Childhood Studies in Modern China: A Half Century’s Development
In China, the formal study of childhood first emerged in the early 20th century. This foundational effort set the stage for evolving societal perspectives on childhood and brought significant improvements in the welfare of China’s child population. Western ideas and concepts related to the field of childhood studies, introduced through European and American missionaries and Japanese scholars, gradually took root in Chinese academic circles. Despite challenges from political turmoil, communication barriers, and limited access to resources, Chinese scholars produced both comprehensive and specialized studies on children and childhood. Childhood research groups and institutions dedicated to childhood studies were established, while academic journals published a substantial amount of research papers. The development of modern Chinese childhood research peaked in the 1920s and 1930s, even as interests in childhood studies waned in Europe and America. Thus, modern Chinese childhood research significantly contributed to the global child-study movement, and its continuing advancements have played a vital role in the sustainable development of the field internationally.
Historical sources suggest that the development of childhood research in modern China can be roughly divided into three stages. The first stage, which I call the “Sprouting and Preparation” phase, developed out of the efforts of European and American missionaries and Chinese missionaries influenced by them. Although not all efforts focused specifically on children or childhood research, they contributed to the dissemination of foundational concepts and published some of the first works on related research subjects in China. These efforts spurred interest among China’s emerging intellectual class, bringing attention to modern academic disciplines. The primary methods of dissemination included: (1) establishing new educational institutions to provide specialized courses or creating new medical facilities to conduct practical training, (2) publishing textbooks and other learning materials to support the education of children, and (3) systematically promoting the concept of childhood research by establishing journals and magazines. For example, Western missionaries and their religious schools were the first to introduce child psychology to China as a subfield of psychology. A notable example is the establishment of St. John’s College in Shanghai in September 1879, where Yan Yongjing (颜永京,1838-1898), a Chinese pastor and president of the Anglican Church, taught psychology using his own translation of the American book Mental Philosophy (Xinlingxue 心靈學). 1 This is arguably the first textbook on modern psychology published in China. While it did not specifically address the idea of childhood studies, its content laid the groundwork for subsequent studies in child psychology.
Research on children in China was also notably influenced by Japan. Japanese scholarship on children had provided Chinese scholars with extensive knowledge of the history and the development of childhood studies, particularly in Europe and America, shaping early impressions of the field and laying the groundwork for its further development. For example, in the field of child education, the earliest theoretical works were translated from Japanese by Wang Guowei (王國維, 1877-1927) and others. Examples included Education (Jiaoyuxue 教育學) by Tachibana Sensaburo (立花铣三郎, 1867-1901) and Textbook of Education (Jiaoyuxue jiaokeshu 教育學教科書) by Makise Goichiro (牧漱五一郎, 1866-1920), both of which were translated by Wang. 2 In the field of child psychology, Japanese academics also played a key role. For instance, Lectures on Psychology (Xinlixue jiangyi 心理學講義), written by Hattori Unokichi (服部宇之吉, 1867-1939), a psychology instructor at Beijing University’s Normal School, presented the latest advancements in Western psychology and may be the first Japanese psychology publication in early 20th-century China. 3
The study of children first attracted the attention of the Chinese academic community between 1904 and 1906. In 1904, Educational Vocabulary (Jiaoyu cihui 教育辭彙), compiled by the Japanese Academy of Education and translated by Xu Yongxi (徐用錫, year of birth and death unknown), introduced representative figures in child psychology to China for the first time. 4 In 1906, Miao Wengong (繆文功 1871-1944) emphasized the need for educators to study child psychology in his book The Latest Textbook of Education (Zuixin jiaoyuxue jiaokeshu 最新教育學教科書), arguing that education must be grounded in human nature. 5 According to Miao, to educate without understanding human nature was like a quack doctor treating a disease he did not understand or a blind person riding a steamboat or a car without seeing its mechanism. Miao stressed that, since education was rooted in psychology, teachers should have a solid grasp of child psychology and that viewing children’s minds solely from an adult’s perspective would only lead to partial understanding and, ultimately, to inadequate education. In this first stage, while Chinese academics started to work on building native childhood research systems, they were still in the stage of imitating foreign scholars or introducing Western research findings. Nor did they have much real-world experience, and they had not yet forged strong relationships with child service initiatives in China.
In the second stage, a significant body of childhood studies literature emerged, including original works by Chinese researchers as well as translated works from Europe, America, and Japan. Zhu Yuanshan’s (朱元善, 1856-1934) Childhood Studies (Ertong yanjiu 兒童研究) (1915), for instance, could be considered the first Chinese work on childhood studies. 6 Although it did not address foundational theories or frameworks, Zhu's work explored three key topics: children’s personality and developmental characteristics, fatigue theory, and imitation theory. Translations of works on childhood studies from Europe, America, and Japan also introduced Chinese readers to the history and theories of childhood. Between the 1920s and the 1930s, for instance, the works of Seki Hiroyuki (關寬之, years of birth and death unknown) have been widely translated into Chinese.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Chinese scholars such as Ling Bing (凌冰, 1894-1993), Zeng Zuozhong (曾作忠, 1895-1977), Yao Zhibi (姚枝碧, year of birth and death unknown), and Feng Pinlan (馮品蘭, 1894-1984), also began producing original works that reflected Chinese perspectives on childhood studies. Ling Bing, in particular, developed his own concepts on childhood studies during a series of lectures at Nanjing Normal University’s summer school. These lectures were then compiled into a book in 1921, and subsequently revised and republished in 1932 and 1934. This work, ultimately published in four editions, was the most influential work on childhood studies in Republican China. It predated the formal release of many Japanese works and other translated texts on childhood studies, and no comparable Chinese text existed at the time Ling’s book was published. Ling’s work thus marked an original contribution to the field and the beginning of Chinese childhood studies. Subsequent scholars frequently referenced Ling Bing’s writings in their works on childhood studies. Zeng Zuozhong’s Childhood Studies (Ertongxue 兒童學) (1926), for instance, further expanded and enhanced the framework of Ling, covering topics such as historical perspectives on children, scientific approaches for studying children, children and genetics, children’s instincts, the intellectual and moral development of children, crime, play, language acquisition, and the application of children’s knowledge. 7 These additions significantly enriched the research about child psychology.
The final stage, which I will call the “Advancing amidst Twists and Turns” phase, witnessed a downturn in childhood studies, with a marked decline in research output. However, this did not signal a complete halt in the field. It was evident from a few published works that academics were still actively building and developing childhood studies. Dong Renjian's (董任堅, years of birth and death unknown) Outline of Childhood Studies (Ertongyanjiu gangyao 兒童研究綱要) stands out as a key contribution. [qtip8|Dong Renjian, Ertong yanjiu gangyao (Shanghai: Shijie shuju, 1948).] In the preface of his book, Dong stated that it was intended for parents, education students, and child teachers. The book consisted of four chapters – “Organic Foundation,” “Children’s Impulses and Activities,” “Social Environment,” and “Discipline for Children” – divided into thirty-eight sections, each with an outline, a research plan, and a list of references. Focused on a comprehensive, realistic view of the full child, Dong’s work aimed to encourage adults to value child education and avoid outdated perspectives, using scientific knowledge to foster empathy and manage situations with children. Supported by research materials from the American Childhood Studies Association, it further expanded the existing research framework by addressing childhood studies from psychological, educational, and societal perspectives. Although it did not offer a systematic disciplinary framework, it contributed to refining the content structure established in earlier stages. A limited number of scholarly journals also published articles on childhood studies, exploring the field’s history, methodologies, current state of development, and emerging themes in greater depth.
In conclusion, the development of childhood studies in Republican China underwent a complex, multi-phase evolution that reflected broader societal changes in the ways children were perceived, valued, and supported. This progression underscored an increasing recognition of the importance of childhood to the larger social and economic fabric of China, highlighting a growing sense of urgency around the need to provide children with necessary resources and support. Each stage of research on children in China was marked by representative scholars, publications, research groups, and journals and newspapers that collectively advanced the field. Despite its relatively late start and the disruption of the Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War, research on children and childhood persisted and made remarkable global contributions during the interwar period and the post-war era. Childhood studies remains a promising field in contemporary China. As such, it offers a rich foundation for further research with important implications for the future of Chinese children and the society in which they are growing up.
Gao Zhenyu is a professor of education at Hangzhou Normal University (China). His research interests are intellectual history, history of childhood and children, and philosophy for/with children. Email: lincolngao@hznu.edu.cn