Women’s Education In Shaanxi In The Period Of The Republic Of China (1912—1937)

Following the treaty ports established,the western missionaries set up female mission schools in southeast of china after the Opium War and that was the beginning not only of modern education but also of women’ education in china.Because great changes have taken place in China, the provinces founded Women’s school at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Some persons with breadth of vision and some government officers founded Women’s school in Shaanxi province which was situated the northwest of china. The establishment of the Republic of China and the progress of history, more and more people waken up to the importance of women’s education in order to a education boom in Shaanxi province in the early Republic of China. Form the20’s and30’s of20th century, the government published the new educational system, the large influence of the New Culture Movement and changes of the current political situation further promoted the popularization of women’ education in Shaanxi.This article not only studies the fundamental state and makes evaluation to women’s education of Shaanxi province in1912-1937.The receiving way of women education is diverse. There are primary education secondary education and occupational education; for the organizers, both the church-run and public and private supporters had done the job. Form the establishment of the Republic of China to the May4th Movement Shaanxi women’s education based on the women’s primary education and secondary education for girls rarely. After the May4th Movement, Shaanxi women’s primary education and secondary education for girls were development and Women’s occupation education also founded. From the system point of view, the period of the Republic of Shaanxi women’s education system without women’s higher education which is a relatively complete; from the development of women’s education, there are schools men and women can study together, period of schooling and course offered had been changed; look from social angle, women’s education promoted to the liberation of women, improved their ideological consciousness and the social position, enhanced women’s ideology in the political field. But Shaanxi province in the northwest of china, the backward economy and the traffic was inconvenient, the development of women’s education in Shaanxi is relatively thin. Moreover, Shaanxi province comprises the central Shaanxi plain, Southern Shaanxi and the north of Shaanxi,The women’s education in these three parts had the different development conditions for different social environment and geographical factors.In addition to lengthways analysis of history progress, this paper also includes cases analysis and comparison between Shaanxi, Coastal provinces of Southeast China, other provinces of Northwest China, for example, Jiangsu province, Gansu province and so on. Through the deep analysis of the Women’s education data in these provinces, we can get profound understanding of the development process, the level of development and features. So it can help us objectively look Shaanxi women’s education in the period of the Republic of China.