Female Students Of Modern Shanghai (1850-1922)

Modern Shanghai was one of China's early schoolgirl's important cradles. Shanghai took the lead in breeding a schoolgirl team to quite levels when feudal traditional forceses still in an leading position in modern China. This benefited from comparatively favorable culture environment in Jiangnan after Ming and Qing dynasty and the historical opportunities that Shanghai met after it opened port. After becoming a opening port, Shanghai transformed from a small dealer towns into a commercialization metropolis rapidly under the sweep of the influences of Western culture and civilization, and the general mood and people's values in Shanghai gradually change, too. Under such a background, women of Shanghai early got the chance to go to missionary school that foreigners ran in 1850. By the end of the 19th century, along with the enlightened gentries in Shanghai lift the tide of setting up woman education, many private woman schools open wide to them . But it was not until wind of woman education blowed at the whole country that Qing Government announced the legitimacy of woman education and gave the schoolgirl appropriate position in 1907. By this time schoolgirl in Shanghai already became a colony of great deal people.It was difficult for the schoolgirl in Shanghai to appear from nonexistence and make the number of them increase rapidly. But the more important thing is that from 1850 to 1922, accompanying with schoolgirl and her supporters' lasting trial against feudal and traditional forceses, they made four important steps in repeated advance and retreat, and realized the role change from a low -position woman at home to a citizen who could equal with man . At first , the schoolgirl gradually waved and changed such feudal ideas as" the woman can't be taught " and "it's good for a woman to be ignorant" with the help of western missionaries and Chinese progressive personages. With the intensification of the national calamity, they were paid much attention to as the image of the people's mother" and begun a career of formal student to absorb knowledge widely. When schoolgir's health and knowledge grew up to a certain extent, some of them with relatively high awareness were not satisfied with their low position and wanted to be initiative from a passive state, upheld the rights of women and tried to become citizens who equaled with man. By about the twenties of the 20th century, Shanghai schoolgirl's body and mind was ripe further, some of them could already know themselves and hold themself in depth, and began a kind of brand-new life.Every step that Shanghai schoolgirl stepped was closely linked to the society. On one hand, schoolgirl born, grew up and began to step into the society from their home to participate in certain social activities with change of modem Shanghai; on the other hand ,they drove the transition of the social conduct and traditional idea indirectly or directly by their own action and spirit, ilnfluenced the living state of women as a whole. The schoolgirl had a good interdynamic relation with the society of modern Shanghai, they pursued themself during the development of the society of modern times.