The New Geography of China. A Senior Middle School Textbook.

FUSON, Chester Garfield.

Published by Shanghai: The Commercial Press, Limited, 1934

About this Item

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 political history. Finally, the work takes a stance on issues such as imperialist aggression in China and frenetic gambling in Macao - ideas consistent with the governing Kuomintang's anti-imperialist stance and Christianised social policy agenda. Chester Garfield Fuson was an American Presbyterian missionary in South China from 1905 to until 1949, teaching at Canton Christian College until 1917 and then working at the South China Mission of the Presbyterian Church. As a missionary, Fuson would have been well connected to the group of intellectuals who ran the publishing industry in Shanghai, and most likely it was through his educational work that he came to be associated with Wang Yunwu and others at The Commercial Press. The Commercial Press, one of the "three most important comprehensive publishers of the Republican period" (Wilkinson), based its reputation on producing high-quality materials at affordable prices. Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual, 67.2. Octavo. With 30 half-tone plates, and folding map, tables and illustrations in text. Original blue cloth, title to spine and front board in gilt, publisher's device to rear board in blind. Small purple "Made in China" inkstamp to title page. Spine faded with ends recoloured and beginning to fray, small blemish to bottom edge of rear board, extremities mildly rubbed and tips a little worn, endpapers browned. A very good copy.

Seller Inventory # 149477

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The New Geography of China. A Senior Middle School Textbook.
• Publisher: Shanghai: The Commercial Press, Limited, 1934