83-4980: Junior high school graduation exam in China Zhongkao Simplified ;Chinese 初中学业水平考试 Traditional Chinese 初中學業程度考試 Transcriptions The Junior High School Scholastic Aptitude Examination ( 初中学业水平考试 ), commonly abbreviated as the Zhongkao ( 中考 ), is the examination for junior high school graduation in China. The exam scores are used for both junior high school graduation and senior high school admissions. See also [ edit ] Gaokao References [ edit ] ^ "我国启动新一轮中考改革|重点聚焦我国启动新一轮中考改革|中国教育|中国教育和科研计算机网CERNET" . www.edu.cn . Retrieved 1 March 2023 . ^ "北京发布初中学业水平考试实施方案-新华网" . www.news.cn . Retrieved 2023-12-26 . v t e Education in China Education system History Imperial examination Mandarin (bureaucrat) Scholar-bureaucrats Taixue Academies of Classical Learning Chinese educators Burning of books and burying of scholars Guozijian Beijing Guozijian Hundred Schools of Thought Scouting in China Digital divide in China Challenge Cup Competition of Science Achievement in China May Fourth Movement 1952 reorganization Simplified Chinese Education inequality in China Academies Chinese Academy of Sciences Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Chinese Academy of Engineering Projects Plan 111 Project 211 Project 985 Double First-Class Construction Project Hope Thousand Talents Plan Administration Ministry of Education National Education Examinations Authority Basic Primary education Secondary education Boarding schools Private and public schools Zhongkao Vocational Vocation education Higher Gaokao National Key Disciplines College English Test National Key Universities Academic grading in China State Key Laboratories JUPAS for HKSAR students Academic ranks in China Self-Taught Higher Education Examinations Libraries Archives in China Book collecting in China National Library of China Nanjing Library Shanghai Library Specialist Medical schools Business schools Law schools Foreign-language schools Schools of Journalism and Communication Int'l cooperation Association of East Asian Research Universities Association of Pacific Rim Universities Global U8 Consortium International Alliance of Research Universities Universitas 21 Worldwide Universities Network Subject areas English education Exams Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi Putonghua Proficiency Test Zhíyè Hànyŭ Nénglì Cèshì Common Recruitment Examination Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers College English Test Quanguo Waiyu Shuiping Kaoshi Public English Test System Rankings List of universities and colleges ARWU BCUR Wu Shulian CUAA Netbig See also: Rankings of universities in China , Science and technology in China , and Types of universities and colleges in China Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zhongkao&oldid=1232550444 " Categories : Academic pressure in East Asian culture Secondary education in China National exams in China Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
166-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
249-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
332-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
415-881: A further example of the government's commitment to nine-year compulsory education, in January 1986 the State Council drafted a bill passed at the Fourteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress that made it illegal for any organization or individual to employ youths before they had completed their nine years of schooling. The bill also authorized free education and subsidies for students whose families had financial difficulties. Tuition-free primary education is, despite compulsory education laws, still
498-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
581-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
664-447: A seven-fold increase from 1996. In 2017, China surpassed the U.S. with the highest number of scientific publications. In 2021, there were 3,012 universities and colleges (see List of universities in China ) in China, and 147 National Key Universities , which are considered to be part of an elite group Double First Class universities , accounted for approximately 4.6% of all higher education institutions in China. China has also been
747-436: A target rather than a realized goal throughout China. As many families have difficulty paying school fees, some children are forced to leave school earlier than the nine-year goal. The 9-year System is called "Nine Years – One Policy", or " 九年一贯制 " in Chinese. It usually refers to the educational integration of the elementary school and the middle school. After graduating from elementary school, graduates can directly enter into
830-427: A timetable and at various levels according to local economic development, though the state would try to support educational development. The state also would assist education in minority nationality areas. In the past, rural areas, which lacked a standardized and universal primary education system, had produced generations of illiterates; only 60 percent of their primary school graduates had met established standards. As
913-476: A top destination for international students and as of 2013, China was the most popular country in Asia for international students and ranked third overall among countries. China is now the leading destination globally for Anglophone African students and is host of the second largest international students population in the world. As of 2023, there were 17 Chinese universities on lists of the global top 200 behind only
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#1732801298397996-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
1079-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
1162-490: Is different from Wikidata Articles containing Chinese-language text Articles using infobox templates with no data rows Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during
1245-539: Is funded by the government. Compulsory education includes six years of elementary school , typically starting at the age of six and finishing at the age of twelve, followed by three years of middle school and three years of high school . In 2020, the Ministry of Education reported an increase of new entrants of 34.4 million students entering compulsory education, bringing the total number of students who attend compulsory education to 156 million. In 1985,
1328-479: Is limited to no more than 60 minutes for children in grades three to six, and no more than 90 minutes for middle school children. In July 2021, China enacted a series of rules designed to shutdown the private tutoring. Since September 2021, private schools providing compulsory education can no longer be controlled by foreign entities or individuals. Only Chinese nationals may serve on their Boards of Directors. In general, China's minority regions have some of
1411-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
1494-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
1577-697: Is that the level of income of these four Chinese regions is well below the OECD average". In the 1980s, the MBA was virtually unknown but by 2004 there were 47,000 MBAs, trained at 62 MBA schools. Many people also apply for international professional qualifications, such as EMBA and MPA ; close to 10,000 MPA students are enrolled in 47 schools of higher learning, including Peking University and Tsinghua University . The education market has rocketed, with training and testing for professional qualifications, such as computer and foreign languages, thriving. Continuing education
1660-415: Is the trend, once in one's life schooling has become lifelong learning . Investment in education has increased in recent years; the proportion of the overall budget allocated to education has been increased by one percentage point every year since 1998. According to a Ministry of Education program, the government will set up an educational finance system in line with the public finance system, strengthen
1743-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
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#17328012983971826-1083: The International Biology Olympiad , the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics , the International Olympiad in Informatics , the International Earth Science Olympiad , the International Mathematical Olympiad , the International Physics Olympiad and the International Chemistry Olympiad . As of 2022, China ranks first in the all-time medal count at the International Mathematical Olympiad with highest goal medals since its first participation in 1985. China also ranks first in
1909-548: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Education in China#Compulsory education law Education in China is primarily managed by the state-run public education system, which falls under the Ministry of Education . All citizens must attend school for a minimum of nine years, known as nine-year compulsory education , which
1992-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
2075-407: The 10% most advantaged students in some of OECD countries". He cautioned that these four provinces and municipalities "are far from representing China as a whole." Yet their combined populations amount to over 180 million people, and the size of each region is equivalent to a typical OECD country even if their income is well below the OECD average. "What makes their achievement even more remarkable
2158-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
2241-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
2324-511: The 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
2407-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
2490-717: The Four Modernizations and, as long as they complied with the party's " Four Cardinal Principles " they were given relatively free rein. When the party and the government determined that the structures of the four cardinal principles had been stretched beyond tolerable limits, they might restrict intellectual expression. Literature and the arts also experienced a great revival in the late 1970s and 1980s. Traditional forms flourished once again, and many new kinds of literature and cultural expression were introduced from abroad. In 2003, China's Ministry of Education called for adding environmental education content throughout
2573-1109: The United States and the United Kingdom in terms of the overall representation in the Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities , a composite ranking system combining three of the world's most influential university rankings ( ARWU + QS + THE ). Shanghai , Beijing , Jiangsu and Zhejiang outperformed all other education systems in the Programme for International Student Assessment . China's educational system has been noted for its emphasis on rote memorization and test preparation. However, PISA spokesman Andreas Schleicher says that China has moved away from learning by rote in recent years. According to Schleicher, Russia performs well in rote-based assessments, but not in PISA, whereas China does well in both rote-based and broader assessments. Improving population-wide literacy
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2656-762: The all-time medal count at the International Physics Olympiad, the International Chemistry Olympiad, and the International Olympiad in Informatics. In a 2009 survey from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a worldwide evaluation of 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance by the OECD , Chinese students from Shanghai achieved the best results in mathematics, science and reading. The OECD also found that even in some of
2739-458: The amount of homework students can be assigned. In Uyghur communities, Islamic education for children has been prohibited and teaching the Quran to children has resulted in criminal prosecution. As part of Xi's 2021 directive on "double lessening" (reducing excessive off-campus tutoring and reducing homework burdens), schools may not assign homework to children to grades one and two, homework
2822-446: The autonomous regions, provinces, and special municipalities were allowed. Further, the system of enrollment and job assignment in higher education was changed, with government control over colleges and universities was reduced. Intergenerational transmission of socialist ideas is an explicit commitment of China's educational system. In 1991, the communist party launched the nationwide Patriotic Education Campaign . The major focus of
2905-662: The campaign was within education, and text books were revised to reduce narratives of class struggle and to emphasize the party's role in ending the century of humiliation . As part of the campaign, Patriotic Education Bases were established, and schools ranging from primary to the college levels were required to take students to sites of significance to the Chinese Revolution. At a national education conference held in Beijing on 10 September 2018, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) general secretary Xi Jinping emphasized
2988-444: The central and provincial governments varies across regions, and those in the rural areas are notably lower than those in major urban areas. Families supplement money provided to the school by the government with tuition fees. For non-compulsory education, China adopts a shared-cost mechanism, charging tuition at a certain percentage of the cost. Meanwhile, to ensure that students from low-income families have access to higher education,
3071-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
3154-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
3237-652: The coming decades. A renewed emphasis on modern science and technology led to the adoption of an outward-looking policy that encouraged learning and borrowing from abroad for advanced training in a wide range of scientific fields, beginning in 1976. Beginning at the Third Plenum of the Eleventh National Party Congress Central Committee in December 1978, intellectuals were encouraged to pursue research in support of
3320-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
3403-414: The county and township authorities. The compulsory education law divided China into three categories: cities and economically developed areas in coastal provinces and a small number of developed areas in the hinterland; towns and villages with medium development; and economically backward areas. By November 1985, the first category – the larger cities and approximately 20 percent of the counties (mainly in
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3486-476: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
3569-506: The education system, aimed to narrow the gap between China and other developing countries. Thus, modernizing education was critical to modernizing China, which included; devolution of educational management from the central to the local level as the means chosen to improve the education system. Centralized authority was not abandoned, however, as evidenced by the creation of the State Education Commission. Academically,
3652-842: The end of the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), the education system in China has been geared towards economic modernization . In 1985, the federal government ceded responsibility for basic education to local governments through the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party 's "Decision on the Reform of the Educational Structure". With the education reform plan in May 1985, the authorities called for nine years of compulsory education and
3735-555: The establishment of the State Education Commission (created the following month). Official commitment to improved education was nowhere more evident than in the substantial increase in funds for education in the Seventh Five-Year Plan (1986–1990), which amounted to 72 percent more than funds allotted to education in the previous plan period (1981–1985). In 1986, 16.8 percent of the state budget
3818-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
3901-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
3984-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
4067-459: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
4150-407: The goals of reform were to enhance and universalize elementary and junior middle school education; to increase the number of schools and qualified teachers, and to develop vocational and technical education. A uniform standard for curricula , textbooks, examinations, and teacher qualifications (especially at the middle-school level) was established, and considerable autonomy and variations in and among
4233-687: The government abolished tax-funded higher education , requiring university applicants to compete for scholarships based on their academic capabilities. In the early 1980s, the government allowed the establishment of the first private institution of higher learning , thus increasing the number of undergraduates and people who hold doctoral degrees from 1995 to 2005. Chinese investment in research and development has grown by 20 percent per year since 1999, exceeding $ 100 billion in 2011. As many as 1.5 million science and engineering students graduated from Chinese universities in 2006. By 2008, China had published 184,080 papers in recognized international journals –
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#17328012983974316-443: The government has initiated ways of assistance, with policies and measures for scholarships, work-study programs and subsidies for students with special economic difficulties, tuition reduction or exemption and state stipends. Illiteracy in the young and mid-aged population has fallen from over 80 percent down to five percent. The system trained some 60 million mid-or high-level professionals and almost 400 million laborers to
4399-531: The highest category of local government expenditures. The Law on Nine-Year Compulsory Education ( 中华人民共和国义务教育法 ), which took effect on 1 July 1986, established requirements and deadlines for attaining universal education tailored to local conditions and guaranteed school-age children the right to receive at least nine years of education (six-year primary education and three years secondary education). People's congresses at various local levels were, within certain guidelines and according to local conditions, to decide
4482-430: The highest per capita government spending on education, among other public goods and services. Providing public goods and services in these areas part of a government effort to reduce regional inequalities, reduce the risk of separatism, and stimulate economic development. As of at least 2019, Tibet is the region of China with the largest per capita government spending on education. Education consistently ranks as
4565-413: The highest priority. Although the humanities were considered important, vocational and technical skills were considered paramount for meeting China's modernization goals. The reorientation of educational priorities paralleled Deng Xiaoping 's strategy for economic development. Emphasis also was placed on the further training of the already-educated elite, who would carry on the modernization program in
4648-659: The importance of teaching Chinese socialism to the country's youth, in order to foster support for the CCP and its policies. Xi has implemented a number of education reforms. Schools are required to adjust their opening hours to be consistent with work hours in their area so that parents can pick-up their children directly after work (in order to reduce reliance on private classes for adult supervision after school hours). Schools must also promote health by requiring outdoor physical education classes daily and providing eye examinations twice per term. Educational reforms have also limited
4731-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
4814-547: The junior high school. The grades in schools that implement the 9-year System are usually called Grade 1, Grade 2, and so on through Grade 9. Main features of the 9-year System: In 2001, the Chinese government initiated the "Two exemptions and one subsidy plan". Students from poor families receiving compulsory education in rural areas are exempted from miscellaneous fees and book fees, and boarding students are gradually subsidized for living expenses. In 2007, all rural students receiving compulsory education from poor families enjoyed
4897-632: The junior or senior high school level. Today, 250 million Chinese get three levels of school education (elementary, junior, and senior high school), doubling the rate of increase in the rest of the world during the same period. Net elementary school enrollment has reached 98.9 percent, and the gross enrollment rate in junior high schools 94.1 percent. As of 2015 , the government-operated primary and lower secondary (junior high) schools in China have 28.8 million students. Chinese high school students won multiple gold medals every year consistently at many International Science Olympiad Competitions like
4980-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
5063-476: The mid-1990s, all workers and staff in coastal areas, inland cities, and moderately developed areas (with a combined population of 300 million to 400 million people) would have either compulsory 9-year or vocational education and that 5 percent of the people in these areas would have a college education, building a solid intellectual foundation for China. Furthermore, the planners expected that secondary education and university entrants would have increased by
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#17328012983975146-439: The more developed coastal and southeastern areas of China) – had achieved universal 9-year education. By 1990, cities, economically developed areas in coastal provincial-level units, a small number of developed interior areas (approximately 25 percent of China's population), and areas where junior high schools were already popularized were targeted to have universal junior-high-school education. Education planners envisioned that by
5229-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
5312-568: The policy of two exemptions and one subsidy, totaling about 50 million students. Starting in 2017, two exemptions and one subsidy under the urban-rural unified system will be implemented. China's basic education involves pre-school, nine-year compulsory education from elementary to junior high school , standard senior high school education, special education for disabled children, and education for illiterate people. China has over 200 million elementary and high school students, who, together with pre-school children, account for one sixth of
5395-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
5478-439: The public school curriculum from the first year of primary school through the second year of high school. Since the 1950s, China has been providing a nine-year compulsory education to what amounts to a fifth of the world's population. By 1999, primary school education had become generalized in 90% of China, and mandatory nine-year compulsory education now effectively covered 85% of the population. The education funding provided by
5561-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
5644-623: The reform program and modernization needs. Provincial-level authorities were to develop plans, enact decrees and rules, distribute funds to counties, and administer directly a few key secondary schools . County authorities were to distribute funds to each township government, which was to make up for any deficiencies. County authorities were to supervise education and teaching and to manage their own senior high schools, teachers' schools, teachers' in-service training schools, agricultural vocational schools, and exemplary primary and junior high schools. The remaining schools were to be managed separately by
5727-511: The responsibility of governments at all levels in educational investment, and ensure that their financial allocation for educational expenditure grows faster than their regular revenue. The program also laid out the government's aim that educational investment should account for four percent of GDP in a relatively short period of time. China's Five-Year Plans are an important means of coordinating education policy. Deng Xiaoping's far-ranging educational reform policy, which involved all levels of
5810-426: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
5893-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
5976-456: The steps, methods, and deadlines for implementing nine-year compulsory education in accordance with the guidelines formulated by the central authorities. The program sought to bring rural areas, which had four to six years of compulsory schooling, into line with their urban counterparts. Education departments were exhorted to train millions of skilled workers for all trades and professions and to offer guidelines, curricula, and methods to comply with
6059-647: The tendency of scholars and intellectuals to disdain manual labor . During the Cultural Revolution, universal fostering of social equality was an overriding priority. The post- Mao Zedong Chinese Communist Party leadership views education as the foundation of the Four Modernizations . In the early 1980s, science and technology education became an important focus of education policy . By 1986, training skilled personnel and expanding scientific and technical knowledge had been assigned
6142-532: The total population. For this reason, the Central Government has prioritized basic education as a key field of infrastructure construction and educational development. In recent years, senior high school education has developed steadily. In 2004 enrollment was 8.215 million, 2.3 times that of 1988. Gross national enrollment in senior high schools has reached 43.8 percent, still lower than that of other developed countries. The government has created
6225-427: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
6308-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
6391-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
6474-407: The very poor rural areas the performance is close to the OECD average. While averages across the breadth of other countries are reported, China's rankings are taken from only a few select districts. The PISA 2018 results showed that students of Beijing , Shanghai , Jiangsu and Zhejiang topped the rankings in reading, mathematics and science and China's school children are now the smartest in
6557-422: The world based off academic performance. OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria said the students from the four Chinese provinces had "outperformed by a large margin their peers from all of the other 78 participating countries" and the 10% most socio-economically disadvantaged students in these four areas "also showed better reading skills than those of the average student in OECD countries, as well as skills similar to
6640-500: The year 2000. The second category targeted under the 9-year compulsory education law consisted of towns and villages with medium-level development (around 50 percent of China's population), where universal education was expected to reach the junior-high-school level by 1995. Technical and higher education was projected to develop at the same rate. The third category, economically backward (rural) areas (around 25 percent of China's population), were to popularize basic education without
6723-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
6806-574: Was earmarked for education, compared to 10.4 percent in 1984. As a result of continual intra-party realignments, official policy has alternated between ideological imperatives and practical efforts to further national education. The Great Leap Forward (1958–1960) and the Socialist Education Movement (1962–1965) sought to end deeply rooted academic elitism , to narrow social and cultural gaps between workers and peasants and between urban and rural populations, and to eliminate
6889-450: Was the focus of education in the early years of the People's Republic of China. In 1949, the literacy rate was only between 20 and 40%. The communist government focused on improving literacy through both formal schooling and literacy campaigns. In the first sixteen years of communist governance, elementary school enrollment tripled, secondary school enrollment increased by a factor of 8.5, and college enrollment more than quadrupled. Since
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