The ideology of "Chinese Learning as Substance, Western Learning for Application" was first proposed by Feng Guifen in 1861 after the Second Opium War (1958-1960). This philosophy was regarded as the principle of the Qing government's Self-Strengthening Movement in response to the military, economic, and cultural onslaught from the Western nations following the Opium Wars.
The second half of the philosophy, "Western Learning for Application", was a pragmatic strategy of learning advanced western knowledge to use it as a tool to consolidate the rule of the Qing government. Among them, English education was the first step of the "Western learning for Application". Under diplomatic pressure following the two Opium Wars, the Qing government established the first official foreign language learning institution, Tongwen Guan, in Peking in 1862, to train translators. English education became a medium for mastering western technology. Under official advocacy, a new option of learning English to earn living emerged.
"Western Learning for Application", as an ideology advocated by the government, gradually infiltrated all strata of late Qing society. The English educational practice in both official schools, which were under the control of the Qing government, and missionary schools, which appeared to run counter to traditional Chinese ideology, were impacted directly or indirectly by this ideology.
This paper explores this ideology mainly in relation to practices in the Peking Tongwen Guan and the Shanghai Anglo-Chinese College, which were the first official school and missionary school in China offering formal English courses, founded in 1862 and 1865 respectively. In response to the different needs of the Qing government and the Church Mission Society, the two schools founded almost simultaneously, differed in their size, organization, philosophy and enrolments; however, their English teaching practices shared the same pronounced pragmatic orientation. Both institutions attempted to separate English courses from Chinese Confucian education or Christian religious education. They exhibited their intention of preparing translators by enhancing interpretation and translation practice, and by emphasising a blending of theory and application.
It seems fair to say that, in 1860s China, in both government and missionary schools, English education existed as a tool for advancing diplomacy or enticing converts, influenced by the philosophy of "Western Learning for Application". Early Chinese English education survived under this ideology, eventually evolving to accommodate varying political, economic, and social restraints in the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. We hope that by providing a historical perspective on how early Chinese English education developed under the ideology of "Western Learning for Application", we can provide insights to inform current ideological debates regarding the emphasis on English education in contemporary China.
Bibliography:
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