What Are the Implications of a Chinese University Model?

Abstract

Ruth Hayhoe’s hypothesis about the emergence of Chinese university model is a brilliant and imaginative one, in that she realized that there are differences in essence between Chinese culture and Western culture, and she anticipated that if the Chinese university can succeed in a dialogue between Chinese and Western culture, a new university model will be born (H. Wang 2010a). This will, of course, be a Chinese model of the university. Implied in this hypothesis is the view that the Western model of the university expresses the essence of Western civilization, and the Chinese model should do the same for Chinese civilization. At the same time, she seemed to have a very high expectation of the Chinese model of the university—that it should absorb the spirit of the Western model and not just create a superficial imitation of it. In this process, it must take Chinese traditional culture as the foundation, which seems to imply that this new model will surpass the Western model. However, it does not mean that it will be China centered, rather that it will be one expression of a multidimensional university model and for this reason, will be effective in East-West dialogue.