【作者简介】姜汉,中国人民大学社会学理论与方法研究中心

【文章来源】《社会》2024年第5期

【内容提要】本文聚焦于20世纪20年代初的德育课程改革，力图结合知识阶层自身社会处境的变化来理解道德观念的演变。清末，德育被制度化为修身科，教育人士批判以经学教育为核心的传统德育，希望将西方教学理念应用到修身教学中。其后，受新文化运动的影响，教育人士开始质疑修身科的合理性，认为应通过研究并参与“社会”来养成道德，由此导向了废止修身科并设置公民科的改革。对经典教育的批判标志着知识阶层开始摆脱传统社会身份，围绕“社会”的讨论则代表着他们在新的社会处境中诠释德育的尝试。本文认为，分析德育课程的转型有助于理解清末民初道德革命的社会学意涵。

【关 键 词】道德教育, 教育改良, 修身科, 公民科, 知识阶层

【全文链接】https://www.society.shu.edu.cn/CN/Y2024/V44/I5/96

From Xiushen to Gongmin: The Transformation of Moral Education in Elementary School in the Late Qing Dynasty and Early Republic of China

Abstract: The reformation of moral education curriculum reflects the cultural shifts in modern China. Focusing on the curriculum reforms of the early 1920s， this article examines the evolution of moral ideals in the light of the changes in the social situation of the Chinese intelligentsia. With the establishment of the modern school system， moral education was institutionalized in the form of self-cultivation （Xiushen） curriculum. Educators denounced traditional moral education centered on Confucius classics and hoped to apply Western pedagogical theories to the teaching of Xiushen. They advocated the replacement of abstruse classics with easy-to-understand textbooks as well as the adoption of pedagogical methods aligned with children’s psychological development. In the early 1920s， however， under the influence of the New Culture Movement， educators began to question the moral authority of teachers， and thus the rationality of the Xiushen curriculum. Drawing on the prevailing Deweyism at the time， educators argued that moral education should be grounded in the study of and active participation in “society”. This realization led to the abolishment of Xiushen and the establishment of Civics （Gongmin） training curriculum. Furthermore， the reformation of moral education curriculum was also linked to the transformation of the intelligentsia. In traditional China， the moral principles in the Confucian classics not only served as moral norms but also the basis of legitimacy of social domination. Literati who mastered Confucian discourses could move upwards to be ruling officials through the imperial examination system， and whereby enjoy political and economic privileges. Thus， the critique of classical education marked the intellectual class’ departure from its traditional social identity as scholar-officials， and the discussion around“society” represented an attempt to interpret moral education based on their new social situation. No longer dependent on imperial power， the intelligentsia began to value the political potential of the common people. Analyzing the transformation of moral education curriculum helps to further understand the sociological implications of the moral revolution during the late Qing and early Republican periods.

Key words: moral education, educational reformation, Xiushen, Gongmin, intellectuals