中国世纪?──高等教育的挑战

The Chinese Century?----The Challenges of Higher Education

在任何一个机场商店，随处可见宣告“中国世纪”即将到来的各种书刊，“龙醒了”、“中国崛起”、“崛起的中国”，“中国上升”等题目到处可见。但是，崛起不必然等于领导。领导力的构成要件究竟是什么？在高等教育领域，中国正在从质和量两个方面建设全世界增长速度最快的体系。过去四百年中，全球最强大的国家均为世界提供过文化、思想和教育等领域的模式。比如17世纪路易十四治下的法国、18世纪乾隆治下的清朝、19世纪的英国和德国、21世纪的美国。现在，中国希望培养全球精英。那么，中国的大学是否蓄势已待，在21世纪领导世界？

One can find in any airport kiosk books that proclaim ours to be “the Chinese century. ” We have titles such as “The Dragon Awakes，” “China’s Rise，” “The Rise of China，” and “China’s Ascent ” to name but a few. But to rise is not necessarily to lead. What constitutes leadership? In higher education， China is building the fastest growing system-in quality as well as in quantity-in the world. The foremost global powers of the past four centuries all offered models in the realms of culture， ideas， and education. This may be said of seventeenth-century France under Louis XIV; of the Qing during the Qianlong reign the eighteenth century; of Britain and Germany in the nineteenth century; and of the United States in the twentieth. China now aspires to educate global elites. For the twenty--first century， then， are Chinese universities poised for global leadership?