Childrenâ#x80 ; #x99 ; s Literature and Transnational Knowledge in Modern China : Education, Religion, and Childhood

This book examines the development of Chinese childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature from the late Qing to early Republican era. It highlights the transnational flows of knowledge, texts, and cultures during a time when childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature in China and the West was developing rapidly. Drawing from a rich archive of periodicals, novels, tracts, primers, and textbooks, the author analyzes how Chinese childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature published by Protestant missionaries and Chinese educators in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries presented varying notions of childhood. In this period of dramatic transition from the dynastic Qing empire to the new Republican China, young readers were offered different models of childhood, some of which challenged dominant Confucian ideas of what it meant to be a child. This volume sheds new light on a little-explored aspect of Chinese literary history. Through its contributions to the fields of childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature, book history, missionary history, and translation studies, it enhances our understanding of the negotiations between Chinese and Western cultures that shaped the publication and reception of Chinese texts for children Dedication 5 Acknowledgments 6 Contents 8 About the Author 9 Note on Transliteration, Chinese Characters, and Abbreviations 10 Abbreviations 10 List of Figures 11 Chapter 1: Protestant Missionaries, Chinese Intellectuals, and Children’s Literature 12 Attitudes Toward Children and Childhood 18 What Did Chinese Children Read? 22 Missionary Print Culture for Children 25 Chinese Print Culture for Children 29 Transnationalism and Translation 31 Structure of the Book 36 Chapter 2: The Filial Child and the Evangelical Child in Translated Bestsellers and Forgotten Tracts 47 Evangelical Literature and Translation 51 Translators and Readership 53 The Evangelical Child 55 Attracting the Chinese Reader 58 Cultural Acceptability, Filial Piety, and Devotion to God 68 Conclusion 76 Chapter 3: “Instructive and Amusing”: Xiaohai yuebao (The Child’s Paper, 1875–1915) and Childhood 83 Xiaohai yuebao: Origins 86 Contributors 94 Liars and Wrestling with Temptation 98 “Imbuing Chinese Youth with Western Ideas and Knowledge” 105 Readership and the Participatory Child 109 Conclusion 113 Chapter 4: Learning and Play in Mengxue bao (The Children’s Educator) and Qimeng huabao (Enlightenment Pictorial) 119 The Children’s Educator and Enlightenment Pictorial: Origins and Historical Context 125 Format 128 Circulation 131 Translations 133 Audience 134 The Children’s Educator: Children, Play, and Creativity 136 Creative Children 141 The Enlightenment Pictorial: Purposeful Play? 142 Conclusion 148 Chapter 5: Educating the Child: Textbooks, Primers, and Readers 154 Primers, Readers, and Textbooks in Missionary Schools and the State School System 156 Textbooks for Girls 166 Learning Through Exemplars 170 To Play or Not to Play 178 Conclusion 184 Chapter 6: Conclusion 190 Glossary 199 Bibliography 210 Primary Sources 210 Children’s Periodicals 210 Other Children’s Texts 211 English 211 Chinese 212 Other English Sources 215 Other Chinese Sources 220 Secondary Sources 221 Index 246 This book examines the development of Chinese childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature from the late Qing to early Republican era. It highlights the transnational flows of knowledge, texts, and cultures during a time when childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature in China and the West was developing rapidly. Drawing from a rich archive of periodicals, novels, tracts, primers, and textbooks, the author analyzes how Chinese childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature published by Protestant missionaries and Chinese educators in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries presented varying notions of childhood. In this period of dramatic transition from the dynastic Qing empire to the new Republican China, young readers were offered different models of childhood, some of which challenged dominant Confucian ideas of what it meant to be a child. This volume sheds new light on a little-explored aspect of Chinese literary history. Through its contributions to the fields of childrenâ#x80;#x99;s literature, book history, missionary history, and translation studies, it enhances our understanding of the negotiations between Chinese and Western cultures that shaped the publication and reception of Chinese texts for children Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Protestant Missionaries, Chinese Intellectuals, and Children’s Literature (Shih-Wen Sue Chen)....Pages 1-35 The Filial Child and the Evangelical Child in Translated Bestsellers and Forgotten Tracts (Shih-Wen Sue Chen)....Pages 37-72 “Instructive and Amusing”: Xiaohai yuebao (The Child’s Paper, 1875–1915) and Childhood (Shih-Wen Sue Chen)....Pages 73-108 Learning and Play in Mengxue bao (The Children’s Educator) and Qimeng huabao (Enlightenment Pictorial) (Shih-Wen Sue Chen)....Pages 109-143 Educating the Child: Textbooks, Primers, and Readers (Shih-Wen Sue Chen)....Pages 145-180 Conclusion (Shih-Wen Sue Chen)....Pages 181-189 Back Matter ....Pages 191-251