A theory of communicative action is suggested as a framework for examining the quality and nature of the intellectual interaction between Chinese scholars and their counterparts in the universities of the capitalist world. Recent Chinese political events are linked to a fundamental change in the knowledge orientation of Chinese universities. (MSE)

A discussion of the history of China's higher education system summarizes the main characteristics of the traditional scholarly institutions and considers the western academic models introduced by foreign missionaries, those selected and implemented by Chinese modernizers, and the Soviet academic model adopted by Chinese Communist leaders in the…