Unit 4参考译文

参考译文

1）Education played a vital role in ancient Chinese culture. The origin of ancient Chinese education dates back to the educational ideas of the “Hundred Schools of Thought” in the middle and late Zhou Dynasty. It provided people with equal chance for development. Individuals from even the humblest backgrounds could rise to a higher level. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius, the great educator, broke the rule of learning at the government hall. Private schools prevailed（流行，盛行）and many scholars of different schools of thought spread their teaching in this way and this led to the flourishing and contending of hundreds of schools.

2）Confucius was an educator as well as a philosopher. His thoughts and theories had impact on people in many aspects such as ethics, moral principles and rules of life. One of the features of Confucius’ thoughts is his emphasis on education and learning. In the relationship between learning and thinking, he believed that learning and thinking were equally important. He believed th at, “Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous（危险的）.” He considered moral education the most important.