中国女学会考论

A Research on the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge Among Chinese Women

中国女学会是近代第一个由中国女性组织的团体,不过由于史料稀缺,对这一社团从出现到涣散的过程及其影响,始终缺乏完整的考察。通过利用与中国女学会同气连枝的中国女学堂以及《女学报》的散碎史料,从中可钩稽出中国女学会的始末:创意始见于1898年3月初;在问世过程中,受到了《法国女学会》一则新闻的影响;在与女学堂、《女学报》三位一体的关系中,女学会本为根本,却未开展过独立的活动;会员主体为中国女学堂的教职员、内董事及《女学报》主笔;1898年10月,因受到慈禧严禁立会、查拿入会者懿旨的政治压力而消歇;但其精神尚遗传至1902年5月成立的上海女学会,甚至1911年2月创建的世界女子协会,仍可视为其余响。

The Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge among Chinese Women（中国女学会）was the first of its kind organized by Chinese women in modern times.Due to the lack of references,there has not been a comprehensive investigation into its entire operation and later influence.Based on the scattered historical materials related to the first Chinese Girl’s School（中国女学堂）and the first Chinese women’s journal,The Chinese Girl’s Progress（《女学报》）,both of which were closely bound to the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge among Chinese Women,this paper deals with this important piece of history from beginning to end.The idea of establishing the Society should have emerged in the early March of 1898,very much under the influence of a news report on the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge among French Women（法国女学会）.As the pivot of the trinity that was formed with the School and the Journal,the Society itself never carried out any independent activities,although its major members included the faculty and the women trustees of the School and the contributors toThe Chinese Girl’s Progress.The Society was disbanded in October,1898,under the political pressure from Empress Dowager Ci Xi（慈禧太后）to ban all the associations and to apprehend the society members.Its spirit was nevertheless inherited by the Shanghai Girls’Society（上海女学会）founded in May,1902,and it even inspired the establishment of the International Women Association（世界女子协会）later in February,1911.