Engendering Children of the Resistance: Models of Gender and Scouting in China, 1919–1937

Abstract

In the 1920s and 1930s, Chinese adapted scouting, which had originally been developed to masculinize British youth as future colonial troops. While Chinese families and teachers valued scouting as a form of outdoor recreation, Chiang Kai-shek and the Guomindang after 1927 connected scouting to preparation for military training. In addition to fostering masculinity among boys, the Chinese Scouting Association also directed Girl Scouts with new models of patriotic girlhood. The Guomindang promoted the distinct femininity of the Girl Scouts and channeled girls' patriotism into nursing. As China entered World War II, Girl Scouts became significant symbols of patriotism in an increasingly militarized children's culture. The Guomindang showcased Yang Huimin, a Girl Scout and heroine in the Battle of Sihang Warehouse, as a spokesperson for the Nationalist cause, but it could not fully control her public image.

Wartime Education at the Crossroads of Empires: The Relocation of Schools to Macao During the Second World War, 1937–1945

“…46 Scouting activities in China were clearly linked with mobilisation for the War of Resistance, including the gathering of international support. 47 The Scouts of China set up wartime service corps (戰時服務團 zhanshi fuwutuan) in different provinces 48 and Macau and Hong Kong were also important locations of this wartime drive. The number of Chinese scouts there grew strong in the 1930s.…”

The Poster Child of the “Second” Cultural Revolution: Huang Shuai and Shifts in Age Consciousness, 1973–1979

“…Despite such rhetoric, however, the Chinese Boy Scouts maintained an age restriction on conscription. Doing so in order “to protect very young children from direct military combat” demonstrates that some adults believed children should be sheltered from the horrors of war (Tillman, 2014: 149–51). Alternatively, children were recruited for more “age-appropriate” labor-intensive activities such as procuring provisions, aiding the wounded, and cleaning away debris in war zones.…”