Learning from others: Japan's role in bringing psychology to China

Abstract

Recent research by Chinese and Japanese historians of psychology and education suggests that it was educational reformers' copying of Japan's education system in the 1st decade of the 20th century that provided the context for developing modern psychology in China. Psychology, although not well understood by those reformers, was thought to be useful in teacher training. In 1902 Japanese psychology teachers came to China and some textbooks were translated. Chinese students studying in Japan also brought back psychological knowledge in translations. However, the Chinese attraction to study in Japan declined after 1906. As the United States opened new universities and provided opportunities for Chinese students to study in U.S. schools, it became a more attractive option for later generations of Chinese, who saw psychology become established as a separate discipline.