Following its introduction to China, John Dewey’s pragmatic educational philosophy encountered indigenous Chinese moral utilitarianism, leading to multiple interpretations and transformations. To avoid the traditionally utilitarian connotations of the Chinese term for “pragmatism” (实用主义), Dewey’s Chinese disciples, such as Hu Shi (胡适) and Tao Xingzhi (陶行知), preferred to translate his theory as “experimentalism” (实验主义) or “testing-ism (practice and verify)” (试验主义). In contrast, other educators like Huang Yanpei (黄炎培) directly adopted “pragmatism” to express their identification with and emulation of Dewey’s ideas. This phenomenon demonstrates how Deweyan pragmatism underwent cultural refraction through different cultural psychologies during its dissemination in Chinese society, endowing linguistic-philosophical analyses of pragmatism with rich implications. The reinterpretation of Dewey’s educational philosophy subsequently exerted diverse influences on Chinese educational practices, ultimately generating a new, localized system of Deweyan educational thought in China.