Chen Pingyuan： If you really care about the fate of China, you might as well start with education.

Beijing Daily Client | Author Chen Pingyuan

I am not an "educator" in the traditional sense, because I am neither a minister of education, nor have I founded several schools, or even worked in the college of education of a university. If I need to sign up, I can only be a professor of Chinese Department in Peking University. Moreover, most of my academic achievements and awards, as well as many important academic titles, are mainly based on my achievements in China literature research. Most of my professional works have won awards and been translated, but books about universities are different-they are mainly aimed at ordinary readers rather than educational experts, not "monographs" with rigorous argumentation, but "articles" that are thought-provoking, easy to read, not professional, but have great social impact.

Why cross-border talk about education?

This comes to why I care about education. I don’t want to say that the 21st century is the century of education, because it can neither be proved nor falsified. In China, arguing about the gains and losses of education does not belong exclusively to educators or educational historians, but is the right and obligation that every intellectual can/must bear.I have mentioned many times that if we really care about the fate of China, we might as well start with education. The success or failure of education indicates the future of China. It is also because the attitude of Chinese people in speaking about education contains the way we think about problems, or cultural genes.My ability is very small, and my main concern is China University. In the preface of What is a University, I talked about my work goal-to think about what "University" is, what it has and what it can do as an extremely important organizational form of human society from the aspects of historical memory, cultural interpretation, spiritual construction and social practice.

In 1998, I co-edited The Old History of Peking University and the Story of the Old Peking University, which were published. The academic circles and the market responded well. Many friends were surprised and thought that I was going to change careers. So I published "Saying" An Expert in School History ",in which there was a passage:" It is logical for me to change from academic history to educational history. In other words, friends who are engaged in academic history, ideological history and literary history are potential experts in the study of educational history. Because, in China in the past century, it is a’ critical moment’ to cancel the imperial examinations and set up new schools. The establishment of the university system, including its academic thought and cultural spirit, is more fundamental to the transformation of traditional China-compared with the transfer of specific ideas and theories. "

My research on university history is always different from that of professional educational historians, with obvious problem consciousness. For example, learning to save disadvantages, different times have different "disadvantages", which need scholars to face and even contend. Earlier, I emphasized to look at the world. After the 1990s, the theory of "integration" gradually became the mainstream. From officials to academics to the public, I couldn’t wait to copy a famous western university directly. Instead, I reminded that "what is lacking in talking about university reformers today is not an international perspective, but an understanding and respect for" traditional China "and" modern China ".

The reason why I set up a special course on universities in Peking University across the disciplinary boundaries is that I hope that students will not only study in universities, but also read, appreciate, taste and question "universities" carefully as an educational form, a social organization and a cultural spirit. "I understand that’ going to college’ means not only learning specific professional knowledge, but also studying the institutions and mechanisms that produce this professional knowledge.In this way, what you have learned in college is fresh, critical and regenerative. "There is such a confession in the article:" It is this sense of participation and anxiety, this great idea of both idealism and feasibility, which makes me different from the general education experts and the’ angry youth’ full of moral demands when talking about universities. It may not be professional enough, but it is likely to be full of vitality. "

Of course, I attach importance to things like "One Hundred Years of China University? I can tell you the truth, I am better at it, or I am more concerned about it, which are newspaper articles that are transformed from speeches or conference speeches, face the current difficulties, stand firm and express clearly. For example, What kind of university do we need? Why is the credibility of universities declining? Looking at universities from a cultural point of view? The way of universities in the era of globalization, etc., are as short as five or six thousand, and as long as ten thousand words, there are not so many pleasantries and quotations. The advantages are clear-cut, but not emotional, at least enjoyable to read.

"the third kind of pen and ink"

My first book about universities was The Story of Old Peking University, published in 1998, which led a large number of books on "old universities" as well as literature and academics. Since then, when talking about university history, I began to turn from hard arguments and figures to lively characters and stories. This move at least makes everyone realize that university is not an empty concept, but a knowledge community, a knowledge community composed of people with blood, knowledge and spirit. About the history of the university, you don’t have to keep a straight face, you can tell it vividly. Talking about "university" from the perspective of "story" is not only nostalgic for the sages, but also full of life interest, which is in line with the reading taste of the public and will become a publishing fashion for a time.

In 2009, The Story of Old Peking University was published in an updated edition. In the postscript, I said: "It is not easy to discuss the gains and losses of Peking University in the narrative framework of China for a hundred years. Apart from ideological stance, it also involves how to enter history, including research strategies and narrative styles; It is the author’s little dream to combine the exploration of historical research with the innovation of writing style by combining’ literature’ and’ learning’. It is not a professional writing, nor is it a prose essay in the usual sense, but a semi-academic and semi-article. Let’s call itThe third kind of pen and ink’. "

It is this "third kind of pen and ink" that needs special explanation.I talk about university books, papers mixed with essays, miscellaneous feelings and speeches, instead of publishing academic monographs and essays separately. This contains my unique considerations-so many comprehensive universities or normal universities in China have education colleges, and the soldiers are stronger than Ma Zhuang, and there is plenty of food and grass. I need to find specialized case studies, or social surveys and policy suggestions for the right medicine. To be honest, there is no shortage of me. My specialty is that I am good at historical standpoint, critical vision, builder’s posture, essayist’s style, and I am interested and able to speak to the public.

"Unique" Speech Attitude

Many years ago, I was invited to the Central Party School to give a lecture to the class of university presidents, and to talk about my university philosophy and my views on China University. In the questioning session, a familiar friend said: What you said is wonderful, but it’s a pity that you have never been a principal. I understand what he means, not because I feel wronged, but because of the huge gap between ideal and reality. It is difficult for outsiders to understand the countless troubles of the president of China University. My response is, yes, I didn’t think and express myself from the position of the principal, because I am not the principal. China people like to speak for sages, which is the important reason why the article is not well written. I know very well that I am not the minister of education, nor the president of Peking University, but a professor who has a certain education and can think independently. Well, I will stand as a scholar and express my views on the history, present situation and future of China University. Whether it works or not is beyond my consideration.

In my opinion, China’s vast territory, the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the huge differences between urban and rural areas and the north and south make it difficult to talk about education in a word.The so-called "the other mountains all appear dwarfs under the sky." has a premise, and that is "once climbing to the top of the peek, one would see".

There are educational ideals and realistic concerns. I can do research and write articles. I choose to speak between professional discussion and mass communication. This kind of speech attitude makes my talk about university problems really unique.

(The author is Professor Peking University)