Liberal arts in China's modern universities: Lessons from the great catholic educator and statesman, Ma Xiangbo

Abstract

Ma Xiangbo was born in 1840 and became a pioneer of educational reform during the republican period. He was responsible for introducing the idea that science and humanities should be valued equally in liberal arts education, a concept that became key to the model of university education. Ma's view of education combined Western humanism and science with classical Confucian humanism. His ideas still have a referential value for contemporary Chinese higher education and society. © 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.