6. Content Analysis of Chinese Civics Textbooks 1 Presentation
6.2.1 Political Knowledge
6.2.1.1 Organization/Functions of Government
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Again, the lessons focusing on political knowledge are by no means just a collection of objective facts about the government and political participation. There is still some moral content which is concealed in these lessons. For instance, many of the lessons on democratic process serve to inculcate obedience, and other lessons on national policy also serve to instill students with patriotic fervor. Thus, the analysis of the following categories will focus more on the hidden curriculum rather than the political ideology or the various lists of facts about the constitution, government structure, etc.
6.2.1.1 Organization/Functions of Government
This category includes lessons which introduce all kinds of information about the constitution, public finance, the structure and responsibilities of the government, etc.
There is also quite a bit of emphasis on rule of law and separation of powers between the central governments and regional governments. While the lessons in this category tend to be very dry reading (e.g. long lists of the departments that make up a local government and their functions), many of them also tend to reinforce one or more of three key themes of obedience, patriotism, and the importance of the group over the individual.
Obedience as a value is taught in several ways, and in conjunction with several overt political messages. The first way is through making the student understand that China is built on rule of law, and that the law must be obeyed. The central government though had almost total control over the drafting of laws. Thus, the phrase ‘we must all follow the law’ in actuality means ‘citizens must obey the central government.’ This very narrow definition of obedience reflects the KMT’s monopoly on political power and their symbiotic relationship with the government. These ideas are reflected in the lesson entitled ‘The Nature and Purpose of the Constitution’ which appears in Civics, Vol. 4 (1950). The lesson begins by describing the power of the constitution and how it forms the basis of law in a country. Should ordinary laws come into conflict with any part of the constitution, the constitution always prevails. This is followed by a basic description of the contents of a constitution, along with the statement that it provides a fixed model of
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behavior for the people. This is interesting, especially when considering that the constitution simply lays out the rights and duties of citizens, but does not otherwise seek to regulate their behavior. The lesson ends with the follow assertion:
「大家都應該有遵重憲法和遵守憲法的精神。這樣纔能成為一個法治的國家，
使國家達到富強康樂的地位。」
“Everyone should have the spirit of respect for and obedience to the constitution.
Only then can we become a nation of law, and help the country become wealthy, strong, happy, and peaceful.”26
When taken in context, this message of obedience becomes more apparent. This lesson is followed by two more lessons on the constitution and other national laws. The following lesson entitled ‘The Constitution of the Republic of China’ begins with a discussion of how the constitution was created by the national assembly of the central government, thus ushering in a period of constitutional law, the last stage described in Sun Yat Sen’s three stages of revolution. The words ‘the people’s national assembly’ (guómín dàhuì 國民大 會) and ‘the people’s government’ (guómín zhèngfǔ 國民政府) are also underlined for emphasis, further highlighting their connection to the constitution. One of the discussion questions at the beginning of the chapter also asks who created the constitution. The lesson ends with descriptions of the national assembly and the government as the most powerful sources of political authority and political power, respectively. While on paper the national assembly is elected by the people, it is important to note that elections for members of the national assembly were suspended due to war. Additionally, after the KMT retreated to Taiwan in 1949 these elections were suspended indefinitely for the ostensible reason that the government could not hold elections (because they no longer controlled the mainland). The homework at the end of the chapter also asks students to study the constitution itself. The lesson entitled ‘The Constitution of the Republic of China’ also appears again in Civics, Vol. 3 (1959). The lesson content is almost exactly
26 Civics, Vol. 4 (1950), 12.
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the same, but there is more emphasis on the Three Principles of the People and their role as the foundation of the constitution, and the word ‘government’ has been replaced by
‘central government’ (zhōngyang zhèngfǔ 中央政府).
The last of these three lessons entitled ‘Obeying the Laws of the Nation’ continues to emphasize obedience. It compares the laws of the nation to the rules of the school, which is an environment students are already familiar with (and also an environment which reinforces deference to authority). It also defines different types of laws, such as criminal law. The lesson ends with a reminder to students to be obedient. The last few sentences of the lesson are as follows:
「我們既然明白了法律的作用，在學校裏就要遵守校規，在社會上就要遵守國 家法律。我們必須隨時隨地檢點自己的行為，不以個人的利益妨害國家的公益，
不以個人的自由侵犯別人的自由，然後法律纔容易推行，社會纔課永久保持良 好的秩序。」
“Since we now know about the functions of law, in school we must obey the rules of school, and in society were must obey the laws of the nation. We must be careful about our behavior at all times and in all places. We must not allow individual gain to jeopardize the greater good of the nation. We must not allow individual freedom to infringe on the freedom of others. Only then can the law be easily carried out, and society will be able to maintain sound and lasting order.”27
Another way in which obedience is stressed is by emphasizing hierarchy, both in society and within the government itself. The lessons are organized in a way that emphasizes this fashion. First, students learn about the lower levels of societal organization, such as the bao-jia (保甲) system of community policing. This is followed by discussions of local governments, including township, county-level, municipal, and provincial-level governments. Naturally, this progression culminates in lessons concerning the central
27 Civics, Vol. 4 (1950), 16-17.
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government and the relationship between the central government and regional governments. The lesson entitled ‘The Relationship Between the Central Government and the Provincial/Muncipal Governments’ provides the best example of hierarchy. It begins with a speech on ‘The Issue of Strengthening Unification.’ The opening of the speech is as follows:
「大家要知道，要求我們的國加強盛，第一件緊要的事，就是要全國各地方一 致擁護中央政府，不得有任何違背或破壞的舉動。怎樣才可以做到這個地步呢?
就是要各省 (市) 政府切實認清它和中央政府的關係。」
“Everyone must know, in order to make our country powerful and prosperous the most crucial thing is to have the entire country unanimously support the central government. There must not be any kind of action taken that would counter or disrupt this. How to bring about such a situation? It can be done by having each provincial/municipal government clearly understand their relationship with the central government.”28
This is followed by a list of rules which govern this relationship. However, the relationship is clearly one-sided in favor of the central government. While the lower-level governments are tasked with operating autonomously within their region, their laws cannot contradict the constitution or the laws of the central government. Any laws that do so will be “rendered null without exception.”29 The lesson continues with the statement that lower-level governments must earnestly obey the directives of the central government, and any violation of these directives will result in disciplinary action being taken by the central government. Any resulting punishment must be complied with.
While there is quite a bit of discussion about the separation of powers between the central government and regional governments in the civics texts in general, there is no mention of what should happen if the central government infringes on the rights of provincial/municipal governments. The speech ends with the declaration that the country
28 Civics, Vol. 3 (1948), 11.
29 Civics, Vol. 3 (1948), 11.
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has been unified under the leadership of Chiang Kai-Shek, and that everyone must support him and the central government by strengthening this unification.
Other lessons also regularly feature governments having to answer to or having to get permission from a higher power. For instance, the lesson on organizing the bao-jia system states that any activities or elections must be reported to the local government office. The following definitions of regional autonomy from the texts further serve to illustrate the point:
「一個地方的公民依照法律的許可，在政府的監督下，組織自治，以處理地方 上的公共事務，這叫做地方自治。」
“The citizens of a region, in accordance with the permissions prescribed by law, and under the supervision of the government, organize autonomous groups in order to carry out the public affairs of a region. This is called regional autonomy.”30
「地方自治，是地方的公民，在政府監督下，。依法組織團體，制定規章，。
選舉職員，來管理本地方的公共事務。」
“Regional autonomy is when the citizens of a region, under the supervision of government and in accordance with the law, form groups, draft regulations, and elect staff to manage the public affairs of the region.”31
This emphasis on government supervision and obeying the law is clear. It also appears in just about every lesson involving the formation of local organizations. For example, the lesson entitled ‘Organization and Operation of Cooperatives’ states that the formation of the cooperative is only complete once it has been registered with the relevant managing authorities. The function of the lower levels of government is also always described in the context of carrying out orders of higher-level governments. Naturally then, all levels of
30 Civics, Vol. 2 (1948), 8.
31 Civics Textbook, Vol. 3 (1959), 9.
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government carry out the will of the central government.
All of this content serves to familiarize schoolchildren with a society that can only function when everyone follows the rules. This doesn’t just apply to individuals, but also to governments and public officials. At the time, a republic based on the rule of law was still a relatively new phenomenon in Chinese history, especially in light of the long history of absolute monarchy and officials using power to benefit themselves. Looking back at the Table Q, one can also see that lessons on the organization and functions of government are particularly concentrated in the textbooks published in 1948. During this decade the KMT was primarily concerned with unification of the mainland by employing military and political power. Whatever the case, emphasis on obedience essentially served to legitimize and strengthen the authority of the central government, and in turn, the KMT.