A Study Of Hu Yuantan’s Education Ideology And Practical Process

Hu Yuantan founded Mingde School, the first modern private school of Hunan in1903，so that he could fulfill his dream of saving the nation by education. Enduringthe humiliation, bearing hardships and sticking to the spirit of running school with“sparing no pains” for life-long time, he made Mingde be a shining pearl in theeducation field in the Republic Period of China. It was rare and famous in Chinesemodern education history for its long history; large scale; high teaching quality andits profound social influences. Hu Yuantan created this unique educationsystem---Mingde School to save the nation by education and cultivate medium talents.He had been engaged in raising money for school in his lifetime, and attached muchimportance to select excellent teachers so as to cultivate a large number of talents forthe countries and make Mingde well-known all over the world. Hu Yuantan’stremendous education practice reflects his deep education ideology, and his idea ofrunning a school becomes the precious spiritual wealth of China.The formation of Hu Yuantan’s education ideology has its special background,which is deeply influenced by Confucianism and Hunan Culture, which can beregarded as the ideological origins of his thought, and the current environments athome and abroad also plays an invisible and formative role in the formation of histhought. In the tide of the education reforms at that time, he proposed the concepts oftalents for overall development, saving the nation by education, blending the best ofEast and West and absorbing them, making students supreme, applying what isexperienced and cultivating practical talents, etc. to conform to the request of thetimes. These views were advanced education thoughts at that time. Hu Yuantanaccounted for his education theory by his own education practice. His Mingde Schoolwas regarded as a pioneer of “abolishing imperial examination system and buildingschools” as well as one of the sources of the “1911Revolution”. He reformed theeducational systems, established a unique educational system so that he trained alarge number of qualified talents for both Hunan and the country, and promoted theeducational development of Hunan, even the whole nation. His education thoughtsand practice were of certain reference value for the education purposes, thedevelopment and utilization of education resources, the set-up of the professionalcourses, the construction of teachers and the training of talents, etc.