清末民初的中國，自甲午戰後，歷經民國肇建，到廣州國民政府北伐，近三十年間，是這個古老帝國追求現代蛻變與獨立富強的轉型時期，也是中國「民主思想」從接納、發展到逐漸成熟的重要階段。這同時也敘說著民主制度下的自由公民教育在中國生根茁壯的發展過程。蔡元培，這位公認的自由主義者，銜接清末維新到民初新文化運動兩代人，在中國近代教育文化史上擁有崇隆地位的政界要人與學界泰斗，其所呈現的公民教育啟蒙思想與作為，無疑具有十足的時代意義。本文在既有的研究基礎上，試圖發掘蔡元培公民教育思想中更精微的意涵—以儒學與康德哲學為基礎的獨特世界主義與人文（人道）主義，並欲藉此尋繹出先生在近代中國自由公民教育史上的關鍵地位。 From the late Qing dynasty to the northern expedition of Guangzhou national government , about 30 years , was a transformation period the ancient empire pursued modernization and an independent , prosperous and powerful state. It was also an important stage the democratic thought met with challenge、acceptance、development and got maturation in China, and appeared how the liberal civic education grew under a demo- cratic system. Cai Yuan-Pei，the person both of the Wei Xin Movement in late Qing dynasty and May Forth Movement in early Republic of China, was considered as a very important figure in the educational and cultural history of modern Chinese liberalism. His thought on civic education was important in Chinese education. This text tries to discover delicated meaning in Cai Yuan-Pei’s thought on civil education－unique humanism and cosmo- politanism based on Confucianism and Kantian philosophy, and also tries to find his role in the history of liberal civic education in modern China.
