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Cài Yuánpéi (
Chinese 蔡元培,
Wade-Gilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cai_Yuanpei&action=edit
Edit this pages: Ts'ai Yüan-p'ei) (
January 11, 1868 –
March 5, 1940) was a
Chinese educator and the chancellor of the
Peking University, known for his critical evaluation of the
Chinese culture that led to the influential
May Fourth Movement. In his thinking, Yuanpei was heavily influenced by
Anarchism.
*
Courtesy name: Hèqīng (鶴卿)
*
Sobriquet: "Lone Citizen" (孑民 Jiémín)
Born in Shānyīn Village,
Shaoxing Subprefecture, Zhejiang Province, Cai was appointed to the
Hanlin Imperial Academy at 26. In 1898, he became involved in administering institutes and became:
* Superintendent of Shaoxing Chinese-Western School (紹興中西學堂監督)
* Head of Shèng District Shànshān College (嵊縣剡山書院院長)
* Director-Teacher of the Special Class of Nanyang Public School (南洋公學特班總教習)
He established
Guangfuhui in
1904 and joined
Tongmenghui the next year.
After studying
philosophy, psychology, and
art history in the
Universität Leipzig of
Germany in
1907 with
Karl Lamprecht, he became the provisional Republic's Minister of Education in January 1912, but later resigned during
Yuan Shikai's presidency. Subsequently, he returned to Germany, and then went to
France.
Cai came back to China in 1916 to became the Chancellor of
Peking University the next year. It was during his tenure at Peking University that he recruited such famous thinkers (and future CCP leaders) to the school as
Chen Duxiu and
Li Dazhao. In
1927, he co-founded the National College of Music, which later became the
Shanghai Conservatory of Music. In April 1928, he became the first president of the
Academia Sinica.
Cai proposed the equal importance of five ways of life — "
Virtue, Wisdom, Health, Collective, and
Beauty" (德、智、體、群、美) — that are still learned as a slogan today in
Taiwan. He was also an opponent of
foot binding and
concubinage, as well as being a proponent of women's right to
divorce and remarriage.
Cai Yuanpei died at the age of 76 in
Hong Kong.
---Cai Yuanpei and the National Art Academy
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