Women's education in pre-WWII China

[janiech]

Hello, this is a research question and someone recommended asking the very knowledgeable people on this board.

Does anyone know whether in pre-WWII China, universities offered scholarships to women? Not just women from poor families but just bright young female students to encourage them to higher education?

Thank you!

[helen]

My Mother in law grew up in a small village in lhe 1917 - there was a school that she went to to learn reading and writing. She became a teacher, but I'm sure there was nothing formal like a teachers college and university. She just taught at the next village - probably what she herself had learn at school.

[Doug 周]

janiech,

My mother-in-law was from a wealthy family in Shanghai before the Japanese occupation and states that she has never heard of men or women getting scholarships. She did not attend any universities.

My father-in-law was from a middle class family and the recipient of a 50% scholarship from the prestigious St. Joseph Roman Catholic prep school in Hong Kong before the war interrupted his studies. He states that schools in large cities like Guangzhou and Hong Kong had scholarships for both eligible women and men. His sister went to a Protestant school.

FWIW

[janiech]

Thanks for your responses, Helen and Doug. I hope to hear more from others on the forum.

[Doug 周]

Jul 14, 2012 19:05:15 GMT -5 janiech said:

....I hope to hear more from others on the forum.

From reading your blog and with your interest in this narrow topic, you seem to have done some research. One of the attributes of a forum is that it is a two way street of information.

Please share with us YOUR impressions and sources for those feelings.

[janiech]

Hi Doug:
Here is the background: the question is because of a novel I'm writing, and I want to be sure I'm being historically accurate. Unfortunately my mother has dementia and can't remember how things were during her college days with scholarships for women. All her friends are either dead or also have cognitive problems. This is one topic that has really stumped me when doing research.
I remember my father (now passed on) saying that prior to WWII, both the Nationalist and Communist parties would often fund some students' education, with the hope of persuading students to their politics. But he didn't clarify whether the scholarships were for men or women.
JC