From Living Space to Cultural Space: How a Modern University Academy System is Possible

Abstract

The reforms on the modern university academy system that preserve certain elements of China’s ancient traditional academies have currently encountered a series of difficulties. The crux of the problem is that living and educational spaces were integrated in the traditional academy, while modern school education institution has separated the two. So the modern university academy system only inherits the spatial form of the traditional academy. To resolve these difficulties requires creatively preserving the spirit rather than the form of the traditional academy, systemically innovating in institutions such as the advisor system, general education curriculum, and association activities, and also exploring mechanisms for academies to coordinate with professional schools and university student affairs.

Keywords:

• academy system
• ancient academy
• cultural education
• general education

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yingqiang Zhang

Yingqiang Zhang is dean of, professor at, and PhD student advisor at the School of Education at Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Hualiang Fang

Hualiang Fang is a lecturer at Law and Business School of Wuhan Institute of Technology.