ABSTRACT
The Daxue is a foundational text in the history of classical thought as it provides the blueprint for learners to embark on Confucian learning. Education is at the heart of the Daxue: its overriding message is on becoming a great person through learning. As the Daxue is concerned with the big picture or the educational paradigm for Confucianism, it is appropriate to compare it with another worldview that characterises contemporary schooling: neoliberal education. This chapter begins by introducing the phenomenon of neoliberal education, followed by an exposition of the Daxue. The last section compares neoliberal education and the educational framework in the Daxue as well as highlights key implications for contemporary schooling. I argue in this chapter that a great person, from a neoliberal perspective, is a homo economicus (economic being) who skilfully employs market principles for one’s benefits. From a Confucian viewpoint, however, a great person is a homo reciprocans (reciprocal being) who manifests bright virtue, renews others and rests in the highest good.
