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Teaching Traditional Chinese Science as a Part of a NOS Curriculum in Hong Kong

  • SI: Feng Shui
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Abstract

Undergraduate courses on the nature of science (NOS) often involve teaching a set of core elements. Without extensive unpacking and reflection, the complexity of those NOS elements could be easily misinterpreted and oversimplified by the students. Our paper will explain how we teach our Hong Kong university students the NOS by introducing traditional Chinese science in a general education common core course. This course adopted a seminar method of teaching by introducing and discussing the cultural–historical context in its pedagogical design. There are indicators that this approach is effective as the conflict between students’ own culture and what they are learning generated a deeper reflection and integration of the newly learned with their prior knowledge and personal beliefs. We believe our pilot study would be an invaluable case study for exploring ways to improve NOS teaching for other educators.

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Notes

  1. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in a broad sense, includes herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping therapy, massage, bonesetter, taichi and qigong. In Hong Kong, TCM is often more associated with herbal medicine.

  2. Zhuangzi Chapter 18, Perfect Happiness. Quotes of ancient Chinese texts are paraphrased by the authors of this paper. Original texts in Chinese are listed in the footnote as a reference.《莊子‧至樂》: 「察其始而本無生, 非徒無生也, 而本無形, 非徒無形也而本無氣。雜乎芒芴之間, 變而有氣, 氣變而有形, 形變而有生。今又變而之死。是相與為春秋冬夏四時行也。」

  3. Zhuangzi Chapter 20, Knowledge Rambling in the North.《莊子‧知北遊》: 「人之生, 氣之聚也; 聚則為生, 散則為死。」

  4. Su Wen, Chapter 4, The truth from the Golden Chamber《素問‧金匱真言論》: 「八風發邪, 以為經風, 觸五藏, 邪氣發病。」「東風生於春, 病在肝, 俞在頸項; 南風生於夏, 病在心, 俞在胸脇; 西風生於秋, 病在肺, 俞在肩背; 北風生於冬, 病在腎, 俞在腰股; 中央為土, 病在脾; 俞在脊。」

  5. Shuowen Jiezi《說文解字》: 「陰, 闇也。水之南, 山之北也。」又云: 「陽, 高、明也。」

  6. Su Wen, Chapter 1, On Heavenly Genuineness in Remote Antiquity《素問‧上古天真論》: 「上古之人, 其知道者, 法於陰陽, 和於術數, 食飲有節, 起居有常, 不妄作勞, 故能形與神俱, 而盡終其天年, 度百歲乃去。」「二八, 腎氣盛, 天癸至, 精氣溢瀉, 陰陽和, 故能有子。」

  7. Su Wen, Chapter 2, On the art of life through the four seasons《素問‧四氣調神大論》: 「故陰陽四時者, 萬物之終始也, 死生之本也, 逆之則災害生, 從之則苛疾不起, 是謂得道。」

  8. Su Wen, Chapter 3, On the union of Heaven and human beings《素問‧生氣通天論》: 「是以聖人陳陰陽, 筋脈和同, 骨髓堅固, 氣血皆從。如是則內外調和, 邪不能害, 耳目聰明, 氣立如故。」「蒼天之氣清淨, 則志意治, 順之則陽氣固, 雖有賊邪, 弗能害也, 此因時之序。」

  9. The Book of Songs, Gong Liu《詩經‧公劉》: 「篤公劉, 既溥既長, 既景乃岡, 相其陰陽。」

  10. Lun Heng, Jieshu《論衡‧詰術篇》: 「圖宅術曰: 『商家門不宜南向, 徵家門不宜北向。』則商金, 南方火也; 徵火, 北方水也。水勝火, 火賊金, 五行之氣不相得, 故五姓之宅門有宜向。」

  11. Burial Scripture, Inner Chapter《葬經‧內篇》: 「氣乘風則散, 界水則止。」

  12. The quotes from the tutorial discussion are identified with the prefix “D” and each with a unique but arbitrary number. Similarly, the prefix “P” indicates the quote from term papers.

  13. While the objectivity in science can lead to another debate in philosophy of science, here, we just want to emphasize the objectivity of ideal scientific methods, which should be free from prejudice and personal bias.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are in debt to the Office of University General Education, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, for the design and implementation of the General Education Foundation Courses. A special thanks to Ho Kwok Cheung for helping in background research for the original sources of traditional Chinese science.

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  1. Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong

    Kai Ming Kiang & Wai Man Szeto

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  1. Kai Ming Kiang
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Correspondence to Kai Ming Kiang.

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The two authors are employed by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They have received no dedicated funding support nor any other financial interest in the reported research.

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Kiang, K.M., Szeto, W.M. Teaching Traditional Chinese Science as a Part of a NOS Curriculum in Hong Kong. Sci & Educ 30, 1453–1472 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-021-00248-5

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