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A Refreshing Perspective for the Study of Christianity and Education in Modern China Today

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11 June 2026

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22 June 2026

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Abstract
The proposed paper aims at bringing up a new and refreshing perspective for scholars to think about Western missionary’s educational work in China. Rather than following the traditional John Fairbank’s (费正清) “Impact-Response” and Joseph Levenson’s (列文森) “Modernization” paradigms of viewing the Western (Protestant) missionary’s work as “foreign” impact initiated by the West, which brought changes and modernization of Chinese education in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the new perspective attempts to explore and at re-viewing the arrival of Christianity as a driving force in response to Chinese education from within, including: enriching the meanings of “Men of antiquity studied for one’s own self, men today study for others” (古之学者为己、今之学者为人); enlightening the Chinese mind with “a broadened worldview of modern knowledge”, and educating Chinese students with “new horizons of concerns in medical care, mass education and national salvation which characterized Chinese modern education in the 20th century”, hence, this paper will attempt to re-discover and provide substantial examples to illustrate this refreshing perspective as one new roadmap for future research on the interplay between Christianity and the development of Chinese modern education in the past century.
Keywords: 
Christianity in China
;  
education in modern China
;  
paradigm shifts
;  
Thomas H.C. Lee
;  
Chinese YMCA
;  
Tao Xingzhi
;  
Wu Yifang
Subject: 
Arts and Humanities  -   Religious Studies

Introduction – Changing Paradigms in the Mid-20th Century

Since 1950s, John K. Fairbank introduced the ‘Impact- Response’ paradigm for the study of modern Chinese history, arguing that Chinese modern history could be seen as one receiving a strong impact from Western civilization, including Christianity, and the subsequent changes in China were China’s responses. (Fairbank & Teng, 1954) Joseph Levenson added another parallel paradigm of “Tradition vs. Modernity” which drew more attention to the study of Christian mission as a possible factor enforcing the modernization of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries. (Levenson, 1964) These two paradigms were adopted by most scholars throughout the 20th century in which the modernization of China was seen as China’s response to the great impact from a dominant West. (Lin, 1992; Wang, 1997) The two paradigms were soon found to be rather one-sided approach, without seeing the fact that cultural exchanges worked in both directions, and in 1980s, Paul Cohen introduced a “China-centred Paradigm” as his key to re-discover the study of Chinese history. (Cohen, 1984) However, Cohen’s new paradigm turned out to remain seeing Chinese history from a dominant Western perspective and undermined by a Western agenda. (Ng, 2012a)
In 1997, Lian Xi (连㬢) published his doctoral thesis, entitled: The Conversion of Missionaries: Liberalism in American Protestant Missions in China, 1907-1932. (Lian, 1997) Lian Xi offered three stories of American missionaries who came to China for the purpose of Changing China but eventually were changed by a greater cultural impact from China. (Lian, 1997) 1 The flow of “the West influencing the East” was reversed to “the East influencing the West”. Lian successfully illustrated how Chinese culture had changed American missionaries and shaped the formation of early 20th century liberal Protestantism, hence reversing the argument of Fairbank’s “Impact-Response Paradigm”. There was another book published in 2002, entitled: Changing Paradigms of Christian Higher Education in China (1888-1950), in which four other Chinese scholars joined hands together to attempt a cross-cultural and cross-archival study of Christian universities and colleges in China, supplementing the Western perspectives with Chinese perspectives. (Ng et al, 2002) It disclosed also that “cultural exchanges were mutual endeavours, with the two sides serving as both the giving and the receiving ends… There is indeed a greater need for the development of new paradigms and multi-perspectives besides the traditionally set paradigms or one-sided perspectives… (hence,) to move a step further to demonstrate the interplay between Western and Chinese cultures, between Christian and Chinese education, and perhaps between the global and local perspectives.” (Ng et al, 2002, 38-39) Another book came out in 2000, entitled: Education in Traditional China: A History. (Lee, 2000/2012) The author, Thomas H.C. Lee adopted a China-centered approach, yet adding to it the local dimension with a comprehensive study of traditional Chinese education from the time of Confucius to the modern era. Lee argued that “the new thinking did not immediately emerge because of the arrival of Western influences. Rather, it arose from within the Chinese tradition and had begun to inform the Chinese imagination regarding the purpose and practice of education by the seventeenth century.” (Lee, 2000/2012; 2025, 17-33) This is perhaps another new paradigm which suggests a new way of understanding of the relationship between Christianity and modern Chinese education.

“Everything is My Concern” – From “Learning is for One’s Own Self” to “Learning for Impress Others and/or Serving Others”

Thomas Lee was a student of Arthur Wright (芮沃寿) and Jonathan Spence (史景迁). He received his doctoral degree in 1974 from Yale University, USA and since then he taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong till 1991 and became a professor at the City University of New York, USA. His major study was on traditional Chinese education. He proposed that the foundation of Chinese understanding of education was based on Confucian tradition, with the famous saying, “Learning is for one’s own self” (「学以为己」). (Lee, 2025, 17) By “one’s own self”, Confucius’ teaching referred to the cultivation of oneself as a moral human being, contrasting to “showing off (oneself) to others”: As Analects 14:24 says, “Men of antiquity studied to improve themselves, men today study to impress others” ( “古之学者为己，今之学者为人。” ). (Lee, 2025, 17; Lau, 2000, 14:24) Lee also reminded us that Zhu Xi (朱熹, 1130-1200) who was a keen follower of Confucius and he promoted Confucius teachings through “academy education” (「书院教育」). With the rise of printing technology in the eleventh century, Zhu Xi began to feel the need to provide education to the “commoners” (庶民). The shift in educational focus was inevitable and starting in the 13th century some villages or rural communities established schools, called “community schools” (shexue 社学). In the 15th century, Wang Yang-ming (王阳明, 1472-1529) who followed Zhu’s concern to bring education to the commoners, began to push more down to earth with the idea that “learning was for everybody”. (Lee, 2025, 19-20) Lee discovered that it was by the 16th century that thinking on the purpose of education had gradually moved to focus on commoners’ moral upbringing. And, by the mid-19th century, Chinese intellectuals were absorbed in the commoners’ affairs, with the beliefs that all people were equal, i.e. being equal in their potential to learn and educated intellectuals could take on all political and social affairs as their concerns and responsibilities”. (Lee, 2025, 20 & 23) In other words, it was the practice of “education of the commoners” (庶民教育) and “learning was for everybody” (人人可以成为圣人). Hence, Lee discovered a new awareness in Chinese modern education, which came up before the arrival of Western missionaries, and he suggested a new notion, “Everything is My Concern” (「事事关心」) to characterize the development of modern education in China.
Though Lee said that “the new thinking did not immediately emerge because of the arrival of Western influences”, he still admitted that Western missionaries such as Young J. Allen (1836-1907) and Timothy Richard (1845-1919) had put much effort to introduce modern knowledge and information which strengthened the Chinese awareness of “Everything is My Concern”. (Lee, 2025, 26) Though historians of Chinese education often considered “save the nation from extinction and strive for its survival” (「救国图存」) as what could best characterize Chinese modern education, yet Lee would recall Zhang Zhidong’s (张之洞) notion of “Chinese learning as essence and Western learning as application” (「中学为体、西学为用」) as a key, and argued that, the Western impact, rather than an impact from outside to modernize China, had become a driving force which helped to enlighten the Chinese mind from within, with the broadened horizon of knowledge and concerns. Western missionaries had brought to China “a broadened world of knowledge and its multifaceted prongs that must be dealt with. It opened the Chinese mind from within to develop challenging ways to modernize China. Everything now became relevant, meaningful, and threatening.” (Lee, 2025, 30) Lee continued to argue, by saying:
“I would even argue that it started in the Ming times, when its founder seized on the significance of commoners’ education and began a series of programs to carry out a new kind of education that was directed to the general populace… The notion that all men were equal in terms of ability to understand moral teaching and to internalize it had by the 18th century expanded also to mean that all political and social affairs are every man’s responsibility and concerns. This trans-valuation is aptly expressed in the famous couplet, admonishing that everything is the concern of an educated person. The arrival of Western influences strengthened the realization that the world of knowledge was broad, and its values diverse and competing”. (Lee, 2025, 30)
Hence, Lee offered us a refreshing paradigm to explore in a new way about the relationship between Christianity and Chinese modern education. The arrival of missionaries was not seen as Western impact from outside which resulted in the modernization of China, as John Fairbank and Joseph Levenson suggested, Lee rather proposed that Christianity would now be seen as a driving force from outside which strengthened the development of modern Chinese education from within, by the introduction of Western knowledge and information to broadening the Chinese mind and directly addressing to the Chinese pursuit that everything was the concern of an educated person.

Broadening Horizon of Knowledge and Concerns- the Work of Young J. Allen (1836-1907) and Timothy Richard (1845-1919)

Lee recalled Young J. Allen and Timothy Richard as two missionaries who had introduced Western and modern knowledge to China in the late 19th and early 20 centuries, which helped enlightening the Chinese mind through the work of their publications. (Lee, 2025, 26) Young J. Allen (known in China as Lin Le-zhi, 林乐知, 1837-1907) came to China in 1860 as a missionary from the Southern Methodist Episcopal Church in USA and resided in China for 47 years. (Leung, 1978) Lin was renowned for his work as an educator, translator and journal editor, with the setting of two schools in China- the Anglo-Chinese College and McTyeire School for Girls, both in Shanghai, 2 and the publishing of “A Review of The Times”《万国公报》(Wangou Gongbao)。Through teaching and translation and editing, Lin introduced a wealth of Western knowledge and technology to China. He was extremely concerned with the social situations in China, paying particular attention to analysing the social structure of the late Qing Dynasty. Lin also set his mind to meet the "scholars" and cultivate relationships with "officials," such as Feng Guifen (冯桂芬), Li Hongzhang (李鸿章), Ding Richang (丁日昌), and Zhang Zhidong (张之洞). As it was around the time of Reform Movements of 1896 in China, Lin believed that "scholars” and “officials” were generally more open-minded and eager for new knowledge and change. His work had made great impact on the reformers such as Kang Youwei (康有为), Liang Qichao (梁启超) and Tan Sitong (谭嗣同). (Leung, 1978) And Lin was amongst the outstanding Western missionaries who had introduced modern Western knowledge which became a driving force for conceptual changes of the Chinese minds in late Qing China. (Pan, 2011, 179-230)
Timothy Richard (known in China as Li Ti-mo-tai, 李提摩太, 1845-1919) was sent to China in 1870 by Baptist Missionary Society of England. As a missionary, he followed the rules of his own denominational mission society and tried also the evangelistic methods of Hudson Taylor and the China Inland Mission in his beginning years. But after a few years, he found a new way to do mission work in China. Rather than adopting the conventional practices of “seeking the lost” by mere preaching and distributing Bibles on the street, he started a new way of “looking for those who are worthy”, by visiting and making friendship with the Buddhists and Daoists in China, as well as the government officials such as Li Hong-zhang (李鸿章). At the invitation of Li, Timothy went to Tianjin in 1890 to serve temporarily as the chief editor of the Chinese edition of the China Times (《中国时报》). And in 1891, Timothy became the general secretary of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge among the Chinese (which was later known as “Christian Literature Society for China/ CLSC” or “Guangxue hui/广学会”). The society was well known in China as a publishing house producing a wide range of translation of famous books, pamphlets, leaflets and magazines, sharing modern and worldwide knowledge as a driving force which helped to contribute the broadening of the Chinese mind that “everything was the concern of an educated person”. (Ng, 2012b, 111-132) Timothy was also greatly remembered for his help in the establishment of Shanxi University in 1901. Timothy had helped twice during the famine relief of Shandong and Shanxi Provinces and gained much respect from the local officials and gentry. He was asked by Cen Chun-xuan (岑春瑄), the Shanxi governor to use Boxer Indemnity Funds to establish a new university in Shanxi, with the aim to provide education of modern knowledge and help enlighten the minds of the people of Shanxi. This was precisely what was needed in Chinese education in Shanxi, as Timothy said, “(it would help) remove the ignorance and superstition that had been the main cause of the massacre of the foreigners”. (Richard, 1916, 299) Timothy was still remembered during the celebration of 120th anniversary of the founding of Shanxi University in 2021 and a bronze status was erected in the campus as one of the founders of the University which proved to be a great milestone of the development of tertiary education in Shanxi Province.

Yu Rizhang and Social Education and Citizen Education of the Chinese YMCA

A good illustration to relate Christianity with Chinese modern education in the early 20th century is the case of Yu Rizhang (余日章, David Z.T. Yu, 1882-1936) and the Chinese Young Men Christian Association (「中华基督教青年会」(Chinese YMCA, in short))。Yu was a prominent leader of the Chinese YMCA who distinguished himself by launching a series of social education programs to restore the prosperity of China in the early 20th century. He was born of a Christian family and received elementary education from Boone School (文华书院) in Wuchang and continued with higher education at St. John’s College (圣约翰学院) in Shanghai in 1902-1905. (Wang, 2025, 145-167) Like many Chinese youths in the early 20th century China, Yu was concerned with national salvation. He served as the Director of Lecture Department (in 1913) and became the General Secretary (in 1920) of the Chinese YMCA. He made a clear statement, saying: “We all hope that China will become a nation of wealth and power in the future… a strong nation can only be achieved by building its people with a heart of justice, kindness, peace, service, sacrifice and resolution. The purpose of YMCA is to cultivate the above virtues.” (Yu, 1920) In other words, Yu considered that ‘saving China’ should start with building up an ideal character for modern China, hence, “Character saves the nation” (人格救国). (Wang, 2025, 158-159) His mission at the Chinese YMCA was to educate modern Chinese youth and provide them with basic knowledge- through social and citizen education which would help to save China.
The story of Chinese YMCA helps to demonstrate how Christianity could move beyond the mere concern of whole person education in its Christian ministry in China. “(The) Chinese YMCA was no longer limited as a Christian organization to save souls, to save Christians and also the nation and its people.” (Wang, 2025, 157) Yu made great efforts to turn the Chinese YMCA into an organization for social education, launching three distinctive programs- the character-building program, mass education program, and citizenship program- to cultivate Chinese youth through programs for the body, mind, and spirit… to reach the goal of transforming the people. (Wang, 2025, 157) The Christian values, such as love, peace, equality and justice, became a means or driving forces for enriching the meaning of “serving the nation” and broadening one’s concerns in the social and nationalistic contexts. Especially in the citizens education program, Chinese YMCA adopted an old motto, “Every man is responsible for his country”, to appeal to every citizen to fulfil their citizenship (国家兴亡,匹夫有责). (Wang, 2025, 161) These programs were not empty talks but putting Christian faith into practice, and by cultivating good character, literacy, and citizenship, the programs made real contributions to the society and the nation. (Wang, 2025, 163) As a result, Chinese YMCA became one of the most successful Christian societies in China. Again, as Thomas Lee proposed, “most of these activities… were “to save the nation”, but they were possible, more importantly, because of the educational ideal that “everything is my concern”. “Everything is my concern” can now be understood in the Chinese context, as “everything can equally inspire Chinese people in pursuit for moral accomplishment and true knowledge”; “that everything is my (the Chinese) acceptable choice”; and “ all political and social affairs are every man’s responsibility or concern”. (Lee, 2025, 29) This is definitely a refreshing perspective for the study of interplay between Christianity and Chinese modern education today.

Save the Nation Through Education (教育救国)- The Case of Tao Xingzhi

The case of Tao Xingzhi (陶行知, 1891-1946) was another best example of Chinese intellectuals who was broadened with Western global knowledge and finally committed himself to “save the nation through education” (教育救国). Tao was known in the country as “The Great Educator of Chinese People”. (Zhou, 2011, 15-16) He studied at a Christian school (Zhong Yi Xuetang, 崇一学堂) in Anhui Shexian (安徽歙县) in 1906. At the age of 15, He was already clear in mind that he was a Chinese and decided to save China by becoming a physical doctor. He went into Guangji Medical School in Hangzhou (杭州广济医学堂) at the age of 17. But soon he discovered that the medical school discriminated against non-believers, he left immediately. A year later, he entered Huiwen Shuyuan in Nanking (汇文书院, which was renamed金陵大學堂, Jinling Daxue Tang ). (Tang, 1991, 339-357) After completing his study at the University of Nanking, Tao received an oversea scholarship to study in USA. He applied to study Political Sciences at the University of Illinois, to realize his dream of saving the country by studying politics. So, Tao still had strong love for China, whether studying medicine or political sciences. In the summer of 1915, however, he discovered that it was even better to save the country through education, Tao turned to study education at Columbia University, New York, without losing his strong desire to work for national salvation when he returns to China. (Tang, 1991, 352; Zhou ed., 1991, 144-162)
After his return to China in 1917, Tao worked with Guo Bing-wen (郭秉文) at Nanjing Higher Normal School (“南京高等师范学院”), and helped Cai Yuanpei (蔡元培), the president of Peking University, to promote the Chinese Association for Educational Advancement (中华教育改进社) in 1921, by initiating the School Reform Decree of 1922 and establishing the first modern education in China. He was also involved in a series of educational reform movements for China, including “Mass Education”, “Rural Education Movement”, “Life Education Movement”, “People’s Education Movement”, “Little Teachers Movement”, and “Democratic Education Movement”; and most significant of all, the “Education of Love Movement” when he set up Xiaozhuang Teachers’ College (晓庄师范学校) in 1927. All these movements were intended to meet the educational needs of China, with the vision of “let the world be filled with love” (爱满天下). (Zhang & Tang, 1992)
While Hu Shi (胡适) and other Chinese scholars were proposing “Complete Westernization” to replace Chinese traditional culture, Tao did not agree with them thoroughly: he wanted to move beyond Western cultures and bring more relevance to the Chinese contexts. (Bieler, 2004, 241-250; 285-287) For instance, while adopting John Dewey’s theories of education, Tao attempted to move beyond Dewey’s idea of “education of life” and expanded it to “education of life, for life, and by life”; whereas Dewey promoted “education is life”, Tao changed it to “Life is education”; (Tao, 1930; 2016, 9-15) whereas Dewey suggested that “the school is society”, Tao changed it to “the society is school”. (Tao, 1926, 29-30; 2016, 6-8)
On the other hand, while adopting Wang Yang Ming’s philosophy of the “Knowing and Doing are one” (知行合一), Tao advocated that “Teaching and Learning are one” (教学合一). He further proposed a new theory of “the integration of teaching, learning and doing” (教学做合一). (CRIES, 1981, 76-78) Tao says, “Doing is action, thinking, and the creation of new values… hence, doing is inventing, creating, experimenting, constructing, producing, destroying, striving, and finding out solutions” ; (Yu, 2015, 458) “A man is living when he is doing. Living a day, doing a day; living old, doing old”. (Yu, 2015, 458) He used the analogy of “Farmers working in the field” and noted, “Teaching, learning, and doing all happen in the field - doing in the field, learning in the field, and teaching in the field”. (CRIES, 1981, 77) Tao proceeded further to revise Wang’s idea and proposed another new, epistemological idea to supplement Wang’s philosophy of education. Whereas Wang stated: “Knowing precedes Doing, and Doing is the result of Knowing” (知是行之始、行是知之成), Tao advocated in an opposite direction by stating: “Doing precedes Knowing, and Knowing is the result of Doing” (行是知之始、知是行之成). (Tao, 1928) Tao was pointing to a different kind of knowing which demands one’s living experiences, or put it more precisely “Living precedes Knowledge, knowledge is only the result of our living and our experiences”. (CRIES, 1981, 75) Living is by far more important than knowledge, and that was why Tao was more concerned with “life education” (生活教育) - which is “education of life, for life and by life”. (Tao, 1930) To re-affirm his discovery, Tao changed his name again in 1934, from “Zhixing” (知行) to “Xingzhi” (行知). (CRIES, 1981, 349)
Where did Tao find his humanistic educational ideas? Especially his ideal of “education of love”? Zhou Hongyu (周洪宇)3 admitted that Tao’s promotion of “education of love” and his vision of “letting the world be filled with love” were found to be close to the Christian concept of love and the sacrificial spirit expounded by Jesus. He said, “Tao has long been highly respected because of his great personality which was in some ways influenced by his Christian faith” (Zhou, 2011, 36 & 70). Tang Wenquan (唐文权) also affirmed and reported that Tao had learnt of the Christian faith from his college years at the University of Nanking. (Tang, 1991, 339-357) Hence, we may conclude that Tao, while receiving Western education in the University of Nanking (Nanjing), had indeed learnt both the Christian faith and the study of Wang Yangming (Wangxue) from his college years. (Ng, 2021, 113-125) He was brought up with a broadened world of knowledge, embracing and being enlightened by both modern Chinese education and Western cultures. It echoes with what Thomas Lee says: Christianity indeed served as a driving force to modern Chinese education which helped enlighten him with a broadened vision of education, i.e. “Everything is my concern” and “everything is my acceptable choice”. After trying to study medicine, political sciences, Tao finally turned to education and determined to offer his own life for “saving the nation through education”. He was finally honoured nation-wide as “The Great Educator of Chinese People”. (Zhou, 2011, 15-16; Zhang & Tang, 1992, 103)

Abundant Life & Serving for People- the Work of Wu Yifang and Jinling Nuzi Daxue

Wu Yifang (吴贻芳,1893-1985) was graduated from Ginling Women College (known as Jinling Nuzi Daxu, 金陵女子大学) and after received the doctoral degree in Biology at Michigan University in USA, she returned to China and became the president of her alma mater for 24 years, from 1928-1951. It was in 1928 when the Christian universities were facing extreme difficulties and great challenges from the rising of anti-Christian movements and the determination of the Chinese government to reclaim the rights over education (including the registration of Christian colleges with strict regulations) during the mid-1920s. However, rather than choosing to continue her research and teaching of Biology in America or in China, Wu decided to return to China and became a president of her own alma mater, not for her own interests but simply to serve the people and the country. (Ng, 2023a, 49-50) Though she was broadened with Western global knowledge of the time, she committed her life to serve China and the Chinese people as soon as she completed her study in USA. Again, it echoes precisely what Thomas Lee has said, “Men of antiquity studied to improve themselves, men today study to impress/or to serve others” (“古之学者为己，今之学者为人”). Her return to China signified her determination to save the country and serve the people by education, and precisely by the kind of education she had been brought up with at Ginling Women’s College.
“Abundant Life” (厚生) was the motto of Ginling Women’s College since it was founded in 1915. The founding president, Lawrence Thurston explained that “the foundation ideals of Ginling were Faith, Hope and Love, it was through the love of God which was revealed in Jesus that people may have abundant life”; but when Wu became the president, she further expounded it in humanistic terms, saying: “Life does not means to be living for oneself, it is rather to be able to serving others and bringing goodness to the society. In this way, one does not only bring goodness to others but also makes one’s own life abundant, (hence the meaning of “abundant life”) ”. (Zhu, 2002, 201-202) “Abundant life means serving the people” (为人民服务), which fits precisely well in the Chinese context. For Wu, Christianity became a driving force to enlighten the minds of Chinese people to serve others, including the society and the nation. Minnie Vautrin (1886-1941, known in China as “华群”) was the Head of Education Department at Ginling from 1918-1940. She worked perfectly well with Wu Yifang and was highly respected not only for the teaching of humanistic ideals of education (education of Love) at Ginling, but also for her care and protection of the people of Nanjing while she oversaw the campus during the Nanking Massacre in 1937-1940. Vautrin was honoured by the people of Nanjing as “Goddess of Mercy”.4 (Liu & Liu, 2003, 109-112)
It is remarkable to note that Lu Jie (鲁洁), one of Wu’s last pack of students at Ginling Women’s College later became a Professor and Head of Education Department at Nanjing Normal University (南京师范大学). Lu continued to promote the motto of education for “Abundant Life”, “Education for Love”, “Whole Person Education” and “Education for the Service of others”. For instance, the concept of “Abundant Life” was kept in the one of the university motto, stating: “Zheng de hou sheng, Du xue min xing, in Chinese: “正德厚生,笃学敏行”. (Lu, 2014; Hayhoe 2006, 304-323) Lu realized what Thomas Lee had envisioned, “Everything is my concern” which characterized modern Chinese education. And indeed, Western Christianity turned out to be as a driving force in the early 20th century China to enlighten the Chinese mind, not only with a broadened knowledge and concerns, but also with better ways to realize loving and serving the people, hence illustrating a vivid interplay between Christianity and the modern education in China. (Ng, 2003b, 189-208)

Concluding Remarks

This paper reviews a refreshing paradigm offered by Thomas H.C. Lee in exploring the relationship between Christianity and Chinese modern education in the late 20th century. According to Lee, the new conception of modern education in China did not immediately emerge because of the arrival of Western missionary influences. Rather, it was developed from within the Chinese Confucian tradition since the 11th century. Zhu Xi (朱熹) started promoted “academy education” (书院教育) which was further developed in the 13th century as “community schools” (shexue社学). Later, Wang Yangming (王阳明) moved further to focus on the idea of “Knowing and Doing are one” (知行合一) and education for the commoners’ moral upbringing in the 16th century. (Lee, 2025, 19-20) Only by the late 19th century, Western impact was intensified and the Chinese intellectuals began to feel the impending changes from within. Zhang Zhidong’s (张之洞) then put forward the notion of “Chinese learning as essence and Western learning as application” (「中学为体、西学为用」) as a key to reform Chinese education from within.(Lee, 2025, 24) Hence, Lee proposed that Christianity should be seen as a driving force from outside, with the introduction of Western knowledge and information which served to enlighten the Chinese mind and addresses directly to the Chinese pursuit that everything is the concern of an educated person, enforcing and quickening the development of Chinese modern education.
Lee recalled the work of Young J. Allen and Timothy Richard in China which were good examples to illustrate how Western missionaries had committed their lives to a wide range of activities such as translation of articles, edition of books, and establishment of schools to educate the Chinese people, broadening their minds and addressing to the Chinese pursuit that everything is the concern of an educated person. In this paper, the author has added a few typical cases to support Lee’s refreshing perspective regarding the relationships between Christianity and the development of Chinese modern education. In the case of Yu Rizhang and his work at the Chinese YMCA, Yu applied the Christian values of love, peace, equality and justice as means and driving forces underlying the social education and citizens programs of the Chinese YMCA. Especially in the citizens program, the motto of “Every man is responsible for his own country” (国家兴亡、匹夫有责) was used to broaden the horizon of Chinese youth’s concerns in the specific social and nationalistic contexts in 1920-1930s China. In the case of Tao Xingzhi, it was discovered that Tao, while receiving Western education at the University of Nanking, had indeed learnt both the Christian faith and Wangxue from his college years. He was brought up with a broadened global knowledge and concerns, being enlightened by Christianity with a broaden vision of life- by committing himself to save the nation, whether through the study of medicine, politics, or finally through education. Tao was honoured nation-wide as “The Great Educator of the Chinese People”. The case of Wu Yifang was another remarkable story of one who received Western missionary education at Ginling Women’s College during her college years. Though she received broadened global knowledge of the time, she still firmly committed her life to save China and the Chinese people. She was especially enlightened by the College motto of “Abundant Life”, and while becoming the president of her alma mater, she interpreted it as: “To live abundant life is to serve the people, the society and the nation”. For Wu, the Christian ideal of “abundant life” had become a driving force to enlighten the Chinese mind to save the people, including both the society and the nation.
In conclusion, Thomas H.C. Lee has put forward a refreshing paradigm in exploring the relationship between Christianity and Chinese development of modern education in the 19th and the early 20th century China. Christianity can now be seen as a driving force from outside which helps to strengthen the development of Chinese modern education from within, by the introduction of Western knowledge and information to broaden the Chinese mind and directly addressing to the Chinese pursuit that “everything is my concern” and “ all political and social affairs are every man’s responsibility or concern”. Whereas Zhang Zhidong created the motto of “Chinese Learning as essence and Western Learning as application”, many Chinese intellectuals turned to believe that “everything can equally inspire Chinese minds in the pursuit for “education of the commers (Mass Education)”, for “their Moral accomplishment or Character development” and for “the development of Abundant Life by serving the people, including the society and the nation”. This is definitely a refreshing perspective and possibly another new roadmap for the study of interplay between Christianity and education in modern China today.

Notes

1
The 3 American missionaries were Edward D. Hume, Frank J. Rawlinson, and Pear; S. Buck.
2
It is interesting to note that the Girls’ School was where the Soong sisters, namely, Soong Ai-ling (宋霭龄), Soong Ching-ling (宋庆龄), and Soong Mei-ling (宋美龄),) attended before they attended Wesleyan College in USA.
3
Prof. Zhou Hongyu is the President of the Changjiang Education Research Institute and a well-known scholar on Tao Xingzhi’s educational thought.
4
A statue was erected in the Ginling campus of Nanjing Normal University.

References

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