ABSTRACT
The Zhongyong 中庸 is the last book in the Four Books. Like the Daxue (Great Learning), the Zhongyong was originally part of the Liji 禮記 (Book of Rites). The neo-Confucian synthesiser Zhu Xi 朱熹 explains that he has placed the Zhongyong as the last text to be read because it is the most difficult to understand and contains “the mysteries of the ancients”. What are the mysteries of the ancients and how are they relevant to contemporary education? This chapter answers this question by relating the Zhongyong to the topic of lifelong learning (LLL). The Zhongyong is closely related to lifelong learning as its main argument is on attaining harmonious balance through continuous learning. A lifelong learner is a cheng (creative) person who achieves harmonious balance in everyday affairs. A Confucian interpretation of LLL rejects an over-emphasis on economic considerations in favour of personal development, self-fulfilment and social inter-connectedness.
