Narrative as Practical Pedagogy: Cultivating Moral Personhood through Chinese Classic Novels
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Prevailing moral education theory, shaped by universalist and cognitive paradigms, often fails to connect abstract principles with lived experience, fragmenting the moral self. This paper argues that China’s Four Great Classic Novels form a rich repository of culturallygrounded phronesis (practical wisdom). We propose an analytical framework structured around the Chinese sequence of “lixin, lishen, liye, liming” and elaborated through four dimensions: authentic disposition, relational sentiment, strategic wisdom, and holistic harmony. Engaging Western theories, we show how each novel distinctly dramatizes one facet: Dream of the Red Chamber (authenticity), Water Margin (relational ethics), Romance of the Three Kingdoms (dialectical wisdom), and Journey to the West (integrative harmony). Together, they model a holistic, processual pedagogy for moral development. The study concludes by advocating a shift toward narrative-based reflective praxis to cultivate integrated and discerning moral agents.
Source: Central Asia and the Caucasus
DOI: 10.61841/nbc23c26
Authors: Lu Liu, Zhimin Liu
Institutions: Jiangsu University, Nanjing Agricultural University
Language: English
Topic: Values and Moral Education
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7160538348