CAI Yuanpei's "Social Transformation Thought" Before And After The May 4th Movement

Since modern times,China has been facing increasingly serious social and national crises.Chinese people are eager to find a shortcut to get rid of the crisis and achieve prosperity.Around the May 4th Movement,influenced by the trend of thought of social transformation after the First World War and the darkening domestic political situation,people of insight realized that democratic political reform lacked the support of social forces,so they began to study the thought of social transformation,hoping to make a contribution in the social field and pursue national independence and society.Will develop.Cai Yuanpei is one of the most influential figures in the history of modern Chinese thought.He has been exploring the great problem of the era of "where China is going" all his life.Before and after the May 4th Movement,Cai Yuanpei devoted himself to the study of social transformation thought and made remarkable achievements in political practice and academic innovation.This article mainly elaborates Cai Yuanpei's thought of "social transformation" from three parts: the formation background,the main content,the characteristics and the evaluation of Cai Yuanpei's thought of "social transformation".The first part of this paper introduces the formation background of Cai Yuanpei's thought of "social transformation" around the May 4th Movement.Since modern times,the increasingly serious national crisis has been the external stimulating factor for social transformation,while the internal social crisis and new changes in China are the fundamental reasons for social transformation.The combination of internal and external factors has bred the strong demand of Chinese advanced elements for social transformation.Cai Yuanpei's own learning and political experience made him form a whole set of ideas about social transformation.In his reformation thought,the thought of "freedom,equality,love" put forward during the French Revolution,anarchism,mutualism,Confucianism and the doctrine of harmony and the doctrine of the mean constitute important ideological sources.The second part elaborates the main contents and characteristics of Cai Yuanpei's thought of "social transformation" around the May 4th Movement.Cai Yuanpei's thought of "social transformation" includes three aspects: spiritual transformation,political improvement and industrial development.At the level of spiritual transformation,he advocated the transformation of national character,emphasized human spiritual freedom and advocated the establishment of education;at the level of political improvement,he mainly advocated reformism,supported a good government and advocated the legal system;at the level of industrial development,he advocated utilitarian education,sympathized with socialist ideals and the labor movement.From the content of Cai Yuanpei's thought of "social transformation",we can see that Cai Yuanpei's reformist tendency and emphasis on the characteristics of "spiritual" power.The third part compares Cai Yuanpei's thought of social transformation with that of early communists,which shows the foresight and depth of Cai Yuanpei's thought.By summarizing the historical significance,practical significance and limitations of Cai Yuanpei's thought of social transformation around the May 4th Movement,this paper draws some useful enlightenments for the current reform process in China.