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| Y. C. James Yan’s popular education was focus in Chinese rural areas, which advocates the combination of education in school, society and family. 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. In the long term, they could undertake the national revolution. Yan’s thought in popular education gave new sight to Chinese rural construction at that time. |
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 trained in China and other developing countries. Yan, a Sichuanness, was world-known as the “father of world popular education” and he was named as the special lifetime counselor by the UN.
According to Chinese Confucius belief “people is the base of nation”, Yan combined the popular education with rural construction, in which he created one discovery, two inventions, three methods, four ways of education and five combinations. His complete education system was thought highly by most people. |
| One discovery |
One discovery referred to the brain power. 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. |
| Two inventions |
| After Yan discovered the great resource of brain power in China, he determined to make use of it. The two inventions, aiming at developing brain power, were popular education and rural construction. Those two inventions were complement to each other. |
| Three methods |
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. |
| Four ways of 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. |
| Five combinations |
| Yan’s popular education and rural construction theory was featured by the combination of rural reality, education and local construction environment. The farmers were expected to improve their knowledge, productivity, health and organization power through education. The five combinations referred to the combination of education and rural life, the combination of theory and practice, the combination of science and rural reality, the combination of material and mental civilization and the combination of individual and collective. |
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