A Review of Educational System Innovation in the Late Qing Dynasty

1840 The sound of the Opium War announced that China entered modern times in the late Qing Dynasty. In the process of foreign powers' increasing aggression, advanced China people put forward the idea of "learning from the West", and constantly promoted the reform from economy to politics and culture, which profoundly influenced the social changes in modern China. In the social reform in the late Qing Dynasty, educational reform was the most effective reform. The modernization of feudal education in China experienced three stages: Westernization education, Reform education and New Deal education. Under the impact of western culture and the promotion of China's capitalist modernization activities, the three educational reforms have broken through the shackles of feudal traditional educational systems and concepts, showing many characteristics of their own development from initial emergence, gradual development to all-round development. The following is a brief summary and analysis of the evolution and characteristics of the three educational reforms in the late Qing Dynasty.

I. Westernization education

After the two Opium Wars, the invasion of China by western powers deepened, and the scientific culture of western capitalism gradually moved eastward. The development of Westernization Movement calls for the emergence of new talents. These advanced western technologies, such as machines, cannons, ships and telegrams, cannot be understood and mastered by intellectuals who have read eight-part essays. Compared with the advanced culture and education system, the disadvantages of traditional education in China are increasingly exposed. Due to the need for talents in the development of Westernization, under the advocacy of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, the Westernization education activities with the guiding ideology of "taking middle school as the body and western learning as the application" were launched in the 1960s and 1990s. Its main contents include: (1) introducing western-style education, opening new schools, and reforming traditional school-running mode and teaching content. For example, 1863 established Shi Jing Wentong Library, which is a school that mainly trains foreign language translators. At first, it set up a British pavilion. Later, it added a Russian pavilion, a French pavilion, a German pavilion and a Japanese pavilion. Modern education in China started from here. Subsequently, new schools with the characteristics of training military, scientific and technological talents and translators appeared in China, and about 30 new schools were founded. (2) Send students to study abroad. Zeng Guofan thought that "selecting young children to study abroad, because this is the founding act of China, which has never happened in ancient times", "make westerners familiar with all the skills that China is good at, and then gradually strengthen themselves". From 1872- 1875, Westernization School selected four groups of outstanding students, including 120 students, to study in the United States, which set a precedent for studying in official schools in modern China, promoted the cultivation of new talents and facilitated cultural and educational exchanges between China and the West. (3) Changing the content of imperial examination, adding astronomy and arithmetic, putting "western learning" and "middle school" together for the first time, impacting the uniqueness of imperial examination and shaking the ideological concept of traditional education.

Westernization education reform takes the introduction of new schools as the main content, the active study abroad as the supplement, the perfection of imperial examination system as the breakthrough, and changes the traditional education system, which makes China's modern education take the indispensable first step of eclecticism and development. In a sense, the westernization movement absorbed western knowledge, which had a greater impact on the traditional society of China than the ten peasant wars. In this process, although there was no passionate cry, new ideas changed the prejudice and beliefs of generations with the help of specific things and examples. Of course, Westernization education is in the initial stage, which has obvious shortcomings: most of it is for the direct needs of diplomacy, military affairs and economy, and modernization has promoted the development of education and become the internal driving force of Westernization education reform, rather than actively and consciously carrying out reform. At the same time, due to the lack of understanding of the Westernization School and the lack of all-round educational reform planning, the reform measures remain at the material and cultural level, and the reform ideas are updated without abandoning, and the effect is not obvious.

Second, reform education.

1895 After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the Westernization Movement declared bankruptcy, imperialist countries set off a frenzy to carve up China, and the national crisis intensified, prompting the advanced Japanese people to awaken and carry out new political system reforms. In the process of reform, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao focused on the specific political system reform and formally launched a reform that impacted the old education system. Its main contents are as follows: (1) Open colleges and universities, and carry out activities to advocate educational innovation ideas and cultivate innovative talents. For example, Kang Youwei founded the 10,000-acre thatched cottage in Guangzhou, and Liang Qichao taught the current affairs school. (2) Actively argue with the old school and put forward the idea of "abolishing stereotyped writing and advocating western learning". Liang Qichao pointed out in "General Discussion on Reform" that "the root of reform lies in cultivating talents, promoting talents, promoting learning, establishing learning and reforming the imperial examination", thus opening the confrontation between capitalist thought and feudal thought. (3) Reform the old education system. 1898 promulgated the imperial edict of reform, proposing to abolish the eight-part essay, change the strategy theory, and open an economic college; Advocate western learning, change the academy into a new school, set up a translation bureau, and send overseas students.

Reform education attaches importance to the political utility and social function of education reform. In this regard, Kang Youwei believes that education saves the country "if there are many wise people, the country will be strong, and if there are few wise people, the country will be weak". Although the reformists overestimated the role of education, they were able to attach importance to education at that time and advocated giving full play to the role of education in cultivating new people and transforming society, which is worthy of recognition. At the same time, the reform of educational theory is also outstanding. From 65438 to 0896, Kang Youwei wrote On Normal Education, which became the pioneer of normal education in China in the late Qing Dynasty and raised the educational theory to a new height. In a word, the reform education has made remarkable achievements in ideological theory, which is the most explored reform in theory and has broken through the traditional educational thought and system in a new sense.

Third, the New Deal education.

Eight-Nation Alliance's war of aggression against China in 1900 and the signing of 190 1 brought great shame to the people of China. Due to the great changes at home and abroad, Empress Dowager Cixi had to regain some ideas and suggestions of the reformists, put the reform into the track of self-adjustment, and was forced to implement the New Deal measures, including the education reform, so that the education reform in the late Qing Dynasty was revived and quickly launched in an all-round way, becoming the most breakthrough reform. Its main contents are as follows: (1) Abolish the imperial examination system. At the beginning of the 20th century, due to the great changes in the domestic situation, the feudal imperial examination system has long been unsuitable for the needs of the situation, and it is not conducive to the cultivation of new talents and the need to promote social change. At that time, people deeply realized that "the imperial examination continued one day, and all the philosophers had the heart of being lucky enough to win the first place, so as to divide their ambition to hone their practice." People are more willing to wait and see, private schools are few and far between, non-public financial resources can be popularized, and schools are hopeless. "The imperial examination system initiated by the Sui Dynasty was abolished in 1905. It ended the tradition of taking officials in the imperial examination, rooted in school education for new education, and eliminated obstacles from the system. (2) Promote new schools and encourage overseas study. According to statistics, during the period of1902-191/kloc-0, the number of new schools increased from 700 to 52,500, with more than1630,000 students. 190 1 year, there are only over 200 students studying in Japan, ranging from 1904 to over 3000, from 1905 to over 8000, and from 1906 to 16000. (3) The earliest school system in China came into being, and the educational administrative organs were reformed. 1902 "imperial academy constitution" was promulgated, and 1904 "imperial academy constitution" was revised and promulgated, which was the first legal school system in modern China and put into practice, laying the first cornerstone for the modern education system in China.

It can be seen from the above that the New Deal education reform is the most mature and effective. Abolish the imperial examination system, establish a modern education system and carry out comprehensive reform. It has become an inevitable trend for new education to replace old education. After the Westernization Movement injected new educational factors, the reform education was affirmed and popularized, which finally made the Chinese people give up the old corrupt education system. The educational reform of the New Deal in the late Qing Dynasty laid the foundation for China's modern education.

From the three educational reforms in the late Qing Dynasty, it can be seen that educational reform is an important force to promote cultural and social changes in modern China; Education reform can not be separated from profound social, political and economic innovation; The reform of the educational system has directly promoted the development of education and the liberation of people's minds; The success of educational reform needs not only the needs of the objective society, but also the determination and effective measures of those in power to reform. Only by constantly promoting the reform and innovation of education can we cultivate new practical talents. Only by allowing outstanding talents to undertake the mission entrusted by society and the times and become a new force to transform society and promote China's progress can there be hope for national reform.