Evening School Journal,73 Volume One
(November 1917)
It has been half a year since the first term of our school’s evening course started. The
teaching staff are faculty members both of the Normal School and of the higher primary
school attached to it. But Mr. Zhou Weihang74 is actually in charge. The students are
divided into two classes, A and B. Each class meets two evenings a week. At the
beginning, it was very lively, with an enrollment of sixty to seventy persons. After a
while, however, the number gradually declined. There are three probable reasons for
this. First, the students have rough jobs in different places, and few have the persistence
and patience to give up their evenings. Second, because laborers do not have steady
employment, and most of the students are those who have come to the province from
various places looking for a job, when they leave their jobs and go elsewhere, they quit
the evening school. Third, the teaching staff are the faculty members from the two parts
of our school who have a heavy schedule during the daytime, and may be exhausted in
the evening, or sometimes miss classes when there is a storm, and unavoidably lose some
credit with the students. This situation is discussed in the report made by Mr. Zhou,
which may be used as a reference for further study. There are three courses: general
knowledge, arithmetic, and Chinese. Teaching materials for all three courses take the
form of lectures, which are mimeographed on loose pages lesson by lesson, because
there are new students joining the old students all the time. During the re-election of
the students’ society this term, several plans were worked out. One of them is the plan
for the evening school. At the beginning of the founding resolution, we expressed the
belief that education should be the ultimate goal for the Normal School. Under the
circumstances currently prevailing in our country, the core of our society is truly the
great majority of the people who do not have a chance to go to school. This presents a
powerful obstacle to the implementation of government policies, to organizing for selfrule, to the reform of customs, and to universal education. At this moment, therefore,
schools and education are extremely critical for creating a new generation of citizenry,
and obtaining talented people capable of promoting development. In order to fulfill
this goal, however, the obstacles have to be removed. That is one
of the reasons why we set up the evening school. The Europeans and the Americans
claim that they have universal education, but they still have evening schools, openair schools, half-day schools, and school camps. Besides, they have nurseries, special
schools for the deaf and blind, for the handicapped, and for mental patients. Even for
those who are ineducable, they will not give up, but try to find some line that they are
able to learn. Plants and trees, birds and animals all nurture and care for their own
kind. Must not human beings do the same? Little men [xiaoren] were not originally
inferior. They are not evil by nature. Some of them are out of school simply because
there is some lack in their natural endowments, or they come from less fortunate
circumstances. It is precisely for such people as these that the humane person should
show sympathy, rather than shift the responsibility to them. This is another reason
why we set up the evening school. Furthermore, we are studying education, and those
of us who are in our third and fourth years have already finished the study of theory
and started our practice teaching. So establishing this evening school as a place where
we can do our practice teaching is like an industrial school setting up a workshop, a
commercial school setting up a store, or an agricultural school setting up a farm. This
is yet another reason why we set up the evening school. An even greater incentive
lies in the extreme decadence of the schools at the present time, and the fact that
school and society constitute two poles, two things separated by a huge gulf. Upon
entering a school, the students look down on society as if they had climbed into the
heavens. Society, too, looks on the schools as something sacred and untouchable. This
mutual alienation and suspicion causes three evils. One is that the students cannot find
jobs in society. When the students approach society, society keeps them at a distance;
when the students become intimate with society, society rejects them. They can never
communicate or cooperate with each other. Another evil is that society does not send
its children to school. One reason for this is that the schools are not good, but the most
important reason is that society does not know very much about the schools. Since the
people in the schools and the people in society have in the past never communicated
or exchanged views with each other, how would society know about it even if there
were a good school? The third evil is that this situation has led to incidents, such as
the burning of schools and the blocking of funds. If these three evils can be removed,
and the misunderstandings resolved, so that society and the schools can join together,
people in society will look on the students as their eyes and ears and will rely on their
guidance to reap the benefits of prosperity and development. The students will look
on the people in society as their hands and feet, whose help will make it possible for
them to accomplish their goals. Finally, all the people in society will have graduated

from school. One part of schooling will be the small school one attends for a while,
and the whole of society will be the big school that one attends forever.75
This is the very achievement we expect will result from hundreds of years of reform
and progress, and that is another reason why we set up the evening school. When this
proposal was made, we consulted the faculty and staff of the school, not one of whom
failed to support it. Last term, the management of the evening school was therefore
turned over to the students’ society, because if the two schools76 were placed on the
same footing, it was feared there would be difficulties with the students and with the
expenses. Consequently, one of them was placed under the sole management of the
students’ society, which has continued to be involved in its organization.
November 5
So far, the number of people who have registered for the evening school has reached
102. First, we put out two advertisements. The first time, in addition to posting it in
the streets, we asked the police to distribute copies and had the students of Guomin
School77 take copies home and urge people to register, but there was no response for
a long time. The second time, apart from printing leaflets, we wrote some big posters
and put them up in conspicuous places, again without result. The total number of the
people who registered, including those who registered after our first advertisement, was
only nine. One reason is that society did not know anything about the school, and in
spite of the advertisements, people remained skeptical. The second reason is that just
putting up posters does not get the attention of the people. They paid no attention to
them, just as we pay no attention to the notices posted by the government. We asked
the police to distribute the advertisement for us, but there is some doubt as to whether
they actually did it or not. Even if they did, since people tend to see the police as severe
government officials, whom they have always feared, how could they have confidence?
The third reason is that the advertisement was not distributed widely, so the people
did not get a copy to read with their own eyes. Starting from October 3,78 we rewrote
the advertisement in the vernacular and distributed it ourselves. While distributing
the copies to the people, we also explained the advertisement to them. They liked it
very much, asking us questions one after another and shouting, “We’re going to take
evening classes!” From the area of Tongyuanju on both sides of the railway tracks to
Hongen
Temple, from Dachun Bridge on the left to Shetan Ridge and Swan Pond on the
right, six hundred copies were distributed and posted in the streets with dense coverage.
That is how, in less than three days, the number of applicants reached this figure.
In the evening, more than ten people, including faculty members of Guomin Higher
Primary School and some of the third- and fourth-year students, gathered for a meeting
to discuss how to proceed.
November 6
A notice was posted to inform the students: To all who have registered, the quota
has been filled, so you must come to school. The first class will meet in Guomin School,
attached to the Normal School, at seven o’clock in the evening, on the twenty-fifth day
of the ninth lunar month. Please bring your own brush, inkstick, and ink-slab. It is
important that everyone be present.
November 7
A meeting was held this evening to discuss how to proceed. Another twenty or more
students registered.
November 8
Twelve teachers held a conference this evening to discuss school affairs.
At the meetings on successive days, a great many matters were discussed and resolved. The main points are as follows:
1. Each class will meet for two hours three evenings a week, six hours in all. There
will be three courses: Chinese, arithmetic, and general knowledge. There will be
three hours for Chinese, an hour and a half for arithmetic, and an hour and a
half for general knowledge. Every evening, the course in general knowledge will
be taught for thirty minutes, following the Chinese and arithmetic classes. The
time schedule is shown below:
Daya
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Class
Class A
Class B
Class A
Class B
Class A
Class B
Time
One
and
a
half
hours
Chinese
Chinese
Arithmetic Arithmetic Chinese
Chinese
Chinese
Chinese
Arithmetic Arithmetic Chinese
Chinese
Half
an
hour
Geography
(General
knowledge)
Geography
(General
knowledge)
History
(General
knowledge)
History
(General
knowledge)
Science
(General
knowledge)
Science
(General
knowledge)
a The days of the week are here indicated by the characters in common use in Japan, meaning (in
order): moon, fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. This may reflect the influence of the several teachers
who had studied in Japan.

1. For the Chinese and arithmetic courses, teaching materials will be compiled by
selecting excerpts from the textbooks used in lower and higher primary schools
and from miscellaneous word books and dictionaries.
2. The division into subjects of the classes in general knowledge and the schedule
for them (lasting nine months in all, from the first day of the tenth month this
year to the thirtieth day of the sixth month next year according to the lunar
calendar) are as follows:
First three months
• History
• Geography
• Science
Middle three months
• Moral cultivation79
• Hygiene
• Industry and commerce
Last three months
• Politics and law
• Economics
• Education
1. In each class, there are two teachers for Chinese, one for arithmetic, and three
for general knowledge.
2. Each of the general knowledge teachers will be responsible for one branch of
study, with specified times allotted to the individual topics. The history class,
for instance, will be taught in the first three months; during the twelve sessions
planned, it would be possible to cover something like twelve events.

3. The general knowledge class is meant to expand the students’ general knowledge
and nurture their minds. In history, for instance, the teaching should focus on
the great events in every age and the most important incidents in recent years,
in order to nurture an historical perspective and a patriotic spirit. (In the past,
we used to learn about a number of fragments of events from legends and plays,
but there was no systematic perspective or patriotic spirit.)
4. General knowledge will emphasize content. It is better to cover less material, one
page each time. All illustrations and charts must be printed.
5. General knowledge will emphasize spirit, as distinct from Chinese and arithmetic,
which are like skills. Thus it will be the evening’s entertainment, half an hour
each time, to be taught in the form of lectures.
6. Since there is much to be taught in all these subjects of general knowledge, and
the time is limited, it is imperative to select those things that are important and
closely relevant to the students of the evening school.
7. The subjects to be taught in the Chinese class include character recognition,
writing characters (paper will be handed out), writing short essays, notes, letters,
etc.
8. The arithmetic class will concentrate at first on teaching the students how to use
the abacus; later, there will be a bit of work on how to do written sums.
9. The teaching will mostly use a spoon-feeding style, but sometimes an effort will
be made to stimulate the students’ intelligence.
10. Teaching materials will be discussed and prepared by the two instructors teaching
a given course.
11. The format of teaching materials shall always be left up to the teachers to decide.
12. The original manuscript or source of all teaching material must be preserved.
13. The instructors are responsible for the printing and preservation of the teaching
materials. They should consult with those who are doing the copying and printing
whenever necessary.
14. Those who take the reference books are responsible for their safekeeping.
November 9

Today, the evening school started classes. Yesterday afternoon, six hundred notices
were printed and posted everywhere. The faculty and staff of the evening school were
completely organized. The following is a list of their names:80
Teachers
80 All twenty-eight of the people listed below were at the time students at Hunan First Normal
School.

Class A, Chinese
Zou Yidinga Ye Zhaozhen
Monday
Friday
Class B, Chinese
Peng Zongliang
Tang Fuyan
Tuesday
Saturday
Class A, Arithmetic
Luo Zonghan
Class B, Arithmetic
Fang Wei
Class A, History
Mao Zedong
Class B, History
Shan Chuanshi
Class A, Geography
Xiao Xuexiang
Class B, Geography
Liu Daikun
Class A, Science
Zhang Chaob
Class B, Science
Zhou Mingdic
Administration
Monday
Zhang Kundi,d Deng Xianyou
Tuesday
Zhou Shizhao, Zeng Yilue
Wednesday
Li
Duanlun,
Xiao
Zhenyuan
Thursday
Sun Mohan, He Ti
Friday
Liu Zhan, Guo Yiqin
Saturday
Li Shengxie, Huang Qiansheng
Copying
Tian Siqing, Yang Shaobing
Printing
Zeng
Zhengbang,
Liao
Heng
a See the note to Zhang Kundi’s “Record of Two Talks” of September 1917.
b Zhang Chao (1892-), also known as Quanshan and Jisan, was a native of Xiangxiang, Hunan.
After graduation from First Normal School he taught at the attached primary school, and continued to
work in the educational field. Deceased.
c Zhou Mingdi (1895-), also known as Xiaosan and Xiaoyan, from Xiangtan, Hunan, went to Japan
in 1918 after graduating from First Normal School and enrolled at Tokyo Teachers’ College.
d For information on Zhang, see the note to his “Record of Two Talks with Mao Zedong” of September 1917.
e Zeng Yilu (1896-), also known as Xinghuang and Zhaizhong, was a native of Wugang, Hunan.
After graduating from First Normal School, he joined the New People’s Study Society and went to
France on the work-study program in the fall of 1919.
The program for the opening session was as follows:
1. The faculty and staff of the evening school gathered together at the Guomin
School after supper.

2. Registration.
3. The students were tested in order to divide them into two classes, Class A and
Class B, on the basis of the following criteria:
a) Write down five street names.
b) Write their home address and occupation.
c) Write their own name.
4. The faculty and staff made speeches.
5. Admission cards and regulations were distributed.
6. Dismissal.
At the same time, administrative assignments were made as follows:
Registration Zhang Chao, Li Duanlun
Testing Zou Yiding, Ye Zhaozhen,
Peng Zongliang, Tang Fuyan Class assignments Mao Zedong, Shan Chuanshi
Filling out admission cards Tian Shiqing, Yang Shaobing
At 6:30, it was almost dark. The faculty and staff of the evening school arrived at
Guomin School one after the other, the students started to come in; when all were
assembled, the test was carried out. The items for the test were written on the blackboard. Each student was provided with a piece of paper. Some of the students wrote
down everything that was required clearly and correctly; some wrote down two or
three street names, and their name and address; some were not even able to write
their names correctly. When the test was over, several people went around to inspect
and collect the tests and lead the students into the auditorium, where they sat down.
It was all finished in about one hour. All the test sheets were graded A or B, and the
students were divided into the two classes, forty-four people in Class A and forty-one
in Class B. Every test sheet was marked Class A or Class B. After that, all the students
lined up and bowed three times to the national flag and the portrait of Confucius; the
faculty, staff, and students bowed to each other once. Mr. Fang Weixia, chief dean of
the Normal School and acting head of the students’ society, delivered some words of
guidance, mainly encouraging the students to study hard by citing Zhu Maichen81 and
Li Mi82 as examples. Then Mr. Zhou Weihang, the director of the evening school, also
81 Zhu Maichen (? — 115 B.C.), zi Wengzi, was originally a poor woodcutter who read books
whenever he could take a break from his work. By diligent study, he became governor of Guiji in
Zhejiang Province, and ultimately minister of state.
82 Li Mi (582–618), zi Xuansui and Fazhu, was originally from Liaodong. Though he inherited the
title of Duke of Pushan from his father, his family was too poor to send him to school, and he earned
his living by herding cattle for other people. Every day he would hang books on the horns of the cattle
and read while riding on their backs. After participating in several rebellions, he submitted in 618 to
the founder of the Tang dynasty and was ennobled as duke. Unsatisfied with his lot, he again raised the
standard of revolt and was slain.

made a speech, explaining everything about the school. The two of them introduced
the faculty and staff of the evening school, praising them for their ability to write,
to calculate, to get things done, for their commitment to teaching, and so on. The
students assigned to Class A were called by name to pick up their admission cards and
then stood in a line on the left, across the front. The students of Class B were then
called up by name to pick up their admission cards and stand in a line on the right.
The assignment to classes having been completed, the course instruction manuals were
distributed to the students. Mao Zedong explained the items in the course instruction
manuals one by one. At the end, the whole assembly was dismissed and went out. On
this occasion, the registration went better than anyone had expected, being very lively,
yet very orderly. Of the students this time, three-tenths were thirteen- or fourteen-yearold youngsters. Some of them had gone to lower primary school for a year or two. So
many of these children who are not in school would remain illiterate forever if this
evening school did not exist to rescue them. Countless middle-aged people who had
missed the chance to finish school have also been asking permission to register since
the day before yesterday, the deadline set for registration. Because they are prevented
from doing so by the limit on the number of available slots, they are like infants, crying
to be fed.
The course instruction manual is reproduced below:
Our school has begun this evening, and class assignments have been made. Now you
are students of this evening school. In two days, next Monday (that is, on the eighth
day of the ninth month, according to the lunar calendar), you must attend classes.
Here are explanations regarding various matters:
1. The evening school is divided into two classes, A and B.
Class A will meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (i.e., on the twentyeighth
and thirtieth days of the ninth month, and the second day of the tenth month, according
to the lunar calendar, the ensuing days can be calculated similarly).
Class B will meet on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays (i.e., on the twentyninth
of the ninth month and the first and third of the tenth month, according to the lunar
calendar, and so on).
1. Classes will meet for two hours every evening, from seven to nine o’clock.
2. There are three courses, including Chinese, arithmetic, and general knowledge.
3. The teaching materials and exercise books will be provided by the school.
4. You must bring your own brush and ink-stick to class.
5. Whenever coming to class, students may dress to suit their convenience. There
is no need to dress up.

6. Every student will be issued a card for admission to classes.
7. The school has already sent a letter to the police, requesting protection. You do
not have to be afraid when you come to class or go home.
November 10
Twelve reference books were purchased. Here is the list:
The Five-Character Epigrams, Young Student’s Treasury, Children’s Letter Writing,
A Guide to Arithmetic, Chinese-Western Everyday Words, Easy Words, Elementary
Words, A Comprehensive Dictionary, A Dictionary of Four-Character Phrases, A Dictionary of Six-Character Phrases, Shortcuts You Should Know.
In addition, the following reference books were obtained from the school library the
day before yesterday:
Textbook and Teaching Method for Chinese in Lower and Higher Primary School,
sixty copies.
Textbook, and Teaching Method for Arithmetic in Higher Primary School, thirteen
copies.
Textbook and Teaching Method for History in Higher Primary School.
Textbook and Teaching Method for Geography in Higher Primary School.
Textbook and Teaching Method for Science in Higher Primary School.
After the roll call, the twelve members of the administrative staff held a meeting in
the office of the students’ society and made decisions on the following matters:
1. Four lamps will be placed in the classroom, one at the front door and one at
each of the three side doors.
2. The evening school will hire one janitor, who will be in charge of supplying tea,
and oil for the lamps, and doing other things. Guomin School will designate
another janitor to be on call when necessary.
3. The faculty and the administrative staff will go to the evening classes together,
so that the students will not be kept waiting long.
4. The administration will adopt a strict attitude, so as to strengthen the students’
trust.
5. The teaching material will be distributed by the administration, which will also
prepare a student roll book to record attendance.
6. Students will be told to shake out their rain gear, place it under their desks, and
look after it themselves.
7. The students will use the restrooms in the street when the weather is good.

8. It is the responsibility of the administration to keep an eye on the clock and ring
the bell.
9. When the work is over every evening, administrative staff should brief those on
duty the following day and turn the attendance book over to them.
November 11
Yesterday, the notice was posted: Students who have not yet registered will be
allowed to take a make-up test this evening. Assignments to Class A and Class B, as
determined the night before last, were also listed.
At seven o’clock this evening, the make-up test was conducted. Forty-four people
who had registered the night before last did not show up. Ten [new] people came
tonight.
November 12
Class A attended courses. [Blank] were present; [blank] were absent.83 Zou Yiding,
the Chinese teacher, came and taught lesson one, “Savings.” At the end, he taught four
extra sentences to the students. First he carefully explained the difficult characters and
their meanings; then he read them aloud and had the students read after him. After
this, he gave each student two sheets of exercise paper, one with a grid of square boxes.
When one hour and thirty minutes had passed, the bell rang for a ten-minute break.
Xiao Xuexiang came to conduct the general knowledge of geography class. He talked
about the main features of the five continents and distributed a map outline to each
student. Because there was so much to cover, the class ran over for about half an hour.
Zhang Kundi and Deng Xianyou were the administrative staff on duty.
The roll call was taken after the break was over (the roll call was taken at this time
because the students straggled in one after the other at the beginning of the class).
At the beginning and end of the class, students were asked to stand up and bow to
the teacher. Brief instructions were given beforehand.
At the beginning of their classes, Zou and Xiao were introduced to the students (by
Mao Zedong).
When the class was over, Mao Zedong told everybody: You must not make a lot of
noise. You should attend every class. Whoever skips class three times will be dismissed,
and the slot will be given to someone else. You may use the outside restrooms. When
it rains, you should put your rain gear under your chairs and look after it yourselves.
Today, some people did not bring their own brushes and ink-sticks. Be sure to bring
them next time. You may take the exercise paper with you and finish it at home, but
bring it here next time because it will be graded A or B.
The class lasted more than two hours. The students listened very attentively.
There were four kerosene lamps in the classroom, but two of them were not bright.
The lamps were in the four corners of the room, so it was rather dark in the middle of
the room. Another lamp should be added.
83 These two figures are missing from the original document.

Several of our classmates came to observe.
The students drank tea during the break.
During the geography class, the students were told to correct wrong characters in
their text first. The teacher drew a map on the blackboard and showed the students a
globe.
The teaching materials had not been punctuated in advance. The students added
the punctuation in class (as dictated by the teacher).
The teaching materials for the geography class were not good. The characters were
too small, and not clear.
November 13
The B class met. Forty people were present. Peng Zongliang conducted the Chinese
class, while Liu Daikun conducted the general knowledge of geography class. In the
Chinese class, lesson one was “Cheng Palace,” along with some proverbs. The geography lesson was the same as for the A class. Zhou Shizhao and Zeng Yilu were the
administrative staff on duty.
A special martial law was imposed in the provincial capital. Sentry guards were
deployed all the way to Shetan Ridge. The students were told to come to class earlier
than usual. At the same time, the school sent a written request to the provincial
government asking for protection and notified the students [of the B class] about the
various regulations, as in the case of the A class.
As the educational level of the students in the B class is rather low, most of them
do not read much Chinese.
Some students of the A class were shouting along the railway tracks after they left
school last night. The police had something to say about this, so we made a point of
warning the students of the B class about it.
November 14
The A class met. Luo Zonghan conducted the arithmetic class, explaining different
ways of calculating, the basic idea of addition, and the Arabic numerals. Mao Zedong
conducted the class in general historical knowledge and talked about the major events
of the different dynasties and the achievements of remote antiquity. Four students had
not brought their own abacuses, so we borrowed some temporarily from the primary
school. The class was dismissed half an hour early, because of the martial law. Li
Duanlun and Xiao Zhenyuan were the administrative staff on duty.
After three days of experimenting, it seems that the Chinese class is too much
and too difficult. The fact that there is too much can be remedied by reducing the
quantity of material taught; the fact that it is too difficult can be remedied by using
the common language84 instead (intermediate between spoken and classical Chinese).
The load for the general knowledge classes is also too much (meaning the written
material). Fewer written materials should be used, and in the commentary on them,
the vernacular should be employed to explain things in a few simple sentences. Don’t

--- Notes

73 The Yexue rizhi (Evening School Journal) is distinct from the Xueyouhui jishihi (Records of the
Students’ Society) from which the text dated May 29, 1918, is drawn.
74 Zhou Weihang, also known as Zhou Zhenkun, from Ningxiang, Hunan, was teaching at this time
at First Normal School, where he had formerly been a student.


75 The opposition between “little school” (xiao xuexiao) and “big school” (da xuexiao) evokes the
Chinese terms for primary school and university, but it is plain that Mao is mainly concerned with the
idea of life in society as a “great school,” which he sought to apply half a century later, during the “Great
Proletarian Cultural Revolution.”
76 I.e., the Normal School itself and the workers’ evening school.
77 As indicated below, Guomin School was the higher primary school attached to First Normal
School. Mao himself was to become principal of this school in 1920.
78 According to History of the Hunan First Provincial Normal School, published in September 1918,
this should read 30 instead of 3 (Wengao, note 3, p. 108). This fits with the ensuing text, which says
that in three days a large number of students were recruited.


79 The xiushen which Mao had studied with Yang Changji in 1913.

84 Tongsuyu.