Children as the Youthful Hope of an Old Empire: Race, Nationalism, and Elementary Education in China, 1895–1915

Abstract

In his writings Liang Qichao (1873–1929) used children as the symbolic representation of a new China. His vision of a young China and his key to the survival of China" provided the context for the production of new elementary textbooks on history, Chinese language, geography, and ethics. The content of these textbooks reflected the intellectual milieu of the time: social Darwinism and race theory combined to highlight China's own humiliations and her perilous position in an imperialist world, and to stimulate patriotism and nationalism among young students.