Chapter Six Dissemination of Western Learning to the East and the Modernization of Chinese Education

Abstract

This chapter mainly focuses on the first two periods of the dissemination and their influence on Chinese education. The dissemination of Western learning to the East started from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. During the Qing Dynasty, the Jesus Society under the jurisdiction of Vatican sent a large number of missionaries to China. The dissemination of Western learning to the East was frequently interrupted, but the preaching of foreign missionaries never stopped, especially along the southern coast of China where some missionaries established schools which facilitated the beginning of modern Chinese education. The May Fourth Movement marks the dividing line between the history of Chinese traditional education and the modern education which was inaugurated with the establishment of a new educational system. The Westernization Movement and Hundred Days of Reform significantly impacted traditional Chinese education, though in different ways.Keywords: Chinese education; foreign missionaries; Hundred Days of Reform; Jesus Society; May Fourth Movement; Ming dynasty; Qing dynasty; Western learning; Westernization Movement