On The Education Thought In Lu Xun’s Works

Lu Xun is a great writer, thinker and revolutionist. Besides, he is also a great educator. Although Lu Xun has not left any systematic works on education, throughout his life he has never ceased his efforts for the cause of education.Lu Xun’s education thoughts are mainly reflected in his works, among which there are seventy or eighty articles relating to education issues.This paper, taking Lu Xun’s works as the object of study, studies its education thoughts and explores the quintessence so as to make contribution to the contemporary education. It will be divided into three parts.The first part discusses the forming of Lu Xun’s education thoughts which is determined by his study and work experiences and the background at that time. He studied in family school and old-style private school and was raised by receiving the old feudal education, which made him gain a clear understanding of the true features of old feudal education. When his father died, he studied in the new-style school in Nanjing, and then studied abroad in Japan. After returning to China, he spent nearly twenty years on education, making contribution to the cause of education through his own efforts. The Revolution of1911in China and the New Culture Movement at that time have great influence on Lu Xun. So it is with the thoughts from western educators during his study and work experiences. All these experiences have determined the development of his thoughts, gradually forming his own education thoughts.The second part discusses the education thoughts embodied in Lu Xun’s works. It includes education for children and the mass,"well-rounded person", learning theory and other aspects, involving in many areas of education. He has his unique insights in each aspect. In terms of education for children, he relentlessly criticized the destruction of old feudal education for children. He considers that the education for children needs the joint efforts of family, school and society; he spared great efforts to promote education of the mass, hoping that everyone has the right to education and can receive a good education so as to promote the development of society; in terms of education for women, he also has his own unique insight that he wants to cultivate the "well-rounded person" that has all-round development of morality, intelligence, physique and aesthetic; he also has detailed discussion on learning theory.The third part discusses the historical and practical significance of Lu Xun’s education thoughts. His education thoughts are already advanced at that time. His many views on education and relevant education practice have effectively promoted the development of modern education. Even at present, the quintessence of Lu Xun’s education thoughts is still worth absorbing and using for reference.