allowance of formal religion in China. The constitution also stated that the Chinese population had the right to hold religious beliefs. Moreover, China has a long and rich cultural tradition in which education has played a major role. Throughout the imperial period (221 BC-AD 1912), only the educated have held positions of social and political leadership. In 124 BC the first university was established for training prospective bureaucrats in Confucian learning and the Chinese classics. Historically, however, few Chinese have been able to take the time to learn the complex language and it's associated literature. It is estimated that as late as 1949 only 20% of China's population was literate. To the Chinese Communists, this illiteracy was a stumbling block for the promotion of their political programs. Therefore, the Communists combined political propaganda with educational development. Chinese education has been strongly affected by the communism in China. Since education was for the rich and privileged during imperial age of China. One of the most ambitious programs of the Communist party has been the establishment of universal public education for their large population. In the first two years of the new government (1949-51) more than 60 million peasants enrolled in "winter schools," or sessions, established to take advantage of the slack season for agricultural workers. Mao declared that a dominant goal of education was to reduce the sense of class distinction. This was to be accomplished by reducing the social gaps between manual and mental labor, between the city and countryside residents and between the worker in the factory and the peasant on the land. After long periods of breaks and changes in policies colleges reopened in 1970-72. Admission was granted to many candidates because of their political leanings, party activities, and peer-group support. This method of selection ceased in 1977, as the Chinese launched their ...
