Risen from Chaos: the Development of Modern Education in China, 1905-1948
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The London School of Economics and Political Science Risen from Chaos: the development of modern education in China, 1905-1948 Pei Gao A thesis submitted to the Department of Economic History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy London, March 2015 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 72182 words. I can confirm that my thesis was copy edited for conventions of language, spelling and grammar by Eve Richard. Abstract My PhD thesis studies the rise of modern education in China and its underlying driving forces from the turn of the 20th century. It is motivated by one sweeping educational movement in Chinese history: the traditional Confucius teaching came to an abrupt end, and was replaced by a modern and national education model at the turn of the 20th century. This thesis provides the first systematic quantitative studies that examine the rise of education through the initial stage of its development. It mainly contains three analytical parts. The first one sets out the jourey toward the birth of the first modern education system, and generalized the main virtues and progresses it brought to China. The second section provides long-term estimates on how much education progressed through 20th century based on a rich variety of indicators: literacy rate, enrolment ratio, and more importantly -- human capital stock (average years of schooling). This exercise allows putting Chinese accomplishments in education into international perspective. The last Chapter of this thesis tackles one hotly debated question that ‘what factors drove the rise of mass schooling (primary education)?’ Given its political turmoil and economic backwardness, the expansion of modern primary schooling that was mainly driven by increasing public efforts seems puzzling. What contributed to mass education’s noteworthy diffusion in China? Based on a dataset that covers more than one thousand counties, we find that economic factors have little power in explaining the variations in educational outcomes. In contrast, both informal practice of governance imposed by gentry (one important social group in Chinese history) and regional political stability presented their critical importance. The findings of this section not only contribute to pin down determinants of education expansion, but also shed lights on a growing literature stressing the importance of informal institution in providing public goods in non-democratic societies. Acknowledgement Obtaining a doctoral degree is not solely an intellectual challenge, but also a physiological task. Luckily enough, along my journey towards a PhD, I have been surrounded by a group of intelligent, loving and generous people, with whose help and support, I cannot ask for a better five years in London. First and foremost, I am extremely grateful to my supervisors, Dr. Chris Minns and Dr. Debin Ma, whose encouragement and guidance enabled me to complete this thesis. I am also thankful for Professor Peter Lindert who offered generous help and guidance on my thesis at its last stage. I am equally grateful for the head of Economic History Department, Professor Max Schulze, the director of PhD programme, Professor Oliver Volckart and Professor Joan Roses, their solid support at some critical moments gives me the chance to finish this thesis. I would like to thank my parents who have been giving me their unconditional love. Without their unwavering trust and support, I will not be the person I am today. I also need to thank my peers and friends in the department who made my days in LSE more colourful. Furthermore, I’m truly blessed to have a group of loving friends who have been there for me through ups and downs. Lastly, I also want to thank Yu-Hsiang Lei’s patience and support, who probably never intended to know so much about the education development in China. Table of Contents Tables and Figures ..................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1 : Setting the scene: political and economic background of a modern education system ........................................................................................................................................ 5 1. Starting Point: why does the state support schooling? .................................................... 5 2. Economic and political foundation of educational development in the early 20th century 9 2.1 Historical Background: The awakening Empire .......................................................... 9 2.2 Understanding the political domain ........................................................................... 11 2.3 Understanding key features of the Chinese economy ................................................ 22 3. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................................ 28 Chapter 2 : The journey: towards a modern education system in China ................................. 29 1. The burdens and legacy of the past ............................................................................... 29 2. Key elements of the modern education system ............................................................. 32 2.1 Educational Organisation ........................................................................................... 34 2.2 Access to education: Increasing importance of public schools ................................. 37 2.3 Decentralised Structure of the new education system ............................................... 40 3. Other benefits of the new education system ................................................................. 43 3.1 Formal schooling ....................................................................................................... 43 3.2 Education quality: academic and practical learning .................................................. 48 3.3 Equal access to schooling: gender neutrality ............................................................. 49 4. Funding modern schools ............................................................................................... 51 4.1 Weak fiscal capacity and the implicit fiscal relationship in China ............................ 52 4.2 Educational Finance ................................................................................................... 53 5. Concluding Remarks ........................................................................................................ 57 Chapter 3 : Long-term Trends in Schooling: Measuring educational development ................ 59 1. Measuring Literacy Rates in early 20th century China ................................................. 60 2. Measuring gross enrolment ratios for 20th century China ............................................. 64 2.1 Expansion of primary schooling ............................................................................ 66 2.2 The limited rise of secondary education ................................................................ 74 2.3 The shaping of higher education ........................................................................... 81 2.4 Summary ................................................................................................................ 83 3. Measuring the Chinese Human Capital stock ............................................................... 83 3.1 Methodology and Data .......................................................................................... 85 3.2 China’s catching-up in educational stock .............................................................. 87 3.3 Complementary evidence using individual survey data ............................................ 94 4. Concluding remarks ...................................................................................................... 99 Chapter 4 : Risen from Chaos: What drove the spread of Modern Primary Schooling in China in the early 20th century ........................................................................................................ 101 1. Conceptual framework: what are the driving forces of education? ............................... 103 1.1 Explaining supply ................................................................................................ 103 1.2 China’s exogenous education supply shock in the early 20th century ..................... 106 2. Historical Background: the new primary schooling system ....................................... 107 2.1. Primary education in context .................................................................................. 108 2.2 Financing primary schools ......................................................................................