Study On The Elementary Grade School Geography Textbooks Written In The Qing Dynasty

Geography textbooks in the late Qing Dynasty are the origin of modern geography textbooks in China. Based on Prof. Chu Yaping’s view that geography textbooks contain three systems including the text system, the image system and the homework system, we have systematically studied the three systems of grade school geography textbooks in the late Qing Dynasty in this thesis, using three research methods including literature analysis, induction and comparison, and demonstrated the compiling characteristics of grade school geography textbooks in that age.The research on the text system of grade school geography textbooks in the late Qing Dynasty was carried out from the three points of view:the compiling structure, the compiling style and the textbook’s content. The compiling structures of the studied grade school geography textbooks contain the volume-lesson structure and the chapter-lesson structure, and the former structure is the dominant one. Classification style was widely compiled combined with other styles in textbooks. The textbook’s contents were basically written according to the document Official Statutes of the Grade School, while some contents were tuned by the compilers. The literal description content was abundant, which emphasized the ideological education on students. However, knowledge beyond the geography field was also compiled into the textbooks. The contents were quite different in different textbooks. A few teaching instructions were compiled in textbooks, which had an excellent effect of guiding and summarizing lessons. No complementary files except the textbook was introduced in the textbook system.In the image system, five types of images could be classified. The type and number of compiled images were quite different in different textbooks. However, some of the images were repetitively compiled in different textbooks. Besides, the images exhibited a preferable aesthetic value.In the homework system, no paper-and-pencil homework was included. In contrast, the effect of the teaching was supposed to be achieved by the student practical activity of reading and reciting literal descriptions in textbooks.Generally speaking, the characteristics of grade school geography textbooks in the late Qing Dynasty are associated with the historical background in that age. Those geography textbooks epitomized the mainstream culture of the late Qing Dynasty. It suggests that the ruling class of the late Qing Dynasty made efforts to utilize geography textbooks to impress students with official ideology and moral value.This thesis not only summarizes the compiling experience of grade school geography textbooks in the late Qing Dynasty, but also expands the research on the evolution of geography textbooks in China. The study provides researchers and readers with significant information on the origination and evolution of geography textbooks in modern China.