The Association for Popular Education in Republican China, 1912-1928

Abstract

This article discusses China's universal education in early Republican China, focusing on the Association for Popular Education 通俗教育会. At the time, many educators thought that the development of universal education would advance social reform, which would improve the nation. Because the weak central government was incapable of setting up an effective universal education system, many associations were established by local elite to promote universal education in local areas. For example, the Tianjin Social Education Office 天津社会教育辧事処 (TSEO) was established by the local people. By collecting contributions from intellectuals and merchants that interested in education, TSEO was active from 1915 to 1928 and realized many programs. Those activities included not only education (e. s., lectures, education for poor people in outdoor schools, publication of education magazines, organizing boy scout troops and the construetion of libraries and museums) but also social work (economic assistance to outdoor schools and to the unemployed). TSEO also reconstructed Confucian shrines and revived old Confucian customs, because its members believed that Confucian ideals could advance social morality. Therefore, the posture of TSEO was criticized by the New Culture Movement. It was due to contributions from many people supporting TSEO's ideals that it could become involved in so many kinds of activities. Because the aim of universal education was social evolution of China, the members of the associations for popular education basically did not resist the cultural reformation of the May Fourth period. That is to say, they did have their own view ofsocial evolution and their activities were very influential in the area of social education under the Nanjing regime from 1928 on.