Before 1985, there were no connections between mathematics education in China and the Netherlands. Chinese scholars and educators in mathematics education had little knowledge about Professor Hans Freudenthal, the Freudenthal Institute, and Realistic Mathematics Education (RME). However, all things began to change after 1985. Professor Zehan Jiang, a famous Chinese mathematician and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences worked at Peking University, read Freudenthal’s (1973) book Mathematics as an Educational Task during his visit abroad, which gave him a new perspective on understanding mathematics education. Instead of just appreciating this book, Jiang introduced it to one of his former student Changpei Wang, whose main research interest was in mathematics education. At that time, ProfessorWang was the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics of the Beijing Institute of Education and the main goal of this faculty was doing research in mathematics education to improve teachers’ practice. In this way, Freudenthal and his book were
introduced in the field of mathematics education in China. It can be considered as the first time that mathematics education in China and RME in the Netherlands met.

Wang had taught mathematics in primary and secondary education for about 17 years. Compared to his colleagues, he had been making a greater effort to learn English. His strong interests and perseverance in learning English made it possible for him to read the English version of the book Mathematics as an Educational Task.

Wang was deeply attracted by the ideas in that book and he was extremely eager to meet the author. As the reform and openness policy in China increased, scholars were encouraged more to go abroad to learn from theworld. Therefore, the supportive political environment became an important factor in makingWang’s wish come true.
Finally, at the CIEAEM (International Commission for the Study and Improvement of Mathematics Teaching) conference in London in 1986, Wang got the opportunity to meet and talk with Freudenthal face-to-face. It was this meeting that started a new era of exchange in mathematics education between China and the Netherlands.

Voorwoord Alan Bishop:

This book is a product of love and respect. If that sounds rather odd I initially apologise, but let me explain why I use those words. The original manuscript was of course Freudenthal’s, but his colleagues have carried the project through to its conclusion with love for the man, and his ideas, and with a respect developed over years of communal effort.
Their invitation to me to write this Preface enables me to pay my respects to the great man, although I am probably incurring his wrath for writing a Preface for his book without his permission! I just hope he understands the feelings of all colleagues engaged in this particular project. Hans Freudenthal died on October 13th, 1990 when this book project was well in hand. In fact he wrote to me in April 1988, saying “I am thinking about a new book. I have got the sub-title (China Lectures) though I still lack a title”. I was astonished. He had retired in 1975, but of course he kept working. Then in 1985 we had been helping him celebrate his 80th birthday, and although I said in an Editorial Statement in Educational Studies in Mathematics (ESM) at the time “we look forward to him enjoying many more years of non-retirement” I did not expect to see another lengthy manuscript. Most people in their 80s do not aspire to write yet another book (particularly if they have already written nearly 200 previous publications in mathematics education – see the list at the end of this book).

But of course Freudenthal was not like most people, and that is one reason why this book is so important. Although it wasn’t his last piece of academic writing, it was his last major contribution to our field and it offers the reader a kind of synopsis of his perspectives. It is the definitive Freudenthal.