Highway To Educational Innovation—Study Of Hu Shi's Chinese Language Educational Thoughts

Hu Shi, one of the pioneers and advocators for ‘May-Fourth' New Literary Movement, has extracted the quintessence of western modern scientific theory for ‘democracy' and ‘science'. He successfully advocated the popularization of modern vernacular Chinese and he energetically infused the Chinese language education with the theories and practice of western education. He boldly explored educational innovation the path for Chinese modern language education with his wider knowledge.By analyzing Hu Shi's literatures and referring newspapers and periodicals from the Republic of China, this academic dissertation formulated his Chinese language education ideologies, educational thoughts, and connotation for these thoughts and the enlightenments for Chinese modern language education. As Hu Shi's ideologies, Chinese language education should be the liberal education for the individual emancipation, the democratic education to the masses, and the scientific education for the exploration of research methods. Guided by these ideologies, Hu Shi created that the goal of Chinese language curriculum is that students has the right to freedom of expression, the schedule should be reasonable in curriculum provision and be pruned with inaptitude courses, both ancient Chinese prose and modern vernacular Chinese should be adopted in the teaching materials selection and production, the ancient Chinese prose education should not be ignored as well as encouraging students to read vernacular novels and watch Vernacular Chinese dramas in Chinese course content. Hu Shi broke the traditional educational mode, teachers talking and students listening, in innovation of Chinese language education. He advocated that students should select the reading booklist by themselves, increase the reading quantity and enhance their own consciousnesses during learning. Hu Shi held that composition teaching is not only guiding students' simple imitation, but also constituting the free expression of their thoughts as the purpose for writing. Hu Shi also creatively introduced speeches and debates, embodying the democratic Chinese language class, in middle school Chinese language education. Moreover, the Hu Shi's Chinese teaching thoughts still possess mirroring and enlightening significances to the present Chinese Language education reform, besides the guiding significance during the reform of Chinese language education in the 1920 s.