How did the liberal arts and sciences branch come into being? Lu Xiaodong, deputy dean of The Yuanpei College of Peking University, pointed out: "The direct reason for the implementation of the liberal arts and sciences after the founding of the People's Republic of China is that New China has imitated the atmosphere of the times of the former Soviet Union's 'Big Brother' in an all-round way – except for the college entrance examination system and the higher education system.
The ideological basis of the division of arts and sciences is Adam Smith's 'social division of labor', which believes that between the liberal arts and sciences, concentrating on one can improve the efficiency of the whole society. ”
It is understood that the former Soviet Union lost a large number of intellectuals in World War II, and the post-war reconstruction urgently needed a large number of professionals. Therefore, the former Soviet Union adopted and strengthened the method of "education in different disciplines" to improve the "baking" speed of professional talents. Coupled with the distribution system of "one turnip and one pit" for university graduates under the planned economy, the education system of the former Soviet Union is like a "talent manufacturing machine", which produces college students needed by all walks of life in a cycle.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, all the new China that started from scratch also faced the dilemma of shortage of professional talents, and naturally copied the Soviet-style "liberal arts and sciences separation" road.
