20世紀初，美國思想家歐文•白璧德提出人文主義，他希望用人文主義來調節一與多的關係，反對極端的多元論，喚起對「一」的信心。白璧德人文主義的文化觀對其中國弟子影響至深，適合他們用來反思中國傳統文化與重建中國文化、啟發國民性的需要。白璧德的文化哲學思想與文學批評觀，經由學衡派和梁實秋等接受個體，對20世紀中國文化思想及文學的發展與建設產生重大的影響。考察歐文•白璧德在中國既被接受，又被抵抗的文化遭際，可以給21世紀的文化現代建設重要的啟示。

In the early twentieth century, Irving Babbitt advocated humanism. He hopes to readjust the relationship between the one and the many by adopting the theory of Humanism and refuting radical pluralism, thus to call back people's trust in the one. Irving Babbitt's humanist perspective in culture had great impact on his Chinese adherents, because this new speculation in culture could exactly meet the needs of Chinese followers for their rethinking of traditional Chinese culture, the reconstruction of Chinese culture, and the national enlightenment movement. Babbitt's culture philosophy and literary criticism, which accepted by Xue-Heng School, Liang Shi-qiu and so on, has important influence on the development and construction of Chinese culture and literature in the twentieth century. Examination of the acceptance and resistance in China about Irving Babbitt's culture can enlighten Chinese cultural modernization construction in the twenty-first century.