FUSON, Chester Garfield.

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The New Geography of China. Second edition (six months after the first) of this revealing textbook disseminating new political conceptions of the Chinese state and its geography during the Republican period. With education seen by state leaders as a key arena for moulding a coherent Chinese identity and citizenry, textbooks such as this were essential tools of state pedagogy.After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Chinese reformers quickly grasped the significant role education would play in building the nascent post-imperial Chinese state. In 1912, Cai Yuanpei, the first Minister of Education in the new Republic of China, laid out his vision of an educational program focused on creating modern citizens who could contribute to the country in the face of imperialist incursions and entrenched traditional values. Over the next few decades, the state education system embarked on an ambitious pedagogical program that simultaneously taught technical knowledge and instilled notions of nationhood in younger generations.The present work, published by the country's leading textbook and education publisher, is devoted to Cai's vision. The preface states that the book "will give the student a clear idea of his own country" and help them "to realize some of the problems which needs to be solved by him as a citizen of China." Chapters promote ideas of ethno-nationalism and a unified 'Chinese' race, and also attempt to foster national pride by emphasising China's long cultural and polit

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