Figure 1.--Here we see what looks like rural mothers walking their young childrem to school through the rice paddies. THere is writing on the back, we think in German. The hand writing is difficult to make out. Click on he image if you want to try to decipher it. The photigrapgh is indated, but AZO stampbox suggsts the 1920s-30s.

China at the dawn of the 20-th century did not have a public education system, meaning free schools for all children. This was not unusual. The only country that did in asia was Japan, fololwed by Phillipines wgre the United States began to build a public school system. When the Republic of China was established in 1911, some modern schools on the European, American and Japanese educational models were operating in China, many connced wuth Christian missionries. There was no public school system. China was in chaos which is not a time when education has a high prioity. The Nationalist Government did not at first control much of the country. The Nationalist KMB Government had to fight the War Lords, Europeam treaty port powers,the Communists and finally the Japanese. A public school system is exoensive and the Natuinalist Government simply did not have the finacial capability of builkding a comprehensive public school ststem. There was Minitry of Education, but we know little abiyt its fubdung and opertiins. We have been unable to find a good source describing Nationalist education. Many villages had schools. We are not sure how they were funanced. Schools in the cities we assumed had a degree of state funding. We are not sure about the village schools. We suspect that the villagers had to support the tachers. Wea lso know nothing about text books an curriculm. One source suggests that Republican officials first turned to the Japanese because they had already adapted Western education for their domestic education system. Many Chinese scholars were trained in Japan. After World War I (1914-18) when Japanese designs on China became increasingly manifest, Chinese turned to a more American educational model.

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Created: August 29, 2002
Last updated: 9:35 PM 5/23/2021