How does a country undergo the extremely rapid change necessary to go from an emerging country to a major world power in a few short years? The answer is through education. While the world reads about the many economic changes taking place in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), an equally fundamental change is occurring in its educational structure. Evolution in its worldview has moved China from the classic Marxism/Mao dicta to a more pragmatic educational approach, one that includes non-public education. By drawing upon a) interviews with the founders on a modern Chinese non-public university, b) the perspective of educational development in the PRC, and c) a detailed analysis of the process of founding a private institution of higher learning in China, this paper analyses and discusses factors which have allowed such a radical shift in educational policy without causing social upheaval.