Tang poetry is a bright cultural pearl of the Chinese nation and is widely praised by the Chinese people. Tang poetry is easy to read, with each word and sentence carrying profound meanings. So many Chinese parents let their children be influenced by Tang poetry and Chinese culture. So at what age should children start memorizing Tang poetry? What are the benefits of memorizing Tang poetry? What are the misconceptions of young children memorizing Tang poetry?
Age for reciting Tang poetry
2-3 year old babies have strong mechanical memory ability, and Tang poetry is short and rhyming, easy to recite, which babies love to memorize. Although they still cannot understand the meaning and artistic conception of poetry well, reciting Tang poetry, like listening to stories, can have a subtle and imperceptible effect. Ancient poetry expresses rich humanistic knowledge with concise words, and every Tang poem is like a traditional Chinese painting. Although babies do not understand the meaning of words when reciting, it does not prevent them from enjoying beauty and sowing the seeds of Chinese culture in their small hearts. Through daily memorization, they gradually gained an understanding of the ancient way of writing, which laid a foundation for their future study of classical Chinese.
Misconceptions in reciting Tang poetry
Some parents may worry that some poems may not be understood by their children, but it doesn't matter if they don't understand them. An educator has made a point that for children, things they don't understand may be like ice, and they will melt themselves when they swallow them. However, the time spent varies, and overall, as one grows older, their understanding of poetry deepens. This is different from having students memorize lessons by rote: it puts no mental pressure on children, and its purpose is to utilize their good memory potential so that it is not wasted.
The benefits of memorizing Tang poetry
1. It can exercise children's memory. Some passages of Tang poetry are similar to nursery rhymes, and children have good memory ability and are easy to memorize. General nursery rhymes have poor artistic quality; Many chapters, artistic qualities, and ideological concepts in Tang poetry are excellent. Regularly memorizing some Tang poems can help enhance children's memory.
2. It can cultivate children's aesthetic sense. There are many beautiful chapters in Tang poetry, like sleeping in spring without realizing the dawn. How much do you know about the chirping of birds everywhere, the sound of wind and rain at night, and the falling of flowers? Another example is when the sun runs by the mountains and the Yellow River flows into the sea. The lines of poetry such as "Two orioles chirping on the green willows, a line of white egrets ascending to the blue sky" are full of poetic and picturesque charm. Allowing children to read and memorize more can cultivate their beauty and benefit their physical and mental health.
3. It can lay a foundation for children to learn Chinese in the future. In poetry, there are not only many characters that children do not recognize, but also many grammatical phenomena. Memorizing some poetry in the preschool stage can enable children to be exposed to Chinese knowledge in advance. Many people's good literary cultivation is related to their exposure to Tang poetry since childhood.
4. It can help children understand some historical knowledge. Tang poetry is an ancient culture, and when explaining Tang poetry to children, they can naturally understand some historical knowledge along with the explanation. This is more popular among children than simply talking about history.
