The politics of language in Chinese education, 1895-1919 / / by Elisabeth Kaske.

• Superior document: Sinica Leidensia, v. 82
• Author: Kaske, Elisabeth.
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Language: English
• Series: Sinica Leidensia ; v. 82.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (557 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Materials /; Chapter One. The Politics Of Language In China And The West (The 19th Century) /; Chapter Two. The Language Question At The Turn Of The 20th Century /; Chapter Three. The Revolutionary Movement And Vernacular Journalism /; Chapter Four. The Struggle For Legitimate Language In The Qing Educational System /; Chapter Five. Philology, National Essence, And The Emergence Of A Nationalist Language Policy /; Chapter Six. From Political Revolution To Literary Revolution /; Conclusions /; Selected Bibliography /; Index And Glossary /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (p. [475]-507) and index.
• ISBN: 1281939781; 9786611939786; 904742333X
• ISSN: 0169-9563
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Elisabeth Kaske.

The study examines the origins of the “literary revolution” proclaimed in 1917 which laid the foundation for the replacement of the classical language by the vernacular as China’s national language and medium of national literature. A unique, multifaceted approach is used to explain the political significance of the classical/vernacular divide against the backdrop of social change that followed the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5. Seeing education as the central battleground for all debates on language, the study in six thoroughly documented chapters investigates the language policy of the Qing and Republican governments, vernacular journalism of the revolutionaries, the activities of urban script reformers, the linguistic thought of the national essence advocates, and the emergence of a scholarly interest in the vernacular in academic circles.