r/shufa • u/7conts7conts • Sep 01 '26

Culture First day of school ceremony: write 人 before you learn anything else

Today is the first day of school for children across China. In ancient times, starting school was not just walking into a classroom — it came with a series of ceremonies.

One part closely tied to calligraphy asked children to write the character 人 (“person”). Two simple strokes lean on each other and hold each other up. The idea was this: before you learn to read and write, you first learn how to stand upright as a human being.

This small ritual still reflects a lasting Chinese belief: education begins with character, and what families hope for most is that a child grows into a decent, upright person.

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2

u/jjnanajj Sep 01 '26

I liked this so much, and it's a very semiotic way to teach children what really matters. Thank you for sharing, and don't mind people who don't get it

2

u/7conts7conts Sep 02 '26

Glad to hear you like it and thanks a lot for your kindness. I think it’s because that Chinese traditional rituals & culture have not been widely spread and often believed as something out-of-out. And that’s why I had planned to share it here.

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u/LaoDihang Sep 01 '26

That etymology is bullshit it's literally just a pictograph of a person standing up

11

u/7conts7conts Sep 01 '26

The post is about why that character is chosen for the ritual, not its etymology. And “a pictograph of a person standing up” is pretty close to the meaning they wanted kids to take from it.