On Co-education In College Influenced By Western Thoughts In The Late Qing Dynasty And The Early Years Of The Republic Of China

With the introduction of western thoughts of Natural Right and equal rights between men and women in the late Qing dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China, it exerts a strong influence on Chinese traditional thinking that women are inferior to men. Advanced intellectuals in China begin to call for learning western new style of school education to reform Chinese backward and feudal education system. Therefore, the women schools start to grow and then flourish in China, as promotes the development of Chinese co-education system.Based on western co-education system, the development of co-education in China has gone through a long course theoretically and practically from the beginning to establishment of the system under the joint effort of both Chinese and international education experts and advanced intellectuals.With the appearance of church college, private and public college, co-education in China has finally been accomplished in1920s after twenty years’ efforts.This thesis is aimed at exploring influence of western thoughts on education in China and clarifying its development through studying co-education in college in the late Qing dynasty and the early years of the Republic of China. Furthermore, it examines the characteristics of co-education in China in terms of thoughts, system and practice and evaluates objectively the historically positive effect. In addition, it analyses the historic references to problems of China today.