Master Literary Words Book Series—Spirits of Universities

How did the Spirits of Universities gradually take roots on the vast land of China as the civilization of foreign origin？ This book selected and compiled the famous masterpieces of the explorers of new education such as Cai Yuanpei， Hu shi， etc.， in early 20th century， to review and reconsider “the spirits of universities”.

Book review of Master Literary Words Book Series：

The Republic of China is the specific historical period of China that produced masters. That is a completely different era， which is the transition from the old to the new， a combination of Chinese elements and western elements， and the emergence into prominence in times of crisis. Master of Chinese Culture is the last successor of the old， also the first contact of the new in that unrest age. The blending of the old and the new generates great energy， just as large fishing ground is always generated at the meeting-point of cold and hot ocean currents， also as rain and snow are always produced at the intersection of cold and hot air masses. Therefore， it was no wonder that academic masters well versed in both Chinese and Western learning gathered together to produce in the republic of China when the political situation was unstable. Temperamental manners of scholars were comparative to that in Dynasties of Wei and Jin. It did not need to say the masters’ natural talent， and the acquired efforts were also very important factors. These were to take famous teacher as their teacher， to study the classics with Chinese traditional scholarly methods and to learn widely from other’s strong points， thereby becoming the Grand Master.

As a result， these masters had developed a completely different demeanor， temperament， mind， knowledge and interest from these of the scholars today. Their personalities were pedantic or impetuous， crazy or mad. It might be said one thousand persons with one thousand faces. But never lack the strength of character， humor and grace in their inherence with the bottom of “shi” guarded. In general， they were a group of persons funny and interesting， but never lacking of the hale. The works of the scholars who had different demeanors， various personalities， different views， and adverse fortune came together to form present set of Master Literary Book Series.

Although these works have been finished for more than 80 years， and their authors and the time have already been histories. However， when people browse through these pages full of stains or spots again， it is still not easy to feel relaxed and calm. In this book series， Liang Qichao wrote Confucius not only based on the previous research achievements， but also according to his own investigation and research with rigorous attitude. In the book， he presented Confucius’s life experience to us by means of narration interspersed with comments. In Travel Notes of the New Continent， he showed us various aspects of social activities in America in that time such as politics， economy and culture with free and emotional words. He also expressed his own cognition and views to American society. In Book about Freedom， Liang Qichao referred to the important role that human rights and freedom played in the development of western society with the beginning of western social change. Finally， he put the foothold of freedom in the spiritual freedom and thought the essence of freedom was to redeem ourselves and to achieve spiritual freedom at last. In Book on Great Harmony， Kang Youwei expressed the Reformism Thought of Bourgeois Liberals and the influence of Utopian Socialism in Europe. What is far beyond， Chinese people’s desires to ideal society that is just and happy were expressed. In Xi Chao （Tides from the West）， Mr. Jiang Menglin detailed the great and painful change of thought and psychology of the old Chinese in the time of agitation with different experiences of all kinds of people， or far or near， from family， country to urban， and from himself to his side on the personal level， with individual development for line under the back ground of social unrest in china among the decades from the end of 19th century to early 20th century. In spirits of universities， a group of educators who concerned about Chinese university education did their best to discuss and explain more about how the Spirits of Universities gradually took roots on the vast land of China as the civilization of foreign origin. All the above were the cry and meditation of the pioneers. They were ablaze， tragic and very deep， as if they had melted into the hopes and desires of many generations. They brings about strong and lasting shock to people’s heart， not for how perfect the theories themselves are， but for they give and continue to give people inspiration and thinking. The pioneers bitterly sought and searched for problems such as freedom and equality， democracy and the legal system， education and technology， east and west， loving and strengthening country， agricultural economy and industrial production， the Confucian ethics and modern civilization， etc. Although there are some historic limitation and bias in their views， they are enough to be called as pioneers then and there， for we can’t get to the level without their basis. Their dedicated hearts and spirits of exploration behind the tireless search and serious exploration for problems still have great realistic significance nowadays. History is with or without emotion， for the thought and career of posterities will surmount that of the ancestors. However， the previous footprint can always be kept for reference for later generations. After all， the pioneers are always worth remembering.

The world today is no longer as it was in the 19th century. China today is no more as it was in the end of Qing Dynasty and stands in the east of the world with new appearance. However， the progress of the world is getting faster and faster. Many aspects such as economy and culture also require constant development and improvement， which requires us to continue to widen our horizon greatly and go out to the world. Let the world know more about China， about her past， present and future. Meanwhile， it is necessary to make Chinese know more about the world and to widen our horizon. What’s more， it is essential to learn to analyze and to distinguish between good and bad. Then take all good things to adopt as our own but to boycott and prevent all harmful things.

We dedicate the book series to the readers who love history and culture， and who are concerned about China and the world only. Hope it could have slender effect on the things small as the development of personal thoughts and views and things large as China’s modernization. Also， hope it could play a little role for world people to know， or even understand China.