Background of Research

The Three Character Classic, Trimetric Classic or San Zi Jing is one of the Chinese Classic texts. It was probably written in the 13th century and attributed to Wang Yinglin during the Song Dynasty. It is also attributed to Ou Shizi.
The work is not one of the traditional six Confucian classic, but rather the embodiment of Confucianism suitable for teaching young children. Until the later part of the 19th century, it served as a child’s first formal education at home. The text is written in triplets of characters for easy memorization. With illiteracy common for most people at the time, the oral tradition of reciting the classic ensured its popularity and survival through the centuries. With the short and simple text arranged in three character verses, children learned many common characters, grammar structures, and elements of Chinese history and the basic of Confucian morality.The first four states the core credo of Confucianism as developed by Mencius, considered one of the influential traditional Chinese philosophers after Confucius.

子不学 (zi bu xue) If the child does not learn
非所宜 (fei shuo yi) this is not as it should be
幼不学 (you bu xue) If he does not learn while young
老何为 (lao wei he) what will he be when old?
( Novum Organum, 2007)

From this, Three Character Classic have the useful for literacy, augmented knowledge, instill the concept of moral value. Besides, it imparts the knowledge of political and ideological education. It only 1044 Chinese characters and explains the changes of five thousand years of China history.

昔孟母 (xi meng mu) The mother of Mencius,
择邻处 (ze lin chu) choose a neighborhood,
子不学 (zi bu xue) when her child would not learn well
断机杼 (duan ji zhu） she broke the shuttle from the loom.
(Novum Organum, 2007)

The Three Moving of Mencius’s Mother is a Chinese story. It tells the tale of the mother of Mencius, the great philosopher. When Mencius was small, his mother moved home three times. First, they moved near a blacksmith’s shop. When Mencius’s mother found that he was playing with metal scraps, she decided to move. Next, they moved near a graveyard. Mencius’s mother found him imitating the mourners and holding mock funerals. Finally, they moved to a house beside a school. Mencius discovered a great interest in studying, and eventually became a great scholar.