Faith Seah, Dr Nan Zhiguo 

Abstract

In the 50s and 60s of the 20th Century, there were many students' movements among the Chinese schools in Singapore and Malaysia. Many scholars have explored this subject from the political perspective in the past few decades. This paper, however, attempts to pinpoint it from a more cultural-centered point of view. By examining the Chinese textbooks of that period, this paper argues that the Chinese textbooks of that period helped greatly in fostering a strong cultural tie between the students in Singapore/Malaysia and China. Students were sentimentally attached to China and Chinese culture. They were easily resentful to any gestures or policies by the Straits Settlements which put the Chinese language and culture in disadvantages. This cultural tie cultivated by the Chinese textbooks may lead to the students' loyalty to China, and eventually triggered the students' movements in the 50s and 60s of the 20th Century.

Keyword(s) : LChinese Textbooks, Students' Movements