The Study on Discourse of General Education in contemporary China

Abstract

The beginning of modern educational system in China, was regarded Hundred Days" Reform in 1898 related foundation of modern university as a starting point. The modern and contemporary China, had been faced with the most endangered era: in the major significance of this crisis, was a kind of impact or shock from aggression by the Western imperialism. Especially in academy and culture, there was tension in the air as though something was going to happen. In national crisis, discourse of general education in Modern China should be focused on more pragmatical parts, not on the traditional cultivation of the mind or whole-rounded education. The most distinctive characteristics of education discourse in modern China was enlightenment and esthetics education from consciousness of crisis. The both seems to be different and oppositive, but intrinsically have many things in common. In this age, there were representative thinkers, Liang Qi-chao and Cai Yuan-pei, who played a crucial role in modern transformation of Chinese education. This paper is tried to examine the discourse of general education in modern and contemporary China, especially from these two thinkers" view and thought. The definitions of general education(or liberal education) is about humanities and education of humanism which is different from specialism. The discourse of education from the early years in 1900"s to establishment of New China in 1949, was about contemporary general education that mainly focused on elite education by study of chinese culture and heritage and socialism.