The Christian Education In North China During The Anti-japanese War

After the outbreak of anti-Japanese war,the Japanese invaders spared no effort to intensify the control on all sectors in the occupied area among which education suffered from the most severe control and the most radical transformation.They attempted to bring the systems and measures for primary and secondary education in North China at their disposal.As a result,Peking as the former political and cultural center was the first to be affected.The missionary schools owing to the excellent teaching strength and,modernization played an important role in and brought much influence in all primary and secondary schools.Thus the Japanese invaders intended to trample on the missionary schools at their will though they were afraid of the European and American force.With the war progress and the changes of the international situation,missionary schools also had to witness some changes.After the war between Japan and America broke out,the schools without diplomatic asylum and protection of extraterritoriality went downhill so that British and American missionary schools failed to keep their heads above water and the survivors were also reduced to more close surveillance by the Japanese invaders.The missionary schools with different nationalities had to be faced with different treatment in the anti-Japanese war.The Japanese puppet regime in China divided the missionary schools into four kinds and treated them in a different manner in accordance with the diplomatic relations.When the situation changed,their attitudes had also changed.Although what the missionary schools suffered differently,the Japanese invaders will imposed on the schools was marked in the development of all schools.The daily teaching management activities in missionary schools were strictly controlled by the Japanese.Economic deterioration in many teachers and students and the interruption of supplied funding in wartime forced many missionary schools to downsize or close down.Although the organizations remained the same and foreigners were no longer allowed to serve as chairman of the school board,foreign teachers were still appointed as usual.In this situation,the faculty personnel were changed frequently and Japanese teachers and Chinese teachers were treated differently.On the surface,the Japanese invaders seemed to be aloof and indifferent on missionary schools unlike the state schools at the beginning,but they still re-made bills,sent Japanese teachers here and intensified monitoring on all teachers and students.Hence,all teachers and students had to struggle and the schools in the occupied area had to make some compromises and concessions for survival.The missionary schools were considered as important "positions" for the Japanese puppet to spread the enslaving thinking and the aggression ideology and had to change the school curriculum,prepare textbooks and promote Japanese language education by force.Besides,the schools had to be ordered to take part in cultural and sports activities,including sports within a week and speeches on "rejuvenating Asia",various kinds of"movement" or "celebrations" in the occupied area and so on.After Pearl Harbor event,all British and American missionary schools were shut down.Germany,French,Italian and other Catholic schools,etc in spite of continuous survival had to be put into severe supervision and control too.Some schools,such as the affiliated high school of Fu Jen subject to the tough punishment of being ordered to shut down had to make a compromise although teachers and students attempted to have a struggle.Jing Cun School involving in anti-Japanese activities before the war was free from the special treatment of the Japanese puppet after "proving the innocence" in being against the Japanese,but it was much more cautious in the interaction with the authorities.Although the schools were greatly affected by the war and politics,it could still adapt to the political situation changes well.