Making of the Confucian individual: morality, subjectification and classical schooling in China

Abstract

This
 research
 explores
 the
 complexity
 of
 Confucian
 schooling
 in
 the
 context
 of
 contemporary
 China.
 Based
 on
 fieldwork
 in
 a
 Confucian-­‐style
 classical
 school
 (given
 the
 pseudonym
 Yiqian
 School),
 the
 thesis
 reveals
 why
 parents
 choose
 Confucian
 education,
 how
 the
 school
 seeks
 to
 cultivate
 children
 as
 Confucian
 autonomous,
 learned
 individuals
 and
 what
 sense
 parents,
 students
 and
 teachers
 make
 of
 this
 schooling.
 Theoretically
 the
 thesis
 draws
 together
 three
 strands
 of
 scholarship—research
 on
 Chinese
 education
 and
 the
 rhetoric
 of
 suzhi/quality,
 the
 individualisation
 thesis
 as
 it
 applies
 to
 China,
 and
 governmentality
 and
 subjectification
 in
 the
 context
 of
 China.
 The
 study
 is
 ethnographic,
 drawing
 on
 participant
 observation
 and
 formal
 and
 informal
 interviews.
 Conducted
 in
 2015,
 the
 fieldwork
 took
 place
 over
 six
 months
 in
 Yiqian
 School,
 a
 classical
 school
 with
 a
 student
 population
 spanning
 seven
 to
 15
 years.
 The
 research
 demonstrates
 the
 complexity
 of
 parents’
 decisions
 to
 withdraw
 their
 children
 from
 state
 schools
 and
 in
 planning
 for
 their
 future
 education.
 These
 parents
 had
 contradictory
 dispositions
 towards
 the
 state
 school
 system:
 while
 many
 criticised
 compulsory
 schooling,
 at
 the
 same
 time
 they
 also
 recognised
 the
 importance
 of
 the
 state-­‐defined
 educational
 track
 in
 awarding
 academic
 certificate.
 The
 parental
 desire
 for
 their
 children
 to
 receive
 Confucian
 classical
 education
 was
 deeply
 influenced
 by
 anxiety
 about
 morality
 and
 a
 belief
 that
 classical
 education
 would
 enhance
 children’s
 moral
 status.
 As
 most
 parents
 came
 from
 middle-­‐class
 families,
 their
 stress
 on
 Confucian
 ethical
 virtue
 can
 be
 interpreted
 as
 an
 attempt
 to
 distinguish
 their
 children
 from
 other
 social
 groups
 through
 a
 Confucian-­‐inspired
 distinction
 between
 good/bad
 manners,
 high/low
 qualities
 (suzhi),
 and
 superior/inferior
 civilities
 (wenming).
 The
 thesis
 also
 explores
 the
 specific
 educational
 practices
 and
 techniques
 used
 in
 the
 Confucian
 school.
 While
 Yiqian
 School
 aimed
 to
 cultivate
 students
 as
 autonomous,
 learned
 individuals
 through
 the
 approach
 of
 “individualised
 memorisation,”
 this
 process
 is
 subjected
 to
 disciplinary
 power
 in
 two
 conflicting
 types
 of
 memorisation-­‐based
 pedagogy,
 an
 individualistic
 and
 an
 authoritarian
 mode.
 This
 meant
 the
 subjectification
 of
 the
 students
 involved
 a
 contradiction
 between
 autonomy
 and
 coercion.
 By
 showing
 how
 Confucian
 individuals
 are
 shaped
 within
 the
 education
 system,
 the
 thesis
 reveals
 what
 Confucian
 education
 tells
 us
 about
 the
 Chinese
 path
 to
 individualisation.
 The
 making
 of
 Confucian
 individuals
 in
 the
 school
 is
 not
 completely
 “dis-­‐embedded”
 from
 the
 “traditional”
 categories
 such
 as
 family
 relations,
 the
 state
 school
 system
 and
 social
 class.
 The
 tension
 between
 parents
 and
 their
 children
 in
 planning
 for
 the
 latter’s
 future
 education
 indicates
 how
 strongly
 the
 Confucian
 youth
 pursue
 personal
 aspirations.
 Furthermore,
 while
 parents
 were
 free
 to
 take
 their
 children
 out
 of
 the
 state
 school
 system
 and
 choose
 Confucian
 education,
 they
 had
 to
 face
 the
 risks
 resulting
 from
 the
 ambiguous
 status
 of
 Confucian
 education,
 particularly
 the
 lack
 of
 certificate-­‐granting
 powers
 and
 the
 marginalisation
 of
 the
 Confucian
 educational
 experience.