strongly against the system; the Nationalist gov ernment, in view of the results, abolished it in 1928 and substituted the "new school system," with an educational program patterned after the "three principles of the people" advocated by Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, founder of the Republic of China. Unfortunately, the spirit of progressive education could not be banished and it continued to dominate the intellectual, educational and cultural circles. The new culture movement very successfully undermined Chinese culture and traditions, but it had no philosophy to guide the individual and social life of the people. The advocates and fol lowers of the movement brought to China the Western ideologies of pragmatism, experimentalism, positivism, naturalism, evolutionism, materialism, socialism and atheism. But they never stopped to consider whether or not these theories could satisfy the needs or solve the problems of China, or could be adapted to the character of the Chinese people. The "great introducers of new theories" revelled in their glory. Because these new ideologies are doctrines of change, in which there is no absolute truth and no reality, they offer no philosophy of life, without which one's life is incomplete. The new movement destroyed the old Chinese design for living and did not provide another; the people were led to the crossroads and abandoned there. They were lost. Even the leaders of the new culture movement began to lose confidence in the ideologies they had introduced. This tremendous vacuum in the minds of the Chinese made them easy prey for communism. The people were told by the underground Communists that communism is the only cure-all for the ills of China. The underground Communists introduced the doctrine of class struggle and underlined the
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Traditional education in China is based on the philosophy of Confucius. In Great Learning (one of the Four Confucian Books, written by Tseng-Tse, a well-known disciple of Con fucius), one reads: " T he way of g re a t le a r ning is to unde r stand bright virtues, to improve the people and to rest in the Supreme Good." To attain this goal one should "gain knowledge through the investigation of things, train a sincere will, rectify one's heart, cultivate one's personality, manage one's family, administrate the affairs of the State and promote universal brotherhood." [Dr. Kao has transcribed this quotation in Chinese characters, shown above.] This is called the Triple Purpose and Eight Programs of Education. The method of educat i o n starts with the perfection of the i n dividual through intellectual and moral teachings. It is then extended to the family, society, the State and the world. Family management is best promoted by harmonious cooperation between husband and wife, parental love and filial piety between parents and children, and
mutual assistance between brothers and sisters. In society, fidelity among friends is greatly encouraged. In the State administration, justice between the ruler and his officials must always be maintained. In Annals, book of King Yao (2375 B.C.), one reads that Chi was appointed Minister of the Department of Education to teach the people Five Relationships, as follows : "Love and piety between father and son; justice between the king and his officials; harmony between husband and wife; mutual assistance among brothers; fidelity among friends." Confucius and his followers adopted this teaching and developed it. In the field of universal brotherhood, the principle of Wang Tao, meaning to conquer by winning the hearts of the people, is emphasized; Pa Tao, which means to conquer by force, is frowned upon. This principle was expounded by Mencius, great philosopher and follower of Confucius, as indicated in his book Mencius, the last of the Four Confucian Books.