International Glow: The Contemporary Reinvention of a Chinese Humanitas

Abstract

Expanding rapidly into the arena of international rankings and partnerships, the Chinese academy—and, most particularly, its humanistic disciplines—is at a crossroads. The market capitalization of the Chinese tertiary sector, including high-profile tie-ups with Western entities and flagship programs from overseas, presents great potential for innovation and collaboration even as the Western humanistic model, including inquiry-based and investigative pedagogies for discovery in the arts and sciences, must itself change and transculturate on Chinese ground.

The goal of our culture is to nurture junzi [君子],

the gentleman scholar or humanist in Western culture. …

The more junzi a society has, the better it becomes.

So, in conclusion, Confucianism must remain the

culture of our country. What do you think?

–letter from Mei Guangdi [梅光迪] to Hu Shi [胡適]

(26 December 1915)