The concept “diversity” is being used more frequently in today’s globalized world, where cross-cultural communications and interactions have risen. As for higher education, which according to Brubacher (1987) is the engine for the growth of contemporary society, the spirit of diversity is vital for its development in all of its facets, including the improvement and practice of teaching methods, the dissemination and innovation of knowledge, the discovery and cultivation of talent, the renewal of technology and the transmission of civilization, etc. This study intends to examine and analyze the effects of diversity on higher education by looking back to the Jixia Academy in China during the Axial Age (Jaspers, 1949).

The term Axial Age is mentioned in the book The Origin and Goal of History published in 1949, written by German philosopher Karl Jaspers. He thinks that the “axis of history is to be found in the period around 500 B.C., in the spiritual process that occurred between 800 and 200 B.C.” During this era, both the West and China produced many great philosophers and educators, including Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, as well as Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi. It was also during the Axial period that the prototypes of higher education emerged in both West and East : the Platonic Academy in ancient Greece and Jixia Academy in China.

Jixia Academy is recognized as a prominent institution of higher education in China during the Spring and Autumn era. It was founded during the reign of Tian Wu, the Duke Huan of the Qi State (374-357 B.C.). Jixia was a place where various schools of thought flourished, where many talents nurtured and where excellent teachers were gathered. The masters of Jixia produced works and taught their doctrines, in which we find the sources of almost all Chinese philosophical ideas, such as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, the Yin-Yang school, the Huang-Lao school, etc. Moreover, the scene of ‘hundred schools of thought’ unfolded in Jixia Academy precisely because of the value of diversity, liberty and equality it maintained.

This Ancient Academy came to an end after the defeat of the Qi state against the Qin State in 221 BC. Nevertheless, it had a spectacular existence for more than 150 years. It not only made a significant contribution to the academic and educational research work of the Qi State, but also had a great influence and effect on kingdoms at that time and later generations. In 1982, a national symposium on Jixia Studies was held in Zibo, the former site of this Academy, and the study of Jixia became widespread. After 5 years of archaeological work, the existence of Jixia was officially confirmed at the beginning of 2022. Apart from the historical documents, this discovery objectively proves its glory of the time.

Bai Xi (1989) believes that the success of Jixia Academy lies first and foremost in its spirit of diversity. Indeed, diversity is a powerful agent of change and an imperative that must be embraced if universities are to succeed in a pluralistic and interconnected world (Daryl, 2020). Therefore, how does Jixia Academy embody the spirit of diversity? If we concur that “until today mankind has lived by what happened during the Axial Period, by what was thought and created during that period” and that "the conception of the Axial Period furnishes the questions and standards with which to approach all preceding and subsequent developments” (Jaspers, 1949), then what remains of the Jixia Academy of the Axial Age for us? This research focuses on the effects of Jixia mainly in terms of the diversity of teaching methods and educators (schools of thought).

Firstly, the method used for this work is basically data study. It involves collecting, identifying, organising and analysiing the related documents, with the aim of forming a scientific understanding of the facts through document research. This method breaks the boundaries of time and space, and allows us to conduct in-depth studies of ancient and contemporary documents. In the case of Jixia Academy, we refer to some ancient books and Chinese classics, such as Shiji (or Records of the Grand Historian ), Discourses on Salt and Iron, Guanzi, etc. With the help of all the literature, we are able to observe the making process of the constitution, as well as the decline of the Jixia Academy and the events happened within the school. In addition, the research carried out by our predecessors and the pertinent works they produced served as the foundation for our work. Through the analysis of these existing documents, we can build a more accurate picture of Jixia Academy and lay the groundwork for the study of its spirit of diversity. Based on primary historical sources, this study seeks to provide a thorough and accurate account of the spirit of diversity in Jixia Academy and its manifestations in terms of teaching methods and schools of thought, with a view to exploring the effects of diversity in higher education. Besides, the historical analysis is also employed, which refers to a set of laws and methods that can be extrapolated from previous historical occurrences by generalizing and summarizing them in a way that is regular and universal. The paper provides a thorough study of the effects of diversity on higher education in a specific historical period, i.e., the Axial Age in China, from which some worthwhile lessons can be extracted to help guiding the development of the spirit of diversity in today’s universities. At last, the case analysis method used in this study refers to the main focus on Jixia Academy. We identify this academy as a prototype for higher education and highlight its spirit of diversity. We also analyze the way in which diversity was reflected in the educators of the academy and in its teaching modes. The principal purpose of the study is to reflect on the role of diversity in higher education through a case study of the Jixia Academy.

Through the exploration of the spirit of diversity of Jixia Academy, it turns out that its varied forms of teaching were conductive to the unbinding of thoughts and the cultivation of talent and its acceptance of diverse schools of thoughts contributed to the academic prosperity and the development of higher education. - The diversity of teaching methods : lectures, periodic meetings, free debates At first, “lecturing” constitutes the main teaching method at Jixia. It refers to a “Jouney Education” in which teachers and students were free to choose each other and there were no uniform regulations. Secondly, “periodic meetings” was another major teaching forms, which refers to the regular academic exchanges of lectures, discussions and debates. It encourages academic integration and development while also improving the quality of teaching. Thirdly, for purpose of having their ideas acknowledged by the rulers, the scholars of the time were adept at persuading them by debating with other schools of thought. Teachers of Jixia were all eloquent and applied debate as a way of teaching aiming to help their students develop their debating skills. - The diversity of educators Jixia Academy embraced almost all schools of thought at the time. As various schools differed greatly in terms of regional culture, ways of thinking, political opinions, different theories and systems were formed, and diversified cultures were developed in Jixia. In this pluralistic situation, the “hundred schools of thought” engaged in heated academic debates and criticism for the sake of their own development and status, which facilitated the exchange of academic knowledge and the cultivation of talents. This not only led to the further advancement of academic theories and the emergence of many works, such as Mencius, Guanzi, etc., but also to the formation of new schools and theories, such as the school of Huang Lao.

Books Bai, X. (1998). A Study of Jixia Academic Thought. Beijing: SDX & Harvard-Yenching Academic Library. Cheng, A. (1985). Histoire de la pensée chinoise. Paris : Éditions du Seuil. Cheng, G.Y. (2006). The Four Interpretations of Guanzi: An Explanation of the Masterpieces of Jixia Daoism.管子四篇诠释：稷下道家代表作解析. Beijing : The Commercial Press. Hu, S. (2020). An Outline of the History of Chinese Thought by Hu Shih. Beijing: China Academic Library. Jaspers, K. (1965). The Origin and Goal of History. Translated from the German by Michael Bullock. Forge Village, Massachusetts: Murray Printing Company. Jin, S.S. (1913). A Study of Jixia School. 稷下派之研究. Beijing : The Commercial Press. Li, X.F. and Liang, Y.H. (2004). A Note of Guanzi.管子校注. Beijing : Zhonghua Book Company. Liu, W.H. and Tian, R.M. (1992). History of Jixia Study. 稷下学史. Beijing : China Radio and Television Press. Mao, R.L. and Shen, G.Q. (1985). General History of Education in China. 中国教育通史. Shandong: Shandong Education Press. Pelikan, J. (1992). The Idea of the University: A Reexamination. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Rickett, W.A. (2021). Guanzi: Political, Economic, and Philosophical Essays from Early China-A Study and Translation by W. Allyn Rickett. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Smith, D.G. (2009). Diversity's promise for higher education making it work. 3rd ed. Baltimore: J. Hopkins University Press. Tu, Y.G. (2014). A Critical History of Chinese Higher Education. 3rd ed. Wuhan: Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press Wang, L.Q. (1992). Commentary on Salt and Iron. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company. Xu, J.L. and An, P.Q. (2004). The Complete Translation of Twenty-Four Histories: The Record of the Grand Historian. 二十四史全译：史记. Shanghai : Chinese Dictionary Publishing House. Articles Chen, B. (2011). ‘Jixia Academy under Huang-Lao Thought’, 27(5), pp.76-80. Doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1001-0300.2011.05.018. Yang, B. (2010). ‘Research On Original Educational Thoughts of the Pre-Qin Dynasty’, PhD thesis, Northeast Normal University. Wang, Z.M. (2017). ‘Jixia's Innovation and Transcendence in the History of Education’, Journal of Guanzi Studies. pp. 36-41. doi: 10.19321/J.CNKI.GZXK.ISSN1002-3828.2017.03.06 Xia, H. J. (2021). ‘Liberal Arts Education in the Axis Era: Background, Connotations and Characteristics’, Modern Education Science. pp. 33-37. doi:10. 13980 /j. cnki. xdjykx. 2021. 02. 007