Abstract: The viewpoint of "Four Balances" proposed by Guo Bingwen is not only his school running philosophy, but also his university teaching thought. "Balance between generalists and specialists" can prevent "generalists from becoming empty and specialists from becoming narrow-minded"; "balance between science and humanities" emphasizes equal emphasis on science and humanities, and equal emphasis on excellent national culture and advanced world science and technology; "teaching staff "Balance with equipment" means that the so-called "university" is both a "master" and a "building"; "balance between international and domestic" means that if you want to build a university into an academic center at home and abroad, you must It is necessary to draw on the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought and seek world knowledge, so that students can broaden their horizons, expand their minds, and embrace the infinite knowledge and wisdom of mankind. Nanjing University has inherited these ideas and creatively applied them in teaching activities.
Keywords: Guo Bingwen; balance; university teaching
The idea of ??"four balances" was developed by Nanjing Normal University, one of the most famous educators in China in the first half of the 20th century. and Dr. Guo Bingwen (1879-1967), President of Southeast University. Guo Bingwen summarized his life experience in running a school into the word "ping": "Ping is the best motto for studying and doing things." In running a university, he believes that we should strive to achieve four "balances", namely, the balance between generalists and specialists, and the balance between science and technology. Balance with humanities, balance between teachers and facilities, balance between domestic and international. The four balances are a high-level summary of Guo Bingwen’s educational philosophy. It penetrates into and is reflected in many aspects of teaching at National Southeast University.
1. Balance between generalists and specialists
Guo Bingwen believes that universities should establish multiple disciplines to cultivate multiple types of talents: "Orthodox subjects focus on general education", but do not ignore application; “Specialized courses focus on professional education” but do not neglect the basics. “The two complement each other and cannot be neglected.” "But the two are not completely separated. The advantage of a comprehensive university is that generalists and specialists can adjust each other so that generalists will not become empty and specialists will not become narrow-minded. College students should become fair and accessible talents who founded the country."
In this regard, Guo Bingwen and Cai Yuanpei, who served as president of Peking University at the same time, have different views. Cai Yuanpei believes: "A great scholar is a person who studies profound knowledge." The so-called "knowledge" is the "learning" in academics. Cai Yuanpei believes that there is a difference between "learning" and "skills", that is, "study" is the theory of learning, and "skills" are applications; "study" is the foundation, and "skills" are the branches. Therefore, higher education should be correctly positioned, reasonably divided, and scientifically named. For example, "technical" subjects such as engineering, agriculture, and medicine should focus on application, and should be called "higher technical schools"; "academic" subjects such as liberal arts, science, and law should focus on application. For research, it can be called a "university"; "college and university" are "only different in the division of labor, not in levels." Therefore, when he was the president of Peking University, he merged the law department of Peking University into Peking University, transferred the engineering department of Peking University to Peking University, and stopped the agricultural department of Peking University, and only established the liberal arts and sciences and law departments, intending to make "Peking University "Concentrate efforts to run real "study" subjects. Peking University’s discipline setting has been imitated by many universities. However, Guo Bingwen has a different view on this: "The separation of universities and colleges is intended to use universities to cultivate talents with master's degrees, and colleges to cultivate specialized applied talents. It is nothing more than dividing culture and vocation into two departments, with universities as the main The top of the cultural system, and the top of the professional system, in terms of academic theory, there are many people who can criticize it; in terms of examples, they imitate Japan, and various Japanese colleges and universities have launched a movement to upgrade themselves. It is believed that a comprehensive university can have both disciplines that focus on academics and disciplines that focus on applications. The two complement each other and bring out the best in each other. Dongda University, founded in accordance with Guo Bingwen's ideas, has not only liberal arts and sciences, education, but also engineering, agriculture, and business. The number of disciplines ranks first in the country. Mao Yisheng, the first engineering dean of Dongda University, once praised: "The academic system of this university places equal emphasis on agriculture, industry, and business as well as liberal arts, science, and education, which has far-reaching implications. This combination is the only one seen in China, and it is the spirit of this university." "The author believes that Cai Yuanpei's "all-inclusive" thinking may be more about his acceptance of "isms" and "schools" and his tolerance for political attitudes and academic styles, while Guo Bingwen pays more attention to the combination of "disciplines" and the connection between disciplines. Integration and the cultivation of “generalists” with specialized knowledge.
In order to cultivate students with a "balance between generalists and specialists", Nanjing University and Dongda University have always implemented compulsory courses, "group electives", electives and "major and minor departments" within the framework of the subject selection system. .
The course selection system is the credit system.
At that time, it was stipulated that "two hours of class and self-study per week, and one credit for one semester", and "you can graduate after completing 120 credits." The course selection system of Nanjing High School and Dongda University is a course selection system that includes three types of courses: compulsory courses, group elective courses and elective courses.
The compulsory courses emphasize a solid foundation. For example, the Education Department stipulates a 39-credit "General Course of Compulsory Courses for All Students" and a 12-credit "Specialized Course of Compulsory Courses for All Colleges and Universities". The general curriculum is: 12 credits in English, 6 credits each in Chinese, physical education, and biology, 3 credits each in world trends and history of scientific development, 2 credits introductory philosophy, and 1 credit in general sociology; career guidance is zero credits, but it is compulsory. The specialized courses are: 6 credits of general education, 3 credits each of educational psychology syllabus and educational statistics. Each department will also offer some required courses. For example, students in the physical education department must also study 4 credits of sociology, 3 credits each of physics, organic and physiological chemistry, and inorganic chemistry, and 2 credits of bacteriology. visible. The coverage of required courses is so broad.
Group electives are actually designated electives between compulsory and electives. The basic approach is to divide it into several groups with roughly similar subject nature. Each group includes courses from several departments. Students in each group must take elective courses and meet the prescribed number of elective credits. In other words, it is compulsory to take elective courses in each group; it is optional to choose any department of courses within a group. Moreover, if there is a major major in the group, the 4 to 8 credits selected must be courses from other departments. For example, students in arts and sciences, in addition to the compulsory 6 credits of Chinese and 12 credits of English, must also take electives from the following 5 groups. Each group must take at least 4 credits and no more than 8 credits. The elective credits from each group must be at least Reached 30. Group A is Chinese, English, and Western literature; Group B is history, politics, and economics; Group C is philosophy, mathematics, and psychology; Group D is biology and earth science; Group E is chemistry and physics. For example, students majoring in the Department of Philosophy can only choose between the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Psychology when taking courses in Group C; students in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature can only choose between the Department of English or Spanish when taking courses in Group A. courses, or take courses from both the English and Spanish departments. For another example, agricultural students must take at least 3 credits of courses from each of the following four groups: Group A is Botany and Plant Pathology; Group B is Zoology and Entomology. ; Group C is the Department of Soil Science, Crop Science, Agricultural Tool Science, and Horticulture; Group D is the Department of Animal Husbandry, Department of Crop Science, and Department of Agricultural Products Manufacturing. Similarly, if there is a major department in the group, the credits selected must be courses in other departments or departments. Central University inherited this "group elective" system.
If we regard each "group" as a color and each course as a shape, then the combination of each student's "group elective" will be a colorful , course "packages" of different forms. To this day, this kind of "group elective" still has its rationality and advancement. Because there are too few subjects to choose from, the purpose of subject selection cannot be achieved, and it is difficult to cultivate talents with a broad foundation; if there are too many optional subjects, and students take courses as they please and at will, it is easy to become abnormally heavy or weak. A stable knowledge structure will lead to graduates with major knowledge deficiencies or "one-size-fits-all" graduates. The practice of "group electives" that allows students to choose independently from a series of classic and general "combination courses" carefully designed by the school can prevent them from only excelling in one subject and ignoring the rest. The orientation of course selection can avoid the short-sighted course selection that lacks independent opinions and follows the trend. It is an organic combination of "must" and "arbitrary", a comprehensive reflection of personal interests and growth needs, and a harmonious unity of knowledge and subjectivity. It is an effective means to cultivate outstanding talents who are neither vague nor narrow-minded, who study both humanities and science, and maintain a "balance between generalists and specialists."
It is not difficult to find that this "group elective" system is very close to the "core curriculum" system that Harvard University began to implement 50 years later, in the late 1970s, both in essence and in practice. .
For example, a firm philosophy of the latter's core curriculum is that "every Harvard student must be educated in a wide range of fields and at the same time trained in a specific academic field." This can be seen as the difference between "specialists and "Generalist balance"; Harvard stipulates that students "must take one course in each of the 8 fields furthest from their major", which is consistent with Dongda's rule that "must take courses in other fields or departments", and the number of courses The number of credits is evenly matched; the "core courses" selected by Harvard include foreign culture, historical research, literature and art, moral analysis, quantitative reasoning, natural science, and social analysis, which are similar to the "combined courses" of Tokyo University's liberal arts and sciences. .
Elective courses are entirely decided by students based on their strengths, interests and needs. However, many students will take advantage of the "optional elective" opportunity to choose a "minor department" as their second major direction. At that time, Tokyo University stipulated that students should choose one department from each undergraduate department ("department" is equivalent to the later college) as the "major department", and then the teachers of the main department would propose a number of departments, and students could choose one of them as the "auxiliary department" . Major courses (i.e. courses) require at least 40 credits and no more than 60 credits; minor courses require at least 15 credits and no more than 30 credits. For example, if students choose the Department of Western Literature and History, the Department of Chinese Literature and the Department of Philosophy, the Department of Geology and the Department of Physics, etc. as their major and minor departments, or vice versa, it will give them two disciplines in which they can find jobs, make a living, and serve the society. knowledge and expertise. Many graduates of Nanjing University and Dongda University believe that this kind of education that combines generalists and specialists will benefit them throughout their lives.
During the Republic of China period when college students were still only one in a million and graduate students were even rarer, Guo Bingwen and others clearly put forward the view that college students should "balance generalists and specialists." Today, when our country has entered the threshold of popularization of higher education and college students have become ordinary workers in society, should "general education" and "general education" be placed in a more important position? Should the "center of gravity" of university education be Lowering towards the basic part? Can the extension boundary of "general education" be relaxed to all subjects except professional courses?
2. Balance between humanities and sciences
Balance between humanities and sciences, In Guo Bingwen's eyes, it has two meanings. The first is to open a comprehensive university, which requires equal emphasis on humanities and social sciences and natural sciences, and the intersection and penetration of the two major disciplines. Only in this way can we cultivate comprehensive talents with high humanistic accomplishments and scientific literacy. For example, the Department of Psychology at Tokyo University is affiliated with both the "Liberal Arts" and "Education" departments; the Department of Biology is affiliated with both the "Liberal Arts" and "Agriculture" departments, in the hope that the humanities and sciences can take advantage of each other's strengths and absorb each other's strengths. Strengths, relying on the other party’s support. Guo Bingwen, Tao Xingzhi and others at the same time advocated that education should be "scientific", emphasizing that education should be based on natural science and use scientific methods to cultivate talents. The second is that universities should not only promote national spirit and value national culture, but also absorb Western civilization and pay attention to new scientific and technological knowledge. Through communication and integration, the university has become a base for promoting national culture, an important town for the development of science, and the intersection of humanistic spirit and new scientific knowledge. It has cultivated students who are both liberal arts and sciences, have both humanistic feelings and scientific thinking, and are fond of piano and chess. High-quality talents who are good at calligraphy, painting, sound, light, chemical and electricity.
In order to provide students with humanities and science education and cultivate talents with a balance between humanities and sciences, Nanjing University and Dongda University first established relatively complete disciplines.
By the time the Nanjing National Government was established in 1927, Dongda University’s liberal arts departments had departments of Chinese, foreign languages ??(including English, German, French, and Japanese), history, philosophy, and political economy; science departments had departments of mathematics, physics, etc. , chemistry, earth science (including geology, geography, meteorology) and other departments; the education department has departments of education, psychology, rural education, physical education, etc.; the agricultural department has departments of plants, animals, agronomy, horticulture, animal husbandry, sericulture, pests and diseases, etc.; The business department has departments of general commerce, accounting, business administration, banking, international trade, insurance, and transportation; the engineering department has departments of mechanical engineering, civil engineering, and electrical engineering. This provides a basic guarantee for the school to implement general education covering humanities and sciences.
As far as teaching and management are concerned, teachers in liberal arts, science, agriculture, engineering, education and other subjects (the business department is in Shanghai) can teach each other part-time. For example, Zhu Kezhen, who was the director of the Department of Geosciences at the time, in addition to his "responsible duties", also taught in agriculture. Students teach "Geology" and "Calculus" to students in the Department of Physics and Chemistry. Science professors who have returned from studying in Germany and France sometimes serve as directors of foreign languages ??departments; in terms of course selection system, students are free to go Take courses in other subjects; from the perspective of broadening academic horizons, students can listen to any lectures that interest them; from the perspective of subject penetration and crossover, students can read magazines edited by research associations in various subjects. For example, the magazines sponsored and published by various student research associations at that time included "Journal of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry", "Engineering Series", "Journal of History and Geography", "Journal of Literature and Philosophy", "Chinese Studies Series", and "Education Transactions" , "Agricultural Series", "Sports Quarterly" and other 8 kinds. These magazines that are popular on campus involve more than 10 disciplines such as mathematics, science, chemistry, literature, history, philosophy, engineering, agriculture, land, education, and sports. Each has its own merits, influences and radiates each other. Many graduates of Nanjing University and Dongda University believe that this kind of education that closely combines humanities and science will benefit them throughout their lives. Mr. Zhang Qiyun, a famous educator, historian and geologist, and the founder of the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan, believes that he was taught by three teachers when he was studying in the Chinese Language Department of Nanjing University of Technology - the philosopher Liu Boming, the historian Liu Yizheng, and the meteorologist and geographer Zhu Kezhen. ― had the most profound influence. These three masters gave him many lessons.
Secondly, Southeast University has been working hard to create an educational environment and academic atmosphere that “balances humanities and science.”
At that time, the New Culture Movement was sweeping the country, and the rhetoric of denying traditional Chinese culture and promoting "total Westernization" was getting louder and louder. In order to resist the theory of "total Westernization", Dongda professors Wu Mi, Mei Guangdi, Liu Boming, Hu Xianqiao, Liu Yizheng, Tang Yongtong and others founded the "Elucidating the Truth, Promoting Chinese Essence, and Melting New Knowledge" in January 1922. The purpose of "Xueheng" magazine. Because of its fierce rhetorical attack on the advocates of the New Culture Movement, it was attacked by the New Culture Movement and was accused of being a "retro" magazine. In fact, what the "Xueheng School" opposes is only the "indoctrination view" that only introduces Western culture in a general way and the "total Westernization theory" that accepts and absorbs without making any judgment; what they advocate is to carry forward the national spirit, communicate and integrate Chinese and Western cultures flag.
An important historical fact that can prove that Nanjing University and Dongda University vigorously pursue the "balance between humanities and science" is that at the same time as the publication of "Xueheng", which was ridiculed as a "retrospective magazine", the first modern Chinese magazine One of the earliest scientific journals in modern China, "Science Monthly", founded by the China Science Society, an academic group with the title of "science", is also being published and disseminated on the same campus. What is intriguing is that Hu Xian?, a professor studying in the United States and others who are the leaders of the "Xueheng School" are also important members of the Chinese Science Society. This cannot be said to be a vivid interpretation of the "balance between humanities and science".
The "Science Society" is an academic organization with the mission of developing science and technology. It was founded in the United States on October 25, 1915 by Ren Hongjun, Hu Mingfu, and Zou Bingwen, Chinese students from Cornell University and other universities in the United States. , Zhao Yuanren, Zhou Ren, Yang Xingfo and others created it. In 1918, most of the members of the Science Society, including President Ren Hongjun, returned to China after completing their studies. At the request of Guo Bingwen, the Science Society moved to the Nanjing University campus and officially established an office, named "Chinese Science Society". Almost all the main members of the Science Club are professors from Nanjing University. Although the university and the science society are two units, they are the same family. Their personnel work part-time, share resources, and cooperate closely with each other. This has played a mutually reinforcing and complementary role in improving teaching standards and carrying out research work. Students can participate in the dual training of teaching and research without restrictions. This teaching model is actually a "joint training between schools and institutions", which effectively promotes the improvement of the quality of talent training. This successful approach of “using a scientific spirit to educate, using scientific methods to educate talents, teaching and scientific research to promote each other, and talents to stand out” has become a major feature of Nanjing University and Dongda University, and has made Nanjing University and Dongda University become “ It is well-known as the headquarters of the Chinese Science Society. It was also from this that "the foundation work of Chinese science was launched, making Nanjing University and Dongda University a major base for the development of Chinese science."
Third, in order to implement a general education that “balances humanities and sciences”, Southeast University adopts a “liberal arts and sciences” joint model.
In January 1920, Dongda merged the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry with the Department of Literature, History and Geography to form the "Arts and Science".
At that time, Nanjing University only had two departments: Literature, History, Geography, and Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, and each department had enough strength to be set up separately. Why did Dongda want to compress the establishment and merge the two departments into one? Moreover, even if Nangao expanded into Dongda, it would be set up separately After including agriculture, industry, commerce, and education, why has it not expanded its basic group of "liberal arts and sciences" into "liberal arts" and "science"? This issue has not attracted enough attention in the past. In fact, this contains an important educational concept, which is to implement general education and cultivate outstanding talents with a "balance between humanities and science".
This idea is clearly reflected in the curriculum of liberal arts and sciences at Dongda University. Tokyo University stipulates that in addition to the compulsory 6 credits of Chinese and 12 credits of English, students in various departments of liberal arts and sciences must take at least 30 credits of electives from other departments outside their own department. For example, students in the Chinese Department must take more than 30 credits of courses in English, Western Literature, History, Politics, Economics, Philosophy, Mathematics, Psychology, Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics, etc., of which they must be in the English Department. Or choose courses worth 4 to 8 credits each from the Department of Western Literature, Department of Biology, Department of Earth Science, Department of Chemistry, or Department of Physics.
The tradition of balancing humanities and science has been well inherited and promoted at NTU. For example, under the initiative of President Kuang Yaming, the Chinese Thinkers Research Center of Nanjing University took 30 years to compile as many as 200 volumes of the "Critical and Biographic Series of Chinese Thinkers from Confucius to Sun Yat-sen", which is known as "the most comprehensive series of works in the 20th century". "Chinese Traditional Culture Project"; in the past five years, Nanjing University has won 1 first-class national natural science award and 10 second-class national natural science awards, which is unique in the country. This is the best interpretation of the idea of ??"balance between humanities and science".
In order to inherit the educational ideas of sages such as Guo Bingwen’s “balance between science and humanities” and Kuang Yaming’s “opening up literature, history and philosophy. Opening up a liberal arts major” and “cultivating generalists with broad knowledge and multi-faceted abilities”, Nanjing The university named the School of Basic Subject Education "Kuang Yaming College" on March 28, 2006. Kuang Yaming College divides all disciplines into liberal arts (including majors in Chinese, history, philosophy, economics, politics, and sociology) and majors in science (including intensive majors, physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, geography, geology, atmosphere, and mathematics). Divided into two major categories. Students study in the general platform courses in the first year, and in the second year they study in the core courses set by module (base). In the third year, students study core professional courses, and in the fourth year, they study elective courses, scientific research training courses and write graduation thesis. In the first and second grades, the college organizes teaching and student status management in a unified manner. Starting from the third grade, all students are distributed to various departments. Since 2007, students from Kuang Yaming College have been independently admitted by NTU in advance, independently admitted, or among outstanding college entrance examination students.
3. Balance between teachers and equipment
To borrow a sentence from "Mencius", "The so-called motherland does not mean that there are trees, but that there are old friends." Mei Yi Qi left people with a widely quoted saying: "The so-called great scholar does not mean a building, but a master." In fact, Guo Bingwen had already truly felt the precious value of a master. However, in his eyes, the so-called great scholar is both a master and a building, which is his "balance between teachers and equipment."
The most successful thing about Nanjing University and Dongda University in cultivating talents is that they have recruited a large number of famous professors at home and abroad, so that each department has domestic first-class academic leaders. All have formed their own characteristics.
Southern High School and Dongda University, where famous teachers gathered together, were very prosperous. Modern history expert Liang Jingrong (He Jun) once praised in the article "Remembering Peking University (Eastern University Attached)": "All the professors at Dongda University are all outstanding for a while." "Peking University is famous for literature, history and philosophy, and Dongda is famous for science. However, The professors of literature, history and philosophy at Dongda University are no less than those at Peking University.” In Nanjing University and Dongda University, there are countless master-level figures.
For example, in the liberal arts, Liu Yizheng, Wang Bohang, Zhang Shiyi, Wu Mei, Huang Kan, Liang Shiqiu, Hu Xiaoshi, Xu Yangqiu, Wu Mi, Liu Boming, Tang Yongtong, Zong Baihua, Fang Dongmei, Mei Guangdi, Lou Guang Lai, Lu Zhiwei, Luo Jialun, Zhu Kezhen, Ren Hongjun, Hu Gangfu, Xiong Qinglai, Ye Qisun, Wu Youxun, Zhou Ren, Mao Yisheng, etc. from the science and engineering department, Guo Bingwen, Tao Xingzhi, Yu Yuyi, Zheng Xiaocang, Meng Xiancheng, Liao Shicheng, Ai Wei, etc. from the education department. Chen Heqin, etc., Zou Bingwen, Bingzhi, Hu Xianliu, Chen Zhen, Chen Huanyong, Zhang Jingyue, Guo Tanxian, Jin Shanbao, Qian Chongshu, Dai Fanglan, etc. from the agricultural majors, Ma Yinchu, Yang Xingfo, Hu Mingfu, Sun Wenwen, etc. from the business majors were all teaching at that time. Here it is. Among the foreign teachers, there were about 10 or 20 foreign teachers, including Pearl Buck, who later won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The masters' character, knowledge, interests, talents, speech and behavior are of great significance to the formation of students' good academic attitude, academic spirit and academic methods.
Of course teachers are the first priority in university education, but material facilities should not be ignored. When the University of Tokyo was first established, it focused on improving teaching and research conditions despite very difficult funding. Teachers and students at that time already had this kind of knowledge: the library is a treasure house of knowledge and a base for self-study; the science museum is the center of research and academics, and the nature of education in our country for thousands of years has been biased towards literature, philosophy and In terms of morality, the so-called experimental education in modern times is not the same." This is the fundamental reason for the lagging behind of modern science and the lack of scientific talents in our country: the gymnasium is needed for fitness and advocating sports - the "Academy of Athens" "Even ancient Greek institutions of higher learning with the stadium as the core must give priority. The library and gymnasium were completed in 1923; and the "Science Museum" dedicated to research completed in 1927 was probably the largest scientific research building among Chinese universities at that time. In the 1920s, when funds were extremely scarce and "salary demands" occurred frequently in many universities, Dongda was able to spend huge sums of money to build libraries and buildings, purchase advanced instruments and equipment, and Chinese and foreign books and materials. This is surprising because of the school's ability to raise funds. ——The method of raising funds through multiple channels such as government appropriations, fund-raising by the school board of directors, social donations, bank loans, aid from foreign foundations, and alumni donations also makes people admire the strategic vision of the administrators in attaching great importance to the teaching guarantee system. In addition, the school also owns more than 100 acres of agricultural experimental fields and rents more than 3,000 acres of farms. It has secured the Arctic Pavilion Meteorological Observatory and the Central Observatory Jiangning Meteorological Institute as places for experiments and internships for teachers and students, and used Xuanwu Lake as a place for aquatic plants and fish. Experimental pool; at the same time, we strive to enrich and develop the physical and chemical laboratories, and received funding from the Rockwell Foundation in the United States. Considering that Shanghai is China's economic and information center, the school established the Business University (the predecessor of today's Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) in Shanghai to help cultivate well-informed and experienced economic talents. All these plans and efforts are aimed at improving teaching and scientific research conditions and cultivating all kinds of qualified talents. Therefore, most of the graduates of Dongda University have a solid foundation and proficient skills, and are relied upon by all walks of life. In the process of running a school, Southeast University strives to pursue the ideas and practices of "software" and "hardware" growing simultaneously, classroom teaching and experimental training simultaneously, theoretical knowledge and practical ability promoting each other, and professional training and general education complementing each other. It provides conditions and possibilities for cultivating talents urgently needed by society.
4. Domestic and international balance
After several years of development, Dongda has become one of the most famous institutions of higher learning in China. However, the goal of Dongda University is not only to become the center of teaching and scientific research in China, but also to become a center for academic exchanges at home and abroad. Because only by drawing on the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought and seeking world knowledge can students broaden their horizons, expand their minds, and embrace the infinite knowledge and wisdom of mankind. Therefore, he not only invites overseas Ph.D.s and masters with real talents and knowledge to teach at the school, but also continuously sends teachers to study abroad. At that time, there were more than 220 teachers in Dongda ***, of which more than 140 were teachers who had studied abroad, accounting for two-thirds of the total. In subjects such as science, engineering, and agriculture, the proportion of teachers with overseas study background is higher. In some departments, all teachers are even overseas scholars. At the same time, Dongda invites many famous people at home and abroad to give lectures or speeches to the school every year.
For example, Dewey, a leading figure in American education and founder of the Chicago School of Pragmatism, came to the school to give a lecture on "Philosophy of Education" in April 1920, and held many discussions with teachers and students of the Department of Education; in October of the same year, the famous British philosopher and master of logical positivism Russell came to the school to give a lecture on "On Philosophy"; in 1924, Indian literary giant and Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore came to the school to give a lecture on "Chinese and Indian Civilizations"; during the same period, the famous American educator Monero and the German New Vitality Theory The founder Du Lishu and others also visited the school to inspect and give lectures. Dongda University hopes to use this to enable its teachers and students to harmonize liberal arts and science, communicate between China and the West, look at the world, be open-minded, pursue truth, and strive for beauty, so that they can have the "nobleness of Zhongshan Mountain, the majesty of the river, and the deep tranquility of Xuanwu". The demeanor and integrity of a "national scholar". At that time, the courses offered by the school and the teaching materials used were almost all modeled on European and American universities, and had gone through a process of introduction, digestion, transformation and innovation. For example, "Biology" and "Physiology" edited by Bingzhi, "Psychology" edited by Lu Zhiwei, "General Theory of Earth Science" edited by Zhu Kezhen, "Advanced Arithmetic Analysis", "Differential Geometry", "Partial Differential Equations" edited by Xiong Qinglai, etc. The teaching materials all represent or are close to the development level of the subject at that time. It is commendable that students in all departments of liberal arts and sciences can study these cutting-edge subjects. It can be said that in the 1920s, Nanjing University and Dongda University had become an important window for my country’s international academic exchanges and a hot spot for cultural exchanges between China and the West. This helps students expand their academic horizons and enhance their international concepts. Cultivating a sense of cooperation and absorbing new knowledge from the world play an irreplaceable role. And this is exactly what the question of general education should mean.
Adhering to this concept, Nanjing University took the lead in opening the floodgates for international exchanges and cooperation after the reform and opening up, and established the first teaching entity jointly established by China and foreign educational institutions - Nanjing University-Huo Center for Sino-American Cultural Studies at Princeton University. The center began enrolling students in 1986. It is the earliest long-term international cooperation project in higher education after China's reform and opening up. To date, this pioneering collaboration between Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins University and the operation of the Sino-American Cultural Research Center are still unique in China (the center can already award master's degrees). Nanjing University and Hopkins University hire professors from China and the United States to teach students. Chinese students are taught by American professors, and American and international students are taught by Chinese professors. The center has a very good bilingual environment in Chinese and English, and students have to listen to classes, read and write in foreign languages. There is a large amount of close communication between students and teachers, and between students and students in class and after class. These activities provide a solid guarantee for them to develop excellent bilingual abilities. The operating mechanism of the Sino-US Cultural Research Center is a wonderful reflection of the tradition of "domestic and international balance" at NTU today.
Zhang Daliang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Jiangnan University, former Vice President of Nanjing University, and professor; Wang Yunlai, deputy director of the Department of Educational Science and Management of Nanjing University, professor.
[Editor: Yang Yunan]