儒家長期以來對教育改造力量的強調，在近代中提倡新國家與國民理想的過程十分重要。本文所關注的焦點，是几世紀初中國教育過程中再生產文化價值及灌輸新政治信的方式。本文透過對晚清教科書的分析，探索教育、文化與政治改造之間的關係，並檢視這種新的文類如何看待和詮釋晚清的政治現實，以及強的迫切需要如何反過來影響這些教材的社會功能與政治意涵。本文特別針對三類不同教材的起源與內容作分析：初等小學修身教科書、國民必讀與女子教科書。首先概述教科書出版者與編纂者製作這些教材的動機，然後對一些個別的課本作細密的閱讀，尤其著重在以下三個議題：它們賦予修身、教育與國族主義之間的明顯關聯性、它們探出的國民觀念中通常具有的緊張性，以及它們為中國新國民所提出的針砭。在整個分析高程中，國民理想如何形成是最中心的課題。

　　　　　The centuries-old Confucian emphasis on the transformative power of education remained central to the promotion of new national and citizenship ideals in modern China. This paper focuses on the ways the educational process served to reproduce cultural values and inculcate a new political ethos in early twentieth century China. It uses an analysis of late Qing textbooks to explore this relationship between education, culture, and political transformation, examining how late Qing political reality was conceived and interpreted through this new genre of texts and how the perceived urgency of national strengthening in turn influenced the social function and political meaning of these materials. The paper specifically analyzes the genesis and content of three different sets of materials: elementary level ethics textbooks, citizen's readers, and textbooks specifically written for girls and women. It first outlines the intent of textbook publishers and editors in producing these materials and then offers a close reading of a number of specific texts, focusing on three particular issues: the explicit connections they drew between ethics, education and nationalism; the often tension-ridden conception of citizenship which they put forward; and the precise prescriptions for China's new citizen which they promoted. Throughout the analysis, the question of how the citizenship ideal was gendered is foregrounded.