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Chinese School Uniform: Chronology--The Manchu/Qing Imperial Dynasty (1644-1911
Chinese School Uniform: Chronology--The Manchu/Qing Imperial Dynasty (1644-1911)
Figure 1.--This is an unidentified Engkish Magic Katern slide tajen in China. The deaker descrubes it as, " Magic Lantern Slide. A really interesting photograph of a group of well dressed Chinese children with a western women, possibly a governess. the slide is well hand coloured and made by Newton & Co. and i would date it to c1890 but having researched the slide: 1) its unusual to have a western lady in the group at the time 2) I can find no reference to this image in the commercially produced slide records. the children are well dressed so i wonder if they are children of the royal family. Provenance : originally owned by the Hazlerigg family of Noseley Hall near market Harborough Leicestershire. the family were granted a baronetcy in 1622 and the house was built in the 1720s. this was part of a lot sold by sothebys when the contents of the house were sold in 1998." We believe that the wonam is definitely not a giverness nor any kind if riyal school. We believe she is more likeky the wufe of a missionary whi has taken some orohans underv her wing and tecahing them in a small school. We welcome any thoughts readees might have.
The last Ming emperor in 1643 employed the warlike Manchus from the northeast to defend China from the Central Asian Tatars. A Manchu prince established himself in Peking,
and, in 1644, on the suicide of the last Ming emperor, took the imperial throne, founding the last royal dynasty of China. We mention them separately because they were the more recent and because it was the Mnachus whonwere forced to confront the Europeans, especially in the 19th century. After the Opium War and the subsequent granting of concessions to European powers, schools in the modern sence were established in China, primarily by Christian missionary societies. Most Chinese officials looked upon the Western influence, including the missionaries and schools with humiliation and suspicion. Throughout the 19th century, other than the Christian missionary schools, there was no effort to promote literacy for the masses in China. The Confuscian civil service examinations werestill the only way of entering the imperial civil service. This of cpurse was one reason that Chinese officials, all trained in the Confuscian system, were so resistant to any change in the educational system. As is the case for the Muslim world today, the response of many Chinese officials including the the Dowger Emperess in the late 19th century was to turn inward and reject all contacts with the West. The result was even more military reversals in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and by a coalition of Western Powers on the Boxer Rebellion (1900-01). These humiliating defeats signaled the end of the Manchu Dynasty convincing many younger Chinese that the Manchus were incapable of dealing with te challenge from the West.
Background
The last Ming emperor in 1643 employed the warlike Manchus from the northeast to defend China from the Central Asian Tatars. A Manchu prince established himself in Peking, and, in 1644, on the suicide of the last Ming emperor, took the imperial throne, founding the last royal dynasty of China. The first Manchu emperor, Shunzhi, only 1 year after bevoming emperor in 1645 ordered that pigtails (queues) should be worn in the style of the Manchu. This was seen as a sign of submission to Manchu
rule. [Chang] The enforced adoption by the Chinese of the plaited queue of the Manchus at first produced friction between the two peoples, but this gradually disappeared, and Manchus and Chinese assumed harmonious relations, but the Manchus remained a destinct warrior and official class. The huge Chinese population and culture gradually engulfed the numerically small invaders who adopted Chinese language and culture. The Manchus conqured Mongolia and ruled Manchuria. The gratest Manch emperor was K'ang Hsi (1662-1722). He conquered Tibet. He promoted sciemce and the arts. The Central Asian states of Turkestan and
Kashgaria were conquered by Ch'ien Lung (1736-96). Burma was penetrated and Cochin China and Korea were forced to pay tribute. After Ch'ien subsequent Machu emperors encountered increasingly difficulty suppressing rebellions. Chinese increasing tendency to turn inward and failure to pursue modern science and industry made it increasingly difficult to contend with the growing power of European nations intent on entering the China trade. The Manchus who found it difficult to
descriminate among Europeans found it difficult to understand the national rivalries as well as the avarice of the Europeans. Trade florished even under restructions imposed by the Manchus. Europeans had difficulty, however, in delivering products of interest to the Chines, until the British and other foreign merchants i the 19th century began selling increasing quantities of opium which was illegal in China. The increasing tendency of Eurropean governments to intervene to protect their
traders and the desire to maintain the lucrative opium trade led to Opium War which began in 1840. A naval task force by 1842 had forced China to make major concessions including ceeding Hong Kong as a British enclave. Other European powers also demanded similar enclaves. This generally took the form of areas of cities, but the French seized Tonkin expanding control of Indo-China (1884) and Japan which did embrace modern technology seized control of Korea (1894) and Taiwan (1895). Two elements emerged in China to contend with the Europeans. The first was traditionalist reactionary force onspired by te Emperess to exterminate
the foreigners. Nationalist reformers desiring to modernize China were persecuted. The Boxers with their primitives weapons and with them the Emperess were humiliated by a foreign military expediton in 1900-01. Gradually the reformers grew in strength.
Academies and Universities
As far as we know Imperial China had no national ststem of public schools. Meaning that the great mass of the Chinese people were inchooled and illiterate. This certainly was the case for the rural peasantry. We are not sure what the situarion was in the cities. We susopect thaere were fee paying schools for families with some level of income. The Imperial Goverment did finance academies, although they educated a small part of the population. There were two tyoes of academies: imperaial and provincial. Rhe students were all boys. The imperial academies were the most prestigious. They were designed to prepare academically taklented hoys for governing the Empire. Larger bunvers of boys were educated in the provincial academies. They , did not charge tuition fees . Stipends were available to preselected students. These academies were designed to the pursuit of independent study ficusing on the classics and literature. These students were not being prepared for governance. The teachers did nit nirmally lectire thge students. Rather their approach was ro advice and review research. [Hsu] Two issues are notavle here. First is the small number of Chinese children being educated. Second was the failure to address practical subjects like engineering, mathematics, and applied science. These subjects are important ti generate military power. And the ansencev of knowledfe in these fields affected both rge economy and military potential. It is why Chinese armoes did sompoorly bin the Opium Wars. But The Imperial Governent made no real effort to reform the education system after the First Opium War and only limited efforts after the Second Opium Wars. .
Imperial aithorities initiated a self-strengthening movement. They founded the Tongwen Guan (1861).
Foreign teachers were hirred to teach European languages, mathematics, astronomy and chemistry. The Japamnese victories in First Sino-Japanese WAar (1894-95) resulted in further, still limited action. They founded China's first modern university--Peiyang University (or Imperial Tientsin University) (1895). The undergraduate education system was based on the Amerivan uniuversuty education. Next Peking University was founded (1898). Her the system was based on the Japanese university system. (Imperial examinations were abolished (1905). American President Theodore Roosevelt passed the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program, which diverted funding of the Boxer Indemnity to university education in China. These finds hekped fund Tsinghua University (1911).
Missionary Schools
After the Opium War and the subsequent granting of concessions to European powers, schools in the modern sence were established in China, primarily by Christian missionary societies. Most Chinese officials looked upon the Western influence, including the missionaries and schools with humiliation and suspicion. Some more flexible officials, however, saw the need for a modern education system, perhaps belending Confucian classics with Western science and technology.
Civil Serice Defeats
Throughout the 19th century, other than the Christian missionary schools, there was no effort to promote literacy for the masses in China. The Confuscian civil service examinations werestill the only way of entering the imperial civil service. This of cpurse was one reason that Chinese officials, all trained in the Confuscian system, were so resistant to any change in the educational system.
Another Japanese country took a differebt apparoach to rge challenge from the West. The Japanese deciced in the mid-19th century to adapting Western education to their still traditional society. Japan instituted a natioanl educational system in 1872 which by 1900 was schooling 90 percent of the country's children.
More Defeats
As is the case for the Muslim world today, the response of many Chinese officials including the the Dowger Emperess in the late 19th century was to turn inward and reject all contacts with the West. The result was even more military reversals in the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and by a coalition of Western Powers on the Boxer Rebellion (1900-01). These humiliating defeats signaled the end of the Manchu Dynasty convincing many younger Chinese that the Manchus were incapable of dealing with te challenge from the West. It was increasingly clear. even to classically trained Confuscian scholars, that China needed a modern mass education sysyem that would include Western science and technology.
Manchu Reforms
The Imperial Government in 1905 ended the civil service examination system. The Government enacted a series of reform measures designed to reorganize the Confuscian
academies into a modern system of primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education based largely on Western models. Little actual progress, however, was made. The Manchus were overthrown in 1911 and replaced by a new Chinese Republic.
Chinese World View
China unlike other great civilizations developed in almost total isolation from the other great civilizations of the world. Until the arrival of the Europeans in the 16th century there were no contacts by sea. The only contacts by land had been the "Silk Road" but this permitted very limited exchanges and over long periods was interupted or conducted by intermediaries. Thus Chinese scholars could only compare China to the less cultured societies that existed on Chinese frontiers. In many cases, especially in the north and west these were nomadic, often barabaric peoples that developed in China the idea that theur society was the center of the universe and that all knowledge of importance was developed by China. This outlook was pervasive and strongly affected the Chinese educational system.
The Manchus inherited this world view and saw no need to change or adopt to modern technology as late as the 19th century. The Manchus were not impressed with cultures. They continued to consider themselves culturally superior to the West and with the "four inventions" (gunpower, the compass, movable type and paper), they even felt that Chinese science and technology was superior. It was not until the devestating defeat of imperial forces by the British during the Opium War (1839-1842), that Chinese scholars and officials were forced to reassess their world view, at least in the key areas of science and technology. Few if any Chinese thinkers questioned the cultural superiority of China.
Schoolwear
We know nothing at this time about the Chinese schools during the Manchu dynasty or yet about the missionary schools and how the boys were dressed.
A brief history of China is available in the general Chinese country section. This may be useful in better understanding historical developments in education.
Sources
Hsu, Immanuel. "The Reorganisation of Higher Education in Communist China, 1949-61," The China Quarterly Vol. 19
(July–September 1964), pp. 128–60.
Surowski, David B. "History of the Educational System of China: An essay commissioned by Projects for International Education Research," undated essay accessed August 29, 2002.
