Reflecting on Intellectuals and Academic Freedom in China: From a Perspective of Confucian Knowledge Tradition

• In Event: Confucianism, Taoism, and Education: Wisdom and New Insights in Education

Abstract

Academic freedom and university autonomy are still viewed as problematic in China, when benchmarked against Western norms and values. This paper spells out the status quo of academic freedom and university autonomy in China, and employ the idea of knowledge traditions as the analytical framework to discuss, comparatively, the possible differences in the norms and values relating to academic freedom and university autonomy between China and the West, with particular attention to the role played by the intellectuals in the different contexts. Ultimately, it attempts to answer the question of whether or not it is practicable to adapt the Western rooted norms and values of academic freedom and university autonomy to the Chinese university.

Author

• Qiang Zha, York University