John Dewey was one of the most significant figures in the history of the Chinese people. When he and his first wife visited China from May 1, 1919 to July 11, 1921, delivering lectures on the philosophy of education, social and political philosophy, ethics, experimental logic, art, and other topics, Dewey was met by the people of China with open arms and open minds. At that time, he became the highest educational authority in China. Despite Dewey's strong initial impact, his influence underwent an eclipse in China, particularly after the early 1940s. With the change in political regime, and the institution of communism, Dewey fell from favor. Recently however, interest in Dewey's ideas has been revived, and Dewey's educational philosophy seems to emerge as part of China's new curriculum reform. This reform movement involves several major changes: (1) moving China's education from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction; (2) shifting from abstract teaching content to the learning materials related to real life; and (3) changing from student memorizing to reflective thinking. In this article, the authors argue that the philosophical ideas underlying this newest curriculum reform are drawn essentially from Dewey's early philosophy and his progressive educational ideas.