Educational theory of Zhang Zai

Zhang Zai is not only one of the founders of the Confucian school of idealist philosophy of the Song and the Ming Dynasties,but also an educationalist who always seeks for truth.His idea on the function of the education is that education should be aimed at instructing people to return to good side of human nature and wipe out the bad side of if.He thinks that the purpose of education is to show people the way to be noble-minded and well-behaved and to teach people to follow the doctrines.As to the early education,he insists that the right way of education should be started in the early period of one's childhood.His ideas in moral-teaching are to learn about the rules of the universe,to show the meaning of life,to advocate the valuable ideas of the masters and to search for a good way to ensure the stability and security of the nation.He also attaches much importance to the equal emphasis on morality and intelligence in education.It is of great importance to make a research on his educational ideas in modern society.