The Endless Dance: Realization of Western Liberal Arts Tradition in Chinese Cultural Context

When United International College (uic) was jointly founded in 2005 by the Beijing Normal University and the Hong Kong Baptist University, there is one clear goal: to create an innovative liberal arts education model for China and the world as a contribution towards the education reform of China and diversification of the country’s higher education landscape. But how?

The answer to this question lies in the “River of History.” While ancient Greece is the origin for liberal arts (artes liberales) education in the fifth and fourth centuries bc, it in fact also blossomed much earlier in ancient China with a different appearance. During the Zhou Dynasty (zhouchao 周朝, 1122-256 bc), students in ancient China were required to master the six arts: rites (li 禮), music (yue 樂), archery (she 射), horsemanship (yu 御), calligraphy (shu 書) and mathematics (shu 數). These not only spanned both arts and science but included sports as well. Later on, these six arts formed the cornerstone of Confucian education with a key emphasis on being humane through moral education. Men who excelled in these six arts would be extolled as perfect gentlemen, or junzi (君子) in Chinese. According to Confucius (Kongzi 孔子), well-known as the greatest Chinese educator, a junzi should not be “a particular utensil” (junzi buqi 君子不器). In other words, a gentleman is well-rounded instead of being self-confining. According to the western tradition, liberal arts education is also opposed to vocational education. Along this line, it appears to be appropriate in addressing the Confucian six arts as Chinese liberal arts.

Despite the similarities identified between liberal arts education in Greece and China, it is indisputable that the dominant model of liberal education did originate in the West with most of the best liberal arts colleges now located in the United States of America. The Association of American Colleges & Universities (aacu) defines a liberal education as “an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest.” 1 Today, a liberal education usually encompasses a general education curriculum with broad learning on multiple fronts and ways of knowing, coupled with in-depth study in a specific discipline.

Does the practice of the Chinese liberal arts provide a useful context for the realization of the contemporary liberal arts education model in China? In the last decade, United International College has striven to answer this question through developing a liberal arts education model with Chinese characteristics.

From the very beginning, uic was fully aware of the undesirability of having a copycat of the American model in China. It is almost obligatory that localization be a process of creative transformation rather than a simple adaptation and imitation. In responding to societal needs, western liberal education also evolved over time: from ancient Greece to the Renaissance, to the industrial age, and to where we are now, the era of globalization and information technology.

As mentioned above, the Confucian heritage of China stresses the importance of cultivating the whole person. In the Confucian tradition, the trait of a junzi is his love of knowledge in its broadest sense: he does not only master a rich array of skills but also probes the nature of self-improvement. To a junzi, learning is a dynamic, open and transformative process with himself at the nexus of relationships connecting to layers of bigger wholes including family, community, state, the world and the cosmos. The step-by-step broadening process of self-cultivation is best described in the Confucian classic, the Great Learning (daxue 大学), as the following eight-part sequence: (1) investigation of things (gewu 格物); (2) extension of knowledge (zhizhi 致知), (3) authentication of the will (chengyi 诚意), (4) rectification of the mind (zhengxin 正心), (5) cultivation of the personal life (xiushen 修身), (6) regulation of family (qijia 齐家), (7) governance of the state (zhiguo 治国), and (8) peacemaking throughout the whole world (pingtianxia 平天下). This eight-part sequence can be further condensed to an inner dimension of cultivating the self (the first five steps) to be a sage, and an outer dimension of serving the society (the last three steps) as a responsible community leader. The whole process pivots on the fifth step, the cultivation of the personal life.

Compared with the Confucian focus on character-building and self-cultivation, the Western tradition accentuates the individual’s intellectual and cognitive capabilities. Ever since the industrialization that took place in the mid-eighteenth century in Europe and North America, people’s standard of living in terms of material comfort and convenience has been greatly improved by modernization. However, the adverse consequences accompanying this progress can never be exaggerated. Every task is divided into sub-tasks according to the principle of division of labor so as to boost productivity and the body of knowledge one can or will acquire is rapidly shrinking. Such negligence of wholeness of the world is worsened by the obsessive belief in science and technology which leads to the decline of aesthetics, morality and spirituality. The situation is further deteriorated by other sub-products of modernization, including: economic inequalities and disparities between social classes; conflicts between different cultures and value systems; disintegration of extended families and the emergence of individualism; excessive exploitation of natural and environmental resources. The many crises that have happened in this century prove that scientific advances and knowledge specialization is not as universal an answer or solution as we once believed.

An old Chinese saying goes, “stones there embellish gems here (tashan zhishi, keyi gongyv 他山之石, 可以攻玉).” The wisdom of Chinese culture can be helpful in addressing the problems above caused by the modern world. Dr. Arnold Toynbee, the noted British historian, praised highly the “humanism in the Confucian worldview” and the “rationalism in both Confucianism and Buddhism” in his dialogue with Dr. Daisaku Ikeda (1976). 2 According to Toynbee, these values foster the peaceful unity of the world. He further maintained that the system of moral values based on Confucianism’s ren (benevolence), Moism’s Universal Love and the Confucian idea of mankind’s obligation to “all creatures under the heaven” 3 is the only hope for mankind’s future. As such, uic feels it is all the more important to instill in our students the very precious essence of the Chinese culture not only for the sake of knowing the “root” of their culture, but also to help build their character.

At uic, character building occurs in multiple ways. First, the Golden Rule of Confucianism applies on an interpersonal level: “Do not impose upon others what you do not wish for yourself (jisuo buyu, wushiyuren 己所不欲, 勿施于人).” 4 Confucius also says “wishing to establish oneself, one helps to establish others; wishing to develop oneself, one helps to develop others (jiyuli erliren, jiyuda erdaren 己欲立而立人, 己欲达而达人).” 5

Second, for interaction between different cultures and value systems, Confucius writes, “a junzi upholds harmony and does not push for uniformity (junzi heer butong 君子和而不同).” 6 For Confucius “harmony” does not entail the push towards uniformity or the refusal to accommodate others’ differences. Rather, harmony requires the appreciation of others’ merits and working for cohesion. From the Confucian perspective, different cultures are simply different facets of a bigger whole. Through collective efforts, cultures can complement and benefit from each other, glorifying and promoting each other. This is particularly true since we now live in a flat world, where historical and geographical divisions are increasingly irrelevant.

Last but not least, for the relationship between human and nature, both Confucianism and Taoism underscore the “unity of Heaven and Humanity (tianren heyi 天人合一).” As Professor Weiming Tu (杜维明) points: “this is an anthropocosmic worldview, in which the human is embedded in the cosmic order, rather than an anthropocentric worldview, in which the human is alienated, either by choice or by default, from the natural world.” 7 This wisdom mirrors the truth that humanity is just one of the components of the world. Indeed, human beings can be sustainable only if environmental protection and ecological conservation outweighs the obsession of growing the Gross Domestic Product (gdp).

Bearing in mind the characteristics of modern society and the teachings of Confucius, how can we realize the western liberal arts tradition in a Chinese cultural context? The myriad of complexities and difficulties during the course of realization cannot be overstated. In a short span of 10 years, uic has striven to establish itself as a forward looking and energetic liberal arts college. It is always eager to imbibe the merits of traditional values from both western liberal arts education as well as traditional Chinese cultures, and apply them in a modern society like China. It is, in fact, a pleasant surprise to find that such an “East-meets-West” interaction is vibrant, dynamic and perpetual.

On the one hand, uic attempts to retain the most defining characteristics of a us-style liberal arts college including a focus on high quality undergraduate education, small class size, a high level of student-teacher interaction, a 4-year campus residence, a 2-year general education curriculum that provides broad learning in multiple disciplines plus a 2-year in-depth study in a special field. In setting up the academic structure of the college, we have deliberately established divisions and programs (vs. faculties and departments) to avoid segregation and isolation of disciplines and to facilitate cross-fertilization of ideas that will hopefully spark new advances in knowledge. Our general education common core courses include foreign language studies, mathematics, ethics, physical education, foundation courses of interdisciplinary nature, and three compulsory courses that are related to Chinese traditional culture: Chinese literature, Chinese history and civilization, and Chinese thought through the ages.

In terms of caring for students, apart from a high level of student-teacher interaction, uic believes that parents should be involved since almost every student is the only child of the family. To that end, uic established the Four Point Education Office (students, teachers, parents, community) to liaise with parents and alumni. The parents are kept well-informed about university activities and together with the university address problems that arise. At the beginning of every academic year, a high table dinner is held in honor of the parents of the freshmen class to help them gain a deeper understanding of the university. This signature event is, without exception, always oversubscribed.

On the other hand, uic develops a unique whole person education experiential learning program with a strong emphasis on the Chinese liberal arts. The program includes the following courses: emotional intelligence, outdoor adventure and ropes course, experiential arts, sports culture, voluntary services, environmental awareness and adversity management. These courses offer various non-cognitive dimensions of learning experiences and aim to foster students’ development in teamwork, stamina and persistence, interpersonal skill, self-awareness, endurance, creativity, sense of responsibility and culture awareness. To further support the development of whole person education, the hundred plus student-run interest clubs on campus play a very significant role. These clubs, ranging from creative writing, sports, culture to charity work and entrepreneurial workshops, are generally vibrant and engaging. An interesting activity, organized by The Whole Person Education Interest Club, is the apprenticeship ceremony (jingshili 敬师礼) in which the students perform the ancient rite to pay homage to their teachers. This activity was entirely initiated by the students who undertook a great deal of research to ‘resurrect’ the rite (and teachers learn a lot from this moving event). All these efforts reaffirm the significance of “learning through experience” and “learning through practice”, which will prepare uic graduates to become servant leaders of our society in the future. Such “unity of thought and action (zhixin heyi 知行合一)” is de facto manifested in the motto of uic, “In knowledge and in deeds, unto the whole person (bowen yazhi, zhenzhiduxing 博文雅志, 真知笃行).”

In short, the liberal arts education model of uic embraces the western liberal arts tradition, that is, the pursuit of new knowledge, the cultivation of creativity, critical thinking and social responsibility; and simultaneously it is illuminated by the Chinese traditional culture in cohesion, harmony and humanity. Up till now, six cohorts of students have graduated from uic under this model whose performance is highly regarded by their parents and society. Over half of our graduates go on to further study, the other half enter into industry. Many in the latter category have chosen to start their own business, some with great success already. uic graduates have tried their best to live the spirit of the four pillars of education advocated by unesco for the 21st century, which are: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.

However, there is always room for enhancement and improvement. As the title of this essay suggests, the dance between the East and the West is endless. The relationship is reciprocal and ever evolving, depending on the cultural paradigm shifts. Indeed, there is an imperative for uic to think on a higher plane and to revisit the very essence of liberal arts education, especially in the current climate with its fervent admiration of research productivity and fierce ranking competition among higher education institutions.

A few lines from Confucius conclude this essay: “When the Great Way prevailed, the world community was equally shared by all . . . Mutual confidence was fostered and good neighborliness cultivated . . . This was called the age of Great Harmony (datong 大同).” 8