Facts And Realities Of The Women’s Problems:A Study Of The Surveys And Services Of Female Students In The Department Of Sociology,Yenching University(1925-1941)

Yenching University was one of the most important places for fostering Chinese intellectual women,in which Sociology was one of the most popular subjects for students,as it echoed social transformation and social construction,as well as emerged at a significant time of political and cultural change.During the Republic of China,the Department of Sociology at Yenching University was almost the most important institution of higher education in the field of social survey and social service.It carried out multitudes of social surveys works and a variety of social service projects,which had a significant impact on how young students reflected on the issues related to social changes.Female students played a dominant role in investigating gender-related issues.Their social surveys were affected by the environment of campus culture,professional knowledge and the May 4th New Culture.In the process of obtaining social investigations on women’s problems,these “modern perspectives”and the huge contrast between the life world of the investigators and the respondents further made it difficult for female students to truly understand the survival strategies of urban and rural bottom women to tackle with living predicament caused by social reality.Therefore,there existed tension and difference between “social facts”and “social reality” obtained from social investigation.Even though the ultimate objective is to “benefit society”,female students who were committed to the cause of women’s emancipation always tried to find out some social policies that were more favorable to women within the existing social framework.In response to the facts obtained by social researches on woman issues,female students paid close attention to social services.They carried out social services according to the transformative philosophy of “Women Serve Women”,“Nurture the Spirit of Service through Service”.As a practical way of social reform,social service which was regarded as an important program of social construction had been responding to the continuously changing political and social needs of China in the first half of the 20 th century,improving society by“creating new people”.Tapping into social reality,female students were devoted to improving women’s vocational skills and educational standards.Wu Yü-Chen’s case showed that female students had more “present”experience regarding women’s work,adjusted and changed their service ideas according to realistic condition,and always focused on the theme of saving the society and rejuvenating the country.