The Success of Apprenticeships

22The Chinese Apprenticeship Model: The Spirit of Craftsmanship

22.1. A historical overview

The apprenticeship system in China dates back to the Qin dynasty (200 BC). This is where the first traces of vocational training in China come from (Yang and Su 2016). Apprenticeships have developed and transformed throughout history in the interaction between the master and the apprentice, in a bottom-up manner. Given a lack of regulation at the national level, the various masters and trades have implemented their explicit or implicit ways of practicing apprenticeships, thereby shaping the apprenticeship culture in their own way. Moreover, the importance of Guanxi (social networks or social ties) in Chinese culture has strengthened the master–apprentice relationship, with the master usually having authoritarian power, as well as a profound sense of responsibility for the apprentice. Although practices have varied between individuals and trades, the “spirit of craftsmanship” has gradually become the recognized essence of apprenticeships in China. The practice of apprenticeships in this country has therefore carried Confucian values with it, while reflecting the cultural specificity of morality and the profession.

This chapter first explores the cultural elements of the Chinese apprenticeships in two aspects of morality and the profession. It will then present the Chinese model of modern apprenticeships, developed under the regulation of the government. The chapter concludes with implications ...