The Education Reform Of Wu Rulun

Wu rulun is the famous educationist in modern china. He is a firm fighter who abolished imperial examination, and a vanguard of educational reformation. Facing the harsh reality when western powers invaded china, Qing government forced to open the gate of the country, to sign a series of unequal treaties. He soberly realized that the basic reason for the poorness and backward is not the backward of technology but the outdate of the education which is hard to train the talent people of"applying what is experienced". Hence, he first raised the flag of education innovation, hoped to save country by education.He targeted on the imperial examination, which corrupted the style of study, and ruined talent people. In his opinion, the crucial reason for why modern china can not train qualified people is due to the education system which centered on imperial examination. Hence, he advocated to abolish imperial examination completely, and use a brand new education system instead. Thus he struggled against the conservative regressions firmly. At the same time he considered that abolishing imperial examination can just remove obstacles for education reform, and the basic measure is to inject new blood to Chinese education. Then he maintained to adapt many ways to speed the spread of western learning, such as translating books widely, and opening newspaper office to public, etc. This formed a type of importing pattern of"western language","western natural science knowledge","western political science". Under his unremitting efforts, western learning spread widely in China. But he thought that reading books and newspapers is just a short way to spread western learning, and the useful way is to establish new style school, and propagate western learning. So he advised education authorities to set up new school from the aspects of school patterns, staff qualifications, financial resources, and class teaching reform. under the advocacy of these theories, he managed the practical activities of education reform personally. In 1899, he did reformation in Lianchi Academy, and established"Japanese"and"western language"School despite world condemnation, and taught western learning knowledge in old college; He also bought books by himself for the students to read ,and to learn the outside world; He also employed famous educators both in at home and abroad to communicate, leave a free and strong culture atmospheres. To proceed education reform deeply, he volunteered to visit Japan and investigate educational system in 1902. during the one hundred days in Japan, he investigated 44 all kinds of schools at all levels, listened to 17 reports by ministry of education and had informal discussions with experts of educational circles and other industries. He recorded all the results from establishment of schools to new advanced equipments, from teaching method to performance evaluation, from the source of funding to the treatment of the workers. He made his every effort for the first educational system of China. With the investigated achievements, he established one new school——Tong Cheng School in his hometown at the declining years. He fulfilled the educational idealization and put into operation.His frame of mind of abolishing imperial examination, advocating western learning, cultivating talents, initiating schools and strengthening state is very explicit. Therefore, he made an outstanding contribution for the educational modernization and furnished some mirrors for the today's education reformation.