Abstract
Higher vocational and technical education came into being in China in the wake of modern industry. In the old society, when the country labored under the "three big mountains" of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism, vocational/technical education, like Chinese national industry and commerce, had a difficult time developing and barely got started. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, great strides were made in such education in the course of overall socialist construction. Nevertheless, because of "leftist" interference, the development of vocational/technical education, including higher education, sustained several setbacks. An earnest analysis of historical experiences will benefit future theory and practice in this field.