Beyond The Educational Memory Of The Post-May-Forth Female Intellectuals

The emergence of intelligentsia is an important sign marking the transformation of China from ancient times to modern, for the abolition of the imperial examinations only finished the dreams of the former scholars to become officials. It is indeed the establishment of modern academic education system that constitutes the main force that resulted in the separation of politics and academy, the spread of new academic system and the corresponding change in the status of intellectuals from 'all-rounders' to experts. In this process, high education became the major birthplace of new intellectuals which not only provided an active stage for them but also played a vital role in the modern transformation of traditional academic system. In 1917, the reorganization of former Beijing Female NormalSchool became the early form of the first national female higher education--BeijingFemale Normal College established by Chinese themselves which was going to be the cradle of the first female intellectuals educated by China herself. Unlike male scholars at that time who went through the transformation in status from traditional scholars to modern intellectuals, these female intellectuals experienced breaking away from the gender limitation that kept females in their boudoirs, isolated them from traditional learning and doctrine of Confucianism and thus prevented their personal developments to transform into intellectuals through special training in the college under new education system. Therefore, a review of the growth of these female intellectuals, especially their relationship with Beijing Female Normal College, will not only help us to understand the important role modern education, higher education in particular, played in the acceleration of academic transformation and inheritance as well as emergence of intelligentsia, but also help to show the highly complicated imbroglio among society, culture, education and individual development of woman in hurricane of the transformation of Chinese society in the first half of 20th. The structure and content of this study are introduced hereinafter:A brief explanation of the background and literature review of the study as well as research questions, aims, significance, framework, approach and viewpoint is made in the Introduction.Chapter I expatiates on the reasons why Beijing Female Normal School reorganized and its early education and campus life, while placing which in the special time and space in history via a longitudinal introduction of female education established by the government at the end of Qing Dynasty and a latitudinal comparison to the highest education institution for men of the time --Beijing University, in an attempt to find out the self-contradictory education ideas and development of early female education.Chapter II describes the early life and educational experience of Cheng Junying, Feng Yuanjun, and Lu Ying and shows their attempts to break through the mainstream in gender at that time that imposed on personal development of women with the change of environment and different traditions in female education of old at the end of Qing Dynasty long before the establishment of female education by the government. It is this awakening of individual females that resulted in the further transformation of the education of Beijing Female Normal School.Chapter III expatiates the education of Chinese department in Female Normal College before and after the May 4th movement and shows the complicated interaction among students, teachers and off-campus social and cultural environments. And the real reason of the emergence of female intellectuals is made clear at the same time via a review of the differences and homogeneity between intellectuals of late Qing Dynasty (taking Huang Kan, Liu Shipei as an example) and the May 4th (taking Hu Shi and Li Dazao as an example)Chapter IV is an in-depth description of the change of Cheng Junying, Feng Yuanjun, and Lu Ying in the above-mentioned educational environments and their pursuits of their own interests, their growth in their respective specialty and their taking of social responsibilities in self-consciousness. Their study in Female Normal College was a period in which their thoughts and ambitions were formed, which symbolized the emergence of three female intellectuals in the interaction of social, cultural and educational environments before and after the May 4th.Chapter V reviews the academic life after the graduation of the three female intellectuals in which they experienced various tests yet still stick to their pursuits and not only made great achievements in their respective specialty but shoulders social responsibilities all the time of academic inheritance and cultural enlightenment, trying to passing on the academic and ideological spirit via knowledge production and spread.