Xingzhi Thought Of Social Transformation

Tao xingzhi is not only a famous educationist but also an outstanding patriotic scholar during modern history of China. In the first half of the 2oth century, China was in turmoil and beset with great difficulties both at home and abroad. Trying to turn the tide, Tao Xingzhi was deeply engaged in pondering and exploring a way to conduct a social reform in modern China and brought up some sensible propositions. This paper, aiming at expounding his historic contribution to the social reform in modern China, will analyse it from cultural, educational, political, economical and scientific aspects.Part One: The foundation of Tao Xingzhi's thoughts on social reform. Tao Xingzhi's proposition about the social reform in China was based on his understanding of western and Chinese cultural ideology. He urged a dialectical reform of Chinese traditional culture and its merging with western culture on the basis of bringing forth new ideas. It was this cultural idea that laid the foundation of Tao Xingzhi's thought of the whole social reform.Part Two: The starting point of social reform. As a people's educationist, Tao Xingzhi had his feet firmly planted in rural area and regarded the reform of rural education as the starting point of social reform. He held that the old rural education could not meet with the requirements of building rural society in China. Therefore, it was high time to find a new way, that is, to establish "living education" to conform to the actual life in rural area, which should be conducted systematically through three procedures: experimenting period, training period and spreading period.Part Three: The political destination of social reform. Tao Xingzhi's thought about social reform has never been away from theconcern with democratic politics. His view of democratic politics, aiming at the great social reform in China, has experienced a developing process from the original pursuit of republic ideal to the inclination to the democracy of workers and peasants during the Anti-Japanese War, and then to the strive for proletarian democratic politics after the War.Part Four: the economic goal of social reform. The economic reform, aiming at "Creating a rich society instead of rich persons", played a very important role in the whole proposition of Tao Xingzhi's social reform. In order to achieve the goal, Tao Xingzhi advocated that the obstruction to economic development from home or abroad should be eliminated, and pointed out the way to the economic structure reform-'Take root in agriculture, make development in industry and commerce".Part Five. The scientific ideal of social reform, that is, building a scientific China in the 20th century. Tao Xingzhi maintained that science should be recognized in a dialectical way. One should not only give play to its positive functions, but also lay stress on the scientific ethics training to solve moral problems triggered by science. He also advocated popularization of science and attached great importance to the cultivation of children's scientific interest, wishing it will lead to the improvement of scientific quality of the whole nation.Tao Xingzhi's idea of social reform is precious spiritual legacy to us. It embodied his precious virtues as a educationist and patriot: strong sense of national crisis and courage to blaze new trails.