Fill Children's Life With Music

Chen Heqin (1892-1982) was modern China's eminent educator, child psychologist and child education expert. He was a pioneer and founder of China's early childhood education, a distinguished advocator and researcher of family education, elementary education and teacher education, as well as a trailblazer of children's music education. He was even referred to as "China's Frobel" for his great achievement in introducing modern western theories of education and in exploring China's way of developing his own modern education. In his entire career, Chen had devoted much to children's music education in theory and practice and developed an "active education theory" which he based his music education practice on. As an essential part of his complete system of educational thought, his thought on children's music education contains many views which are still of great practical significance. Therefore, a comprehensive study of Chen Heqin's thought on children's music education is highly valuable in developing children's music education in China and searching for a Chinese way to reform it, especially by applying the "active education theory" to it.By adopting the methodology of literature study, this thesis has conducted a comprehensive research into the formation, development, theoretical value and practical implications of Chen Heqin's thought on Children's music education and found that his thought had took shape and matured during his lifetime child education practice with his "active education theory" as its cornerstone. Base on his relevant theses and publications of different periods, this thesis analyzes his children's music education thought and practice from the perspective of child's life and psychology, and concludes that Chen's thought has at least four practical implications as follows: 1. children's interest in music learning should be cultivated; 2. creativity in music education should be valued; 3. national music education should be preserved; 4. the overall quality of music teachers should be improved.