Zhaoning Wang is right to try，through this book，to broaden international understanding of a distinctly American institution：the liberal arts college，a model of education growing in global significance.

Colleges like Williams believe that many post-secondary students are best served not by training in a particular field but by an experience of the liberal arts.

At their essence，the liberal arts help develop the whole student through broad experiences in the arts，math，sciences，and social sciences，through which the student develops the capacities to read carefully，think critically，write and speak effectively，and solve problems creatively by making connections among facts，ideas，people，and even cultures.

The 11^th President of Williams，John Sawyer，said at his induction in 1961 that，“No one can pretend to more than guess at what [current students] will [eventually] be called upon to comprehend.”He added：

This much we do know：that no training in fixed techniques，no finite knowledge now at hand，no rigid formula they might be given can solve problems whose shape we cannot yet define.The most versatile，the most durable，in an ultimate sense the most practical knowledge and intellectual resources which they can now be offered are those impractical arts and sciences around which the liberal arts education has long centered.

This is even more true in the 21^st century，as the pace of change accelerates at a dizzying rate.

Societies are better served by this model as well since they will advance to the degree that their leaders，at all levels，have had the kinds of broad experiences that enable them to anticipate challenges and devise creative solutions.

Many U.S.universities teach the liberal arts as part of their operations but fewer than 150 U.S.colleges focus on them exclusively.These colleges’smaller size and lack of graduate and professional programs encourages faculty to focus on their undergraduates the kinds of teaching and learning that cross traditional academic disciplines.Since virtually all students live on campus，much learning also takes place outside the classroom，in student activities，cultural events，religious exercises，and conversations in student residences and dining halls.

Williams is a good example for Zhaoning to focus on.Since 1793，Williams has remained focused on immersing undergraduates in the liberal arts and is now considered one of the preeminent such colleges in the world.

More students from China and elsewhere are now eager to study at Williams and colleges like it and more universities in China and elsewhere are interested in adopting Williams as a model for liberal arts components of their own operations.

Both developments are welcome.Chinese students bring to campuses like Williams their tremendous skills and study habits and their different life experiences，all of which enrich the education of all our students.And while Williams has much to learn from Chinese students and from China’s great universities，I consider it a welcome trend that so many universities around the world，including in China，are looking at the best aspects of Williams and of similar colleges and thinking of how best to adapt them to their own situations.

I hope this book can help further those important conversations.

Morton Owen Schapiro

Professor of Economics and President

Williams College

May 2009

如今，美国的文理学院通识教育正获得越来越广泛的国际影响力，而王肇宁同学的这本书，正是为了向人们介绍这种美国独有的教育模式。

以威廉姆斯学院为代表的大学相信，对于许多大学生而言，最好的教育模式，不是单一领域的技术培训，而是一种文理通识教育的全新经历。

文理教育的精髓就在于，它通过给予一个人在文学艺术、数学、自然科学以及社会科学上的多方位体验，帮助学生从整体上提高自身素质，锻炼细致的阅读能力、严谨的思维能力、清楚的表达能力以及富于创新的理论整合能力，并善于理解各种各样的事件、思想、人物乃至文化之中的密切联系。

1961年，威廉姆斯学院的第11任校长约翰·索亚先生曾在他的就职演讲中说过，“没有人能够真正预测，这个社会会最终要求我们的学生掌握何种技能、理解何种知识。”他强调说：“我们深知，面对变革，人们现在所掌握的知识是有限的，没有什么固定不变的技能训练手段，或是某个僵化的公式，能够彻底解决那些尚未被我们充分了解的问题。从根本意义上来讲，我们始终致力于的看似‘不实用’的文学艺术以及基础科学课程教育，我们所提供的这些最具生命活力、最持久、最基础实用的知识以及学术资源，正是文理学院教育的价值所在。”

在各种变革迅猛发展的21世纪，这段话更被事实证明是一条颠扑不破的真理。

文理通识教育模式正在使整个国际社会受益，因为它使得各个领域未来的那些领导者们，能够拥有丰富的阅历，敢于接受挑战，并制订出创新的解决方案。

许多美国的大学都把文理教育当作他们实践的一部分，不过目前在美国还只有不到150所学校全身心地致力于这种教育模式。这些文理学院通常采用小班授课，而且一般也没有研究生院以及职业化的教育项目，而这些恰恰使得我们的教授能够将全部精力放在他们的本科学生身上，继而开展那些传统教育中所缺失的教学活动。由于几乎所有的学生都居住在校园里，朝夕相处，许多教室之外的场所也成为了学生了解自身、了解社会的窗口，包括学生们的日常活动和文化宗教活动，还有年轻人们在宿舍楼内以及餐厅里的有趣对话。

威廉姆斯学院的实践，确实为王肇宁同学的这本书提供了一个非常好的素材。自从1793年开始，威廉姆斯学院就致力于使本科学生充分感受文理教育。而如今，这所大学已成为了世界上最著名的本科学府之一。

很多来自中国以及世界各地的学生，都期待着在像威廉姆斯学院这样的大学里度过一段难忘的时光。现在，越来越多的中国以及世界各地的大学，都在努力学习威廉姆斯学院的经验，以提高他们在文理教育方面的教学水平。

我认为，文理教育的发展是双向的，互动是必要的。中国学生将他们巨大的潜能、学习习惯以及不同的生活经历，带到了诸如威廉姆斯这样的文理学院之中。他们用这种文化的贡献，使得我们所有学生受到的教育，又得到了进一步的延伸。同样，换个角度来看，在威廉姆斯学院向中国同学以及中国优秀大学学习的同时，现在世界上正有越来越多的大学，包括中国的顶尖大学，开始学习威廉姆斯学院以及类似大学的成功经验，尝试着以最有效的方式予以借鉴，以适应他们各自的具体情况。

我期待，这本书能够进一步加深国际社会对文理教育理念的理解，推动人们的交流对话。

莫顿·欧文·夏皮罗

校长及经济系教授

威廉姆斯学院

2009年5月

（这是威廉姆斯学院第16任校长莫顿·欧文·夏皮罗教授为本书写的序。夏皮罗教授是著名经济学家，曾在宾夕法尼亚大学获得博士学位，现任美国西北大学校长。在此，谨向他表示感谢。）