THE SYSTEM OF ARTISTIC EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN PRESCHOOL EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Abstract

The article offers a systematic analysis of the theory and practice of arts education for preschool-aged children in institutions in the People’s Republic of China. It examines the historical and philosophical origins of the Chinese concept of aesthetic education (meiyu, 美育), which combines the Confucian tradition of the “six arts” with the Western aesthetics of Kant and Schiller and traces back to the reformist activity of Cai Yuanpei, who was the first to introduce aesthetic education into national educational policy. The author characterizes the current legal and regulatory framework of the field, from the Guidelines for Kindergarten Education (2001) and the Early Learning and Development Guidelines for Children Aged 3–6 (2012) to the Opinions on Comprehensively Strengthening Aesthetic Education (2015), the Preschool Education Law (2024), and the national education strategies of 2025. The content of the “Arts” learning area, organized around two directions – perception and appreciation, and expression and creation –is outlined, together with the logic of the age-appropriate gradation of educational goals. Leading pedagogical models, in particular “Anji Play” and comprehensive art education, the ways of integrating traditional culture, and the orientation towards the coordinated action of three environments – the preschool institution, the family, and the local community – are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the contradictions of the field: between the play-based, child-centered ideal and the pressure of early academic results, and between the orientation towards free creative expression and the standardization of content. Conclusions are drawn concerning the holistic character of the Chinese model and the opportunities for the productive use of this experience in the Ukrainian context of preschool education. Prospects for further comparative empirical research are outlined.