Cai Yuanpei’s remarks discuss the essence of quality education contained in them

1. The idea of ????simultaneous development of five educations

Cai Yuanpei was the first educational thinker to propose that "military-civilian education, materialism education, citizen moral education, worldview education, and aesthetic education cannot be neglected in recent education." He advocated The simultaneous development of five educations is a distinctive feature of Cai Yuanpei’s educational thought.

1. Put forward the background

It was put forward not long after the victory of the Revolution of 1911 and when the Nanjing Provisional Government was first established. At that time, China's education was at an important historical turning point. With the victory of the Revolution of 1911, the feudal rule that had been implemented in China for thousands of years was overthrown. However, the reform of feudal education in the field of education had just begun. Only some specific interim regulations have been promulgated, and there is still a lack of clear educational guiding ideology and new educational purposes.

In order for the bourgeoisie to carry out the reform of feudal education in depth and healthily, it is urgent to determine an educational purpose that reflects the requirements of the bourgeoisie as soon as possible under the guidance of a unified educational ideology to stipulate the bourgeoisie’s requirements for The goals and requirements of talent training are only in this situation. In February 1912, Cai Yuanpei published the famous educational paper "Opinions on New Education", which relatively systematically put forward the idea of ??promoting five educations simultaneously.

2. Military-national education

Cai Yuanpei believed that it was not an ideal social education. However, in China, it is "must be adopted today." ", the main reasons are:

(1) From the perspective of the foreign environment, our country is in a situation of "powerful neighbor and is eager to defend itself. However, the national rights that have been lost over the years will be difficult to restore without resorting to force."

(2) As far as the domestic situation is concerned, in order to break the situation where soldiers have become "a special class in the country", "the whole country must have a system of soldiers, otherwise it will be impossible to equalize its power." It can be seen that Cai Yuanpei advocated military-civilian education for the purpose of external self-defense and internal opposition to the strong rule of the military. This was progressive at the time.

3. Realistic education

Materialist education is considered by Cai Yuanpei as a means for rich countries. He believes that competition in the world is not only about force, but especially financial resources. Therefore, only by strengthening science and technology education, increasing productivity, and developing the national economy can a country become prosperous and strong and survive in the world competition.

4. Citizen moral education

Cai Yuanpei believes that military-citizen education and pragmatic education are important, but military-civilian education and pragmatist education alone are not enough, and they must be "taught Civic Morality”. "What is civil morality? It is the French revolution, and what it advocates is freedom, equality, and fraternity. This is the essence of morality."

It can be seen that what Cai Yuanpei advocates is the Western bourgeoisie. The moral concept of the Communist Party of China advocates the use of bourgeois morality of freedom, equality, and fraternity as the content of moral education.

When Cai Yuanpei advocated Western bourgeois moral concepts, he did not completely deny traditional Chinese moral thoughts. He compared the modern Western bourgeois moral concepts of "liberty, equality, and fraternity" to ancient Chinese Confucianism. The "righteousness, forgiveness and benevolence" advocated. Needless to say, this comparison is far-fetched. However, he has a profound intention in doing so. He advocated the widespread absorption of foreign culture. At the same time, he also emphasized that when absorbing foreign culture, "you must choose what can be digested and absorb it" and "you must eat it with "I" and not be assimilated by each other." Criticize some people with weak ambitions who, once they go to study abroad, "abandon their "self" and assimilate with outsiders."

5. Worldview education

Worldview education was pioneered by Cai Yuanpei in the history of modern education in China. Influenced by Kant’s philosophy, it believes that the world is divided into two categories: the phenomenal world and the substantial world. In part, worldview education is to cultivate people to have a detached attitude towards the phenomenal world and a positive attitude towards the physical world. Cai Yuanpei’s worldview education is based on the idealist worldview that divides the world into the phenomenal world and the physical world. However, he asked people to follow the principles of freedom of thought and freedom of speech and not to be bound by a certain doctrine. At that time, he had a liberating effect in breaking the autocratic rule of thought for thousands of years.

6． Aesthetic education

Cai Yuanpei is the "only backbone mission" to promote aesthetic education in modern history of our country. He believes that aesthetic education is the most important way to educate the world, making it the bridge that people must pass from the phenomenal world to the physical world.

The importance of aesthetic education stems from its characteristics. According to him, the obstacles for people to move from the phenomenal world to the physical world are nothing more than two kinds of consciousness, one is the difference between people and me, and the other is the pursuit of happiness. "There is a self, so there are various boundaries in the phenomenon, which are inconsistent with the reality. If there is a pursuit, it will be unsuccessful, which is the pain of selflessness. And it is a tunnel, an excessive need, following the phenomenon, And separated from the entity. "Therefore, in my opinion, the desire to seek is the key to moving from the phenomenal world to the substantial world, and the characteristic of aesthetic education lies precisely in this. He said that in the phenomenal world, everyone has it. Emotions of love and hate, fear, joy and anger, sadness and joy, but these emotions change with people's separation and separation, life and death, misfortunes, benefits and other phenomena, but aesthetic education enables people to "have no distracting thoughts except beauty." , when people enter this realm, they "have already come into contact with the concept of the real world." Later, in the article "Replacing Religion with Aesthetic Education", he made the characteristics of aesthetic education more clear: "Pure aesthetic education, so we cultivate people It is because aesthetic education has the characteristic of cultivating people's feelings and making their moral qualities noble and pure. Therefore, Cai Yuanpei believes: "Therefore, if educators want to lead from the phenomenal world to the concept of the physical world, they must use the education of aesthetics."

The philosophical basis of Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic education thoughts is idealism and is deeply influenced by Kant’s aesthetic thoughts. He repeatedly promotes the universality and transcendence of aesthetics, which is also obviously super-class and surreal. , over exaggerating the role of aesthetic education, and advocating that "special attention should be paid to" aesthetic education in educating people, these are correct.

Cai Yuanpei believes that although the above five kinds of education have different functions, they are all necessary to "cultivate a healthy personality of the Communist Party and the people" and are indispensable for a unified whole. At the same time, he also pointed out that these five types of education are not equally divided and have no focus, but must be based on citizen moral education. If utilitarianism is to be pursued, morality must be the foundation.”

Cai Yuanpei’s idea of ??simultaneously promoting the five educations is centered on citizen moral education and the harmonious development of morality, intelligence, body and beauty. This is the first of its kind in the history of modern education in China. However, he also has its limitations. First, he divides the world into two parts: the phenomenal world and the physical world. He also divides education into two categories: political and super-political. He believes that military and national education, citizen moral education, and practical benefits Some doctrines are subordinate to politics, while others are beyond politics. This division is unscientific. Secondly, it is believed that the ultimate goal of education is not to achieve happiness in this world, but to achieve the "unnameable". If "it has to be forced to be named", then "it may be called Tao, Tai Chi, or the Darkness". Consciousness, or the entity world of unconscious will. In addition, when he elaborated on issues such as citizen moral education, worldview education, and aesthetic education, there were also shortcomings such as being super-class, surreal, and far-fetched.

2. University Education Thoughts

In Cai Yuanpei’s entire education system, university education thoughts occupy a very prominent position. This is closely related to his emphasis on higher education. He believes that China must develop Education, running higher education well is the key. Therefore, he said, "My interest is in higher education, and I want to participate more in higher education." Therefore, he has been in charge of Peking University for a long time and has rich practical experience in university education. As a result, a rather innovative and systematic university education thought was formed.

1. Discussion on the nature of universities

Cai Yuanpei believes that universities should become institutions of higher learning. This is Cai Yuanpei’s guiding ideology in running schools and the starting point of his university education thoughts. As early as May 16, 1912, he attended the opening ceremony of Peking University as the director of education. In his speech, he proposed that "university is a place for the study of noble knowledge." After serving as the president of Peking University. He reiterated this idea repeatedly. On January 9, 1917, in his inaugural speech as president, he clearly explained to the students: "Everyone who comes here to study must have a purpose. If you want to know whether the purpose is upright or not, you must know the nature of the university. Today's people are dedicated to their careers. In school, it is inevitable to succeed in one's career, but this is not the case in a university. A great person is one who studies advanced knowledge."

Cai Yuanpei emphasized that the nature of university is to study advanced knowledge. At that time, he was trying to change the outdated concept that students went to university to become officials.

At that time, students who entered school "still held the mentality of the imperial examination era, and regarded universities as institutions for obtaining official qualifications, but had little interest in learning. Cai Yuanpei pointed out that this was the "main reason for the famous corruption" of Peking University. Therefore, he believed that the old Peking University should be reformed. “The first thing that needs to be reformed is students’ concepts. ”

Since the nature of universities is to study advanced knowledge, he also proposed that universities cannot just engage in teaching, but must also carry out scientific research. He asked university teachers not to instill fixed knowledge, but to have a strong understanding of knowledge. research interest, and can arouse students' research interest; college students do not memorize teachers' lecture notes, but actively research knowledge under the guidance of teachers. In order to enable universities to assume the dual tasks of teaching and scientific research, he strongly advocated "everything." Universities must have research institutes of various sciences." In his article "On the Reasons Why Universities Should Establish Research Institutes of Various Sciences", he listed three reasons in detail:

First, "There are no research institutes in universities; It is easy for teachers to fall into the bad habit of copying and handing out lecture notes without seeking progress. ”

The second is to establish research institutes to create conditions for university graduates to further their studies.

The third is to enable senior university students to have the opportunity to engage in scientific research under the guidance of mentors.< /p>

2. Principles of running a school - freedom of thought and inclusiveness

Cai Yuanpei proposed this principle of running a university based on the idea that a university should be an institution for studying advanced knowledge. Absorbing various talents and accommodating different schools of thought, it is impossible to become a truly high-level university if it only adheres to one theory and adheres to one theory.

The principles of free thought and inclusiveness are mainly reflected in the treatment of doctrines. In terms of teaching, since doctrine must be advocated, promoted and developed by people, and teachers take research and imparting knowledge as their own responsibility, the principle of free thinking and inclusiveness is more reflected in Cai Yuanpei’s hiring of teachers. The most important thing for teachers is whether they have professional knowledge. As long as they have real talents and the interest and ability to study knowledge, they will be hired. On the other hand, if the academic level is low, they will be dismissed regardless of their political opinions. Academic factions, as long as they do not hinder teaching, will not be used as a criterion for selection.

Of course, Cai Yuanpei advocates freedom of thought and inclusiveness. He does not advocate an impartial attitude towards new and old ideas. On the contrary, his original intention is to break through. The shackles of feudal cultural absolutism and the development of bourgeois new culture

3. Discipline setting - from focusing on liberal arts to communicating arts and sciences, abolishing subjects and establishing departments

Regarding the university subject setting, Cai Yuanpei. There is a process of change and development in his thoughts. Initially, he started from the idea that "the university is an institution for studying science" and advocated "focusing on liberal arts and science".

After Cai Yuanpei became the president of Peking University, he went further. There are two reasons for advocating "academic branch campuses": first, the two subjects of arts and sciences are dedicated to the school, and other subjects focus on practical applications; second, the two subjects of arts and sciences are equipped with research institutes, laboratories and other equipment. If there are other facilities throughout For each subject, it is necessary to add hospitals, factories, etc., which is even more difficult.

It is advocated that academic branch schools should be dedicated to liberal arts and sciences in universities. This is obviously a reflection of the concept of "universities focusing on liberal arts and sciences" in the first year of the Republic of China. The purpose of development is to highlight the nature of universities to study academic theory. In Cai Yuanpei’s view, “xue” and “shu” can be divided into two nouns, “xue” means “academic theory”, and “shu” means “application”. Theory is "learning", and law, business, medicine, industry, and agriculture are all applications and "skills". Although learning and skills are closely related, learning is the foundation and skills are the branches.

What's more, after seeing the disadvantages caused by dividing liberal arts and science, Cai Yuanpei further advocated "communication of liberal arts and science". He said that liberal arts and science cannot be divided into subjects. The history and literature of liberal arts are all related to science, while philosophy is all based on natural science. . Similarly, all disciplines of science are related to philosophy, especially the induction of natural sciences. Moreover, due to the overlap between disciplines, some disciplines are simply impossible to distinguish between liberal arts and science. One subject. In 1919, Peking University carried out reforms and abolished the boundaries between liberal arts, science and law. There are 14 departments in the school, with department heads replaced by seniors.

4. Teaching system - elective subject system

It is connected with the communication of liberal arts ideas. In terms of teaching system, Cai Yuanpei advocates the adoption of subject elective system. He believes that this system allows students to do a variety of other things while specializing. Relevant subjects are conducive to breaking students' prejudice of "focusing on their own interests" and expanding their knowledge. It is conducive to the free development of students' personality.

Regarding the implementation of the subject selection system, Cai Yuanpei believes that guidance must be strengthened. In order to prevent students from purely based on their interests and neglecting the study of basic theories and basic knowledge, he emphasized that the subjects chosen by students must be approved by teachers. There are only relative choices, not absolute choices. Only subjects other than compulsory courses have the right to choose. At the same time, he also pointed out that the subject-optional system can only be implemented in schools above colleges and universities, and general education can only adopt the subject-optional spirit but not the subject-optional system.

5. Administrative management - Professors run the school

Professors run the school, which is Cai Yuanpei’s basic idea on university administration. He advocated that professors run the school in order to establish a democratic management system and prevent the principal from being arbitrary and doing things arbitrarily. This is a reflection of his democratic thoughts. More importantly, it is to rely on experts who truly understand education and academics to manage the school. It can be seen that the spirit of democracy and reliance on experts are the two pillars of Professor Cai Yuanpei’s opinions on running the school. Professors are the main force in the school’s teaching and scientific research. They understand education and are knowledgeable. Cai Yuanpei relies on them to manage the school, which not only completely reverses the It has eliminated the situation in the old Peking University that all school affairs were decided by a few people including the president, and greatly mobilized the enthusiasm and creativity of professors, creating a vivid situation of democratically running the school.

To sum up, the basic characteristics of Cai Yuanpei’s university education thoughts are democracy and science, and the purpose is to turn the university into a high-level teaching and research center. He not only contributed to the development of bourgeois university education theory in modern China. It has laid a solid foundation, and many of its insights include attaching importance to the university's scientific research work, advocating "freedom of thought and inclusiveness", focusing on the development of student personality, advocating "communication of liberal arts", and "relying on both education and knowledge" "Experts to implement democratic school governance" and so on, still have certain significance for us to run a socialist university successfully.