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| Yan believed that the most valuable wealth in the world was human resource. There were 0.4 billion people in China at that time, in which only a small part had the opportunity to study in school. The number of illiterates was beyond 0.3 billion. By contrast, in Britain and France, the number of illiterates in 100 people was only three and four. If all the Chinese could have the chance to study, no force will prevent the national development. So, he went to the poor regions, Dingxian to begin his trial. |
Yan started the reformation in rural education from the aspects of education and society, education and life, education and cultural development, and education and politics. He promoted four ways of education, including literature and art education to cure ignorance; livelihood education to cure poverty; health education to cure disease; and civic education to cure misgovernment. The farmers were expected to improve their knowledge, productivity, health and organization power through education. Yan’s popular education was born in the 1920s in China and then spread in the world. With dozens of years’development, a large group of civic educators and rural construction talents were |
Simplistic science and scientific administration |
| trained in China and other developing countries. The popular education was related to all the people in China.By education, people are expected to improve their knowledge, productivity, health and organization power through education. The three methods referred to school, social and family education. The four ways of education was the most important |
part in Yan’s popular education and rural construction theory. In Dingxian, his research showed that there were four interlocking problems of village life: poverty, disease, ignorance and misgovernment. The four ways of education were the solution to those problems.
Yan spent much effort in youth education, who were the base the national development. Besides, the agricultural and farmers’ problem were the most important part in China’s reform and opening up. Yan’s education theory was quite advanced in popular
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| education and rural construction at that time. Yan was the first to put social scientific method into rural construction. He obeyed the mode of “trial-error-retrail”. Only in the process of finding errors, people could make progress. In the new era, we should also promote the spirit of practicality, truth-seeking and courage in innovation in rural construction. When Yan was an interpreter for Chinese coolies in France in the first world war, he discovered that there was a big brain mine in China, which was more important than gold and silver mines. After Yan discovered the great resource of brain power in China, he determined to make use of it. His two inventions, aiming at developing brain power, were popular education and rural construction. Those two inventions were complement to each other. |
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Yan’s Dingxian Trial had set a good example for Chinese rural construction and exploration in the new century. Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee, dramatic changes happened in rural areas.? The crux of all the problems could be summarized on education and human resource. According to national statistics, more than 1.4 million agricultural talents were trained since the liberation of China, in which only 150,000 were still working in the front line. That is to say, in 100 people, only 14 worked in agricultural fields. |
Simplistic science and scientific administration
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In recent years, because of education limitation, many schools and regions focused on theory rather than practice. Many college graduates found work in urban areas. However, Yan recruited a large group of intellectuals and American-trained Chinese graduates to live in Dingxian despite offering small salaries. Yan came to be a teacher in Zhaichengcun Primary School. He wanted to save the country through education. In modern society, we should enforce the combination of theory and practice in children’s education. |
Yan’s devotion and education spirit has much influence in modern society. The research of Yan’s popular education and rural construction is not only valuable wealth, but also be promoted in the national wide. In new era, we should promote the educational development to accelerate the revitalizing of our motherland.
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The Forum about “Yan’s Mass Education and New Socialist Rural Construction” Held by Dingzhou City CPPCC
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National prime minister: Mr. Wen Jia-bao
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In the press conference after the Fourth session of the Ninth NPC , Mr. Wen Jia-bao, especially talked about mass education. He said that there were 0.9 billion farmers in Chinese population, whose education problem should be paid much attention. The government had the responsibility to ensure everyone’s opportunity to study in school. When answering journalist’s questions, he said that education was the base of national economic development. The government needed to spread the nine-year compulsory education, promote the development of vocation education and increase the education format. |
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