How to write the content of Teachers’ Day

On September 10th, we will celebrate Teachers’ Day. Today we will talk about the origin of the word "teacher".

The oracle bone inscriptions with the word "jiao" are so vivid. Let's look at its previous glyphs: "yao" and "zi" are on the left, and "攵" is on the right. "Yao" is actually a small stick used for arithmetic (called Suanchou in ancient times), which represents the content of ancient teaching; "Zi" means children, indicating that the teaching object is children; "Xun" means a hand holding a pointer, which represents teaching methods. Therefore, the word "teaching" itself covers all three elements of education.

The opposite of "teaching" is "learning". The "learning" in oracle bone inscriptions consists of the "formula" representing calculations, the "formula" representing the hands playing with the calculations, and the "formula" representing a house. Isn’t this the scene of learning!

In the bronze inscriptions about "learning", a "zi" is added to the house to represent a child, and some even have an additional "攵" to represent holding a pointer in hand. The learning scenes are richer.

If you remove the hands and the house in the "formula" in bronze inscriptions, it becomes "formula", which shows that our ancestors have long realized that there is "teaching" in "learning" and impart their experience to the recipients. Educators can learn more efficiently. The "formula" in bronze inscriptions gradually evolved into the traditional Chinese word "xue", which was then simplified into the current word "xue".

In the Tang Dynasty, during the reign of Wu Zetian, Di Renjie was reused as prime minister. Di Renjie recommended many talents. These people were very talented, and many of them became famous ministers. Someone complimented Di Renjie and said: "All the talented ministers in the court come from your sect. You are really full of talents all over the world!"

Han Yu, a litterateur in the Tang Dynasty, once wrote an article called "The Master" "Speak", specifically about teachers. He said that teachers are "those who teach, teach, and resolve doubts." That is to say, teachers cultivate students' personality and teach students the principles of life; teachers impart knowledge and skills to students; and teachers also solve students' confusions. On the road of growth, if you have a good teacher to guide you, you will not go astray. This is why people respect teachers.

We still advocate respecting teachers and valuing education, so Teachers’ Day is established. Because the new students have just entered school at this time, at the beginning of the new school year, they should remember the hard work and glory of the teachers.