Classical Literature · 36 Weeks · For Lucy 悟 & Lucas 空

四書五經 · 因紐特口傳歷史 · 西方經典

A full-year integrated literary studies course: three canons, read with three eyes, differentiated by track rather than by grade.

The Question We Start From

“Every tradition carries wisdom that another cannot hold. The question is not which canon is superior, but how we read with all three eyes.”

三眼观世 · Three-Eyed Seeing for Classical Literature

Three traditions, three core questions — none of them beneath another.

First Eye

Iñupiaq Oral Tradition · Unikkaaqtuat

How do oral stories transmit knowledge, values, and identity? What does it mean to learn through listening, watching, and doing?

Second Eye

Chinese Classical Canon · 四書五經

How do these texts cultivate moral character and harmony? What does it mean to read for self-cultivation?

Third Eye

Western Literary Canon

How do these texts challenge or reinforce power? What does it mean to read critically, and to ask who decided this was a classic?

First Eye · Iñupiaq Oral Tradition · Unikkaaqtuat

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit — what Inuit have known all along. Knowledge carried by voice, body, and drum.

Element	Description
What it is	Unikkaaqtuat — oral stories passed down through generations, performed and enjoyed by community members across the whole life span.
Key forms	Unikkaaqtuat (traditional stories), songs, drum dances, ceremonial performance.
Key figures	Sedna / Uinigumasuittuq (the Sea Woman), the Eagle Mother, the animal spirits.
Learning method	Experiential learning — children learn by watching, trying, and making mistakes. "You will only learn by both listening and doing things."
Values	Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit — what Inuit have known all along: knowledge of land, names, places, and history, held in harmony with people, land, and living things.
Purpose	Inumgulnig — to become a whole human being; balance between protection and resilience.

Key Stories of the First Eye

Story	What it carries
The Sea Woman · Sedna / Uinigumasuittuq	Origin of the sea mammals; relationship and respect between people and the ocean.
The Dog Husband	Transformation, kinship, and identity.
The Storm Bird	Power, weather, and respect for what is bigger than us.
The Messenger Feast	Community, invitation, and gift-giving between villages.
Eagle Mother	The origin of the drum, the dance, and the feast — the story that sits under Eagle Drums.

Second Eye · Chinese Classical Canon · 四書五經

The texts of Confucian education, read for 修身 — self-cultivation — rather than for information.

Element	Description
四書 · The Four Books	大學 Great Learning · 中庸 Doctrine of the Mean · 論語 Analects · 孟子 Mencius.
五經 · The Five Classics	詩經 Book of Songs · 尚書 Book of Documents · 禮記 Book of Rites · 易經 Book of Changes · 春秋 Spring and Autumn Annals.
Key figures	孔子 Confucius · 孟子 Mencius · 朱熹 Zhu Xi.
Purpose	修身 Self-cultivation — reading to become a better person, not only to gain information.
Core values	仁 compassion · 義 righteousness · 禮 ritual propriety · 智 wisdom · 信 trustworthiness.
Key principles	天人合一 harmony with the universe · 孝 filial piety · 誠 sincerity.

Passages We Read Aloud

Short enough to memorise, deep enough to carry for a lifetime.

Source	Text	Meaning
論語 Analects	學而時習之，不亦說乎？	Is it not a pleasure to learn, and to practise what you have learned?
大學 Great Learning	大學之道，在明明德，在親民，在止於至善。	The way of great learning lies in illuminating bright virtue, in renewing the people, and in resting in the highest good.
中庸 Doctrine of the Mean	天命之謂性，率性之謂道，修道之謂教。	What Heaven confers is called Nature; following that Nature is called the Path; cultivating the Path is called Instruction.
孟子 Mencius	人性之善也，猶水之就下也。	Human nature tends toward the good the way water tends downhill.

Third Eye · The Western Literary Canon

A tradition of texts that shaped Western thought — and a tradition of arguing about that list.

Element	Description
What it is	A body of historically significant works from Greco-Roman, European, and American traditions.
Key texts	Homer's Iliad and Odyssey; Sophocles and Aeschylus; Shakespeare's King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth; Plato's Republic; Aristotle's Ethics; Aesop and La Fontaine.
Critique of the canon	Criticised for a Eurocentric focus and the exclusion of women and non-Western authors — and best understood as a process requiring continuous revision, not an inherited fixture.
Counter-current	Many canonical texts are themselves critical of power, authority, and conventional morality.
Key themes	Justice, power, identity, love, death, fate, free will.

Passages of the Third Eye

Source	Text	Question it raises
Shakespeare · King Lear	"Take but degree away, untune that string, / And hark, what discord follows."	Order, hierarchy, and what happens when it breaks.
Plato · Republic	The Allegory of the Cave	What is real, and who gets to say so?
La Fontaine · Fables	"The stronger man's reasoning always carries the day."	Power dressed up as logic.
Homer · Odyssey	The long return home	Journey, cunning, hospitality, and belonging.

The 36-Week Plan

Six units: what a classic is, then each tradition on its own terms, then comparison, then reading everything with three eyes.

Unit 1 · What Is a Classic?

Where stories come from, how they are carried, and who decides which ones last. · Weeks 1–4

Week	For Lucy 悟	For Lucas 空	Three-Eyed Connection
1	What is a story? Where do stories come from?	What is a classic? What makes a text "classic", and who decides?	All three eyes
2	Oral tradition — telling stories without writing.	The nature of oral tradition — how knowledge is transmitted without a page.	First Eye
3	Written tradition — what happens when we write a story down.	Written tradition — preservation and change; what writing keeps and what it loses.	Second & Third Eye
4	Silent listening — an outdoor session; listen to the land.	Nipaitsoq — listening beyond words as a discipline of study.	First Eye

Unit 2 · Iñupiaq Oral Tradition · Unikkaaqtuat

Sedna, the Eagle Mother, the Messenger Feast — knowledge carried by voice, body, and drum. · Weeks 5–10

Week	For Lucy 悟	For Lucas 空	Three-Eyed Connection
5	Introduction to Unikkaaqtuat — what are oral stories?	Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit — "what Inuit have known all along."	First Eye
6	The Sea Woman (Sedna) — the story of the sea mammals.	Uinigumasuittuq — one origin story in many versions across Inuit Nunaat.	First Eye
7	Eagle Mother — the origin of the drum and the dance.	The Messenger Feast — community, invitation, and gift-giving.	First Eye
8	Animal stories — what the animals teach us.	Animal spirits — the relational ethics of living with animals.	First Eye
9	Oral performance — listen to a story, then tell it yourself.	The oral impulse — relational, experiential engagement through sound.	First Eye
10	Reflection — what do these stories teach?	Critical reflection — Inuit values and worldview in the stories.	First Eye

Unit 3 · Chinese Classical Canon · 四書五經

論語, 大學, 中庸, 詩經, 孟子 — reading as self-cultivation. · Weeks 11–18

Week	For Lucy 悟	For Lucas 空	Three-Eyed Connection
11	Introduction to 四書五經 — what are the classics?	The Four Books and Five Classics — historical context and transmission.	Second Eye
12	Confucius and 論語 — who was 孔子?	論語 — key passages, and what a fragment-text asks of a reader.	Second Eye
13	Virtues — 仁 ren, 禮 li, 孝 xiao.	Social order — 己所不欲，勿施於人: do not do to others what you would not want done to you.	Second Eye
14	大學 The Great Learning — learning to be a good person.	大學之道 — illuminating virtue, renewing the people, resting in the highest good.	Second Eye
15	中庸 The Doctrine of the Mean — balance and harmony.	中庸 — 天命之謂性，率性之謂道，修道之謂教.	Second Eye
16	詩經 The Book of Songs — poetry and daily life.	詩經 — poetry as moral, seasonal, and cultural expression.	Second Eye
17	孟子 Mencius — human nature is good.	孟子 — the debate on human nature; 性善論 and its critics.	Second Eye
18	Reflection — what does it mean to be a good person?	Critical reflection — Chinese values and worldview.	Second Eye

Unit 4 · Western Literary Canon

Homer, Aesop, Shakespeare, Plato — and the argument about the canon itself. · Weeks 19–24

Week	For Lucy 悟	For Lucas 空	Three-Eyed Connection
19	Introduction to the Western canon — what is it?	The Western canon — its history and the debate around it.	Third Eye
20	Greek mythology — stories of gods and heroes.	Homer's Odyssey — the hero's journey and the cost of return.	Third Eye
21	Aesop's Fables — animals teaching lessons.	La Fontaine's Fables — "the stronger man's reasoning always carries the day."	Third Eye
22	Shakespeare — stories retold for young readers.	Shakespeare, King Lear — power, justice, and the undoing of a king.	Third Eye
23	Plato's Allegory of the Cave — what is real?	Plato's Republic — truth, justice, and the shape of a society.	Third Eye
24	Reflection — what do these stories teach?	Critical reflection — Western values and worldview.	Third Eye

Unit 5 · Comparing Traditions

Three eyes, three canons: wisdom, virtue, endurance, and the good life. · Weeks 25–30

Week	For Lucy 悟	For Lucas 空	Three-Eyed Connection
25	Comparing stories — Sedna, Confucius, and the Odyssey.	Comparative analysis — the same themes carried in different forms.	All three eyes
26	What is wisdom? How does each tradition teach it?	Epistemological comparison — three ways of knowing.	All three eyes
27	What is a good person? Values across the traditions.	Ethical comparison — virtue, courage, compassion, filial piety.	All three eyes
28	What is a classic? What makes a story endure?	Canon formation — who decides what counts as a classic?	All three eyes
29	What is a good life? Living well, not only knowing well.	Philosophical comparison — human flourishing in three traditions.	All three eyes
30	Reflection — comparing the traditions.	Critical reflection — three eyes, one humanity.	All three eyes

Unit 6 · Reading with Three Eyes

Restorative storytelling, building a canon of our own, and the final projects. · Weeks 31–36

Week	For Lucy 悟	For Lucas 空	Three-Eyed Connection
31	Read one story from each tradition with three eyes.	Reading with three eyes — applying the framework to a single text.	All three eyes
32	Restorative storytelling — telling stories that heal.	Restorative storytelling — positionality, narrative, and whose voice tells it.	All three eyes
33	Creating a new canon — what stories would you include?	Canon formation — who decides, and whose voices are heard?	All three eyes
34	Project work — build a Three-Eyed Seeing reading.	Project work — research and drafting.	All three eyes
35	Project work — preparation and rehearsal.	Project work — revision and finalising.	All three eyes
36	Celebration — share stories and reflections.	Portfolio and presentation — present the year's work.	All three eyes

Culminating Projects

The same year, two depths — each track finishes with work it can share.

For Lucy 悟

Project	Description	Eye
Three Stories Comparison	Tell one story from each tradition; draw what they hold in common.	All three eyes
Classic Story Book	Make an illustrated book with stories from all three traditions.	All three eyes
Oral Story Performance	Learn one oral story by heart and perform it for the family.	First Eye
My Values Book	What values do these stories teach you? Write and illustrate them.	All three eyes

For Lucas 空

Project	Description	Eye
Comparative Essay	Compare how two traditions approach one theme — wisdom, justice, or courage.	All three eyes
Canon Formation Analysis	Who decides what is a classic? Include the critique of the Western canon.	Third Eye
Three-Eyed Reading Journal	Read one text through all three lenses; document what each eye sees.	All three eyes
Restorative Storytelling Project	Write a story weaving elements from all three traditions.	All three eyes

Key Terms 關鍵詞 · 24 Cards

Every term below is taught in a section of this page — the link jumps to that exact spot, and the button opens the deck.

Practice the classics deck →

Unikkaaqtuat

kǒu chuán gù shì

Traditional oral stories, performed and enjoyed by community members across the whole life span.

↑ First Eye · Unikkaaqtuat

Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit

yīn niǔ tè shì dài zhì huì

"What Inuit have known all along" — wisdom gained from long experience and passed down.

↑ First Eye · Unikkaaqtuat

Inumgulnig

chéng wéi wán zhěng de rén

Becoming a whole human being — the purpose of education.

↑ First Eye · Unikkaaqtuat

Sedna · Uinigumasuittuq

hǎi nǚ shén

The Sea Woman, from whose hands the sea mammals came; the story is told in many versions.

↑ Key Stories of the First Eye

Eagle Mother

yīng mǔ

The being who gave people the drum, the dance, and the feast.

↑ Key Stories of the First Eye

Messenger Feast

shǐ zhě shèng yàn

A great gathering of invitation, gift-giving, drumming, and dance between communities.

↑ Key Stories of the First Eye

Nipaitsoq

jìng mò

Silence held as a way of learning — listening beyond words.

↑ The 36-Week Plan

四書五經

sì shū wǔ jīng

The Four Books and Five Classics — the foundational texts of Chinese civilisation.

↑ Second Eye · 四書五經

論語

lún yǔ

The Analects — the recorded sayings and conversations of Confucius.

↑ Passages We Read Aloud

大學

dà xué

The Great Learning — illuminating virtue, renewing the people, resting in the highest good.

↑ Passages We Read Aloud

中庸

zhōng yōng

The Doctrine of the Mean — balance, sincerity, and following one's own nature.

↑ Passages We Read Aloud

孟子

mèng zǐ

Mencius — the philosopher who argued that human nature tends toward good (性善論).

↑ Passages We Read Aloud

詩經

shī jīng

The Book of Songs — the oldest collection of Chinese poetry, full of seasons and daily life.

↑ Second Eye · 四書五經

仁

rén

Compassion, benevolence — caring for others as the root of being human.

↑ Second Eye · 四書五經

禮

lǐ

Ritual propriety — the forms and courtesies that carry respect into action.

↑ Second Eye · 四書五經

孝

xiào

Filial piety — care and respect for parents, elders, and ancestors.

↑ Second Eye · 四書五經

誠

chéng

Sincerity — being the same on the inside as on the outside.

↑ Passages We Read Aloud

修身

xiū shēn

Self-cultivation — reading and study in order to become a better person.

↑ Second Eye · 四書五經

天人合一

tiān rén hé yī

Harmony between humanity and the universe — heaven and human as one whole.

↑ Second Eye · 四書五經

canon

jīng diǎn shū mù

A body of texts treated as essential — best understood as a process of revision, not a fixed inheritance.

↑ Third Eye · The Western Canon

canon formation

jīng diǎn de xíng chéng

The process by which some texts are chosen as classics — and others left out.

↑ Third Eye · The Western Canon

academic rationalism

xué shù lǐ xìng zhǔ yì

A curriculum stance prizing classical texts and close reading, in contrast to empiricism's reliance on evidence and inquiry.

↑ Third Eye · The Western Canon

allegory

yù yì gù shì

A story whose surface events stand for a deeper idea — as in Plato's Cave.

↑ Passages of the Third Eye

restorative storytelling

xiū fù xìng xù shì

Telling stories in a way that heals, returns voice, and honours many ways of knowing.

↑ The 36-Week Plan

Discussion Questions

Ask these at the table, not on a worksheet.

First Eye · Iñupiaq Oral Tradition

· How does learning by listening and watching differ from learning by reading?
· What does the Sea Woman story teach about our relationship with the ocean and its animals?
· What is the "oral impulse" — relational, experiential engagement through sound?
· What is the difference between being taught and learning by watching and trying?
· What does it mean to be in harmony with people, land, and living things?

Second Eye · Chinese Classical Canon

· Why have 四書五經 stayed central for more than two thousand years?
· What does it mean to read not for knowledge but to become a better person?
· What does 仁 mean? What does 禮 mean? Can you have one without the other?
· Are these classics still relevant today — and to us, here?
· What does 大學 mean by illuminating virtue, renewing the people, and resting in the highest good?

Third Eye · Western Literary Canon

· Who decides what counts as a classic?
· Are canonical texts only the voice of the establishment, or can they subvert power?
· What does it mean that the canon is criticised for excluding women and non-Western authors?
· What changes if we treat the canon as a process of revision instead of a fixed inheritance?
· What is the value of reading a text that challenges or disturbs your values?

All Three Eyes

· Compare how the three traditions define a "classic" or essential text.
· How does each tradition understand wisdom? Is it the same thing?
· How does each describe the ideal human being — inumgulnig, 真人, the cultivated person?
· Why should we read any of these texts today?
· How does each tradition relate knowing well to living well?

Resources

Iñupiaq Oral Tradition

· Unikkaaqtuat — traditional stories, performed and enjoyed across the life span.
· Sedna / Uinigumasuittuq — the Sea Woman story and its variations across Inuit Nunaat.
· Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit — wisdom gained from extensive experience.
· Smithsonian Iñupiaq Language and Culture video lessons (6-part playlist).

Chinese Classical Canon

· 論語 Analects — Confucius's teachings, read a few lines at a time.
· 大學 Great Learning — self-cultivation and social order.
· 中庸 Doctrine of the Mean — balance, sincerity, and the Path.
· 詩經 Book of Songs and 孟子 Mencius — poetry and the argument for human goodness.

Western Canon & Critique

· Homer's Odyssey; Aesop's and La Fontaine's Fables.
· Shakespeare — King Lear, plus retellings for younger readers.
· Plato's Republic — the Allegory of the Cave.
· "Voices of the establishment or of cultural subversion?" — the canon debate, and academic rationalism beside empiricism as ways of knowing.

Where This Course Connects

ELA · 月夜仙踪 →ELA · Eagle Drums →Philosophy · 三眼观世 →The Universe Reflected · 在天成象 →Music & Dance · 樂舞 →Art · 藝術 →

Final Reflection

“Read to encounter three traditions, to understand that reading is for self-cultivation and community as much as for knowledge, to ask who decides what counts as a classic — and to tell stories that heal.”