Freeing young minds from fetters of the past

BEIJING, July 1 -- Aurora University was a beacon of Chinese educational reform and a model for today's prestigious Fudan University. It was a new style of schooling that infused studies with Western sciences, languages, philosophy and law, writes Nie Xin.

For almost half a century from 1903 to 1951, Aurora University in Shanghai played an important role as an incubator of some of the best and brightest.

It was a trendsetter in educational reform at a time when China was opening up and needed sharp, questing young graduates.

Aurora (Zhen Dan), meaning "dawn," was founded in 1903, one of China's first Catholic institutes of higher education. It was considered by some to be the first modern, Western-style university in China.

Opened in Xujiahui, it moved in 1908 to Chongqing Road S. (then called Avenue Dubail). It is now the Shanghai No. 2 Medical University.

Its founder was Joseph Ma Xiangbo (1840-1939), a former Jesuit, Catholic patriot and activist. He was dedicated to reforming Chinese education, but retaining its core of Chinese studies. "Uphold Science: Respect Art and Literature" was his motto.

Aurora was to be "a new style of university that would keep pace with Western universities," said Ma, a scholar of Latin and Greek and a skilled translator.

Its aim, everyone agreed, was "to provide a place where young Chinese people could study European science and be given a high level of education without having to get it in Europe or America."

Founded initially to produce translators, Aurora's curriculum expanded greatly in the sciences and its graduates included many important academics, physicians, engineers, officials, diplomats and writers.

Notables include Yu Youren (1879-1964) who established the Shenzhou Daily; educators and political figures Shao Lizi (1881-1967) and Ma Junwu (1881-1940), among others.

At the end of the 19th century, China was faced a growing demand for higher education, science and technology for its modernization. Classical Chinese education alone was considered too narrow. Spirited debate, criticism and contrary opinions were not encouraged. And in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), free speech in public was sharply limited, if not banned outright.

The Jesuits of Shanghai were responsible for education in the former French Concession and decided to open a university. This was endorsed by the Chinese government and French authorities - they had noted the growth of Protestant schools and wanted their own.

"(Aurora) was a symbol of renewal," says Claire Le Chatelier, organizer of the book "Walks in the Heart of the Former French Concession."

"Weary of traditional teaching methods and desiring a new approach, as well as impressed by the prestige of the Jesuits, students thronged to the new school right after it opened," she says.

Ma recalled some stirring moments: "Every Sunday morning, I would gather all the students to a meeting. I would set a topic, and let one student start to make a speech. Then other students made comments and criticism, one by one. They were very interested in this model - expressing their own opinions and discussing with others; even the foreign teachers agreed with this."

His recollections from 1935 are contained in a history published in 1996 by Fudan University.

In 1905, however, a dispute between Ma and the studies supervisor, Father Perrin, resulted in Ma leaving Aurora, followed by some students. The issues: The church and French authorities, Ma believed, should not run the university; there was also disagreement over Ma's emphasis on Chinese studies in addition to Western curriculum.

"They (Ma and other scholars) founded a new university, which is today's Fudan University. 'Fudan' also means 'Aurora renewal'," says Wang Shenghong, president of Fudan University.

Ma's departure did not affect the fame of Aurora and the fathers even had to work out a stricter recruitment system in 1905 as the number of applicants kept increasing. Out of 135 applicants, only 40 could be admitted at that time.

By comparison, in 1903 Ma had only 12 students, in 1915 there were 157, 384 in 1935 and 445 in 1938. In 1948, it reached a peak of 1,078 students, with 24 Jesuits, five other priests and 149 civilian staff.

In 1932, the Chinese government formally recognized Aurora University.

In the early years, under Ma, the students studied philosophy, French, law, English and Latin - with plenty of Chinese literature and history.

The new curriculum expanded to four years - the first two were equivalent to French secondary school and were taught first in Chinese, then in French. The two final years covered science or literature and were taught in French.

In 1908 the curriculum expanded to six years - the first half was for preparation and broad-based study. The last three years were specialized. Graduates received a degree equivalent to those being issued in France.

In 1912 two scientists from Aurora began to work with nearby St Mary's Hospital. This generated interest, and a medical school was opened in 1915, then a dental school in 1920. It also had a law school with a capacity of 250,000 books.