛)'s fable teaches content in face-to-face classes and allows students to talk about the meaning of “Yangsheng (養生)” in online classes rather than Paoding's skills.