Cai Yuanpei's Autobiography

Author: Cui Zhihai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-02
Features: Cai Yuanpei (1868–1940), a modern democratic revolutionary, educator, and scientist. His courtesy name was Heqing, and his sobriquet was Jemin. He was born on the 17th day of the 12th month in the Dingmao year of the Tongzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (January 11, 1868) in Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province. At the age of 17, he passed the county-level imperial examination and at 18, he opened a private school to teach. During his youth, he successively passed the provincial-level imperial examination, the national-level imperial examination, was appointed to the Hanlin Academy, and became a compiler. In 1898, he resigned from his official post to dedicate himself to education, initially serving as the supervisor of the Shaoxing Western and Eastern School, the president of the Shan Mountain College in Sheng County, and the chief instructor of the special class at Nanyang Public College. In 1902, he organized the Chinese Education Association and served as its president, founding the Patriot School and the Patriot Girls' School, both of which he was later elected as president. In 1904, he organized the Restoration Society, and in 1905, he joined the Tongmenghui. In 1907, he went to Germany to study at the University of Leipzig, focusing on philosophy, psychology, and the history of art. After the Wuchang Uprising, he returned to China and took office as the Minister of Education in the Nanjing Provisional Government in January 1912. Soon after, dissatisfied with Yuan Shikai's autocracy, he resigned and went abroad again to study and conduct research in Germany, France, and other countries. In 1915, he organized the Work-Study Association in France with Li Shizeng and others, and the following year, he co-founded the China-France Education Association with Wu Yuzhang and others, promoting the work-study system. In 1916, he returned to China and was appointed president of Peking University the next year. In 1921, the University of Lyon in France and the New York University in the United States respectively awarded him honorary degrees in literature and law. At the first and second national conferences of the Kuomintang in 1924 and 1926, he was elected to the Central Supervisory Committee. In 1927, in addition to serving as a member of the Central Political Conference, a standing member of the Central Special Committee, a standing member of the National Government, and the Minister of Justice ad interim, he proposed the establishment of the College of Higher Learning as the highest academic and educational administrative body in the country and was appointed as its president. In 1928, he resigned from all administrative positions and dedicated himself to serving as the president of the Central Academy of Sciences. He also served as the president or director of several higher education institutions, including the Jiao Tong University, the China-France University, and the National West Lake Art College (later renamed Hangzhou Art College), as well as the chairman of the Palace Museum and the director of the Beijing Library. In 1932, he organized the China League for the Defense of Civil Rights in Shanghai with Soong Ching-ling, Yang Xinfu, and others, and was elected as its vice president. In his later years, he worked tirelessly for the anti-Japanese resistance and strived to promote cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China. In 1938, he was elected as the honorary president of the International Anti-Invasion Movement Conference. He passed away in Hong Kong on March 5, 1940. Cai Yuanpei was the creator of the capitalist education system in early 20th-century China. He explicitly proposed the abolition of the feudal education principles of loyalty to the emperor, reverence for Confucius, emphasis on public spirit, emphasis on martial arts, and emphasis on practicality. He advocated that military education, utilitarian education should be the top priority, moral education should be the center, the worldview education should be the ultimate goal, and aesthetic education should serve as the bridge, establishing a new education system for the bourgeoisie with democratic principles. Cai Yuanpei's educational practices were primarily in higher education. As president of Peking University, he proposed that the nature of a university lies in the study of profound knowledge. He promoted academic freedom and scientific democracy, that learning and teaching should be separated, and the humanities and sciences should be integrated. He changed the "academic year system" to the "credit system," implemented the "elective course system," actively improved teaching methods, streamlined courses, and strongly advocated self-study. He also implemented student self-governance and faculty governance within the university. These proposals and measures, after being implemented at Peking University, influenced the entire country, and some even called him a liberal educator.