A preliminary study on the moral education function of the Palace Museum
故宫博物院道德教育功能初探

摘要

国际博物馆协会明确教育为博物馆首要职能并强调道德导向。本文以故宫博物院为对象，探讨建筑、玉器、陶瓷的道德教育功能：建筑彰显“和而不同”的文明智慧，玉器具象化君子人格与德政理想，陶瓷实现道德规范日常化。研究表明，中华文明历来“物以载道”，将道德律令熔铸于器物。故宫博物院作为“立德”的物质载体，对构建人类命运共同体具有重要价值。

Abstract

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) explicitly designates education as the primary function of museums, emphasizing its moral orientation. Taking the Palace Museum as a case study, this paper explores the moral education functions embedded in its architecture, jade artifacts, and ceramics. The architectural layout manifests the wisdom of "harmony in diversity" (he er bu tong), jade objects materialize the Confucian ideal of the "gentleman" (junzi) and virtuous governance, while ceramic artifacts facilitate the quotidian internalization of moral norms. The study reveals that Chinese civilization has historically employed "objects as vehicles of moral principles" (wu yi zai dao), casting ethical imperatives into material culture. As a tangible carrier of moral cultivation (lide), the Palace Museum holds significant value for constructing a global community of shared future.