建设世界一流大学的最早构想:胡适之“十年计划”及学界相关论战探析

The Earliest Conception of Building World-Class Universities:Hu Shi's“Ten-Year Plan”and the Related Academic Debate

建设世界一流大学是几代中国人的夙愿。早在清末民初,就有教育界人士提到过一些相关的表述和简略的想法。胡适的“一流大学之梦”萌发于赴美留学时期,他在中外高校强烈的反差中深感建设“世界有名大学”的重要性。中国大学的财政窘况与庞大的留学费用,是促使胡适提出“十年计划”的重要因素。1947年9月,胡适首次公开“十年计划”,希望集全国之力建设五到十所国际一流大学,后发表《争取学术独立的十年计划》一文,引发学界的激烈争论,各方学者围绕重点发展与普遍提升、发展大学与发展学科等问题展开论战。虽然在当时的历史条件下“十年计划”无法落实,但胡适提出两个五年重点建设五到十所大学使之达到世界“第一等大学”的建议,在中国人追求世界一流大学的历史上发出了先声,是中国人具体提出建设世界一流大学的最早构想。此构想在北京大学建立近半个世纪的时候提出,其集中国家财力、重点建设几所高水平大学、每五年一个周期等主张,与再半个世纪后“985”工程的最初设想有不少相似之处。

Building world-class universities has been a long-standing aspiration for generations of Chinese people.As early as the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era,some educators mentioned related expressions and brief ideas.Hu Shi's dream of a“first-class university”emerged during his study abroad in the United States.He deeply felt the importance of building“world-renowned universities”in the stark contrast between Chinese and foreign universities.The financial difficulties of Chinese universities and the high cost of studying abroad were important factors that prompted Hu Shi to propose the“Ten-Year Plan for Chinese Universities.”In September 1947,Hu Shi publicly announced the“Ten-Year Plan,”hoping to build five to ten international first-class universities nationwide.Later,he published the article“The Ten-Year Plan for Academic Independence”which sparked a heated academic debate.Scholars from various fields debated on the key issues of selective development and general improvement,developing universities and disciplines,among others.Although the“Ten-Year Plan”could not be implemented under the historical conditions at that time,Hu Shi's proposal to build five to ten universities with a focus on the two five-year periods to achieve“the first-class universities in the world”has set the precedent for Chinese people to pursue world-class universities.This conception was proposed almost half a century after the establishment of Peking University.Its suggestions,such as pooling national financial resources,focusing on constructing several high-level universities,and a five-year cycle are like the initial ideas of the“985”project half a century later.