论[教化]

On[Jiaohua]

在谈论有关教育问题时，中国古代教育家常用[教化]一词。其实，在中国古代文献中，[教化]远比[教学]、[教育]出现得频繁。这主要不是一个用词习惯问题，而是反映了古代教育家对于教育工作的基本理解。这里的关键是[化]。一般理解，[化]的方式有以下特点：(1)在方法上是非粗暴非强制的；(2)在这一过程中，对于接受者而言是不知不觉的；(3)它所要影响的不只是接受者的外部行为，主要是他们的心灵深处。人们常用[润物细无声]、[春风化雨]等形象的说法来描绘所谓[教化]对人的作用方式。

Jiaohua (help a person to change his thinking and behavior by education) in ancient China was not only an educational， but also a political means. Through Jiaohua， an idea would be instilled into people's mind unconsciously. A set of effective measures for Jiaohua developed by rulers and educators in ancient China have been usually considered a fine educational heritage and promoted in educational practice today. The author thinks that Jiaohua in ancient China was a great success， but Jiaohua is unfavorable to the development of the students' subjectivity and rational spirit.