宋代有一些民間所設的學校，給予士人免費入學的機會，甚至協助他們解決食宿的問題，稱為義學。這類學校自五代、宋初即已存在，到北宋真宗、仁宗之際出現義學的稱呼。以後由於科舉社會確立，而義學可以滿足民間富家、貧家對教育的需要，因此逐漸形成一個傳統，延續了下來。自熙寧年間蘇州范氏家族以義莊為基礎，設立義學後，提供了以固定田產作為義學經濟基礎的觀念，不僅義莊、義學並設的方式為以後一些家族所取法，即使只設義學而不設義莊，也可以用固定數量的田產來支持，義學的經營因此可以比較穩定。義學到南宋已非罕見，這項教育設施所以能日益推廣，除了能滿足當時民間教育的需要，又有固定的田產來支持外，還有理想的力量在推動。義學含有推廣教化與以富資貧兩方面的理想，兩者經由富家的財力而結合，使得教化能普及更多的民眾。文人、學者闡釋義學理想較為強調其道德意義，但理想之中也會有比較偏向實益的成分，設立義學是諸多善行的一種，而行善有助於自己或子孫在舉業上的成就。在這樣的情況下，義學的教學內容也就會有不同的成分。自北宋以來，義學常以應舉為教學目標，不過對德行也已重視。到南宋理學逐漸興盛，義學的教學出現舉業與講學並存的情形。舉業在理學影響日深的情況下，在義學中仍可維持不轍，是當時科舉社會的環境所使然，而理學家在義學中講論德性知識的探求與實踐，則使得士人即使舉業無成，或無意於舉業，也無礙於進入義學來接受教育，而將所學應用於待人處世之上。義學所發揮普及教育的作用，於是更為擴大。

The purpose of this paper is to inquire into the development of charitable schools in the Sung dynasty. There are four main sections in this paper. In the first section, we explain how the charitable schools as a heritage were formed under the social environment of the Sung dynasty. Under the stimulus of the civil service examination (k’s -chu) system, the need of education in society expanded. Charitable schools satisfied this need. Secondly, we explain how the charitable school supported by the Fan's charitable estate in Soochow influenced this heritage. The Fan's charitable school provided the idea that the finances of a charitable school could be supported by the income of a certain farm estate. This idea helped to make the economic foundation of many charitable schools stably. Then, we indicate that the fact that charitable schools became popularized in the Sung dynasty can not be understood just by social economic environment. The power of the ideal must be realized. Sung scholars always interpreted the ideal with moral meanings. But, to many families and clans,the ideal also had its practical meaning. To establish a charitable school was a philanthropic act. People believed that this kind of behavior would help oneself or one's posterity to pass the civil service examination. To get a degree in the examination was the realization of the dream of one's ancestors. Last, we discuss how the civil service examination system civil service examination system and neo-Confucianism (Li-Hsueh) influenced the educational goals and curricula of charitable schools. From the Northern Sung dynasty, the principal purpose of education in charitable schools was to train students to learn how to pass the civil service examination, the curricula were arranged in this way, too. In Southern Sung dynasty, neo-Confucianism thrived, so some scholars taught the teachings of neo-Confucianism in charitable schools. They emphasized that putting moral values into practice is more important than to pass the examination. Although they trained students to learn how to pass the examination, at the same time their emphasis on moral behavior in daily life made students understand that there was a broader direction for them to study and live.