Socialization to Become Citizens: Female Students’ School Life in Republican China

Chinese girls’ schools were established in Republican China under the influence of Western education. A group of young women, leaving their household, had a new social identity as “female students;” however, the presence of male teachers in schools complicated gender relationships in these schools for women. Based on oral interviews, memoirs, and newspaper articles, this paper explores the gender tensions and networks in girls’ schools in Republican China. I would argue that the female students’ interpersonal experience learned at schools differentiated them from the noble ladies in imperial times and prepared them to be a citizen in the Republican Era. Specifically, female students encountered possible courtship and romance from male teachers and established sisterhood with peer female students beyond their bloodline. On the one hand, heterosexual romance between male teachers and female students remained a taboo in girls’ schools. To protect female students from these love affairs, female school principals employed strict measures to prohibit unnecessary interactions between female students and male teachers after school hours. On the other, to compensate for the need to socialize with men, female students formed a new partnership with peer female students through lapengyou 拉朋友 (pulling friends). In addition, jiemeiban 姐妹班 (sister classes) between different grades brought up a sisterly relationship, which was influenced by Western Christianity at that time, and became lifelong companionships for these young women.