女性与中国20世纪初之科学教育的跨国动态——静默的革命

Women and the Transnational Dynamics of Science Education in Early Twentieth Century China:A Quiet Revolution

本文从人物与跨国维度探索中国科学界的女性先驱接受的早期科学教育与她们的留学经历。论文通过重点关注清末民初女性在追求科学的过程中面对的特殊风险与收获,将当时中国男性与女性在科学道路上的经历区分开来,并揭示出中国女性的案例在世界女性科学发展史中的特点。本文分为两大部分,分别探讨国内女子科学教育与女性出国学习科学的环境和条件。第一部分首先陈述早期创立的女子学校的主要性质与动态机制,分析它们怎样影响学生对科学产生兴趣,并帮助她们做好深造的准备,然后再追踪新出现的攻读大学学位的机会,这些机会使得在中国学习科学的女性有可能考虑到海外深造。第二部分转而关注留学问题,探讨家庭背景和国际形势何以改造中国女子的“调动策略”(strategies of mobility),强调选择出国进修是激进的人生选择。文章提出,认真对待早期从事科学之女子的个人处境,令我们不再仅将她们的科学追求当作中国科学发展进程的一部分,而是关注科学志愿如何推动男女人士周旋于数国的社会规范与要求之间,并重塑这些规范。

This article explores both the personal and transnational dimensions of domestic science education and study abroad for the pioneering generation of Chinese women in science.By focusing on women’s unique calculus of risk and reward,the article not only distinguishes Chinese women’s experiences from those of their male counterparts but also delineates the special contours of the Chinese case within the global advancement of women in science.The article begins by outlining some of the features and dynamics of early Chinese girls’schools that affected students’interest in and preparation for further scientific study.Then it traces the emerging college-level opportunities that made it possible for women who were studying science in China to contemplate advanced work overseas.Turning to study abroad,the article highlights the radicalness of the decision to study abroad by examining the impact of both family background and national circumstances on Chinese women’s strategies of mobility.The article argues that if we are to take women’s experiences seriously,we cannot just look at scientific pursuits in terms of achievements in the development of Chinese science,we also need to consider the ways that·scientific ambitions forced individuals—both male and female—to navigate and reimagine multiple social norms and expectations.