I

Adult education was known as education of workers and peasants or spare-time education. With the expansion of educational scope and diversification of educational forms, it was officially called adult education.

II

In 1949, the "Common Guiding Principles", the so - Called "provisional constitution" formulated by the First Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference put forward as follows: "Spare-time education for working people and training for in-service cadres should be strengthened". In 1950, the then Council of Government Affairs (now called the 'State Council') issued an instruction that regarded education for workers and peasants as an imperative task in the country's educational work. In order to tackle the serious situation in which illiterate people accounted for 80% of the total population, the Central People's Government issued a call for "developing literacy education and gradually reducing the illiterates". The period between 1949 and 1966 saw the take-off and development of New China's adult education. However, affected by the 10-year internal disturbances known as the "Cultural Revolution", adult education could not be normally conducted from 1966 to 1976. Since 1979 when China entered a phase of modern construction, adult education was restored quickly and developed vigorously. In 1987, the Chinese Government officially recognized that "adult education is one important component of education in our country", and "a necessary prerequisite for the contemporary social, economic development and the progress of science and technology". "The Guidelines for Educational Reform and Development in China" promulgated in 1993 pointed out:" Adult education is a new education system which plays an important role both in the development of conventional school education toward life-long education and in the continuous enhancement of the national quality and in the promotion of economic, social development".