Abstract: To realize the goal of education universalization, modern pioneer educators paid great attention on the design of higher normal education system, leading to the construction of “Zoning of Higher Normal Education” and the successive establishment of “six higher normal schools”. In the 1920s, this system was broken down since most of normal high schools were changed into normal universities, which caused some appeals for the reconstruction of the former system. As a result, there aroused a controversy about the existence of normal universities between MENG Xiancheng and HU Xiansu. HU approved of an ‘open’ mode of teacher training instead of the ‘closed’ one. Nevertheless, this kind of plan was not in accordance with the social reality of China and HU did not understand pedagogy and normal education thoroughly. MENG pointed out all of his faults. We can draw some lessons about the reform of normal education from this controversy.

Key words: educational controversy, normal university, normal education, closeness, openness