As one of the first educationists in the P.R. China, Mr. Gu Mingyuan has worked as a primary school teacher, a middle school principal, a university professor and a university president. He always pays attention to, supports, and encourages practical reforms and innovations in the front line of Chinese education. He has personally experienced and witnessed almost all the major historical moments in the educational development in China and is called “the living history of education in the P.R. China” (Teng, J Beijing Normal Univ (Soc Sci) 1:144–157, 2015, p. 144). Gu is not only a participant in China’s education reform, but also a builder of China’s education system and a witness to China’s education development. In this process, he did much thinking about education reform, carried out serious academic discussions, wrote a large number of articles and books, put forward very unique insights, and formed his unique view on education reform.