Myths and Lessons of Modern Chinese History

William C. Kirby; Brittany  Crow

Background Note | HBS Case Collection | November 2007 (Revised February 2009)

Myths and Lessons of Modern Chinese History

Abstract

China is an ancient civilization, but it is really a very young country. How we understand modern China is rooted in our understanding of history. Thus, the authors examine several myths surrounding important historical themes, including unity, economic and political isolation, the growth and development of capitalism, internationalization, and governance. Following the dispelling of these myths, the authors then examine several lessons of more recent Chinese history, exploring where this young country has been in its first century.

Keywords: Economic Systems; Globalization; Government and Politics; History; China;

Format: Print

14 pages

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Kirby, William C., and Brittany Crow. "Myths and Lessons of Modern Chinese History." Harvard Business School Background Note 308-065, November 2007. (Revised February 2009.)

The rapid growth in quantity and quality of universities in China since 1978 is the most recent evolution in a long history of higher education. From as early as the Tang Dynasty, academies existed to prepare scholars for the civil service examination, but by the Republican period, higher learning was dominated by a host of well-regarded, cosmopolitan, comprehensive universities. In 1952, these institutions were reorganized according to the Soviet model and remained highly specialized until the resurgence of comprehensive institutions after 1978. This background note describes this history and then elaborates on the system of higher education since 2000, focusing on university governance, funding, faculty policy, admissions systems, and internationalization. It concludes by looking at the tightening of ideological control in universities since 2012 and reflects on the potential for China to establish "world-class" universities.

Tsinghua University is one of the most prominent universities in China, and, increasingly, in the world. Its evolution to this position reflects the major developments in Chinese history—outward looking internationalism in the 1920s and 1930s, creative survival in the 1940s, Sovietization in the 1950s and 1960s, chaos in the 1970s, rebuilding in the 1980s, and, since the 1990s, a laser focus on becoming one of the best higher education institutions in the world. This case study traces this institutional history and then examines Tsinghua University's recent attempts at reform in faculty governance, curriculum, and funding as it seeks "world-class" status.

Recent geopolitical events, such as Brexit and the retreat from multilateral trade and cooperation by the USA, have created waves of uncertainty, especially in the field of higher education, regarding international cooperation. Meanwhile, China is publicly seeking to take the lead in globalisation, developing its higher education and research systems at speed and actively seeking to cooperate with academic partners along the New Silk Roads in order to attract talent (back). But under which conditions, whose definitions, and based on what values? And what, if any, difference will the “New Silk Road” make in the global educational landscape?

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Myths and Lessons of Modern Chinese History

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