A Study On Cai Yuanpei’s Idea Of Aesthetic Education

This article attempts to sort out the formation and development of Cai Yuanpei’s theory on ethics and aesthetic education,and to re-analyze the internal logic of the two as well as conduct an in-depth research on their conversion and transformation,in an attempt to reawaken the inner genes of Cai Yuanpei’s educational theory that can still be effective and meaningful for the education in the 21^st century.The primary challenge of this article lies in that Cai Yuanpei is not an expert in writing and most of his opinions and theories are scattered in his speeches which evolved slightly throughout his time.Therefore,researchers need to look at the problem from the core.Rather than being a theorist,Cai Yuanpei is more of an activist.He has been active at the top of the Chinese education community,directly participating in the formulation and implementation of education reform guidelines,and in charge of Peking University for several years before and after the New Culture Movement.For Cai Yuanpei’s educational theory research,his educational practice needs to be combined with the cultural background of the society at the time and the national and international political environment.Moreover,most of Cai’s educational theories have only been vaguely explained by the idea of“aesthetic eduction replacing religion”and“academic freedom,both compatible and inclusive”,and there has been a lack of ongoing study.In addition,almost all studies during the past two decades on Cai Yuanpei have provided similar and positive comments on Cai’s gentle and honest personality and his persistence,which is difficult for future researchers to develop a fresh perspective.Due to the challenges mentioned above,the author attempts to use“aesthetic education replacing religion”as a starting point to find a gap in the current studies and then widen the gap by studying Cai’s work.In addition,by introducing and comparing his“allies”along the timeline and analyzing his situation both horizontally and vertically,the author attempts to simulate and construct the problems and dilemmas Cai was facing and his approaches to solve them.Starting from the usual understanding of Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic education theory,that is,"aesthetic education replacing religion",the first part of the article points out that it is not sufficient to interpret Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic education view solely through religion.The limitation brought by this interpretation would be that it easily renders"religion"and"aesthetic education"into meaningless terms,thus ignoring the complexity and transmutation of the word"religion"in Cai’s theory and taking his aesthetic education theory as an exclusion and resistance to religious activities,or even an alternative.In the second part,the author attempts to clarify the conspiracy and separation of the religious aspect and its enlightenment in Cai Yuanpei’s religious view,and offers a more effective approach to viewing aesthetic education as an additional way to build better personalities.In the third part,the author begins with Cai Yuanpei’s ethical theories by raising these questions:what are the ideal new nationals?How to cultivate them if time goes back a hundred years?For those two generations of intellectuals a century ago,these two issues were their common concern and their responsibility.This chapter discusses how Cai transformed from the traditional ethics or virtues to the modern ethics through a detailed analysis of his translation work of three articles on ethics.Next,Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic education theories will be analyzed.Firstly,the term"aesthetic education"will be reorganized and repositioned,and the formation of his aesthetic education thoughts will be tracked and analyzed in more detail.Secondly,this part outlines and compares Cai Yuanpei’s view on aesthetic education with both its Chinese and western sources,and attempts to position aesthetic education back into the framework of Cai’s overall educational theory.The concluding part of the thesis firstly outlines the isomorphic relationship among Cai Yuanpei’s theories on ethics,aesthetic education and general education while exploring their inheritance and transformation.Then it returns to the current context to evaluate the need and significance for the education field to re-emphasize and study Cai’s educational theories.In the 21^st century where politics is stable,material life is rich,and more and more attention on aesthetic education are placed by individuals and the society,the mental state of human beings is somehow farther from the“new people”that Cai Yuanpei hoped to shape by his theory of aesthetic education.The inconsistency between people’s knowledge and action and the gap between their body and mind have become the common issue for modern people.They live in a time where knowledge is specialized into disciplines,education is strongly controlled by capital and big data,and ethics and aesthetics have become incompatible concepts.In times like these,it is more significant to re-study the theories and strategies of Cai Yuanpei and his generation of intellectuals to help people regain the sensibility and creativity and the courage to face reality and find solutions.The main innovation of this article is that it incorporates Cai Yuanpei’s aesthetic education theory into the framework of his overall educational theory,instead of simply separating his theories on ethics,aesthetic education,and general education.It attempts to define the logic and the inner relationship among the three,and elaborate creatively and organically on the transition between his theories throughout the time.