I'd like to cite an example to illustrate my point of view. The university we wanted to establish in Ningbo planned to enlist 4000 students. Ningbo authorities provided us with 900 mu of land for the school, but the British sponsor didn't accept the offer. The latter held that, according to the Chinese legal regulations, the land allocation ratio should be one mu for ten students, then 400 mu for 4000 students was the right number, how could they accept 900? Consultations between the two parties were conducted six times without any result. At last a compromise was reached. The assigned land would be divided into two parts, one part (400 mu) was the school asset, the other part (400 mu) should be the site of the school's installations such as sports ground etc. this example shows a very strong factor in British culture, that is, things should be done according to legal regulations.

The school of Athens can be described as a picture with a teacher and a student sitting in the center and many scholars around discussing on a certain topic. There's a famous saying in the West: I love my teacher, but I love truth even more. The first part of the saying can be found in Confucius' teaching but the second part can rarely be found in China. The result is that the Chinese students are rather afraid of their teacher, afraid of raising questions or evoking disputes. On the contrary, students in the Western countries like discussions, for example, a school boy of 8 in a primary school can raise 8 questions in a class. Would such things happen in China?

This reminds me of Qian Xue-sen, a contemporary Chinese scientist. When he studied in America, he had once a heated dispute with his professor, a very famous rocket expert. Rather enraged, the professor threw his book and left abruptly. But the next day the professor came to Qian's office and bowed to him, saying, "I was wrong. You were right."