Zhang Zhidong was a figure in the late Qing Dynasty who made great achievements in his life. He established new education, developed military industry and heavy industry, and made outstanding contributions to China's cultural construction. Not only that, many universities such as Wuhan University and Huanong University are the predecessors of the schools founded by Zhang Zhidong. Let's take a look at Zhang Zhidong's life.
Zhang Zhidong was born in Xingyi Prefecture in 1837, ranking fourth. Zhang Zhidong was born into an official family. His grandfather, great-grandfather, and father all passed the imperial examination and served as local officials. Zhang Zhidong has been extremely intelligent and gifted since he was a child. When he was 5 years old, he went to a private school for education. Before the age of 13, he had completed studying the Four Books and Five Classics and other Confucian classics. Not only that, he also studied other subjects such as history and economics, and even taught himself many military classics including Sun Tzu's Art of War.
In 1850, 13-year-old Zhang Zhidong returned to his hometown to take the county examination and became a scholar. At the age of 15, he took part in the provincial examination and obtained the qualification of a national scholar. 27 years old, ranked third in Jinshi. He successfully entered the Hanlin Academy and began his official career.
When the Sino-French War broke out in 1884, Zhang Zhidong served as governor of Guangdong and Guangxi and hired retired veterans to defeat the French army. In the same year, schools and colleges were established, and armed education and cultural education were jointly carried out.
From 1889 to 1907, Zhang Zhidong served as the governor of Huguang and the leader of the Westernization movement. During this period, he vigorously supported national industry. During this period, he successively established industrial enterprises such as iron factories, arsenals, coal mines, and textile layouts, and also built the Lu-Han Railway, making outstanding contributions to China's industrial development.
In 1893, Zhang Zhidong founded the Ziqiang School.
In 1898, Zhang Zhidong opposed the Reform Movement of 1898 and put forward his own theory.
In 1901, Zhang Zhidong began to vigorously support education, drafted school regulations, and founded a normal school.
In 1907, he was awarded a bachelor's degree. In the same year, he and Yuan Shikai were awarded the position of Minister of Military Affairs.
In 1909, Zhang Zhidong died at the age of 72.
Zhang Zhidong’s educational thoughts
Zhang Zhidong is an outstanding educator who has made outstanding contributions to educational reform and is also an independent thinker. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, feudal society came to an end. In the chaotic period of the late Qing Dynasty, a person appeared, that is Zhang Zhidong. He formulated a series of measures during this critical period to enable China to develop rapidly. Today we will talk about Zhang Zhidong’s achievements in education.
Zhang Zhidong promulgated the "Guimao Academic System", which is the constitution of the school in the modern academic system. The release of this academic system completely changed the imperial examination system in feudal society, and also announced the end of the 1,300-year-old imperial examination system, and ushered in a new educational mechanism.
First, Chinese and Western styles
Zhang Zhidong’s educational philosophy is to “take Chinese learning as the body and Western learning as the application”, allowing students to first study classics and history, and then build on this foundation Learn other skills to make up for their shortcomings and learn from each other's strengths.
Second, we advocate the establishment of schools at all levels around the world.
Reform the old imperial examinations and old private schools, build new schools, set up kindergartens, ordinary schools, normal schools and industrial schools, and highlight the advantages of the schools through different classifications. It is the same concept as today’s kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, high school, and then college.
3. Establish schools for workers, peasants and soldiers.
The school is not a single school, and the content is more subdivided. Schools connected with agriculture, industry, and commerce, including military schools and railroad schools, could be described in greater detail.
Zhang Zhidong’s educational philosophy is similar to the current talent training requirements. Only by solidly learning basic skills can we cultivate outstanding talents. Zhang Zhidong vigorously developed new education and became the founder of modern education.
Zhang Zhidong's calligraphy
Zhang Zhidong, also known as Xiaoda, was a figure in the Qing Dynasty, named Nan
Zhang Zhidong is not only famous for his achievements, but also in the field of calligraphy. The same is true. Zhang Zhidong's calligraphy is characterized by his vigorous, bold and unrestrained brushwork. His works are naturally rich and full of ups and downs. They are really masterpieces. The secret of Zhang Zhidong's calligraphy lies in eight characters: seeking wealth with knots and embellishment with brushwork.
Zhang Zhidong personally does not like the calligraphy of the Six Dynasties. In his opinion, the calligraphy of the Six Dynasties did not know the writing skills, and the official calligraphy was uneven. Zhang Zhidong learned calligraphy from Su Dongpo, so he was good at using flanks when creating.
While people appreciate Zhang Zhidong's calligraphy, they can also appreciate Zhang Zhidong's style of dealing with people from his calligraphy. Zhang Zhidong's behavior is as rigid as his brushwork, but he is also round, handsome and bold. So people often say that living calligraphy works can reveal a person's personality traits, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Zhang Zhidong integrated his personality charm into his calligraphy works, so his calligraphy became more vigorous and powerful. This is also the charm of Zhang Zhidong. Zhang Zhidong's artistic achievements are very high, which is closely related to the education he received since childhood. All his achievements were achieved through his step-by-step efforts.