The Dawn Of Darkness: An Analysis Of The Development Of Blind Education In Christianity In Modern China

After the First Opium War, the western invaders hold guns in one hand with "the Bible" in the other hand to open the door of China forcibly, bringing humiliation and poverty to Chinese nearly a hundred years. In the shelter of unequal treaties, Western missionaries propagated Christian doctrine and established churches and schools, despising the Chinese educational sovereignty, which is an undisputed fact. However, we need admit objectively that Western missionaries play an indelible role on the development of modern education of China; especially the development of modern education for the blind of China, while we must remember that the Western Christ Church in China invaded the Chinese educational sovereignty. Therefore, research the development of the education for the Blind of China of Western Christ Church in China, which contributes to understanding the effect and limitation of the Western Christ Church and missionaries in China on the modern education for the blind of China.This paper is composed of six parts. The first part is Introduction, which mainly clarify the origin and significance of the thesis and the analysis of this topic research status and trends. The first chapter detailed account of the living condition of blind in modern China though out the records from Chinese and Western missionaries, and discuss Western missionaries’the non school teaching activities to Chinese blind. The second chapter expounds the developing situation of the education for the blind of China of Western Christ Church in China before the1911, and concludes its characteristics and shortcomings, which is based on studying the causes of Western missionaries establishing schools for Chinese blind. The third chapter combines between macro analysis of the establishment and development of new and old schools for the Chinese blind and micro analysis of The Institution for the Chinese Blind, Shanghai and the blind educational idea of its principal George B Fryer, to discuss the development perspective of the education for the blind of China of Western Christ Church in China after the1911, and emphasizes the tendency of sinicization and specialization of the education for the blind of China of Western Christ Church in China. The fourth chapter briefly discusses the stagnation of the education for the blind of China of Western Christ Church in China after the breakout of the Anti-Japanese and transformation of the education for the blind of China of Western Christ Church in China after the founding of new China. Lastly, summarizes the useful experience and limitation of the education for the blind of China of Western Christ Church in China to provide reference and guidance for developing and solving problems of the education of blind in current China.