Publications
Publications
- 2022
- Making Meritocracy: Lessons from China and India, from Antiquity to the Present
The Merits and Limits of China's Modern Universities
By: William C. Kirby
Abstract
China has a long history of advanced learning, but its modern universities are quite young. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, the establishment of Chinese universities based on international models signaled the end of a millennium of promoting talent through competitive civil service examinations and the beginning of a century and more of experimentation and contestation on the purpose of higher education. Over the course of the past century, universities have propelled China to the first ranks in science and engineering, while—whenever political circumstances have permitted—also promoting the values of open inquiry that have marked the world’s leading institutions of higher learning. Today, Chinese universities have the potential for leadership, but can “world class” universities—however they are defined—exist in a politically illiberal system? To answer affirmatively, Chinese universities must adroitly manage the merits and demerits of their higher education system.
Keywords
Citation
Kirby, William C. "The Merits and Limits of China's Modern Universities." Chap. 11 in Making Meritocracy: Lessons from China and India, from Antiquity to the Present, edited by Tarun Khanna and Michael Szonyi. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, forthcoming.