傳統東亞地區的士人，其學習過程是透過字書而認識漢字，乃至漢音，然後習讀童蒙教材（如《千字文》、《蒙求》等），再由《孝經》、《論語》入手，開始接觸儒家經典以及史書等。這種情形，其實也是中國自漢朝以來一般士人的學習過程。隨著東亞地區的政治、文化交流，使這個地區的教育事業，由私學到官學，逐漸呈現共相。這個共相，簡單說，就是儒教主義的教養。於是傳統東亞地區，以中國文化為媒介，自成一個歷史世界。

In traditional East Asia, education generally proceeded from pre-school books such as Thousand Words, to the Classic of Filial Piety, the Analects and other Confucian classics. Such a pedagogic procedure was first put into practice in Han China, and became common in East Asia as a whole. All private as well as official education in East Asia shared this procedure in common. The philosophical foundation of this education with East Asian character was Confucianism.