“Sharing Common Destiny” and University as the Academic Base for National Revitalization

This chapter explores Cai Yuanpei&s;s efforts to position Peking University (PKU) as an academic base for national revitalization, balancing academic mission with social responsibility. He promoted open education: Establishing auditing systems, admitting female students (a first in China), setting up civilian night schools, and organizing public lectures to bridge university and society. Cai viewed academic mission and enlightenment as complementary. He supported journals like New Youth to stimulate societal change. Regarding student movements, he fully backed non-confrontational events, had mixed views on political movements, and firmly opposed campus strikes over personal interests, seeing them as damaging the university spirit. However, he failed to resolve tensions between student politicization and academic focus, laying groundwork for future challenges.