Liu Daoyu has been the president of China's best university for more than 40 years. When he was president of Wuhan University in the 1980s, he set himself two principles: leave no room for speech, and leave no way back for doing things. He often does"Say what others don't say, and say what others don't dare to say"γThe following three sentences he said spoke the hearts of countless people
About the truth
He said:"The reason why I dare not tell the truthThere are three main ones: the first is that they are unwilling to listen to the truth. The second is the aftermath of a brutal campaign aimed at the whole person. Again, there is the negative influence of traditional culture. Although there are not many people who tell the truth, there are still many people;However, few listen to the truth, especially the harsh criticism. Over time, people's motivation has been dampened, and fewer and fewer people are telling the truth. β
About education
He said:"It may seem like a beautiful slogan to regard education as the 'foundation of the nation', but in fact it is also to use education as a tool. From the point of view of the function of the universityIt is true that education has the function of serving the economy and society, but to intervene and control education on this ground is contrary to the principle of educational independence, which is the main reason for the administrativeization of universities. β
About the University
He said:"College is a hard-boiled egg with its shell peeled, white on the outside and yellow on the inside. Universities were basically imported from the West at the time of the Westernization Movement and the Wuxu ReformFrom the beginning of the introduction, we have used the idea of pragmatism, that is, the Westernization Movement put forward 'middle school for the body, Western learning for use'. I think the slogan was wrong at that time, it should be 'Western learning is the body, middle school is for use'. Because modern science originated in the West. β
Liu Daoyu's spirit of daring to criticize and never retreat made him a pioneer of educational reform in the 80s and created a unique "Luojia Mountain Miracle", but because of the advanced concept and too large the pace of reform, it was not tolerated by vested interests, and he was dismissed "for no reason" and ended up withdrawing.
After leaving Wuhan University as president, he devoted himself to the study of education, public welfare, and the fate of China's reform. Published in 2021"The Restoration of His Life: An Oral History of Liu Daoyu".is by far the most important book he has ever admired. In addition to the true restoration of the education reform in the 80s, as well as the untold stories in front of and behind the scenes, the book also brings together Liu Daoyu's thought process and research results in the last 30 years, which is very worth reading. Click on the product card below to collect it with one click