ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the emergence of modern Western physical education and sport through Christian educational institutions and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in early modern China. The way in which Christian educational institutions became organized has often been seen as evidence of Western cultural imperialism, and of Christian missions' disregard of indigenous customs and values. The distinction between Westernizing Chinese civilization and Christianizing Chinese society was indeed a subtle one for the missionaries. Missionary schools applied Western enlightenment-style discipline to the lives of their students. By the end of the nineteenth century, the missionary primary school curriculum had developed sufficiently to comprise four distinct elements: the first was Christian education; the second was Chinese learning, such as Chinese literature and history; the third encompassed the disciplines of geology, history, physics and astronomy; and the fourth consisted of athletics and music. Missionary secondary schools had a more advanced teaching system and curricula.
