Abstract:

In China, it is generally accepted by many educators that traditional education is teacher-centered, textbook-centered and classroom-centered.Actually, the "Three Center" was first invented during the Cultural Revolution to summarize the teaching practice since the establishment of People's Republic of China. In the debate between the traditional and modern education in the 1980s, the "Three Center" was used by some scholars who opposed the traditional education to characterize traditional education. The so-called "Three Center" partly reflects some propositions of traditional education. Therefore, the term has been widely acknowledged in China. Nowadays, scholars tend to use the "Three Center" based on their objective understanding of traditional education. Consequently, the "Three Center" only represents the three key words in the traditional education theory:teachers, textbooks and classrooms. However, in order to avoid any misunderstanding of the traditional education theory, the concept of "Three Center" should be treated carefully.

Key words: "Three Center", traditional education, origin