"Education is the best way to transmit the greatness of ancient Chinese culture to the present generation. It also instills in students the importance of certain core values in life," Li says.

"Role-playing games, for example, train students in behavior and communication. Students are also given virtue assignments, like helping parents in daily household chores, to do at home.

"The art of tea making is a slow and quiet process, which helps improve mental strength. During the process one need to be patient and have utmost concentration," Li says when asked why four-year-olds are taught the entire process of tea making. "There is no extreme happiness or sorrow. It's gentle and peacefully deep."

It is this belief that the teachers of Tongxueguan hope to pass on to their students. "Be smart and willing to learn. Be happy and polite. Be brave and benevolent," is the motto of the school.

According to Li, the current educational system lacks in moral and spiritual enlightenment for children. "Morality is more of a habit than a perception for a child."

In Tongxueguan, children aged from three to six get trained in an integrated course that includes Chinese poetry and the four arts of the Chinese scholar-music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Older children start off with a course on classical Chinese.

Despite the advantage of having multimedia teaching equipment, the Confucian schools still use the oral recitation technique. Children read aloud the classic texts until they are able to recite them from memory.

"It is a pity if children are able to understand only modern Chinese. The ignorance of classical Chinese leads to an indifference of Chinese history and thousands of years of civilization," says Li.

"Classical Chinese loses its rich sheen when translated into the modern language. Children's interest for classical Chinese is just like English and is often best imbibed at an early age," he says.

"Children should read the best texts at the best age. It is the Chinese way of learning. They absorb the historical essence and classics when they are young. It's okay that they don't understand it for the time being, but they certainly will digest the content in their minds when they grow up and help shape life experiences," says Zhao Boyi, a teacher at Zaiqianxuetang, a Confucian school in Beijing.

Birds in four seasons - The collection of Chinese flower-and-bird paintings	Art giants' self-portraits