Zhonghai Ye
A pioneer scholar of adult education in China, Ye Zhonghai (family name, Ye) is known worldwide for his expertise in the field as well as for his conviviality and kindness. Over the course of his career, Ye served as professor at East China Normal University and as director of the Academic Committee of the China Adult Education Association. He established the National Adult Higher Education Research Association. A prolific author, he explored and deepened the theoretical and operational foundations of adult education theory and practice in more than fifty books, including his eleven-volume Selected Works of Zhonghai Ye’s Study on Learning and Education.
Among his most standout accomplishments, Ye founded the first adult education graduate degree program in China and promoted the training of graduate students in adult education. He nurtured numerous graduate students from a variety of fields and provided countless opportunities and networks for them as they embarked on their own careers and scholarship. He took delegations of students and his university colleagues to UNESCO international conferences on adult education and lifelong learning and other international forums on adult education and lifelong learning.
Through his many books and articles, Ye significantly contributed to the theory and practice of adult education, lifelong education, community education, and education for older adults in China. He wrote the foundational books on the topic and led the development of the national standard terminology of training services in adult education in China. Ye’s scholarship has made such an indelible mark on the field in China that the State Council of China, which rarely lauds scholars, recognized Ye for his outstanding contribution to adult education.
In addition to Ye’s work as a scholar and professor, he is a sought-after organizer and community activist for adult education, and a connector and adviser in the community. He is notable for leading adult education efforts in communities and is also an active promoter of “elderly learning,” or lifelong learning for seniors.
Because of his deep knowledge of Chinese and other culturally inscribed ways of learning, Ye is frequently invited by municipal government, business leaders, and community activists to design programs for employees, citizens, and communities. As a researcher and activist, he helps these institutions and individuals to create learning streets, learning families, learning communities, learning organizations, and learning cities. Together, these make up a nationwide lifelong learning system, designed to operate well within the local context of China.
Ye’s work in adult education has influenced other scholars and students far beyond his country’s borders. Despite local constraints in China, he champions friendly relations with professional colleagues and neighboring countries. He has introduced adult education in China to countries in Europe, North America, and Oceania. Ye has also promoted democratization, citizen participation, a people-centered philosophy, and collaboration and scholarly exchange between the field of adult education in China and in South Korea, Japan, Denmark, and Sweden, among others. He strongly believes in having citizens work together to foster friendly relations and all forms of learning.