The Social University Movement1

chapter 20 The Social University Movement1

There are two kinds of social universities: tangible social universities and intangible social universities. The social university movement is aimed at populariz- ing tangible social universities and giving formal recognition to the intangible social university so that every person in society acknowledges the intangible social university and is thus able to learn anytime and anywhere. The intangible social university is only placed in society but does not enjoy the name of “university.” In this university, sky is the roof, earth is the ground, the twenty-eight lunar mansions are the walls, and all people are classmates. In accordance with the principle of “those who know teach and those who do not know learn,” all people are both teachers and students. Creation of a new world is our major course. Although the intangible university does not enjoy the name of “social university,” it is in fact the greatest university, the university with the highest degree of freedom, and the university that best caters to the needs of the poor. We poor people have nothing but this kind of social university. Since this intangible social university belongs to us, we should acknowl- edge it, get to know it, value it, and make use of it to educate ourselves. In this way, we ourselves and our companions can form good learning habits. In other words, we will be able to make continued progress through lifelong learning. Thus, the first mission of the social university movement is to instill this notion into the mind of every person. Once, at a conference held by the Chinese Vocational Educational Institute, Mr. Huang Qisheng2 was listed as the number one guest. Unconvinced by the arrangement, some young cadres challenged the chairman by asking him what university Mr. Huang graduated from. Only when Mr. Jiang Wenyu answered that “Mr. Huang is a graduate from social university” was every attendant

1 This article was originally published in Selected Works of Tao Xingzhi’s Papers on Education in March 1947. 2 Huang Qisheng (1879–1946) was an educator born in Guizhou. During the late Qing Dynas- ty, he established the Dade School. He also participated in the Revolution of 1919. In 1921, he went to France to study under a work-study program. When he came back to China, he sponsored Zunyi Middle School. In 1929, he went to teach in Xiaozhuang Normal School in Nanjing. After the “Mukden Incident,” he was actively engaged in anti-Japanese national sal- vation movement. In 1945, he went to Yan’an. And on April 8, 1946, he died in a plane crash together with Wang Ruofei and Ye Ting when their plane to Yan’an flew over the top of Black Tea Mountain in Xingxian, Shanxi.

The Social University Movement 131 convinced. The social university referred to by Mr. Jiang is exactly the intangible social university I am taking about. Now that Mr. Huang Qi has scored notable achievements as a graduate from this intangible university, so let us make solid progress with our study in this university, pursue truth, and serve the public. Tangible social universities refer to night universities, morning univer sities, correspondence universities, journalistic universities, tourism universities, and broadcasting universities. The social universities in Chongqing are night universities, voluntarily established by vocational youngsters. Vocational youngsters in some places of Chongqing do not start working until 9 o’clock. They have two to three hours for study every morning. Therefore, morning universities can be established to meet the needs of these youngsters. According to my estimation, the number of young people attending night universities and morning universities has already reached four million. Every year, there are altogether 110 thousand high school graduates. Yet only around ten thousand of them are able to be admitted into formal universities. In other words, more than ninety thousand people are denied access to formal universities. Assume that everyone needs to study hard at least from sixteen to forty, then the number of young people denied access to universities is increased to 2.16 million based on a rough calculation. After deducting the 160 thousand who are either dead or seriously ill, there should be two million high school graduates who are in need of an opportunity to further their studies in normal universities. In addition, there are freshman, sophomore, and junior students who have to drop out of school in order to find a job to support themselves. There are people who have received a four-year university education but now feel the need for further study because times have changed. There are also a huge group of self-study youngsters who can make even more rapid progress if they are able to enjoy what social universities have to offer. As long as one is able to understand lectures and take notes, he is qualified to enter social universities. Then based on my estimation, there should be at least two million more people who also need to further study in social universities. Thus, according to my estimation, there are a total of four to five million vocational youngsters who need to further their studies in social universities. Under this context, we should carry out a social university movement across the country by estab- lishing night universities and morning universities in each and every city so as to meet the huge demand. Undoubtedly, night universities and morning universities can be established as subsidiaries of orthodox universities. But it is particularly necessary to set up independent night universities and morning universities. These universities can be set up by vocational youngsters,