Chapter 63 Education starts with dolls

We know that Li Hongzhang was a feudal scholar-bureaucrat who was strictly trained in the imperial examinations. He maintained the central position of traditional feudal culture with Confucianism as the main body. However, with the passage of time, especially the gradual understanding and contact with Western culture, compared with the harsh reality of China's backwardness and humiliation, Li Hongzhang developed from suspicion to loathing of the stereotype system.At that time, with the development of modern military industry and civilian industry, Li Hongzhang realized that in order to advance the Westernization Movement to the stage of prosperity and strength, it is necessary to cultivate talents who understand advanced Western technology.However, the original imperial examination system could no longer meet this need, so Li Hongzhang believed that it was necessary to actively advocate the reform of the imperial examination and promote education and education.Either set up a foreign school in China and hire foreign teachers to impart knowledge of natural science and engineering technology; or send Chinese students to study abroad.

As early as 1863, Li Hongzhang requested the establishment of a foreign language and literature institute in Shanghai.He said in the memorial: How can I be inferior to Westerners in China in terms of ingenuity and intelligence? If I am proficient in Western languages, I will pass it on from generation to generation, and I will gradually become proficient in all skills such as ships and firearms. help. This idea was approved by the Qing government, so Li Hongzhang selected children under the age of 14 from nearby counties in Shanghai to hire Westerners to teach foreign languages.In 1869, the museum moved to the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau and was renamed the Cantonese Dialect Museum.In the early years of Guangxu, in addition to training a group of foreign language talents, the Cantonese Dialect Institute also translated nearly a hundred books in Western languages ​​with the cooperation of Chinese scholars and foreign missionaries and scholars, of which natural sciences accounted for 47, crafts and military There are forty-five kinds of classes, and there are many works, such as "Introduction to Practical Chemistry", "Sports and Regulations", and so on.

In order to cultivate technical talents, Li Hongzhang proposed reforming the examination system in 1864, and proposed the idea of ​​setting up a special subject to obtain scholars. Li Hongzhang began to actively advocate the reform of the imperial examination system and put forward many specific opinions.Li Hongzhang listed the disadvantages of lower case test posts in "Concussions on Haiphong", and boldly put forward suggestions for using talents in an eclectic manner.In addition to traditional education, Li Hongzhang also proposed to use talents who are proficient in other subjects, such as calculation, artillery, art of war, chemistry, electrical appliances and other practical subjects.It is also proposed that in Haiphong Province, a Bureau of Oceanography should be established.However, Li Hongzhang's remarks were still opposed.

There are many obstacles to running a new type of education, and it is not difficult to imagine the difficulty of sending students abroad. Therefore, some important memorials and letters for sending students to study abroad were jointly signed by two important ministers, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, which shows that they attach great importance to this matter. The resistance to this matter is so great that it would be difficult to achieve it without the joint name of Zeng and Li. Perhaps Zeng and Li had long thought of sending students to study abroad, but they put this matter on the agenda and put it into practice because they accepted the suggestion of Yung Wing, Zeng Guofan's interpreter when dealing with the Tianjin teaching case.Yung Wing is a Cantonese. He was sponsored by American missionaries to study in the United States in his early years and graduated from Yale University.His in-depth understanding of foreign countries made him think that an important aspect of China's prosperity and strength is to send students to study abroad.Since the mid-1850s, he has been working hard on this, but he has run into walls everywhere and ended in failure.But he is not discouraged by this and has been working hard.In 1868, through Ding Richang, Governor of Jiangsu Province, he submitted a statement to the imperial court to send overseas students, but there was no response.In 1870, the Tianjin religious case occurred, Zeng Guofan was ordered to deal with it, and Yung Wing served as his interpreter.Rong Wing made full use of this opportunity, and through Ding Richang who participated in the handling of the case, proposed to Zeng Guofan a specific plan to send people to study abroad, and expressed his willingness to lead the team there.His proposal was practical, and Zeng Guofan finally agreed to it, and he and Li Hongzhang jointly played a petition to ask for permission.In the winter of 1870, the imperial court officially approved Zeng and Li's proposal on sending overseas students.

Since such matters are under the management of the Prime Minister’s Office, Zeng and Li have been in full communication with the Prime Minister’s Office. On June 26, 1871, they jointly wrote a letter to the Prime Minister’s Office, discussing the necessity of sending people to study abroad, legitimacy and feasibility.They believe that studying abroad can return home with success, so that the skills that Westerners are good at can be mastered in China, and then they can gradually strive for self-improvement. This is also in line with my emperor Xu Tu's self-improvement.There are new-style schools in China, so there is no need to spend a lot of money to send people to study abroad. They retort that setting up a bureau to create and opening a school for teaching is the foundation of revitalization, and they are far away from studying and brainstorming. also.It is impossible for China to buy all foreign warships and machines, so it can only send people out to learn. At the same time, it is also believed that seeing is worth seeing. Those who want to learn Qi language must quote ancient Chinese teachings from Zhuang Yue to strengthen their arguments.They think that although the cost of sending people to study abroad is huge, but there are 20 years, so the annual burden is not too heavy.In particular, they pointed out that Article 7 of the "Sino-US Continuation Treaty" signed by China and the United States in 1868 has long stipulated that Chinese people who want to enter the United States, large and small official schools, and learn all kinds of literature and art must take pictures of the best countries. The preferential treatment of people as a whole provides a treaty basis for studying in the United States.Of course, these students are also equipped with Chinese teachers when they are abroad, and they are taught Chinese meanings at any time, so as to know the integrity of themselves.

At the same time, they sent the 12-article constitution as an attachment for comments.In addition to funding issues, the main contents of these twelve articles are mostly about the selection, management and use of international students.It is stipulated that 30 children aged 12 or 13 will be sent to the United States every year, and a total of 120 will be sent to the United States in four years; the majors the students study must be determined by the Qing government, and the study period is 15 years. After graduation, they must return to China to wait for the government. They are not allowed to be naturalized in other countries, stay abroad or go back privately to seek another job. Among them, it is particularly important to stipulate that when studying abroad, they must still study traditional Chinese Confucian classics, and the principal and deputy supervisors will regularly gather students to preach "Sheng Yu Guang "Training" and so on, if found to have misbehavior or physical discomfort will be sent back to the country at any time.

Then Zeng and Li played several times, repeatedly emphasizing the significance of sending overseas students and proposing specific measures. Today, when people are trying every means to study abroad or send their children to study abroad, it may be hard for people to imagine the difficulty of sending overseas students at that time, and the great resistance encountered.At that time, going to the Westernization Academy in China was regarded as an insult to the ancestry of the ancestors, and going to Fanbang to worship foreign devils as teachers was considered betrayal of the ancestors, so few people were willing and daring to study abroad.

Most people at that time took taking part in the imperial examinations to gain fame, honor their ancestors, get promoted and make a fortune as the right way, but they sneered at going abroad to learn some foreign knowledge.Fifteen years of free study is also incredible.Besides, no one is willing to put their own flesh and blood in the land of tigers and wolves.Such a study abroad plan should be said to be relatively well thought out, but in the 1870s, its implementation still encountered various resistances.It goes without saying that there is resistance from the diehards in the DPRK and China, and the common people are also skeptical.

In order to complete the task of studying abroad, they have to be assigned tasks in the southeast coastal areas where the poor have always had a tradition of going abroad.In order to complete the task, some local officials even went from house to house to do persuasion work.Originally, all the expenses of going abroad were borne by the government, but there were still not many people willing to go abroad, and the local officials had to promise more benefits to these poor families.Some poor families originally signed up for their livelihood, but they heard that the barbarians in the West would skin their sons alive and stick dog skins on them to make money as a monster exhibition, so they immediately repented and canceled their registration.

As a result, the first batch of study abroad tasks with only 30 places were not completed.Yung Wing, who advocated studying abroad and was in charge of it, was very anxious, so he had to go back to his hometown of Xiangshan County, Guangdong Province to persuade and mobilize, and at the same time recruit students to study abroad in new schools in Hong Kong.Many of the first batch of overseas students have family members and relatives who have gone abroad to make a living.Later, the famous Zhan Tianyou, his father reluctantly sent him abroad.Although Zhan's family was not rich, they were not extremely poor, so Zhan Xinghong, Zhan Tianyou's father, naturally wanted him to take the right path of imperial examinations, and did not want him to study abroad at all.A neighbor of Zhan's family surnamed Tan has been working in Hong Kong for a long time and has some understanding of the Western situation. He liked the young and intelligent Zhan Tianyou very much, and urged the Zhan family to send Zhan Tianyou to study abroad.Unexpectedly, Zhan Xinghong refused outright. After Tan's repeated persuasion, and Tan also agreed to betroth his daughter to Zhan Tianyou, Zhan Xinghong reluctantly agreed to Zhan Tianyou's study abroad.

From this, it can also be seen that it was difficult for Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang to initiate the cause of studying abroad. In February 1872, Zeng and Li Zuozhun Chen Lanbin, the general manager of the Shanghai Cantonese Institute, served as a member (supervisor) of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, and Yung Wing was a deputy committee member (deputy supervisor).After careful arrangements by Yung Wing, most of the first batch of overseas children were arranged in some families in New England at first, allowing them to live and study with American children and receive good care at the same time.After all, children are children. The first batch of young children studying abroad do not have such a deep difference between China and foreign countries. They speak English, eat Western food, and quickly integrate into American families.But sojourning is not a long-term solution. In 1874, Li Hongzhang authorized Yung Wing to build a house on Collins Street in Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, as the headquarters of the Children's Education Bureau in the United States.The house was quickly repaired, and the conditions were good, with places to study, rest, and bathe. The young children had their own homes in the United States. Over time, foreign students graduated from middle school one after another, and most of them chose various engineering majors to study in accordance with Li Hongzhang's requirements.Years of living abroad have changed them a lot, and the conflict and struggle between Chinese and Western cultures have become more and more obvious in them.Some international students like the peaceful and sacred atmosphere in the church. They went to the church with their American families and were infected by Christianity and joined Christianity; They put on ties, asked them to wear sportswear like American children during sports activities, and even cut their braids secretly; bowing or other ways of showing respect; many students hope that when arranging courses, they will take more science and technology courses and less practically useful feudal ethics courses. Apart from science and technology, they prefer to read some western philosophy, History, novels, poetry and other books, Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and Boccaccio's "Decameron" are all favorite works of foreign students.As reported by The New York Times: In addition to books and the knowledge imparted by teachers, Chinese students are also influenced by American politics and Christianity, which is to be expected.It would be inconceivable to think that these bright young children are content with engineering, mathematics, and science, and that they are indifferent to the influence of American politics and society.In fact, these changes of foreign students are not contradictory to patriotism. They just want to change some old and repressed things in Chinese culture, want to see more of the world, and accept more kinds of knowledge and culture. These are very normal. , understandable. According to the needs of Westernization, Li Hongzhang actively advocated and vigorously sponsored the cause of studying abroad in China, which shows that he is different from the stubborn conservatives. He can change with the times and dare to break through the barriers of traditional Chinese culture; Ignorant, saying such absurd and ridiculous things as using loyalty as armor and propriety and righteousness as a scull, and doing things like hiding your face from foreigners to avoid them, so that Westerners can laugh at them after dinner.This is a reflection of the basic characteristics of the collision, blending, and absorption of Chinese and Western cultures in modern China, as well as the complexity and change of modern Chinese culture, reflected in Li Hongzhang and other insightful people.