Limited by the constraints of society and the division of labor in knowledge, the clear division of majors in universities today also shackles college students in the "comfort zone" of the profession and is limited to learning under a narrow field of vision. A few years ago, Professor Qian Liqun of Peking University advocated that college students should be generalists who practice both arts and sciences, which coincides with the current "general education", and Qian Lao's educational concept is still of great reference value today.
This article is reproduced from the public account: to children (ID: tochildren)
Wen 丨 Qian Liqun Edited by Amanda
Not long ago, in "The Thirteen Invitations", Xu Zhiyuan talked to Professor Qian Liqun, a famous contemporary scholar, an "old idealist" in "The Temperament Confrontation between Don Quixote and Hamlet".
Mr. Qian Liqun is very concerned about education, especially the reform of secondary language education, and his thoughts on higher education in China, such as criticism that "Peking University is cultivating exquisite egoists", are often mentioned to this day.
As a sober idealist, Elder Qian attaches great importance to the popularization of humanistic education in the university and the continuation of Peking University's tradition of "integrating arts and sciences".
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he and Professor Chen Pingyuan and others jointly promoted the restoration of the "Great Freshman Chinese Language" ("Freshman Chinese Language" is now the "University Language" of some schools) at Peking University, so that science students can also be nourished by humanistic education in addition to professional knowledge.
Elder Qian said: The broadening of knowledge also means that with the breadth of people's vision, mind, and spiritual realm, we can discover the internal connection between all kinds of knowledge and the various scenes of people's inner and outer worlds that they reflect, so as to achieve a kind of "passing" -- it is the "passing" of thinking, and it is also the "tong" of knowledge (learning), which is the high realm of seeking knowledge and governing learning.
This kind of concept can be said to coincide with the concept of "general education" advocated by us at present, and there are many places worth learning.
Qian Liqun
The following shared content is derived from Professor Qian Liqun's opening remarks of "Freshman Chinese Language" of Peking University Science: "Talking to Science Students about Reading".
Liberal arts and sciences are a tradition of Peking University
Today, when I come here to take a class, I believe that we teachers and students will have a strange feeling: this is the first time in decades that I have taught Chinese literature to science students.
You probably didn't have such mental preparations: once you entered Peking University, the first teacher you came into contact with would be a professor from the department of Chinese. In this sense, it can be said that we are a special encounter today.
In fact, the history of Peking University has long been called, and there have been such encounters.
As early as the beginning of the twentieth century, when The elder Chancellor Cai Yuanpei embarked on the transformation of Chinese education, he divided higher education into two categories:
The first is to cultivate practical specialized talents, which he calls "specialists"; and the "universities" he emphasizes are "organs for the study of theory", on the one hand, to "study advanced learning", and at the same time to "cultivate a sound personality", pay attention to the cultivation of the human spirit, the establishment of ideals (beliefs, beliefs), and the exploitation and exertion of people's potential creativity.
Therefore, he proposed that universities must "focus on both liberal arts and sciences" and stipulated:
"Those who seek to do so in business and other subjects without a liberal arts department shall not be a university;"
"Those who have medical, industrial, agricultural, etc. but not science subjects shall not be a university."
Later, Cai Yuanpei presided over the reform of Peking University, and the first step was to take the two subjects of arts and sciences as the foundation of Peking University. In the relationship between the two disciplines of arts and sciences, he also advocated "integrating the arts and sciences".
Letter of appointment of Cai Yuanpei and his president of Peking University. In December 1916, President Li Yuanhong issued a letter of appointment, with Cai Yuanpei as president of Peking University. In January of the following year, when Cai Yuanpei arrived, Kim Yao-ki pointed out in his book "Rethinking the Way of The University: Universities and China's Modern Civilization" that the model of modern Chinese universities established by Cai Yuanpei is not only intellectual, but also cultural.
On many occasions, President Cai has proposed to break the students' "ugly view of keeping the disabled". He pointed out that
"Liberal arts students, because of their isolation from science, regard the natural sciences as useless, and they inevitably become empty",
"Science students, isolated from the liberal arts, regard philosophy as useless and fall into a mechanical worldview."
In President Cai's view, some disciplines are even "not divided by literature and science", "such as geography, including geology, society and other theories." Anthropology encompasses biological, psychological, and social theories. Psychology, known as philosophy, applies physical and physiological instruments and methods."
He concluded that between the two disciplines of arts and sciences, there are "many intersections" between each other, and it is necessary to "integrate the boundaries between the two disciplines of literature and science: those who learn the various disciplines of the liberal arts must not fail to learn one of the sciences; those who learn science must not fail to learn one of the liberal arts."
It can be said that attaching importance to the communication of arts and sciences has become the consensus of that generation of Peking University people.
The broadening of knowledge also means that the breadth of people's vision, mind, and spiritual realm can be discovered in all kinds of knowledge, and the internal connection with the various scenes of people's inner and outer worlds that they reflect, so as to achieve a kind of "communication" -- it is the "communication" of thought, and it is also the "communication" of knowledge (learning), which is the high realm of seeking knowledge and governing learning.
In fact, the earliest generations of Chinese intellectuals in the twentieth century have all achieved such "communication" to varying degrees.
In terms of liberal arts, Lu Xun and Guo Moruo were both medical students, and Xia Yan was originally an engineer, and they all had high achievements in natural science.
The older generation of natural scientists and engineers all have a high degree of cultivation in classical Chinese literature, and some of them write poems and essays in their spare time have high literary value, such as Zhu Kezhen, Liang Sicheng, Hua Luogeng, and so on. (Zhu Kezhen: Phenology in the Poems of the Great Poets of the Tang and Song Dynasties)
It is the academic papers and reports they have written, and the writing is very beautiful. An article once recalled that the later Nobel Laureate Yang Zhenning and Deng Jiaxian, known as the "father of China's atomic bomb and hydrogen bomb", were next to the tree at the root of the east wall of the campus, "one reads ancient poems, one holds a book to read, the other is on the back, just like two brothers" (Wang Shitang et al., "Remembering Deng Jiaxian at the Southwest United Congress").
Yang Zhenning and Deng Jiaxian during the Southwest United Congress
I remember reading an article (the author and title are forgotten) talking about Yang Zhenning's literary achievements, saying that he had written an article analyzing a modern masterpiece in the West until his later years.
I think this should be enlightening to us: a true scholar, or a well-developed modern intellectual, on the one hand, he is constrained by the division of labor between society and knowledge (the explosive development of modern knowledge, it is difficult to appear the giant-type scholar who radiates light in several professions at the same time as in the Renaissance era), but at the same time he is constantly trying to break through the limitations of the division of labor, to expand his knowledge structure as much as possible, in order to obtain his own knowledge. Relatively comprehensive development of thinking ability and character.
Unfortunately, such an effort was later interrupted. The adjustment of faculties and departments after liberation may have had its necessity at that time, but it changed the education system of liberal arts, science, engineering, medicine, and agriculture, overemphasizing the division of labor in specialties, and the division of labor became more and more detailed and trivial, which actually made the university specialized and practical.
It not only weakens the humanities education in the university, but also creates a state of intellectual isolation between science and engineering and liberal arts students, which may eventually lead to the loss of the university's own goals and prerequisites.
Because of this, when people think about the reform of University Education in China over the years, they have invariably paid attention to the basic position of liberal arts and sciences in universities, the importance of university humanistic education, and the integration of liberal arts and sciences, which are major issues related to the overall situation, and gradually formed some consensus.
It is in this context that the leaders of Peking University and the relevant academic affairs departments decided to open a "Freshman Chinese Language" in science departments starting from this semester, which is of great significance for inheriting and developing the tradition of Peking University under the new historical conditions.
What I said at the beginning of this lesson, that we, the liberal arts professors at Peking University, and the science students, met here today, which has a special meaning, and that is what it means.
Entering the profession and then going out of the profession:
Read a little liberal arts book
I think that for students, especially first-year students who have just entered the school, they can also take the opportunity to open this course and think about the problem of self-design and self-requirements during college.
Students enter the university to learn modern science and master professional knowledge, but I don't know whether students have considered that modern science has undoubted value at the same time, there are also some negative factors.
With the development of modern science, the professional division of labor has become more and more sophisticated, which has led to the specialization and technicalization of disciplines.
This kind of specialized, technical learning is absolutely necessary, especially for a science student: you have to enter the major first, and the major itself will take you into a new world that you are not familiar with.
However, if the vision is completely limited to the scope of the profession and develops to the extreme, the professional and technical world will be regarded as the only world, the whole of the world, only the professional and not the other.
This compresses the spiritual world of the self into a very small space, the knowledge is becoming more and more narrow, the interest is becoming more and more monotonous, and life is becoming more and more boring, which eventually leads to the mediocrity and indifference of the spirit.
This situation is also the most likely to produce the concept of relying on technology to eat, and the utilitarianization of professional knowledge and technology is actually the instrumentation of oneself (those who have mastered professional knowledge).
This narrowing of man's spirit and the instrumentation of the self mean that man eventually becomes a slave to science and technology and professional knowledge, which is what we usually call "modern science and technology disease."
If you pay attention to the reality around you, it is probably not difficult to find such patients.
In recent years, many people who are concerned about the development of education in China have been talking about the loss of the humanistic spirit on university campuses, referring to such a disease. For the students here today, of course, this problem does not exist, but it is also necessary to get a preventive injection.
That is to say, since you have seen such a possible danger, when you set your own goals for the first time in college, you should give yourself a double task:
Not only should they enter their chosen majors, earnestly learn professional knowledge, lay a solid professional foundation, and take proficiency in professional technology and first-class experts in their profession as their goal;
On the other hand, it is necessary to go out, not limited to their own profession, see that there is a wider world of life outside the professional and technical world, while enriching and enriching their own professional knowledge, but also enrich and enrich their spiritual world, the pursuit of self-spiritual transcendence and freedom, so as to establish a higher level of goals, can also be said to be the ultimate goal - to be a sound and developing free "person".
I think that if students want to spend four years of university life, be a real Peking University person, and become a qualified talent of the twenty-first century, one of the important links is whether they can enter the profession and go out of the profession.
By the way, we have just talked about the trend of the refinement of the professional division of labor in the development of modern science and technology, but at the same time it is developing the opposite trend of breaking through the professional division of labor, and there will be further development in the next century.
The problems facing mankind will become more and more complex, which will inevitably require the integration of knowledge and the integration of various disciplines.
Therefore, we emphasize that both entering and leaving the profession represent the objective requirements of science and technology and the development of human knowledge.
Speaking of this, students may be more clear, emphasizing the integration of liberal arts disciplines, requiring science students to learn the necessary liberal arts courses, not only to expand the scope of knowledge, but also to go out of the profession, obtain the influence of the humanistic spirit, and open up a broader and freer spiritual space.
Read books in a literary way
Now we are finally talking about our "Big One Chinese Language" class. On the surface, freshman Chinese and middle school Chinese classes both choose to lecture texts and compositions, and there seems to be no difference.
Of course, they do have a common side, but the biggest difference is that secondary language has a certain instrumentality, and its main task is to impart language knowledge and improve students' ability to use language tools.
Although the freshman Chinese language will also help to improve students' appreciation and writing ability of literary works, it is not a knowledge course, and its main purpose is to carry out humanistic education through the teaching of literature, history and philosophical classics, or to combine humanistic education in language education.
This course will introduce students to the treasure house of our nation's ancient and modern thought and culture, with the masters and masters who create the most exquisite spiritual products, with the most outstanding philosophers, historians, writers, and military experts in ancient times, with the first-class novelists, poets, and playwrights of modern times, with Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Sun Tzu... With Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Lao She, Cao Yu, Shen Congwen... Conduct spiritual communication, spiritual dialogue.
You will listen: deep concern and profound thinking about everything in life and the universe; beautiful imagination and enthusiastic call for the ideals of the other shore; persecution and courageous exposure of the pain and courage of the people on the other shore. So there are songs, laughter, lamentations and groans.
You will touch: the noble heads that gather the great wisdom and courage of the world, and the great hearts that combine the great compassion, great joy, and hatred of the world. You will linger in the world of language with sound, color, thought and charm, and through the language of beauty, you will glimpse the beautiful mind and the beautiful world.
This is a burning sea, you can't watch the fire from the other side, you must "burn" yourself into it, hand over your heart, and think, explore, and share the weight and lightness of life with the elite of these nations, and even human beings.
In the process of crying, laughing, and struggling with anxiety, you will unconsciously find yourself changing: becoming more complex and simpler, smarter and more naïve; you will embrace the world and all life around you with a warmer heart, and at the same time, with a skeptical eye, you will critically examine all things and ideas that have been sanctified, and criticize yourself more harshly...
Finally find that your own inner wisdom, thinking, imagination, aesthetic power, critical power, creativity have been developed, your spirit is free and open, and your mind becomes better.
In a word, to make the world a better place for man and man is the ultimate goal of all literature, art, history and philosophy, and its acceptance, and the highest goal of our course. Whether it can be achieved or not, to what extent, depends on the efforts of all of us, which is also self-evident.
Students may have noticed that I am describing our course in poetic language.
I did it on purpose. The purpose is to remind the students what kind of mentality and attitude and methods should be used to learn this course.
First of all, we must liberate from the spiritual burden of exam-oriented education that has overwhelmed you in the middle school era, and learn this course with a relaxed, pleasant, calm, and free play mentality.
Know that you are reading poem after poem for spiritual liberation and enjoyment, not for examination.
Reading books, especially literary books, is of the utmost interest, and it can even be said, that a childlike curiosity is required, because every piece of literature (counterfeit and shoddy of course) opens up a new world for you: either you are unfamiliar with it, or there are new discoveries and excavations in your life that you are accustomed to.
In this sense, reading books, reading one literary work after another, is a spiritual adventure again and again.
I hope, and the main requirement for the students, is to enter the classroom with a strong sense of expectation, so that a certain sense of mystery, eager to join the teacher, break into the labyrinth of literature (or "new world"), and solve the mysteries of literature.
In this way, it will change from "the teacher wants me to learn" to "I want to learn", from passive learning to active learning.
Therefore, the study of this course requires students to intervene subjectively.
This has two meanings. First, the reading and appreciation of literary works cannot be purely objective and cold-eyed, but must be perceptually engaged, and we must get rid of the analysis mode of the five-paragraph method of "clearing the word barriers, dividing the two paragraphs, analyzing the general idea of the paragraphs, summarizing the central ideas, and listing the characteristics of writing" in the middle school Language class, which will calmly dissect and dissect and dissociate the vivid and complete literary life.
We should keep the freshness of reading, read without any preconceived opinions, without any analysis, and grasp the first feelings and feelings of reading, based on perception.
It is necessary to empathize with the characters in the work in sharing fate, sharing joy, and observing every slight flutter of their hearts; in particular, we must carefully ponder the language of the work and taste the taste of language.
At the same time, the reading of literary works is the most creative, and the value of literary works is realized in the participation of readers. Literary works always have great chaos and ambiguity, containing multiple (even inexhaustible) meanings, and some meanings are even imperceptible and unclear.
That is to say, the nature of literature determines that the understanding and interpretation of it must be pluralistic (or even endless), and literary classics are often read and new, so there are "inexhaustible Shakespeare", "inexhaustible Lu Xun", and even "inexhaustible A Q".
Therefore, the reading and appreciation of literary works provides an excellent opportunity for students to exert their perception, understanding, imagination and creativity.
Just as mathematics has multiple solutions to one problem, literary works can also make multiple interpretations and analyses.
In the process of reading, the teacher will make his own understanding and analysis of the work; through his own independent reading, students can agree with the teacher's analysis, can also make some corrections and supplements to the teacher's analysis, and can make new solutions different from the teacher. This is not only permissible, but exactly what we encourage.
In short, we hope that this "Freshman Chinese Language" course can provide students with a broad and free spiritual space, and provide an opportunity and place for free thinking and creation.
As long as the students begin to think independently and create freely, regardless of whether your thinking and creation are mature, the purpose of this course will be achieved.
We look forward to the beginning of such creative reading and thinking.