Unlocking the Keys to Literacy: Phonology, Rhetoric, and Early Chinese Pedagogy

This project aims to provide valuable insights into early Chinese literacy and education, contributing to interdisciplinary studies while offering a unique perspective on the role of linguistic and phonological devices in knowledge acquisition and transmission in early China.

The proposed research focuses on literacy during the transition from the Warring States to the Han period (481 BCE–220 CE).

It investigates the complexities of early Classical Chinese, which served as a lingua franca among intellectuals and was utilised by scribes, officials, and scholars.

It revisits overlooked aspects of Early China, such as childhood education and practises of literacy acquisition, shedding light on the interplay between education, societal structure, and literary canon.The project uncovers pedagogical methodologies employed during the transformative Han dynasty period, elucidating strategies in literacy acquisition through the analysis of selected texts, including lexicographies, Classics, and historical records.

It adopts a cutting-edge interdisciplinary approach, synthesizing insights from phonology, rhetoric, educational theories, philology, history, and linguistics.

By combining close reading with digital sinological tools to analyse texts, this project aims to identify recurring themes and underlying structural patterns in texts that were used as educational materials.

The project studies the significance of sounds, pronunciation, and recitation in early Chinese literacy practises, contributing to our understanding of how cultural prominence influenced knowledge transmission.

It further explores how alliterations, rhymes, and rhetorical devices were systematically employed to enhance the teaching and learning of reading and writing skills.

It also acknowledges the gender dimension, examining historical gender bias in classical Chinese sources and evolving roles of education for genders in early China.