Gateway Chronicle 2022

The New Culture Movement of the 1910s
and 1920s rejected and reimagined
traditional Chinese worldviews, turning
from Confucian assumptions. Key
principles of the movement were demands
for greater democracy, women’s liberation
and use of vernacular language. This
culminated in the May Fourth Movement,
beginning with widespread student protests
from May 4 th , 1919, which signalled the
increased political influence of student
movements, the youth slowly becoming
‘masters of the new society’ in the words of
Mao Zedong.
China on 1 st October, introducing a
communist system inspired by Marxist-
Leninist principals. Under this new
direction, the lives of children were shaped
by a push to increase literacy, receive
training in work and remove worldviews
like Confucianism which were viewed as
holding the country back. Where an
American model heavily influenced the
Kuomintang’s approach, a Soviet model
now shaped Chinese education. Soviet
advisers influenced the curriculum and the
Sino-Soviet Friendship Association
promoted Soviet culture and language to
the extent that in many schools 90% of
student’s were members. The new
ideological education centred Marxist-
Leninist doctrine, school regulations stating
that 10% of the curriculum must be
directed towards political education.
However, the achievements of early
movements were limited. The May Fourth
Movement was strongly rejected by the
leading Kuomintang party and was largely
restricted to an educated few. The majority
of households still followed traditional
Confucian values and family structure,
particularly in the chaos of the ‘Warlord
Era’ when the country was divided
between regional factions, leaving no
centralised authority over education. After
the Kuomintang consolidated their control
over the country, the New Culture
Movement returned to neo-Confucian
ideals under the leadership of Chiang Kai-
Shek. Confucian influence over education
was maintained in the republic alongside a
new Western influence as the first Minister
of Education, Cai Yuanpei, proposed a
system influenced by the educational
theories of John Dewey.
This would all change in 1949. After years
of civil war, Mao Zedong announced the
foundation of the People’s Republic of
After 1953 there was a push towards
expanding education by increasing
‘people-run schools’ and replacing familyled
child rearing with a more communal
approach. The nationalisation of private
schools and intense subsidisation of
education increased enrolment so that by
1959 illiteracy rates fell from the 1949 level
of 80% to 43%. However, progress would
falter with the Great Leap Forward starting
in 1958 when rapid industrialisation, often
at the expense of the population, meant
communal nurseries were formed so
women could participate in the workforce.
In the rush for development, education was
often neglected as childcare was left in the
hands of retired women and unmarried
girls with little training. Facilities were poor
54 | G ateway Chronicle