“失败”的隐喻——对20世纪30年代江苏有关女子教育言论的研究

The Metaphor of Failure——A Study on Women’s Education in Jiangsu in the 1930s

20世纪30年代,江苏教育界出现了对过去30余年来女子教育"失败"以及"缘何失败"的讨论。论者普遍认为,其"失败"在于既没有培养出合格的服务社会的公民,又没能培养出可以服务家庭的"贤妻良母"。究其原因有四:女子教育宗旨不断变化,女子教育对象过于狭窄,道德训育太过封锁,以及学校课程设置没有关注女性特质。探寻隐喻在这些"失败"言论背后的逻辑可以看出,"失败"之论实际上是在为"母性主义"的复兴、男性地位的维护、女子教育的正本清源以及民族复兴运动提供舆论支持。

There was a discussion about the failure of women’s education and reasons behind the alleged phenomenon in east China’s Jiangsu Province in the 1930 s. It was widely believed that the education at that time failed to nurture citizens capable of serving the society and competent women who can live up to social expectations of them as wives and mothers. The reasons are as follows:persistent changes in the objectives of women’s education,limited access of women to education,secluded and backward education in morality,and the ignorance of women’s inner characteristics in curricular arrangement. It can be concluded from these explanations for the failure that they actually aimed to create public support for the revival of materialism,the predominance of men’s social status,the overhaul reform of women’s education and the national revival movement.