Drawing on an abundance of primary sources as well as on the author's extensive personal experience in the Chinese school system, this book examines the evolution of non-governmental schools in China between 1895 and 1995. The author begins with an overview of private education in pre-modern China, and discusses the growth of modern private schools in the past century as part of the Chinese people's struggle for national survival. He argues that even though the government since the Late Qing period has placed a premium on education, the government never had enough resources, and private...