Chapter 250 Xuhui Public School
Zhang Xingjiu also saw several members of the Zhou family at the wedding. In fact, Zhou Guizhen and A Zhang were also members of the same big family. In fact, A Zhang and Fei Fei were also relatives.
Feifei and A Zhang both belong to the Zhou family in Shaoxing. Feifei is the 32nd generation of Zhou Tao, the second son of Zhou Dunyi, while A Zhang is the 31st generation of Zhou Tao, the second son of Zhou Dunyi. If we calculate according to seniority, A Zhang would be Feifei's uncle.
Many years later, when Feifei met A Zhang's third brother, she mentioned this relationship and called A Zhang's third brother uncle.
Moreover, their relationship goes beyond this level. A Zhang's mother, Lu Rui, is the cousin of Fei Fei's grandmother. Their two families can be said to be doubly related, whether from the father's side or the mother's side.
After attending the wedding and returning home, Zhang Xingjiu thought for a whole night and finally decided on his future plans. He did not intend to get involved in military and political affairs, but he could make a small contribution to China in science.
First learn the scientific knowledge of this period, use the later knowledge in your mind to build a name and establish a certain reputation, and then go to university to train students, so that when Feifei and his partners take charge of the country in the future, these students will also be able to contribute to the country's development.
However, it is not easy to learn Western knowledge now. Sheng Xuanhuai will establish the Beiyang Western Learning School in Tianjin next year. However, the school has strict admission requirements and requires a certain foundation in Western knowledge. The courses offered are also not very reasonable. There are only four subjects: law, civil engineering, mining and metallurgy, and mechanical engineering. These are not what Zhang Xingjiu wants to study.
The other Western-style universities were opened even later. The Imperial University of Peking was not opened until four years later, and the Shanxi University was not opened until ten years later.
After weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Xingjiu felt that it was a bit too late to wait until the Imperial University of Peking was established. He planned to study abroad. For a long time to come, overseas study experience would be very popular. If he could gild himself, it would be easier for him to get a job at a university.
There were several main ways to study abroad in the late Qing Dynasty. The first was to send young Chinese students to study in the United States. From 1872 to 1875, at the initiative of Yung Wing and with the support of Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, the Qin court sent four batches of 120 students to study in the United States, but this has now been stopped.
This was followed by a trend of studying in Japan. The disastrous defeat in the naval battle greatly stimulated Chinese intellectuals and reformists. The calls for Westernization and reform grew increasingly louder, and a large number of students went to Japan, hoping to learn modern experience and knowledge from their suddenly rising eastern neighbor.
A Zhang was influenced by this trend and chose to go to Japan, but Zhang Xingjiu didn't think much of Japan. Since he wanted to gild himself, it would naturally be better to go to Europe and the United States.
The third wave came more than ten years later, when the U.S. Congress passed a bill authorizing President Roosevelt to return to China the portion of the Boxer Indemnity that exceeded the actual losses of the United States, and use the money to help China run schools and fund Chinese students to study in the United States.
After that, Britain, Japan and France all followed the example of the United States and returned part of the Boxer Indemnity to establish higher education in China, thus forming a special study abroad activity that lasted for nearly half a century - the Boxer Indemnity Study Abroad.
Mei Yiqi, who later became the lifelong president of Tsinghua University, Jin Bangzheng, president of Beijing Higher Agricultural School, Hu Gangfu, one of the founders of modern physics in China, Zhang Zigao, the pioneer of modern chemistry in China, and Xu Peihuang, who was elected president of the Chinese Society of Engineers, all went abroad to study in this way.
However, the time for the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship was too late and Zhang Xingjiu could not wait any longer. Fortunately, there was still a way to study abroad, which was to go at his own expense.
Zhang Xingjiu had no shortage of money. Now that he had the status of a scholar, it would not cause too much trouble for him to take out some money. When he arrived in Europe and the United States, he was confident that he would get a scholarship, which would be enough to support his study abroad expenses.
But studying abroad is not just about having money, you also need connections, at least someone to introduce you, so that you can get the qualifications to pay for admission. There are no study abroad agencies now, and these channels are often in the hands of foreigners with relatively high social status.
For example, envoys from various countries stationed in China, scholars who come to spread knowledge, missionaries, etc., only if you gain their trust first, will you have the opportunity to get letters of introduction from them and go to study in Europe and the United States.
Shaoxing now has churches and missionaries. French missionary Liu Anduo built Joseph Church near Baji Bridge in Shaoxing, and it has been presided over by foreign missionaries ever since.
Zhang Xingjiu decided to go to Baji Bridge to find a missionary to inquire about the news. He concealed his identity, sneaked into the church, and found the priest to ask. When the priest heard that he wanted to study in Europe and the United States, he was immediately excited.
Since they arrived in Shaoxing, they could only rely on giving away rice for free to attract some lower-class people to join the church. Few educated people were interested in the church. Now some people actually wanted to study abroad? This was simply a treasure sent by God.
The priest immediately introduced Zhang Xingjiu to an opportunity. More than 40 years ago, the Jesuit missionary Nan Gelu founded a new school in the XH district of Shanghai, named St. Ignatius School.
Although it is a church school, students are not forced to convert, and the courses taught are mostly French, Latin, music, art, science, etc.
"If you can achieve excellent results and are able to afford the cost of studying abroad, I think there will be someone willing to recommend you to study in Europe. If your grades are exceptionally good, you may be able to find a sponsor." The missionary described a beautiful picture to Zhang Xingjiu.
It’s settled. This school perfectly suits his needs. Zhang Xingjiu immediately asked him to help write a letter of recommendation. The missionary readily agreed and immediately wrote the letter in Chinese and Latin and handed it to Zhang Xingjiu.
In the next few days, Zhang Xingjiu first asked for leave from the academy on the grounds of going out to study, then persuaded his family, and asked familiar scholars such as Wang Ziyu to help take care of the family while he was away.
He really didn't dare to ask Xu Xilin for help, otherwise he would be implicated if something happened in the future.
I went to visit Zhou's house again, and said goodbye to Mr. Shou and his son at Sanwei Bookstore. Then I boarded a passenger ship to Hangzhou, and changed to another passenger ship in Hangzhou. The high-speed rail in later times only takes an hour and a half to get there, but it took me several days to get there.
After arriving in Shanghai, I first found an inn to rest and wash up, then I called a rickshaw to Xujiahui St. Ignatius School.
After arriving at the destination and getting off the rickshaw, Zhang Xingjiu felt that the school looked more and more familiar to him. Although it was somewhat different from the buildings in later generations, Zhang Xingjiu quickly recognized the school based on the existing buildings.
Isn’t this the Xuhui Public School of the future?
(End of this chapter)
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