| Starting with the publishing background of college-textbook series, this article is to discuss the historical influence and practical significance of college-textbook series on the development of academic culture and higher education of China. The whole article is divided into four parts.The first part discusses the background of the publication of college-textbook series. During 1927-1932 The Nanjing National Government enacted a series of educational statutes, which greatly fostered the systematization of higher education in China and made the publication of college-textbook series the need of times of the development of higher education. A long time after the emergence of the modern universities, most of the textbooks used in college teaching were compiled by foreigners. Some are even in original foreign language. The abnormal state that almost all the college students use foreign textbooks lasted till 1930s, about which the people of educational circle deeply anxious. The compiling and publishing a set of college textbooks of China's own became the major task of China's higher education and academic culture development in modern times. The appeal "Nationalizethe textbooks "made by Cai Yuanpei aroused wild attention of people from the higher education circle. Wang Yunwu, person in charge of The Commercial Press, perceived the importance of compiling college textbooks in Chinese.The second part of this article comments on and analyzes several representative translations of college-textbook series. The Commercial Press successively published 325 categories of college-textbook series among which translations take up 129 categories. This article is to discuss the historical impact and practical significance of college-textbook series on China's higher education and academic independence through elaborating several representative translations. The five translations of college-textbook series to be discussed in this part is Histoire de Monogols, representative translation of sinology;The Outline of History, representative translation of social science;Physile, representative translation of natural science;Psychology, representative translation of philosophy;Introduction to The Study of the Law of the Constitution, representative translation of politics and laws. It is to expound the effects of the translations this field of learning by analyzing conditions of the translator, academic contents and writing features of each translation. It also compares The Outline of History with China General History and Physik with General Physics. By comparative study, it will expound the difference between the translation of college-textbook series and thetextbooks compiled by the Chinese scholars themselves so as to achieve mutual supplement, and further emphasize the translations of college-textbook series.The third part of this article summarizes the historical impact and practical significance of the translations of college-textbook series. The historical impact lies in that it not only provided China with available college textbooks but also greatly promoted the standardization of the compiling of the college textbooks and curriculum. Meanwhile, it boosts the development of academic culture in that its publication has given a lesson to today's reformation of higher education and construction and that it promotes cultural communication and mutual understanding between Chinese and people from abroad. And successful experience for today's publishing running.The forth part analyzes the spirit of culture of the Commercial Press stood and survived several misfortunes amid national calamity;however it persisted in publishing college-textbook series under such difficulty. That is all because that Wang Yunwu, person in charge of The Commercial Press, insisted on the stand of nationalism, which make great efforts and contribution to the national culture and educational undertakings running. This kind of striving spirit and national righteousness really deserves our carrying forward. |
PDF Full Text Request