About This Issue
Modern education in Taiwan began under Japanese rule. In the 19th century, Japan, confronted by Western powers, fully embraced a “leaving Asia, entering Europe” approach, promoting the Meiji Restoration and absorbing Western modern thought. This transformation made Japan a successful model of modernization in Asia. Yet in terms of implementing modern education, Taiwan was only a step behind, as evidenced by the educational landscape of Bunkyo Ward in Tokyo.
After the Governor-General established control over Taiwan, it implemented compulsory national education—even before Japan itself had done so—ensuring that boys and girls aged six to seventeen could attend school and acquire new knowledge. This created a novel social group: students. Educational opportunities, previously the privilege of certain classes, were now provided widely and fairly to all citizens, regardless of wealth or gender, marking a defining achievement of the new era.
Tracing Taiwan’s modern educational development, historical images from Tainan’s elementary schools vividly illustrate early Japanese colonial education. The 1919 Taiwan Education Act established a comprehensive legal framework, formally ending segregated schooling. Secondary and higher education flourished thereafter. Significant progress was seen in girls’ education, elite institutions like Taiwan High School and Taihoku Imperial University, and vocational education that influenced industrial development.
However, modernizing under colonial rule inevitably generated controversies over educational resource allocation, creating a fiercely competitive exam culture. In the 1920s, student movements advocating for the right to education emerged, echoing social enlightenment campaigns promoted by the Taiwan Cultural Association, and gradually amplifying the social influence of Taiwanese self-determination.
Unlike the Han Taiwanese, whose culture had deep connections with Japan, Taiwan’s indigenous peoples were entirely “other” in Japanese eyes. Particularly for those living in remote mountains or isolated islands, the distinct Austronesian cultures fascinated scholars, yet for governance purposes, special schools for indigenous children were implemented, bringing them under controlled exposure to modern education.
Early school sports met strong resistance due to conflicts with Confucian ideals, local customs, and notions of cultivating citizens’ bodies. Both boys and girls initially dreaded physical education. Foot-binding girls, in particular, experienced profound disruption. After nearly twenty years, boys developed a love for sports and excelled, while girls gradually freed themselves from physical constraints, becoming the “natural-foot generation,” able to compete alongside men on the world stage.
The student population’s most visible symbol was the school uniform: transitioning from traditional Taiwanese attire or kimono to Western-style clothing. High-collared jackets and sailor collars became the most emblematic images of colonial campuses. Meanwhile, new female fashions reflected broader transformations, with textbooks, newspapers, and magazines realistically capturing the inner and outer metamorphosis of women in the new era.
As the right to education became a societal consensus, visionary individuals established various social education facilities, from public libraries across the island to art institutes nurturing painters, compensating for gaps in formal schooling. Reading, whether leisure or through popular novels, shaped Taiwanese worldviews.
In 1910, the United States had two million laborers under fifteen, while in Lancashire, England, child labor rates reached 80%. Across colonial territories, child labor was systematically exploited. Against this backdrop, the idea of “everyone going to school together” in Taiwan was unimaginable. Why, then, would the colonial administration forego the young workforce? Education was an investment in the future. Motivated by expectations and hopes for the nation and its people, authorities devoted resources to ensure citizens’ learning.
Over a century, modern education profoundly shaped Taiwanese people, society, and the state, enabling Taiwan to integrate smoothly into the modern world and respond to the challenges of a new era. As the saying goes, “It takes a hundred years to cultivate a person”—looking back today, the vital role of education in nurturing talent and strengthening the nation is fully apparent.
ISBN 9772518947009 10
