洪堡的“大学之道”

On the Ideal of Bildung by Wilhelm von Humboldt

In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of his birth， the educational inheritances of Wilhelm von Humboldt are systematically reviewed， among which the Ideal of Bildung rather than the highly -regarded conception of University of Berlin is the most precious one. The paper argues that the Ideal of Bildung， which could be traced back to Ancient Greek Orthodoxy， was incorporated into the blueprint for educational reform by Wilhelm von Humboldt. When the Ideal was split from the educational reform blueprint， Humboldt was faced with a dilemma. Taking the Liberal Education in current German higher education for instance， the paper analyzes an attempt to revitalize the Ideal of Bildung. Besides， the paper reveals high similarity between the Ideal of Bildung and the Way of Self-Cultivation proposed by Saints and Sages in Ancient China， whose mission lies in Striving for Perfection throughout the Path of Cultivation by humanistic study. Striving for Perfection is de facto the vision， hence， the Ideal of Bildung and the Way of Self-Cultivation proposed by Saints and Sages in Ancient China are ever -lasting process. Therefore， the vitality of the Ideal of Bildung has being precisely hidden behind the sustainability of individual as well.