BOOK REVIEWS

The Formation of New Citizens in China’s Secondary Schools

The organisation and the curricula may vary, but schools will always be a privileged place for the socialisation of children. The criteria for such a socialisation are thus naturally set forth in school textbooks, primarily in those the aim of which it is to educate young people to become “normal” members of society or even citizens whose model profile has been drawn by the state through the intermediary of the government in power. The pedagogical procedures differ from one country to another, but the goal remains the same. Sociologists have studied these processes. In this article, we present a study of the changes that have taken place in the civic education textbooks in China during the 1990s, which reflect the different conceptions of man and of the citizen that the authorities are seeking to form.

The article will focus on two editions of two textbooks that have been used in the first year of secondary education (one in each semester) in the course of that particular decade. The first books, published in 1993, met the requirements of the reforms as set by the Minister of Education (1). The political context at that time was marked by the events of 1989, which provoked a major crisis within the government and society, and then by the famous voyage of Deng Xiaoping to the south of the country in 1992, a symbolic gesture to reaffirm the economic reforms that had been undertaken since the end of the 1970s. In 1997, new directives led to the production of textbooks undisguisedly different from those that preceded them, not only in terms of their presentation, but even more so in their content (2). How does the divergence between the points of view manifest itself throughout the chapters of the books under consideration? This is what we will describe, through analysis of their content, in an attempt to discover what such an evolution may signify.

As we will only analyse the textbooks from the first year of secondary school, it is best to put them into the context of the entire curriculum of civic education, which lasts the three years of the first cycle of secondary education. According to the tables of contents, the education to be administered was spread in 1993 as follows.

First year: the motherland and, within that, the meaning of an individual's life. Second year: the history of humanity from its origins to the present day following a very straightforward and classic “Marxist” scheme. Third year: China's situation today, marked by the priority given to public property, the development of a “socialist spiritual civilisation” and the balance to be found between the rights and duties of the citizen, with a final chapter on the next generations to pursue the establishment of socialism.

In 1997, the first-year textbooks stress the formation of the personality. Then, in the second year, the themes of law and citizenship are addressed through a description of the application of these concepts in the various sectors of private and public life, with an explanation of the role of the law, qualified as socialist. Finally, in the third year, there comes the history of humanity following the same scheme as in 1993, with a last chapter on the coming generations. Despite certain similarities across the subjects dealt with, it would be too rash, simply by comparison of the tables of contents, to call this a new distribution of the same material to be taught. It is the aim of our study to show that the point of departure revealed in the first year in 1993 is so different from that of 1997 that the whole course cannot fail to be influenced by it. This civic education seems to have been subject to more than just a slight pedagogical tweaking.

Is it necessary to recall that studies of this type have been conducted in years gone by (3)? Our study, as limited as it may be, aims to place itself within this current, while hoping to contribute something to the knowledge of the recent evolution in the aims of education in China as well as of the content of the values now proposed. The body of the article first of all sets out these values on the basis of the figures presented in the four textbooks selected. A shorter synthesis then takes up the themes that have been uncovered by showing the different logic behind the civic education of 1993 and that of 1997, in particular through the arrangement of the lessons that make up the course in the first year of secondary school. To conclude, we will suggest some directions for research that might be able to support or qualify the analyses that we present here.

The portrait galleries

Rather than highlight the frequency at which notions, concepts or ideas appear, it seemed to us easier and more significant to take our starting point in images, in particular the portraits which, in the textbooks, are used to illustrate the values promoted or the defects to be rejected. We have thus carried out a systematic and, we hope, exhaustive summary of the names of people in the four books. With the exception of very rare cases, these figures can be classified into six simple categories. First of all come the men of Chinese politics who founded the new China; these are the veterans of the Communist Party who, for the most part, occupied important positions both before and after 1949. Chinese scientists of the same generation form the second category of portraits; their designation in a particular group results from their principal sphere of activity, even if they are members of the Communist Party and very close to the authorities in power. The third category groups together the contemporary artists, writers and athletes who are often linked to the Party but are known above all for their work or their achievements. The model citizens make up an obvious body, one might say, although it is necessary to explain the particular genre of that body. After these contemporaries were accounted for, there remained, among the Chinese, the historical figures, those men and women who have marked the history of the country in one way or another. Finally, the “foreigners” are all arranged in the same category, to all appearances the most varied and complex, yet characterised by some highly significant characteristics. It would certainly be possible to add more elements to the presentation, numbered and qualified, that we submit of each category of portraits; this, however, should suffice, we think, for setting out in a few pages the paradigm change that has taken place in the civic education textbooks between 1993 and 1997.

The veterans of the New China

Although the personality and the work of Mao Zedong have been re-evaluated and even criticised, it remains impossible, in China, to dispense with him. He controlled the Communist Party and the state for far too long, both before and after 1949, not to embody some virtues that have been necessary for the advent of the new China. But alongside him other figures have played a role of prime importance. The rejection of the cult of personality widely endorsed by the Party authorities since the 1980s is not an obstacle to the presentation of these men who have forged the recent history of China. Moreover, the Party emerges glorified to a greater extent in as much as, in the civic education textbooks under consideration, only positive portraits have been painted.

Table 1 shows a massive presence of these heroes, almost all of whom are important political figures. However, the 1997 edition differs appreciably from the 1993 one. In the old edition, the revolutionaries are present from the introduction and remain visible up to Chapter 8. These are the important names from the first years of the People's Republic, some supporting actors and the prestigious figure of Li Dazhao. But it is remarkable that none of these names appear in the last two chapters of the second book from 1993, which deal with the law.

Table 1 • The veterans of the Revolution

Let us now draw up the honours list from the appearances in 1993, but only retaining those of the Party veterans who are cited by name at least twice in the textbooks. Mao Zedong almost naturally heads the list, as he is present in every chapter with the exception of the last two. He is followed fairly closely by Zhou Enlai. The venerated prime minister then has a convincing lead over Chen Yi. As for Deng Xiaoping, he is only entitled to two mentions, ex aequo with Peng Dehuai and Fang Zhimin.

When the same honours list is established for the 1997 textbooks, the contrast is striking. The first mention of an old revolutionary does not appear until Chapter 2, and even then it is not a very important figure. A quotation from Xu Teli serves to illustrate a moral virtue; the exact role that he played in the Chinese communist revolution is not discussed; no doubt today's teacher will explain that he was the mentor of Mao Zedong. The latter, moreover, appears in the following chapter in the company of Chen Yi. He can be found again in Chapters 4 and 5, which are especially full of revolutionary figures, often close relations of Mao. Chapter 6 then dispenses with these figures and we have to wait until Chapter 9 and then again until Chapter 12 for them to reappear.

Although his entry on the scene is delayed, this does not prevent Mao Zedong from obtaining the greatest number of mentions. We also note that Deng Xiaoping catches up with Zhou Enlai, and Peng Dehuai carves out a nice little place for himself. We observe the appearance of Qu Qiubai. The total number of figures presented in 1993 and in 1997 remains the same. In short, the presence of the veterans is very strong in both editions, but it is more subtle in the new edition.

These heroes can only be positive role models, at least there is no talk of a traitor, renegade or Party member vilified for some sinister settlement of accounts. In the old textbooks, they almost always illustrate, in one form or another, the prime value of patriotism. As early as the introduction from 1993, it is explicitly stated that, just as these individuals did, one has to know how to link one's own destiny to that of the country and, in practice, subjugate private interests to the interests of the collective.

Of the ten chapters that follow, the first five hammer out this kind of vision of the individual and society. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 then describe the personal values embodied by the figures, but their relation to the collective continues to be very strongly emphasised. However, an evolution towards observations of individual psychology can be divined, such as the sense of work and of study for the individual as well as for society, which would be an allusion to new needs following the installation of a market economy system.

The 1997 edition offers a quite different atmosphere. Upon their first real entrance, in Chapter 3, the Party veterans, represented by Mao Zedong and Chen Yi, come to underline the importance of controlling one's emotions as a necessary condition for progressing in life. In Chapter 4, it is the indispensable perseverance in one's efforts that is illustrated. When in Chapter 5 the revolution and the sacrifice of individual life that it can demand are clearly linked, it is explained that this is an attitude required in the pursuit of any goal of high moral value. Chapters 7 and 9 deal with self-respect and respect for others and of the usefulness of good friendships; here again, the illustrations are drawn from the personal histories of high-ranking Party figures. Finally, Chapter 11 talks explicitly of the pride of being Chinese and goes on to cover the concept of the motherland. But, in Chapter 12, we find the stress again laid on the formation of the personality of the individual, by way of the benefits to be gained from personal discipline, with advice whose efficacy finds its proof in the life of the heroes of the revolution, who received help from reading the proper books and learning the right maxims in order to chart their course through existence.

The above comments indicate very different lines of thought in the two editions of the textbooks: while the motherland and the Chinese collectivity defined the dominant axis in 1993, it is the formation of the individual person that matters in 1997. The history of the revolution still constituted at the beginning of the 1990s the major reference for the moral treasure to be conveyed to the younger generations, and its rereading laid stress on belonging to a whole that gave sense to the life of the individual. Towards the end of the decade, these illustrious times retain their reference value, but now less to prolong the revolutionary spirit than to inspire healthy and strong personalities.

The Chinese scientists

The introduction to the 1993 textbooks directs us towards the second portrait gallery to be considered, as it cites names of scientists just after those of the Party veterans. Following this indication, it is among these characters that we are now going to stroll while comparing what was said about these figures in 1993 with the way they are presented in the 1997 textbooks.

Table 2 draws up a list of the names of these 17 scientists present in the old edition, a number which is reduced to 13 in the more recent one. Moreover, the mathematician Hua Luogeng who was entitled to three mentions before is later only given two. Li Siguang, the geologist who worked to discover petrol in his country in order to make it economically and thus politically more independent, slips from three mentions to just one. Similarly Qian Xuesen, who devoted his life to endowing China with highly modern armaments, becomes more discreet in 1997, although he still appears twice. The epidemiologist Peng Jiamu maintains his presence in both editions. However, many scientists disappear between 1993 and 1997 to leave their place to other colleagues. Indeed, only five names can be counted that are common to the two editions.

Table 2 • The Chinese scientists

Above all, the examples are presented with a very different orientation. The patriotism of these scientists is clearly manifested in the opening pages of the old textbooks and is only accentuated as the chapters progress. Even in Chapter 7, where it is a question of perseverance in sometimes austere? labour, the future of the country represents the main motivation of these seekers, coloured by a strong spirit of competition with foreigners. It is also recalled that many of these men of science were educated abroad but that they kept a great independence of thought in relation to their former professors.

In the 1997 edition, patriotism finds a large space for itself in Chapter 11, as we have seen earlier. The scientists thus sing the same song as the revolutionaries in exaltation of this virtue. Otherwise, research represents an ideal capable of galvanising the full potential of a person and, among the greats, tends to become a most noble passion, as important for the researcher himself as the results are useful for others. Moreover, the histories portrayed in Chapters 1, 2 and 5 confirm that the scientist radiates with the virtues of character that are well worth cultivating in order for the individual to blossom.

Thus by comparing the portraits of the contemporary Chinese scientists in the edition of 1993 and in that of 1997, it is easy to recognise the axes which were referred to in the preceding gallery, namely a reduction in the number of appearances and a crossover from patriotism to psychologism. The accent that was placed in 1993 on society as pre-existing encompassment and justificatory finality for all life concentrates in 1997 on the individual person for him or herself. It can also be noted that the more recent edition lays greater stress on the modest origins, if not always poor, of the men of science cited. Could this be to underline that success depends in very large part on the inner strength of the character? The ideal, in any case, comes from a personal decision that sets the goal for oneself. Success is measured over the whole course of the journey to this goal. Not much is known any longer about how or why or when the person rejoins the collectivity. These scholars, in the new edition of the textbooks, are above all remarkable on account of their personalities.

Writers, artists and athletes

If the scientists provide an easy example, they are not the only ones to present types with strong and healthy personalities: writers, artists and athletes follow closely on their heels. The summary (Table 3) of these names indicates that these models were used more frequently in the old edition of the textbooks. It can be noted that the mention of four writers and artists in 1993 recall patriotism, often directly by their association with the veterans of the revolution. As for the 14 sportsmen and women, they heighten the prestige of the country when they triumph in international competitions.

Table 3 • Writers, artists and athletes

In contrast, in the new edition, if patriotism continues to manifest itself, for example in the case of the painter Xu Peihong, one can say that it is a matter above all of something that radiates from a well-forged personality, as is revealed in the portraits of the cartoonist Zhang Leping or of Wu Han in literature, who made great demands of themselves.

Curiously, there seems less need to resort to the sportsmen and women in the 1997 edition: only two are mentioned. However, the use of these figures continues to reflect the different characteristics that we have already noted in the two editions. Indeed, in 1993, the athletes illustrate collective virtues: China's dismal performance at the 10th Olympic Games was a humiliation that has since been righted: gold and silver medals bear witness to the valour of the Chinese in general, symbolised by their athletes. Elsewhere, in Chapter 4, it is team spirit that is highlighted, or the spirit of the collective, which counts for more than the individual. In contrast, Lang Ping, in the introduction to the new series of civic education textbooks, and Deng Yaping in Chapter 2, say that it is strength of character that opens up the path to success. The attention is directed more at the personality of athletes who are held in high international regard. Pride in being Chinese no longer obliges one to drown oneself in the people.

Model citizens

Not everyone can achieve the fame of the scholastic geniuses or the sporting champions. Fortunately, there is another way to make a public success of one's life: simply by thinking of others. To this end, the Chinese authorities are accustomed to regularly brushing up the portrait of a man or woman that they elevate to the status of an exemplary figure. Since the textbooks used in political education have the precise aim of moulding citizens according to the norms desired by the government and the Communist Party, these kinds of models should not be absent when it comes to illustrating the theories put forward in a course of civic education (Table 4).

Table 4 • Model citizens

And in fact, model citizens are widely presented in the 1993 edition: 28 in total, and a few are entitled to repeated mentions. In 1997, the list is reduced to 15 names, with Lei Feng entitled to two mentions. Only six names are common to both lists: Lei Feng, naturally enough you might say; Zhang Haidi, who has been a “living model” all these years; Liu Hulan, Dong Cunrui and Wu Yunfeng.

On the subject of the themes illustrated by the appearance of these people, it is easy to note the accent placed on the common good in 1993: these are most often instances of personal sacrifice made to maintain or promote the collective interest. Thus Lai Ning perishes in a fire that she is endeavouring to fight in order to protect the assets of the community. Wang Jinxi dies tumbling into cement that, because of a defective machine, is threatening to harden and thus causes some serious damage. Who are these individuals? The textbooks do not give a great many details about their lives. It is only their acts of heroism that count towards the service of the collectivity. Zhang Haidi, in contrast, is a separate case: through her will to overcome her physical disability, she displays the beauty of strength of character; she is an admirable person in herself and not primarily by reference to a social whole.

In 1997, the model citizens are, as a general rule, similarly held up for the admiration of all on account of their spirit of sacrifice for the benefit of the common good. We have stated earlier that they are distinctly less numerous, yet they still make up a sizeable list. Should we see in these two facts proof that the collectivity continues to occupy one of the prime places in the formation of the individual? No doubt, but all the while noting that it seems to be becoming less impersonal. For example, Lei Feng is praised for his spirit of community service and Bahati for her loyalty in friendship.

In sum, the heroes declared to be such by the authorities remain heroes for acts which closely concern the common good, a very tangible good that can be recognised by everyone because it affects a large number. Is this devotion to a cause? More so in 1993, not explicitly in 1997. But the hero still links his or her destiny to that of the collective by thinking first of all of the greater whole, which he considers worthy to serve, even to the point of self-sacrifice. From this fact, they are entitled to the recognition of our contemporaries, to whom it is explained that these lives are beautiful, previously because the motherland represents the goal which gives sense to each individual life, now because it is noble to work for the greater good. The collectivist hue is toned down in favour of altruism, with patriotism simply a very concrete and still necessary political version of that ideal in a given country.

Historical figures

All the people evoked in the previous galleries are contemporary figures. As they helped found the new China or worked towards its growth, their patriotism is easily explained. Is that to say that ancient China is rejected? Is it not possible to find there some examples of virtues that can still be recommended today? For there have been patriots and many other great characters in China's history (Table 5). But how to use this history in a positive fashion while continuing to assert the radical innovations brought in by the Communist Party?

Table 5 • Historical figures

In the 1993 edition, the list of historical figures is relatively long, but their appearances are concentrated in a few chapters and very clearly grouped together by theme. Thus, in Chapter 1, it is a question of proving that Chinese civilisation is every bit the equal of the rest of the world when it comes to scientific inventiveness. Chapter 2 launches into a very different theme, namely the very strong links that have always united imperial China and Tibet. Then, in Chapter 3, history is used to prove that the love of the people is a very ancient Chinese virtue and that it is the people who have created this brilliant civilisation. The collectivity, one might say, finds its roots in its past, which is not a very original thought, but this past serves to reinforce today's pride thanks to the continuity of the values that have always been present in the Chinese people. The examples of historical figures serve to prove this theory, which has a sharply patriotic tint.

The 1997 textbooks no longer embroider on this idea when they present the illustrious men and women of yesteryear. These figures are distributed throughout all the chapters, sometimes not in great numbers, but consistently. Above all, each one comes to comment on the theme of the chapter in which he or she is placed. For example, in Chapter 3, Jin Xianru explains the necessity of controlling one's emotions. The reader thus gains the impression that the moral lessons are now drawn not only from the individual experience of a certain few, but also from an immemorial reflection about men. In contrast to the preceding galleries, moreover, not all the examples are positive. Thus, in Chapter 8, “historical romantic” figures are indeed described as heroes, but with their weaknesses as much as their strong points. As for the scientists, their role is no longer just to exalt the splendours of Chinese civilisation; rather, we are given a portrayal of the key to their success, which is always their strength of character.

In the glory of olden times, science remains an important component: it confirms the necessity of forming scientific minds today. However, the scholars of yesteryear are not alone: the great variety of historical figures cited seems to indicate that the past, without immediate notation of the context of feudalism or other negative viewpoint, represents a more or less entertaining but certainly instructive foundation of human attitudes that transcend time. There is no clear talk of human nature; these are personalities of all types who embody immutable values, such as awareness of emotional forces or the greatness of true friendship.

Foreigners

The opening up towards humanity is brought about, finally, by the introduction of non-Chinese in the lessons of morality. Numerous foreigners appear in both editions of the textbooks: 33 names are cited in 1993 and 51 in 1997 (see Table 6). We have collected in this gallery all the non-Chinese, including Marx and Engels. Let us just say that the latter two are mentioned five and four times respectively in 1993, then three and two times in 1997. Lenin is entitled to three mentions to begin with, then to just one.

Table 6 • Foreigners

In 1993, a first group of foreigners, in Chapter 1, serves to confirm the greatness of Chinese civilisation, with some singing its praises as a conclusion to very serious research. These are friends then. It is not said in what way this foreign approbation heightens China's prestige; no doubt it is by an effect similar to that produced by the successes in international sporting competitions. This respect for China also takes the form of a new assurance: the Chinese are determined to defend themselves and will henceforth inflict a lesson on anyone who still thinks they can treat them as a weaker nation. This is, states the textbook, what a highly placed American official is said to have recognised during the Korean War. Then, in Chapter 3, the foreigners, Americans in particular, are unhesitatingly treated as villains; the leaders of the United States are always sons of rich families, it is written. The generalisation, which is somewhat surprising, gives to understand that the socio-political system of this country is fundamentally flawed, in contrast to China's, which is based on the people. Engels and Gorky appear fortunately enough to say that foreigners are capable of understanding the people and of being close to them.

Chapter 6 offers the curiosity of bringing together Marx, Nobel, Beethoven, Marie Curie and Edison. This can be explained by that fact that it is not here a question of comparing different civilisations, of political criticism, nor of devotion to the people; the important aspect is quality of character. Praise is awarded to these figures for the effort and the perseverance that allows them to overcome all of the obstacles and achieve a goal that they have set themselves. We find here something of Zhang Haidi, namely that the collectivity disappears in favour of the individual, something that was rather rare in the old textbooks.

The following chapter is filled to an even greater extent with foreign names drawn from the field of science. A scientific mind, sole bearer of the future so it seems, advances because it relies on a rigorous methodology backed up by an objective attitude. The discussion is not taken any further. The message is clear: there is one truth that reason can grasp, that is expressed in scientific theories. Of course, some will say that this is more scientism than scientific spirit. Nor is there any exploration of the relationships between science and politics. As for religion, it is evidently ranked on the side of the forces of obscurantism, which, moreover, do not prevent the facts from being the facts as they are discovered by the scholars. Copernicus, Bruno and Galileo are cited to this end. Overall, these pages describe a personal attitude marked by respect for the truth of what is real, which can only be scientific.

Only two foreigners appear in Chapter 8. These men speak of the people and of respect for others, which might have something in common with care for the whole of the collectivity rather than for the individual. However, following on from Chapters 6 and 7 and their focus on the individual person, the collectivist tendencies of Chapter 8 remain very discreet. Finally, Chapters 9 and 10 on the law make no use of any foreign figure in illustration.

To sum up, in the 1993 edition, foreigners are as a whole rather ill-treated when it is a matter of politics or ideological option. On the other hand, they can be remarkable individually when they understand or incorporate universal values such as love of the people or the scientific approach to reality. Not too much is known about where these values come from or what constitutes their universality. What remains is that the history of these men and women emphasise that there is a personal dimension to every human being, without detaching him from the collective. The relationship between totality and individuality, which was so strongly underlined according to a “collectivist” ideology in the other portrait galleries, is not explained. The authors of the old textbooks could have drawn a profile of a non-Chinese scientist animated by a patriotic flame; they did not do so. The interest that the foreigners provide, in 1993, does not reside primarily in this value, although it is not absent, but in other values that elude politics, while still being able to serve it.

In 1997, it becomes even clearer that the foreign figures invoked illustrate quality of character. If we excise some primarily literary allusions, for example to Defoe and his Robinson Crusoe, we end up walking through a vast gallery of finely shaded portraits of foreigners. We even find the good, the not so good and the ugly. Above all, the lives of these foreigners serve to furnish evidence that such-and-such a quality produces positive fruit, while such-and-such a defect brings with it unfortunate consequences. Thus, some of Faraday's disappointed hopes (Chapter 3) are used to explain the importance of the easing and the opening up of the mind, while Edison (Chapter 7) offers the tragic spectacle of a great mind ruined by arrogance.

The case of two German chemists (Chapter 2) is particularly significant for a new relation between the individual and the collectivity. It is recounted that these men, very different in every other respect, got on perfectly well when it came to scientific research. The textbook does not explain this understanding on the basis of the integration of the individuals in a whole that would give meaning to the person, but solely on the basis of their scientific interest. In this way, the individuals have every latitude to affirm their originality while working in and for society. Above all, the person can become more himself or herself, in some way, by correcting certain negative traits of temperament, not in order to deny that temperament, but in order to develop it fully.

Despite the difference in tone between the two editions of the textbooks, it is remarkable that several individual qualities illustrated by the foreigners in 1993 can be found again in 1997. It is therefore unnecessary to repeat our analysis. However, the new edition offers a much richer variety of figures. Alongside the inevitable entries Einstein and Marie Curie, Pele, the famous Brazilian footballer, appears on the scene to provide a marvellous illustration of the rise to success based on perseverance and will. The baseline remains constant: a genuine formation helps everyone achieve the full potential of their talents; what is innate must be cultivated in order to blossom, and that is exactly what these lessons of civic education are for.

One figure, however, is worthy of special mention: Jules Verne, who appears in Chapter 6 of the 1997 edition. He serves to explain the virtue of creativity, not so much for his literary talent but because his novels stimulated the imagination of scholars. It is necessary to have the audacity to imagine what is not yet reality, to set off courageously towards the unknown and not to stagnate in repetition. Then the textbook recalls that, very often, the effort alone over the long term, sometimes the very long term, transforms the creative intuition into practical invention. In the same way many great literary works, such as those of Goethe or Tolstoy (Chapter 4), demand many years of hard work.

An elevated ideal, which is now that of producing something historically significant, offers succour for the afflictions brought by time. But, in the examples cited, it is the individual himself that one admires, more than the work, which is turned into the arena in which the individual fulfils their potential. There is no talk of sacrifice for a greater whole that would demand participation as an essential condition of an individual existence. On the other hand, the personal quest for truth, especially scientific truth, like the striving towards an ideal peculiar to each individual, makes its easier for people to come together in relationships that are satisfying because they are more respectful of others.

Let us finally note that religions no longer merit, in 1997, long expositions. The criticisms of 1993 have disappeared, doubtless because they no longer seem necessary when the blossoming of the individual, intimately linked to the formation of a scientific mind, outlines the path to be followed in the education of children. One would say that the religious phenomenon, so complex and politically sensitive, fades away by itself in the course of science's ascent, on a path signposted by observations of good psychological sense.

Pedagogy and the profile of the citizen

The figures

The pedagogical methods of the civic education textbooks, as the above analyses indicate, make abundant use of “true stories”. Table 7 shows, in fact, that the total number of times that the figures are mentioned, when their appearances in each chapter are added together, amounts to 207 for the 1993 edition and to 224 for 1997. But an immediate objection will be that the new textbooks are thicker than the old ones, with roughly twice as many characters (330,000 against 175,000); and that the proportion of illustrations taken from real-life examples would thus be lower. It is true that the explanatory articles are sometimes longer in the more recent books. On the other hand, we have not taken into account certain names that appear in the pages of the 1997 edition as a signature to quotations in insets, which did not exist in the old books (4).

Table 7 • Number of appearance (per category)

This addition would not in any case double, from one edition to the other, the number of times the figures are mentioned. However, the additions per portrait gallery appearing at least once in a chapter underline important and definitely voluntary changes. Thus the veterans of the revolution drop from 55 to 45, the scientists from 25 to 16, the model citizens from 37 to 18. For the contemporary writers, artists and athletes (19 names in 1993, 20 in the more recent edition), the writers and the artists, in contrast to 1993, get the better of the athletes in 1997. Then the figures from Chinese history jump from 27 to 60 mentions and foreigners from 44 to 65. Grouping together on the one hand the first four categories, which in the 1993 edition, as we have seen, primarily form an ensemble of patriots dedicated to the cause of the future of the country, to the point of self-sacrifice for the benefit of the collectivity, and, on the other, the last two categories, which are very mixed both from the point of view of their composition and their utilisation in the two series of textbooks, we obtain the following proportions: 136/71 in 1993 and 99/125 in 1997. One cannot fail to see there a retreat, not necessarily from patriotism, but from the classic ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, which is characterised by the predominance of the collective spirit. The new values that are presented to the schoolchildren come from a much more marked attention paid to the formation of personalities that are individually solid and balanced.

The themes

Although the same categories of portraits allow the “true stories” to be grouped together in the two editions of the textbooks, their use indicates, from one to the other, a distinct change in the tone of the entire civic education, as a comparison of the tables of contents of the books from 1993 and from 1997 shows (Table 8).

Table 8 • Table of contents of the textbooks

The word “motherland” appears in the titles of the first two lessons of the old edition of the textbooks, together with the word “socialism” in Lesson 2. Then comes “the people” in the title of Lesson 3, followed by “collective spirit” in that of Lesson 4. The second textbook from 1997 announces lessons oriented on the acquisition of personal virtues but without being accompanied by any psychological resonances. It is more a question of the important characteristics necessary for any personal life within the collectivity: the importance of manual work (Chapter 8), training in the shaping of a scientific mind (Chapter 9); as for Chapter 10, it returns to the collectivity through the agency of respect for others. We have said earlier that the last two chapters of the 1993 edition are devoted to the law, which must be socialist but the observance of which presupposes the responsible participation of the citizen, and that is a point that is strongly underlined.

The ten lessons from 1993 remain strongly marked by the integration of personal life into the collectivity, which takes the shape, in a country, of the state and the motherland. Intellectual training is coloured by the social a priori. It remains true, though, that certain links lack clarity, for example between the “objective” value of manual work and science on the one hand and collectivism on the other. Perhaps the intention is simply to say that objectivity itself represents the shortest and surest path towards the integration of life in the social whole? As for the respect for others, it is difficult to see the logic of its insertion in the textbooks, no more than the place granted to the responsibility of the citizen with regard to the law. There is thus a hesitation towards the end of the course. A person's role seems to become detached from the collectivist enterprise: personal responsibility is indispensable to the proper functioning of society. But such a responsibility, which is demanded of individuals, seems to be based on a voluntary effort that lacks a foundation other than its necessity for society.

The 1997 edition, so it appears, is based on an identical premise to that of 1993, namely the authority of the collectivity over the individual. Indeed, if the first chapter is entitled “Knowing oneself”, of the four subtitles, three include the word “society”. It would seem that the individual is only understood in relation to the collectivity, and perhaps even only to the interior of a social whole. However, a more detailed comparison highlights different structures in the opening chapters of the two editions. Where before there was a philosophical affirmation of the motherland, there is now talk of a psychological evolution.

When the individual appears in two of the subtitles in the 1993 textbooks, it is emphasised that his fate is linked to that of society. The conclusion is then drawn from this that the former depends to such an extent on the latter that he must be subject to it, as it is society that nourishes, raises and supports the individual. How does society become the motherland? The textbook does not really explain this, but as the country behaves like a mother, it becomes easy to personify. For all that, the presence side by side of the supremacy of the collectivity and of personal responsibility, or even the collective interest and the individual interest within that, leads to a rather poorly balanced whole.

The new edition propounds a more subtle argument. First of all the motherland disappears in favour of society. There is less reliance on the emotions and more on reasoning. In fact, each human being is, from his birth and even before that, a member of a society that nourishes its children and promotes their intellectual growth. From that it follows logically that the social context exerts a not negligible influence on the individual, but now it is specified that such an influence can be bad. This is a curious affirmation, this moral affirmation of the person, that creates a distance between the individual and the group. This being so, it becomes necessary to gain an appropriate appreciation of society as well as to know oneself. It is precisely interpersonal relations that are the privileged place of this double-sided knowledge, and thanks to this knowledge everyone finds his or her place in the whole. Why, then, lay so much stress on the common good? This is not very clear, except to say that the collective interest is naturally united with the individual interest because man cannot develop outside of the relations with other people.

The opening chapters thus highlight a difference in philosophical and psychological orientation between the two editions of the textbooks that is only accentuated by what follows. The old edition, we have seen, finds it difficult to explain the place and the role of the person in their capacity as a particular individual in society. That appears with some force when the books talk about the law, for the individual is then called upon to accept his responsibilities. The question of the law already arose at the end of the first textbook from 1993, and it was presented from a very social aspect: the state imposes the law with regard to its citizens, for in the law alone are recorded the interests of the people, a collective notion par excellence. However, the third section of this chapter announces that the liberty for which the individual is responsible is engaged in the phenomenon of legality. The link, poorly described, leaves some doubt hanging over the logic of the set of two books from 1993, although the collective wins out over the singular with regard to the total number of pages devoted to the two themes respectively.

The 1997 edition does not contain any specific chapter on the law. It is now entirely a question of the formation of the character and of the various psychological aspects of the person. Patriotism is included among the virtues that fashion a good personality, but it only appears in the 11th and penultimate chapter of the course. This place is, moreover, not awarded by chance. Following on from the first chapter, discussed above, which underlines the immersion in human relations that is necessary in order to develop as an individual, Chapter 2 clearly lays stress on the individual by declaring that psychological balance is a fundamental element of human health. Then there is a progressive advance towards the collectivity.

That is why the 1997 textbooks explain the positive and negative aspects of the emotions (Chapter 3) and the essential role of the will (Chapter 4), which leads to an exposé on the way to tackle examinations (Chapter 5). Chapter 6 on the characteristics of the scientific mind does not link up very naturally with the ones that precede it, except that it underlines a formation of the individual that is demanded very particularly by economic realities. As for the second book (Chapters 7 to 12), it only accentuates the trend towards the psychological formation of each person.

The values

The outline of the individual that it is the intention to form with the aid of the civic education courses, among other methods, is highly impregnated with values. We can take some typical examples of these values to ascertain a fairly profound change from one series of textbooks to the other (see Table 9). In 1993, work, manual work in particular, seems to be a central virtue, although it is not fully explained until the second textbook. Why this emphasis? Doubtless it is to touch base with a conception of production still linked to the materiality of the product, even though an economy is expanding across the country that is opening up a large place to services and intangible products. The production effort is considered principally in itself. It demands constancy towards a goal that is to be achieved, but which seems to be set endlessly higher. It is said that the quality of this effort is a characteristic of scientific research in particular, evidently in opposition to any religion or other superstition.

Table 9 • Main values professed in the textbooks

In the same way we can note the appearance, since 1993, of respect for others, which seems to be oriented towards a recognition of the value of each individual. When dealing with the subject, Chapter 8 does not really explain this moral imperative, which has no clearly demonstrated roots either in the individual or in the collectivity. In sum, the editors of the school textbooks have had difficulty departing from a collectivist approach that no longer corresponds to the political needs of the moment or to the needs of a socialist market-based society. Ethical standards are affirmed. One supposes that their description will excite sufficient emotion to engender the necessary conviction, with recourse only to a not particularly convincing argument.

On the other hand, in the 1997 edition, greater attention is paid to the concrete individuality of the person. The ideal put forward becomes far more precise and limited: develop as an individual in your own right, for everyone is different. This appeal is supported by the explanation that each individual holds a potential value that is considerable not so much as a quantity integrated in the collectivity, but in oneself, for oneself and through others. Psychologists will doubtless recognise there something that can help the adolescents to whom the textbooks are addressed as they undergo the process of self-knowledge necessary for reaching maturity. If the first volume describes a rather restrictive path, that of self-control, it is simply to open up in the second towards a positive and genuine development of what each individual can become.

It is not surprising, then, that the politico-economic resonances are much less sensitive in the 1997 edition than in the edition from 1993. What's more, they enter upon a different logic. Formerly, patriotism recalled the need to take up a historical challenge. Now, in 1997, the political line of the Party is no longer revealed in detail. The only thing that is known is that individual initiative and strong personality are necessary for the country to progress, although that is not explicitly linked to the market economy, and hardly at all to the spirit of enterprise. Is there a fear of openly affirming values that are too close to the bourgeois capitalist spirit? Whatever the case may be, individual success is encouraged, with the precise qualification that it only comes in full when inserted in a network of human relations.

 

The analysis of these civic education textbooks for the first year of secondary school indicates a significant change between 1993 and 1997. Some will say that these volumes lag behind the facts. After all, a large vessel negotiates its changes in course slowly. It is also clear that the old values continue to underlie the more recent explanations. We are thinking in particular of patriotism, of national pride. However, the variations between the two editions are such that it is reasonable to conclude from them an important evolution in the philosophical representation of man. The link between the collectivity and the individual has been reconsidered, almost reversed. And this individual opens up into the universal in 1997, as shown by the balance of the portrait galleries, where defects of character are no longer absent alongside the recommended qualities and where foreigners occupy a more generous place in the ensemble of figures invited to illustrate the lessons.

Our study, however, remains limited. Further work could include, first of all, a necessary analysis of the other civic education textbooks all the way through primary and secondary education in order to measure the scope of the evolution between 1993 and 1997. It is also highly probable that the history textbooks would give precious indications as to the value of the patriotism that is so important in this education.

It is known, moreover, that the central government has accepted for a few years now a certain decentralisation in the production of school textbooks (5). It would be useful to see how education policy in the subject of civic education is followed throughout the country. The important lines and essential points are specified by the minister of national education. The editorial teams enjoy a fairly large freedom to embroider on the canvas that is imposed. It would be necessary to go deeper into the comparison between various provincial or local editions to verify whether any regional peculiarities have slipped in here and there (6).

Finally, it would remain to be seen how such a discourse is perceived by populations as different as those in the cities and the villages throughout China's diverse regions (7). We have in fact only spoken of the official discourse, and not of its reception, something that would merit a different study. The context of each child, of his or her family, of his or her socio-economic surroundings, presents itself as a screen between the school textbooks and the pupils. But this screen is not a wall. On the contrary, it allows an image, however, deformed, to pass through and to be imprinted on the children. Be that as it may, the values that are presented to them today can only make them very different from those “children of Mao” of just a few decades ago.

Translated from the French original by Nick Oates