Shishuo (On Teachers)

导读

《师说》是唐代文学家韩愈最著名的作品之一，也是中国教育思想史上的经典名篇。

文章提出“师者，所以传道、授业、解惑也”，不仅阐明了教师的职责，也揭示了教育的真正意义。在中国传统中，教育不仅是知识的传授，更是道义、智慧与人格的传承。

数千年来，中国传统教育逐渐形成了由私塾到书院的发展脉络。私塾重在启蒙，书院则以研读经典、讨论学问、修身立德为核心，成为中华文明传承的重要载体。

今天，学习的方式已经发生变化，但教育的根本精神依然不变。收录《师说》，不仅是为了保存一部经典，更希望通过阅读经典，让书院精神继续启发今天的学习者，在传统与现代、东方与西方之间，延续文明的薪火。

Introduction

Shishuo("On Teachers"), written by Han Yu during the Tang dynasty, is one of the foundational texts of Chinese educational thought.

Its well-known definition of a teacher—"A teacher is one who transmits the Way, imparts learning, and resolves confusion"—expresses not only the role of a teacher, but also the deeper purpose of education. In the Chinese tradition, education has never been limited to the transmission of knowledge; it is equally a process of passing on values, wisdom, and character.

Over the centuries, Chinese education developed from the village school (sishu) to the academy (shuyuan). While the former focused on foundational learning, the latter became places for studying the classics, engaging in dialogue, cultivating character, and transmitting civilization.

Although the forms of learning have changed, the spirit of education remains the same. This edition is presented not only to preserve a classical text, but also to renew the spirit of the Chinese academy, allowing its wisdom to continue inspiring learners across cultures and generations.

《师说》

Shishuo (On Teachers)

古之学者必有师。师者，所以传道、授业、解惑也。人非生而知之者，孰能无惑？惑而不从师，其为惑也，终不解矣。

生乎吾前，其闻道也固先乎吾，吾从而师之；生乎吾后，其闻道也亦先乎吾，吾从而师之。吾师道也，夫庸知其年之先后生于吾乎？

是故无贵无贱，无长无少，道之所存，师之所存也。

In ancient times, all who sought learning had teachers.

A teacher is one who transmits the Way, imparts learning, and helps resolve confusion. No one is born with complete understanding. Who can live without questions or doubts? If one has doubts yet does not learn from a teacher, those doubts will never truly be resolved.

If someone was born before me and understood the Way before I did, I would learn from that person. If someone was born after me but came to understand the Way before I did, I would also learn from that person. What I seek is the Way itself—why should age determine whom I regard as my teacher?

Therefore, distinctions of status, wealth, age, or seniority do not matter. Wherever the Way is found, there a teacher is found.

嗟乎！师道之不传也久矣！欲人之无惑也难矣！

古之圣人，其出人也远矣，犹且从师而问焉；今之众人，其下圣人也亦远矣，而耻学于师。是故圣益圣，愚益愚。圣人之所以为圣，愚人之所以为愚，其皆出于此乎？

爱其子，择师而教之；于其身也，则耻师焉，惑矣。

Alas! The true tradition of learning from teachers has long been neglected. It is therefore difficult for people to free themselves from confusion.

The sages of ancient times far surpassed ordinary people, yet they still sought teachers and asked questions. People today fall far short of those sages, yet many are ashamed to learn from others. Thus, the wise become wiser, while the ignorant remain ignorant. Is this not one of the reasons why sages become sages and the foolish remain foolish?

People carefully choose teachers for their children, yet are unwilling to seek teachers for themselves. Is this not a contradiction?

彼童子之师，授之书而习其句读者，非吾所谓传其道解其惑者也。句读之不知，惑之不解，或师焉，或不焉，小学而大遗，吾未见其明也。巫医乐师百工之人，不耻相师。士大夫之族，曰师曰弟子云者，则群聚而笑之。问之，则曰：“彼与彼年相若也，道相似也，位卑则足羞，官盛则近谀。”呜呼！师道之不复，可知矣。巫医乐师百工之人，君子不齿，今其智乃反不能及，其可怪也欤！

The teachers of young children merely teach them to read books and understand punctuation. They are not the teachers I speak of—those who transmit the Way and resolve confusion.

If one learns only punctuation while failing to resolve deeper confusion, one attends to the minor and neglects the essential. I cannot call this true understanding.

Physicians, musicians, artisans, and craftsmen are never ashamed to learn from one another. Yet among the scholar-officials, the very words "teacher" and "disciple" often provoke ridicule.

When asked why, they reply, "He is about my age and possesses knowledge much like my own. To learn from someone of lower status would be humiliating; to learn from someone of higher rank would appear to be flattery."

Alas! It is easy to see why the true tradition of learning from teachers has declined.

Those whom the scholar-officials regarded as beneath them—physicians, musicians, artisans, and craftsmen—were in fact wiser in this respect. Is it not a remarkable irony?

圣人无常师。孔子师郯子、苌弘、师襄、老聃。

郯子之徒，其贤不及孔子。孔子曰：“三人行，则必有我师。”

是故弟子不必不如师，师不必贤于弟子；闻道有先后，术业有专攻，如是而已。

The wise have no fixed teacher.

Confucius himself learned from Tanzi, Chang Hong, Shi Xiang, and Lao Dan.

Though men such as Tanzi were not equal to Confucius in virtue and learning, Confucius was nevertheless willing to regard them as teachers.

As Confucius said:

"When three people walk together, one of them can surely be my teacher."

Therefore, a student is not necessarily inferior to the teacher, nor is a teacher necessarily superior to the student. One may encounter the Way earlier than another, and each person may have expertise in a particular field. That is all there is to it.

李氏子蟠，年十七，好古文，六艺经传皆通习之，不拘于时，学于余。

余嘉其能行古道，作《师说》以贻之。

Li Pan, a young man of seventeen, was devoted to the study of classical literature and had diligently studied the Six Classics and their commentaries. Unconstrained by the conventions of his time, he came to learn from me.

I admired his commitment to the ancient way of learning, and therefore wrote Shishuo as a gift to him.

中国书院：教育精神的传承

The Chinese Academy: A Tradition of Learning and Self-Cultivation

中国书院起源于唐代，兴盛于宋、明，延续千余年。它既不是今天意义上的学校，也不同于单纯传授知识的教育机构。

从私塾启蒙到书院治学，中国传统教育始终以"师"为核心。书院以经典为根，以讨论为学，以修身为本。师生共同研读经典、交流思想，在切磋与思辨中求真明理，形成了中国传统教育独特的精神。

韩愈《师说》提出："师者，所以传道、授业、解惑也。"这不仅阐明了教师的职责，也揭示了教育的真正意义。真正的老师，不在于年龄、地位或身份，而在于是否能够启发他人、传承智慧。正如文中所说：

道之所存，师之所存也。

这句话不仅影响了中国传统教育，也成为书院精神最深刻的写照。教育不仅是知识的传授，更是品格的培养与文明的传承。

今天，IAK Academy 希望延续这一传统。虽然书院已从山林楼阁走向数字平台，但经典阅读、自由讨论、终身学习与文明传承的精神，始终未曾改变。

The Chinese academy (shuyuan) emerged during the Tang dynasty and flourished throughout the Song and Ming dynasties, continuing for more than a thousand years. It was neither a school in the modern sense nor merely an institution for transmitting knowledge.

From the village school (sishu) to the academy, traditional Chinese education placed the teacher at its center. Rooted in the study of the classics, the academy emphasized dialogue, inquiry, and self-cultivation. Teachers and students learned together through reading, discussion, and thoughtful reflection, forming a distinctive educational tradition.

In Shishuo ("On Teachers"), Han Yu defined the role of a teacher in a sentence that has shaped Chinese education for centuries: "A teacher is one who transmits the Way, imparts learning, and resolves confusion." A true teacher is not defined by age, rank, or social status, but by the ability to illuminate the Way and inspire others. As Han Yu wrote:

Wherever the Way is found, there a teacher is found.

This idea became one of the defining principles of the Chinese academy. Education is not merely the transmission of knowledge, but also the cultivation of character and the continuation of civilization.

Today, IAK Academy seeks to carry this tradition forward. Although the academy has evolved from a physical place into a digital platform, its essential spirit remains unchanged: reading the classics, engaging in meaningful dialogue, pursuing lifelong learning, and passing wisdom from one generation to the next.

编者后记

Editor's Closing Note

《师说》写于一千二百多年前，却讨论着今天仍然值得思考的问题：什么是真正的教育？什么是真正的老师？

时代不断变化，学习的方式不断更新，但教育的根本精神始终未变。真正的学习，不仅在于获得知识，更在于追寻真理、完善人格，并将智慧传承给下一代。

愿《师说》继续启发今天的读者，让书院精神在现代社会焕发新的生命力。

More than twelve centuries after it was written, Shishuo continues to ask timeless questions: What is true education? What makes a true teacher?

The forms of learning may change, yet the spirit of education endures. Learning is not merely the acquisition of knowledge, but the pursuit of truth, the cultivation of character, and the transmission of wisdom from one generation to the next.

May this classic continue to inspire today's readers, carrying forward the enduring spirit of the Chinese academy into the modern world.