Preface

Engineering education is an important part of higher education. As an important type of higher education aiming at cultivating the engineering, science and technology talents, engineering education shows more and more importance in national economic and social development. The developed countries of the world all place engineering education as the foundation for future development of national economy, science and technology. In the history of great powers in the world, a high level and complete system of engineering education is undoubtedly a factor with substantial impact.

At present, the implementation of China's strategy of building an innovative country and education enhancing the country, the reform and development of engineering education is faced with new opportunities and challenges. In the era of globalization, we should have a global perspective and learn the mature education development pattern and experience from the developed countries, which is a necessary and inevitable choice. At the same time, an important task is to trace back the history, conduct longitudinal study of the history of Chinese engineering education, learn from historical experience, understand the changes from ancient to modern times, and find the direction of future from the history.

The modern Chinese engineering education emerged in the various western schools in late Qing Dynasty during Westernization Movement and has a history over 140 years. For hundreds of years, China's engineering education experienced an arduous and tortuous road: embryo, development, beginning to take shape and the great-leap-forward development. And China has become the largest engineering education country in the world. Reviewing the history of engineering education, it's clear that the modernization of Chinese engineering education is closely related to the modernization development of China.

The national modernization in China began in 1860s, followed the modernization of Chinese education. In the development process of modern education, the development of engineering education has always been one important aspect of China's education and social modernization. Speaking of its importance, the fundamental reason is that the strong power behind the social development stem from the pursuit of a prosperous country and independent modern nation. For over a hundred years, the realization of modernization and industrialization has been inseparable from the engineering education and the talents in engineering, science and technology. Chinese engineering education started from the transplantation of the education mode in western industrialized society, as a part of technology in the strategy of “learning the western technology to control the western”. The historical logic can be summarized as “enriching the country and increasing its military force—industrial development—talent education—industry education（engineering education）”. As the result, engineering education has always been attached importance in the modernization of education. For hundreds of years, no matter in which historical stage, engineering education modernization has always been an important part of the national modernization strategy. These special historical characteristics make the national goals and national planning direct power and important factors on the development of Chinese engineering education. And the university model of engineering education and its development mode was acceptance and imitation in the second half of the 19th Century when engineering education was at the initial stage, and active choice and exploration in the 20thCentury. The modernization process of Chinese engineering education gradually appears the characteristics of localization and nationalization. Therefore, compared with western developed countries, the development of Chinese engineering education has both universals and particulars.

In this book, the authors take the perspective on the relationship between the state and education, place engineering education in the historical process of China's modernization, and research the history of its development and changes in the its interaction with industrialization. This is the main line of the book. Modernization process of Chinese education is a comprehensive construction and engineering education is an integral part in the historical transformation of Chinese society from the tradition to the modern one. Therefore, the authors analyze the development of engineering education system in the construction and adjustment of the state, society, market and academic relations, to avoid the only description of the phenomenon and the trail of history of engineering education in China and lost in the vast historical data. This book focuses on the development of engineering education system, policy and education development strategy, aiming at effectively planning for system improvements and national engineering education strategies. Since the book is an exposition of the “history of the development”, it focuses on institutional change, development speed, size, structure and other indicators to analyze the complexities of the historical development and changes.

The book is divided into two parts as the year 1949 a dividing line. Part I discusses the emergence and development of modern engineering education in China, and Part II discusses contemporary engineering education development and its present status. Addition to Introduction, the book has seven chapters expanding the elaboration of specific content.

The issues and concept related to the research are defined in Introduction, which is the conceptual basis of the book and establishes discourse keynote. At the same time, the relevant research literature is reviewed, aiming at summarizing the achievements, limitations and shortcomings of previous studies. On this basis, the theoretical framework and the focus of the study are elaborated.

Chapter 1 discusses the start-up phase of China's modernization and the background motivation, and characteristics of Chinese engineering education's emergence. The characteristics and mode of Westernization Schools are analyzed taking the Fujian Naval School and Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau's Rifle School, craft school as examples.

Chapter 2 focuses on the gradual transformation of engineering education in modern China and its institutionalization the process. The time period spans from 1895 to 1927 and is divided into two parts. The first one is the post Westernization Movement period, when engineering education was developed under the influence of a variety of factors in the late Qing Dynasty. The research focuses on Guimao School System. The second is after 1912 when China began the construction of the modern capitalist period. Engineering education presented a new appearance with the development of industrialization and system changes.

Chapter 3 discusses the decade before the Anti-Japanese War which historians call the Golden Years of economic construction. The National Government implemented industrial development strategy, rectified higher education in the field of education, and implemented “Suppressing Arts Disciplines and Emphasizing Applied Sciences Policy”. Engineering education became the key areas in education development in this particular historical period. The scale, structure, quality and other aspects of engineering education all had new progress. The basic characteristics of the Chinese engineering education and diversified development mode were basically laid. The early development of engineering education in Tsinghua University is set as a case study.

Chapter 4 analyzes Anti-Japanese War period when the Nationalist Government implemented the wartime education policy focusing on three main issues in the field of higher education at that time: how to strengthen the state's overall control of higher education; how to make university courses and content in line with the actual needs of national construction; how to make geographic distribution of the colleges and universities in the country more reasonable. The government adjusted the higher education layout, reformed education and teaching system, including that of engineering education and enhanced the quality of education. Engineering education encountered hardship in wartime and had a new development trend.

Part II contains Chapter 5-7 and discusses the contemporary Chinese engineering education development course after the founding of New China, in the period of socialist modernization and the period of Reform and Opening up.

Chapter 5 expounds the reform and development issues of engineering education during 1949 to 1966 after the founding of New China. Exploration on the development mode and teaching mode of engineering education institutions in this period had accumulated a valuable asset for the development of China's engineering education reform. We still need to go back to the experience gained and lessons learned from this period of history in today's reform. The Chapter is divided into three periods according to the three themes expounded. First, the New China implemented national strategy of “achieving industrialization of the country and building a socialist nation. The government had a thorough reform of the education system, including en gineering education, and made an overall shift to the Soviet education mode. Second period focuses on the impact of departments' adjustment to the development of engineering education. Third, a decade after 1957, the exploration of engineering education in the Educational Revolution, and its policy of corrective measures and analyze the pros and cons.

Chapter 6 analyzes the Cultural Revolution decade, a special historical period in China. The engineering education developed with twists and turns, and presented a special pattern of development mode, development direction and features. Engineering education development during the Cultural Revolution and its intrinsic motivation are discussed, and the lessons are summarized.

Chapter 7 discusses the 30 years after Reform and Opening up when China's engineering education has achieved great changes and development along with the enormous economic and social change and the historic leap forward for the cause of higher education. The Chapter is divided into five thematic studies. The First is after the Reform and Opening up, the impact of country's historic transformation of modernization strategy on engineering education reform and development. The second is engineering education in the whole higher education system reform and mode changes. The third is the system analysis on the achievements of engineering education in the 30 years. The fourth is the impact of academic institutions, Academy of Engineering as the representative, on engineering education reform and development. The fifth is in the analysis on the problems and root causes in the development of engineering education, and the future direction and path of the future engineering education reform and development.

The concluding remarks of this book summarize the history of engineering education in the past hundred years, especially the 60 years of New China. The analysis focuses on the major strategic decisions of “taking a new road to industrialization” and building an innovation-oriented country in 2020. The speed and quality of social development in the future depends largely on the ability of engineering science and technology innovation, on the quality of engineering technology professionals. The authors propose that accelerating the training and fostering innovative scientists and engineers, particularly science and technology leading talents is a very urgent strategic task. Engineering education reform and development in China still has a long way to go.