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Abstract

Historical Background Chinese psychological thought may be traced as far back as the time of 500 BC. The great Chinese philosopher and educator, Confucius (551-479 BC), was one of the first scholars to discuss the essence of human nature and how it may be modified through education. About 150 years later, a systematic theory stressing that the mind is the product of the body, and that the endowment of human nature can be modified by external influences, was developed by the philosophers, Xun Zi and Mencius. Confucius first classified people, on the basis of their intelligence, into three categories: People of 'great wisdom', people of 'average intelligence', and people of 'little intelligence'. Confucius also made statements of personality assessments as a guideline for educating them. Confucius said that 'as student Qui is timid, we should give him a lot of encouragement; while student Yiu is aggressive, discouragement is then needed'. All these sayings clearly indicate the advanced and perceptive thinking of differential psychology and of individualized education in ancient China.

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The Contributions of Psychology to Education in China

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