Originally published in 1985. China is currently making a massive effort to educate its workforce in a formal and structured system. A good deal has been written about China’s attempts, since 1949, to eradicate illiteracy and to universalise primary and secondary school education but the subject of this book is an educational system established to meet the needs of those already employed whether in government, industry or agriculture.

Two study teams, sponsored by the International Council for Adult Education, visited China in 1981 to explore this educational phenomenon. Their findings, updated by subsequent ICAE visits and enriched by further reading, form the basis of this book. This is the story of the Chinese experience of developing adult education. It will be valuable to those involved in extending education in the industrialised world who are pursuing modernisation goals for people long excluded from the formal education system.