Abstract
Dewey’s visit to China (1919–1921) was a puzzling story which had made enormous impact on him and many Chinese intellectuals. I discovered that Dewey’s China visit was in fact a family trip with his wife and daughters and that he kept extending his visit to accommodate the vehement demand for his talks and lectures. I also discovered that Dewey was promoting American diplomacy and values in China while acting as an informant of the US Government. When Dewey’s ideas were popularized in China, due partly to the promotion by his Chinese disciples, I showed that there were underlying reasons in the context of modern Chinese intellectual history. Thus, to see Dewey as “the coming of the second Confucius” was not at all a joke.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
John Dewey to Dewey children. April 1, 1920 (#03593).
- 2.
The Deweys took the Shunyu Maru from San Francisco to Yokahama (Dykhuizen 1973: 187).
- 3.
You may note that Dewey’s influence on the independence of Poland was minimal. Even President Wilson’s influence was much less substantial than the European powers. Germany was the first to “grant” Poland independence during the First World War by creating the kingdom of Poland, a puppet state under the German Empire. The actual Polish independence took place on November 11, 1918, when Polish Commander-in-Chief Jozef Pilsudski (1867–1935) declared independence. Pilsudski remained Chief of State from 1918 to 1922 while Paderewski became prime minister and foreign minister to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Paderewski is a world renowned musician, philanthropist, nationalist and not as conservative as Dewey described. The American Jews that Dewey favored had little impact on the independence of Poland. For more information on the independence of Poland, please read Richard M. Watt (1979) Bitter Glory: Poland & Its Fate 1918–1939. New York: Hippocrene Books.
- 4.
Dewey, J., Dewey, A. C., & Dewey E. (Ed.). (1920). Letters from China and Japan. Boston: E.P. Dutton & Company.
- 5.
Gao, S. P. (1984) in Chinese.
- 6.
Li, J. H. (1985) in Chinese.
- 7.
Chen, W. B. (2006) in Chinese.
- 8.
Dewey, J., Dewey, A. C., & Dewey E. (Ed.). (1920). Letters from China and Japan. Boston: E.P. Dutton & Company.
- 9.
Gu, H. L. (2019) in Chinese. President Cai’s speech in Chinese translated here was based on Keenan, B. (1977). The Dewey Experiment in China: Educational Reform and Political Power in the Early Republic. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, pp. 10–11.
- 10.
Hu, S. (2003) in Chinese.
- 11.
Takungpao (1920) in Chinese.
- 12.
For details, please see Middle Works (MW12: 254).
- 13.
Quoted from Dykhuizen (1973: 197). Original source in Butler Library, Dewey to Coss, 22 April 1920.
- 14.
Hu, S. (1919) in Chinese.
- 15.
Tian **a Shao Shan Website. (2009).
- 16.
Hu, S. (1921) in Chinese.
- 17.
Hu, S. (1959) in Chinese.
References
Dewey, J. (1939). Biography of John Dewey. In P. A. Schilpp (Ed.), The Philosophy of John Dewey (p. 10). New York: Tudor Publishing Company.
Dockser, C. B. (1983). John Dewey and the May Fourth Movement in China: Dewey’s Social and Political Philosophy in Relation to His Encounter with China, 1919–1921. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International.
Dykhuizen, G. (1973). The Life and Mind of John Dewey. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Martin, J. (2002). The Education of John Dewey: A Biography. New York: Columbia University Press.
Peng, S. S. (2018). A Journey to Mars: John Dewey’s Lectures and Inquiry in China. Journal of Modern Chinese History, 12(1), 63–81.
Schmidt, H. (1998). Democracy for China: American Propaganda and May Fourth Movement. Diplomatic History, 22(1), 1–28.
Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (9th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.
Wang, C. S. (2007). John Dewey in China: To Teach and To Learn. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Chinese References
Chen, W. B. (2006) in Chinese:
陳文彬 (2006)。五四時期杜威來華講學與中國知識界的反應。復旦大學博士論文,歷史學系,116–124頁。
Dewey, J. (2001) in Chinese:
杜威 (2001)。杜威談中國。杭州:浙江文藝出版社。
Gao, P. S. (Ed.). (1984) in Chinese:
高**叔(編) (1984)。胡適致蔡元培函(1922年6月22日),蔡元培全集(第三卷) (1917–1920),北京:中華書局。第305頁。
Gu, H. L. (2019) in Chinese:
顧紅亮 (2019)。杜威在華學譜。上海:華東師範大學出版社。
Hu, S. (1919) in Chinese:
胡適 (1919年7月20日) 多研究些問題,少談些「主義」。《每週評論》,第31號。
Hu, S. (1921) in Chinese:
胡適 (1921)。杜威先生與中國。《東方雜誌》,第18期13號。
Hu, S. (1959) in Chinese:
1959年7月16日胡適在夏威夷大學所作的英文演講,夏道**譯文載1959年8月16日《自由中國》第21卷第4期。
Hu, S. (2003) in Chinese:
胡適 (2003)。胡適全集(第一卷)。合肥:安徽教育出版社。
Li, J. H. (1985) in Chinese:
黎潔華 (1985)。杜威在華活動年表。華東師範大學學報,第一至三期。
Takungpao. (1920) in Chinese:
《各公團歡迎名人記》,湖南《大公報》1920年10月31日.
Tian **a Shao Shan Website. (2009) in Chinese:
天下韶山網 (2009)。淺析杜威實用主義哲學對毛澤東的影響。2019年8月20日:http://www.txssw.com/newswrmzd/maozedongxingjiulunwenku/13558.htm.
Yang, Y., & Li, J. P. (2019) in Chinese:
楊旭,**劍萍(2019)。文化契合性:杜威教育理論在中國傳播流行的深層原因。《教育科學研究》,第3期。
Yuan, Q. (2001) in Chinese:
元青 (2001)。杜威與中國。北京:人民出版社。
Zhang, B. G. (2001) in Chinese:
張寶貴 (2001)。杜威與中國。石家莊市:河北人民出版社。
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Li, R. (2020). Dewey in China. In: Rediscovering John Dewey. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7941-7_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7941-7_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-15-7940-0
Online ISBN: 978-981-15-7941-7
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)