Transmitting the Ideal of Enlightenment

Ricardo K. S. Mak received his Ph.D. in history and political science from the University of Regensburg, and is professor of history at the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Education has been the foundation of the East Asian economic miracle. At present, China's universities produce more engineering graduates per annum than the United States. However, important elements of the Chinese idea of higher education came from the West. A team of Chinese scholars has now produced an interesting volume examining Chinese universities since the late nineteenth century. It should be of interest not only to experts in modern Chinese history, but indeed to all who appreciate the role of education in the value system and development of China in the modern era. This scholarly book is based on solid research into both Chinese and Western source materials, and represents a considerable contribution to the study of the history of educationin China..

• Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 3 Chapter 2: The Chinese Idea of University, 1866-1895Chapter 4 Chapter 3: The German Intellectual Tradition, Cai Yuanpei and the Founding of Peking UniversityChapter 5 Chapter 4: The Formation of Qinghua Alumni's Networks in National Southeast University, 1918-1928Chapter 6 Chapter 5: Revolution and Enlightenment: The Rise of Biomedical Education in China, 1910-1950Chapter 7 Chapter 6: Higher Education and Research Culture in Hong Kong: With Special Reference to Medical Education, Research and Professionalism, 1880s-1980sChapter 8 Chapter 7: Whose Rationality? Whose Enlightenment? - Missionary Scholars, Modern Universities and the Dialectical Moments in the Emergence of Philosophy and Religious Studies in Twentieth Century ChinaChapter 9 Chapter 8: A Historical Review and Reflection on the Confucian 'Great Learning' and its Contemporary Implications for Higher Education