"Teacher's Theory" by Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty
The original text is as follows:
The ancient scholars must have teachers. A teacher is the one who preaches the truth, receives karma and resolves doubts. People are not born with knowledge, how can they be free from confusion? If you are confused and do not follow the teacher, it is confusion, and you will not be able to understand it in the end. Those who were born before me, they heard the Tao before me, and I learned from them; those who were born after me, they heard the Tao before me, and I learned from them. My teacher, do you know who was born to me one year or another? Therefore, there is neither high nor low, neither long nor short. Where the Tao exists, the teacher exists.
Sigh! It’s been a long time since teachers’ teachings were passed on! It’s hard to be free from confusion! The ancient saints were also far away from others, and they still asked if they were teachers. Today's people are also far away from the saints, and they are ashamed to learn from their teachers. Therefore, the saint will benefit the saint, and the fool will benefit the fool. Is this why saints are saints and fools are fools? If you love your son, you will choose a teacher and teach him; if you are concerned about your son, you will be ashamed of the teacher and confused. The boy's teacher teaches the readers the book and then learns its sentences. This is not what I call the person who teaches him the way and solves his confusion. I don't know how to read a sentence, I don't understand the confusion, maybe it's a teacher, or it's not a good one. I haven't seen the clarity from elementary school. A man of witchcraft, medicine, music and craftsmanship, he is not ashamed to be a physiognomist. The clan of scholar-bureaucrats would gather in groups and laugh at those who said "master" or "disciple". When asked, he said: "He is similar to that year, and the way is similar. A low position is shameful, and a high official is close to flattery." Woohoo! The way of a teacher can no longer be known. Gentlemen despise a man who is a man of witchcraft, medicine, music and craftsmanship, but now his wisdom is beyond his reach. How strange that is!
The sage is the teacher of impermanence. Confucius studied under Tanzi, Changhong, Xiang and Laodan. The disciples of Tanzi were not as wise as Confucius. Confucius said: If three people are walking together, there must be my teacher. Therefore, the disciple does not have to be inferior to the master, and the master does not have to be better than the disciple. There is a priority in learning the Tao, and there is a specialization in the art, that's all.
Zi Pan, a seventeen-year-old son of the Li family, was fond of ancient prose and was familiar with all the classics and biographies of the six arts. Yu Jiaqi was able to practice the ancient way and taught him as a teacher.
The translation is as follows:
People who studied in ancient times must have teachers. Teachers are used to teach principles, teach students, and answer difficult questions. People are not born with knowledge and principles. Who can be without doubts? If you have doubts but don't ask the teacher for advice, the problem will become difficult and ultimately unsolvable. People who were born before me, if they understood knowledge and principles before me, I would follow them and take them as my teachers; people who were born after me, (if) they would understand knowledge and principles before me, I would also follow them He studied and had him as his teacher. What I study is knowledge. Who cares whether he is older or younger than me? Therefore, no matter whether one is high or low, no matter one is young or old, where knowledge exists is where teachers exist.
Alas! The tradition of studying from a teacher has been lost for a long time. It is difficult for people not to have doubts! The ancient saints were far beyond ordinary people, and they even followed their teachers to ask for advice. Today's ordinary people, who are far behind the saints, are ashamed to learn from their teachers. Therefore, the sage becomes more sage and the fool becomes even more ignorant. The reason why a saint can become a saint and the reason why a fool can become a fool is probably for this reason, right? Love your child and choose a teacher to teach him. (But) For himself, he considers it shameful to learn from the teacher. He is so confused! Those teachers who teach him to read and learn the pauses in sentences are not the teachers I call teaching principles and answering difficult questions. If you don't know how to segment a sentence, you should ask the teacher. If you have doubts that you can't solve, you don't want to ask the teacher. Witch doctors, musicians and various craftsmen are not ashamed to learn from each other. When people like scholar-officials talk about teachers and disciples, these people gather together to laugh at him. Ask those who mocked (why they mocked him), and they said: "That person is similar in age to someone, and has similar accomplishments and studies. (How can you call him a teacher?) It is enough to feel ashamed to have someone of low status as a teacher. , calling someone with a high official position a teacher is close to flattery. It can be known from this that the trend of learning from teachers will no longer be restored. Witch doctors, music players, and craftsmen of all kinds were looked down upon by scholar-officials, but now their knowledge is not as good as these people. It’s really strange!
Sages do not have fixed teachers. Confucius once had Tanzi, Changhong, Shixiang and Laodan as his teachers. People like Tan Zi were (of course) inferior to Confucius in moral ability. Confucius said: "There are many people walking together, and among them there must be my teacher." Therefore, students are not necessarily inferior to teachers, and teachers are not necessarily more capable than disciples. There are priorities in understanding principles, and each has its own research in knowledge and skills. Just like this.
Li Pan, the son of the Li family, is seventeen years old and loves ancient literature. He has generally studied the scriptures and prose of the Six Arts. He is not restricted by the world and learns from me. I commended him for fulfilling the ancient custom of learning from a teacher, and wrote this "Teacher's Statement" as a gift to him.