晚清林樂知在華教育事業與美國教育的引介

Abstract

中國近代教育的西化可視為教育革命，始於晚清，教會學校是主要途徑之一，而美國在華差會扮演重要角色。本文旨在探討美國監理會林樂知在華47年的教育事業和其引介美國教育的貢獻，及其對中國教育西化的影響。本文採史學方法，使用晚清中英文報刊及史料彙編等資料。研究發現，林樂知因傳教經驗，體認教育手段的重要性而採「設學輔教」策略，先後設立初等學塾、中西書院及中西女塾，並倡議設大書院，進而促成該會的三級教會學校體系與東吳大學堂的建立。甲午戰爭後林樂知提倡「文學興國」理念，透過書刊引介美國教育制度，並提出改革中國教育的建議，戊戌維新時有類似的措施，故其對引介美國教育制度及中國教育西化的影響不宜忽略。最後，本文提出對現代教育移轉及教會學校與國家教育體制關係的啟示。

In the process of westernization of education in late Ch’ing China, the establishment of the American protestant mission schools, seen as an education revolution, was one of the important strategies to evangelism. The main aim of this article is to explore Young J. Allen’s educational enterprise and his devotion to introducing the American education system into China. Historical method is undertaken. Due to personal experiences, education in Allen’s view became a vehicle for attaining the mission’s goal, so he established day schools, Anglo-Chinese School and the Mctyeire School for Girls, and then initiated the plan of university. Later, mission school system and Soochow University were established. After 1894 he advocated education as important means of state formation, introduced the American educational system and initiated programs for reforming Chinese educational system. Therefore, his impacts cannot and should not be ignored. Implications to educational transfer as well as mission schools and its relation to the state education today are also discussed.