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Cultivation of the New Nationals: Transformation of the Middle School Discipline during the Late Qing Dynasty and the Republican Period

Tue, April 16, 10:00 to 11:30am, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Pacific Concourse (Level -1), Pacific C

Proposal

Since the abolition of the imperial examination system and the establishment of new schools during Late Qing dynasty, the cultivation of nationals gradually replaces the paternalism of the subjects of kingdom. Nationals advocate rationality and human rights while oppose the three cardinal guides and five constant virtues. Specific teaching measures also replaced the traditional edification with curriculum and discipline. How to cultivate "new nationals" is the core educational problem throughout the Late Qing-dynasty and Republican Period. What are the characteristics of the new nationals? What role did the school take in the process of cultivation?
With perspective of "institution and life", this paper divided the Late Qing-dynasty and Republican Period into four stages, namely the late Qing period, the Beiyang government period, the Nanjing national government period and the Anti-Japanese War period. The High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University, the first public middle school in China, is the typical case during discussion. As a clue, this high school is compared with other type of schools. Three levels of discourses are listed below. Firstly, the transition of discipline policies is differentiated from the aspect of national institution. Then, chapter 2 to chapter 5 analyze the measurements that High Schools take to deal with the relationship between the independent educational concept and national education policy. In the end, this paper discusses the role of teachers, curriculum knowledge and the political power in the discipline transition, and the machinism of the cultivation of nationals.
By differentiating the continuous adjustments of national education system and high school discipline practice in four stages. This paper found that: cultivation of national virtue and behavior is impacted simultaneously by the external political power and social change, and the internal courses and activities between teachers and students. In the Late Qing dynasty, public middle schools aim to shape nationals by self-cultivation course. However, new students abandoned the virtue of loyalty and respect to Confucianism, form a generation of "anti-system impulse", by the influence of the scientific rationality and the social public opinion. At the beginning of the establishment of the Republic of China, the warlords struggle for power and have no time to manage education. Therefore, school curriculum is predominated by teachers who returned from western countries. This generation of students are not only passionate with reason and salvation, but also addicted to social movements. The High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University start to explore the "whole personality education" concept and discipline policy, by adjusting the course credit allocation, increase the emotion attachment between teachers and students through the autonomous activities. Finally, all teachers and students form the common belief of the school based on individual rationality. After the high school discipline principles developed, the Nanjing national government aims to nationalize the discipline, and cultivate students spirit of the three principles of the people, the eight morals of loyalty, filiality, benevolence, love, faithfulness, righteousness, harmony, and equality. While the High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University especially pay attention to providing autonomous environment to promote the attachment between teachers and students. The affiliated high school is benefit from the former persistence of its own discipline principles. It is the common belief of the school and the pursuit of truth that support teachers and students survive the Anti-Japanese war in Shaanxi province. In the Shaanxi Gansu Ningxia border region, as the national government discipline failed to shape the spirit of the three people's principles, the China Communist Party lead local schools to explores new discipline measures based on students' life experiences and mutual emotion, and successfully unit students in the collective. The new discipline not only cultivate students’ revolutionary moral outlooks and new democratic viewpoints, but also shape local students into soldiers, builders, and public cadres, for the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

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