函授

• Pinyin: hán shòu
• Hanzi breakdown: 函 = 凵 (container) + 彐 (bristle) — a container for letters; 授 = 扌(hand) + 受 (receive) — hand over knowledge

Meaning

Correspondence education; distance learning delivered through written materials and postal or digital communication.

A form of continuing education prominent in China from the 1950s through the 1990s, allowing workers and rural residents to earn degrees without attending full-time. Modern equivalents include online learning, but 函授 retains its specific institutional meaning in Chinese higher education administration.

Examples

1. 他通过函授课程在职自学，历时四年终于取得了大学本科学历，为日后的职业晋升奠定了基础。 He completed a four-year correspondence program while working, eventually earning a bachelor's degree and laying the foundation for later promotion.
2. 该校提供函授学习项目，允许在职人员在不影响工作的前提下系统学习相关专业知识。 The school offers correspondence programs that let working professionals study systematically without affecting their jobs.
3. 函授教育在交通不便的偏远地区曾发挥了极为重要的作用，帮助许多人获得了接受高等教育的机会。 Correspondence education once played an extremely important role in remote areas with poor transportation, helping many people gain access to higher education.

Usage Guide

Context: education, continuing education, academic administration

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他报名参加了省级函授学院的会计专业课程，利用业余时间系统地学习专业知识。(He enrolled in an accounting programme at a provincial correspondence college, systematically studying the subject in his spare time.)
• 随着网络教育的普及，传统的函授方式逐渐被在线学习平台所取代，但其教育理念依然具有重要价值。(As online education has become widespread, traditional correspondence learning has gradually been replaced by e-learning platforms, though its educational philosophy retains important value.)

Don't Say

• 函授 for any informal self-study — 函授 refers specifically to accredited distance education programmes; for self-study use 自学

Origin & History

函 (letter, written correspondence) + 授 (to teach, to impart) — teaching through written letters

Cultural Context

Era: Modern (1950s–present)

Generation: Older adults familiar with pre-internet era

Social background: Working class, rural