著者

張 海英 田渕 五十生

出版者

奈良教育大学

雑誌

奈良教育大学紀要. 人文・社会科学 (ISSN:05472393)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.41, no.1, pp.61-73, 1992-11-25

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Following China's defeat in the Opium War, foregin invasion, colonization, internal disturbances and war with Japan therw Chinese society into a state of turmoil for around 100 years, until the formation the People's Republic of China. As a result the establishment of a modern school system was delayed and illiteracy was widespread. This paper discusses the efforts which were made to solve the problem of illiteracy, paying particular attention to the ideas of Dr. Yen Yaog Chu, who became the leader of the movement for literacy. Dr. Yen, after spending time studying in the United State, began to educate Chinese labourers in France in reading and writing. At that time, World War I was raging, and around 200,000 Chinese labourers, most of whom were illiterate, were working at the war fronts. Dr. Yen selected and taught those Chinese characters most essential to everyday life, with the result that 38% of the labourers came to be able to read and write letters. From this experince, Dr.Yen began to teach people in China who had been excluded from school education. By means of this practical education, which met the needs of the Chinese society of that time, he aimed at social reorganization. In this way, his means differed from the policies of the Chinese Communist Party which tried to reform society itself. The philosophy of Dr. Yen, which links education for literacy with social reorganization, has now come to be employed in the education plans of developing countries, and is thus currently subjected to reappraisal.