A Study On Sino-American Educational Relations (1840-1927)

Education is an opening system. Only through exchange with worldwide education can a country's education innovate, advance with time, and have powerful vitalities.The exchange between China and America can date back to 1784, when American merchant ship "The Empress of China" came to China. Forty years later, that was 1830, an American missionary Bridgman came to China sent by Congregationalist. He established the first school, Bridgman School, which was recognized as the beginning of Sino-U.S educational relation. The purpose to China was to conquer China by Christianity. But the crash of eastern and western culture broke their dreams. Through comprehensive analysis on Chinese culture and education, thinking over the difficulties in preaching their religion, they sought a best way to spread evangel, which was to set up missionary schools. Declination of Chinese education made space missionaries'work. In the upsurge of learning from the west, Chinese education began its modern process and self-awareness. The process was actually bidirectional impact-response model. On the basis of criticizing Chinese traditional education, American missionaries raised the climax of setting schools. From 1960's to the early beginning of the twentieth century, they finished establishing their educational system, mainly including missionary primary school, missionary middle school and missionary colleges. It provided some mode and reference for Chinese education, especially had a lot influence on Chinese colleges. Stuart and Yenching University set a good example. However, American missionaries didn't add their schools into Chinese educational system. Religion and educational "discourse power" was the most important factors. American missionaries had direct relations with Chinese students studying abroad. Rong Hong was recommended to study in America by Mr. Brown. This was the new page in the history of studying abroad. Through great effort and negotiation, Rong Hong realized his plan to send children to study in America that was the first climax of studying abroad. After 30 years silence, the second climax of studying abroad, Boxer Indemnity came. There were some complicated historical factors. Through hard efforts, China and America came to an agreement on the purpose of America. During the process, Chinese diplomat Liang Cheng and American president Roosevelt played crucial role. American plan "Culture Investment to China" was realized somewhat, but they didn't get the result they had expected. The students who came back from America combined advanced educational thoughts and advanced mode of America universities with Chinese education. They devoted a lot to the development of Chinese higher education. They played a great part in the process of transferring Chinese educational mode from Japan-oriented to America-oriented. To deepen Chinese educational reform still needed some theory and practice to guide. Chinese educators, mainly the students studying in America, invited American educators John Dewey, Paul Monroe and other American educators to China. Dewey introduced his pragmatic educational thoughts to China by his speeches, and he designed a Chinese education plan based on the pragmatic education. Monroe made a "diagnosis" on the problems of Chinese education and offered a lot of constructional suggestions by much investigation. The key that two educators cared was basic education of China. They had a great influence on school system, curriculum, textbooks, teaching methods, and improved educational experiments in China. Kilpatrick's Project method, Parkhurst's Dalton Laboratory plan and Maccall's Educational Measurement were widely developed. China's educational process of science was quickened. At the same time, Chinese educationist-group headed by Tao Xingzhi, Huang Yanpei, Yan Yangchu stepped on the new exploration road of Chinese education, transformed Dewey's pragmatic theory of education based on actual condition of Chinese education and formed the theory of professional education, the theory of life education, the theory of common people education with Chinese characteristics. They succeeded in applying them to practice. Hu Shi was a key person in the history of Sino-U.S educational relation. He was deeply affected by Dewey's educational philosophy of pragmatism. Hu Shi'views of higher education, literary revolution embodied practicability, scientism and thinking methods of Dewey's educational philosophy. He devoted a lot to Sino-U.S educational exchange. If we take a whole view of total process of Sino-U.S educational relation, it is full of many changing factors, contradictions and it embodies special character of non-balance. This is logic basis of research for Sino-U.S educational relation. It is of great value to study Sino-U.S educational relations by comparative methods and in the view of education.