All you need to know about Teacher's Day in China!

Sep.10, 2021

Today, September 10th is 教师节 (Teacher's Day-jiàoshī jié) in China.

China legislates for setting up Teacher's Day on September 10th in 1985. Since then, this day became a special day to strenghen the Chinese traditional morality - 尊师重教 (zūnshīzhòngjiào - respect teachers and value education).

Today we would like to take this chance to share something interesting about teachers and education in China.

In this post, we also will share some school related expressions to help with the work of our students who work as teachers in China.

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_{The first and also the most famous teacher in China}

It's 孔子(kǒngzǐ - Confucius)！

Most people know 孔子 as a famous Chinese philosopher. But actually he is also the earlist educator in China. More than 2000 years ago, 孔子 was the first teacher who started up his own private school and enrolled students widely so that everyone could have an opportunity to receive education regardless of their social class.

孔子 had around 3000 students in all and he took a group of students to travel around China to spread Confucianism for years.

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After 孔子 passed away, the students and their students recorded his words and deeds, compiled them into a book called 论语 (Lúnyǔ - The Analects of Confucius), which is one of the most important Confucian classics.

孔子 tried to advocate his political ideas for his whole life, however, his educational thoughts and practices have also been influencing China deelply. 孔子 has gained many titles for his contributions to Chinese culture, one of them is 先师 (xiānshī - unprecedented teacher).

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_{Chinese idioms about Teachers}

In Chinese Languagee, there are many idioms complimenting teachers. Here we selected two to show you how Chinese people value their teachers.

一日为师，终身为父

yí rì wéi shī，zhōng shēn wéi fù

A teacher for one day is a father all their life.

桃李满天下

táolǐ mǎn tiānxià
Wish you have students all over the world.

桃 means "peach", 李 means "plum". "桃李" is a metaphorical word meaning student. Why is that?

In ancient time, there were a peach tree and a plum tree in a famous teacher's courtyard. Many students got education under these two trees and changed their life. After graduating, students also planted peach trees and plum trees to appreciate their teacher.

Since then, "桃李" became a word to represent students. "桃李满天下" is a commonly used wish to thank teacher's edification.

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_{Education related phrase in Chinese}

School Subjects in China

语文	yǔwén	Chinese
数学	shùxué	Mathmatics
英语	yīngyǔ	English
历史	lìshǐ	History
政治/社会	zhèngzhì/shèhuì	Politics/Society
地理	dìlǐ	Geography
物理	wùlǐ	Physics
化学	huàxué	Chemistry
生物	shēngwù	Biology
体育	tǐyù	P.E.

Daily routine

上课	shàngkè	to have class; class begins
下课	xiàkè	to finish the class
上学	shàngxué	to go to school
放学	fàngxué	to finish school
测验	cèyàn	quiz
考试	kǎoshì	test
听写	tīngxiě	to dictate; dictation
早自习	zǎozìxí	Morning self-study
交/改/发作业	jiāo/gǎi/fā zuòyè	to hand in/correct/hand out homework
预习	yùxí	to preview
复习	fùxí	to review
练习	liànxí	to practice
放暑假/寒假	fàng shǔjià/hánjià	to have summer/winter holiday

Talk to students

保持安静！	Bǎochí ānjìng!	Keep quiet!
集中注意力！	Jízhōng zhùyì lì!	Concentrate! Focus!
认真听！	Rènzhēn tīng!	Listen carefully!
老师相信你，你可以的！	Lǎoshī xiāngxìn nǐ， nǐ kěyǐ de!	I believe you, you can do it!
继续加油！	Jìxù jiāyóu!	Keep going!

Try to remember and pratice them at work. We hope this will help you handle your work in school better!

Last but not least, it's time to send a Teacher's Day wish to our teachers to appreciate all the efforts they have been making to teach Chinese language and spread Chinese culture!