考察現存已見民國時期中小學國文教科書,可以看出,《儒林外史》《老殘游記》《水滸傳》等屬于古代小說中入選次數較多的作品。《儒林外史》入選次數最多,既與"白話文運動"密切相關,也與《儒林外史》適合青少年學生閱讀有關。《王冕的少年時代》作為入選次數最多的故事單元,即是這種背景下的結果。國文教科書主要從主題、語言、時代等角度對入選作品進行編排。從民國時期開始,在文學史、語文教科書中,《儒林外史》的節錄文字從多元化逐漸走向趨同化,這種選擇與時代對傳統文化資源的取舍密不可分。

Ancient novels such as The Scholars, The Travel Notes of Lao Can, and The Water Margin were frequently selected into Chinese textbooks for primary and secondary schools during the Republic of China period. Because The Scholars was closely related to the Vernacular Movement and catered to the taste of young students, it came to be the most frequently selected novel, and its excerpt, "The Childhood of Wang Mian," became the most frequently selected story. During the Republican period, Chinese textbooks were arranged in accordance with the theme, language, and era of each work, and editors tended to select similar rather than diversified passages from The Scholars. This phenomenon shared a close connection to the Republican period’s selection of traditional cultural resources.