Part III Rejuvenating Educational Undertakings
Ningbo Bang believed education was the foundation of a country and recognized relatively earlier that the national revitalization depended on the rejuvenation of education and commerce. Ningbo has the tradition of running schools by social force and donation. When the trend of absorbing western culture was gaining ground in China and new academicism began to rise, Ningbo merchants spared no efforts in setting up middle schools, technical schools and colleges in Ningbo and elsewhere. This tradition of respecting intellectuals and promoting learning has lasted until today.
1. Benefiting Local Children through Donation
Ningbo merchants have the tradition of making donations to build private village schools. The most famous donors are Cai Jun of Yinxian, who built “Xingyin School” in 1870, and Ye Chengzhong of Zhenhai, who built “Ye’s Private School”. Such schools, which admitted children from the donor’s clan or from poor families, may have changed names and sites but often developed into well-known schools and colleges today. Many renowned figures in Ningbo have received initial education in these schools and, as a result, the educational level of Ningbo merchants was higher than those in other places.
2. Advocating New Academicism and Promoting New Talents
Ningbo merchants have helped build a series of new-style schools, such as Chucai School, Chengzhong School, Jintang Normal School, and Nankai Middle School. These schools deserted old learning, promoted new learning, and focused on western science and technology, cultivating a large number of students required by the society. Meanwhile, the schools founded by Ningbonese Association, which aimed at serving the country and bringing grace to Ningbo, also scattered nationwide. In Shanghai alone there were 10 such schools.
Chengzhong School In 1900, Ye Chengzhong and other members of his clan made donations to build Chengzhong School, whose name was inscribed by Zhang Qian and whose first president was Cai Yuanpei. The school started with primary education and then expanded to include middle school education, teachers’ education and business education. It is the earliest and most famous new-style school in Shanghai in modern China and today’s Chengzhong Middle School is evolved from it. For over 100 years, the school nurtured many outstanding students, including Li Siguang, Hu Shih, Zhu Kezhen, Li Dak Sum, and Feng Zikai.
3. Project Hope Benefiting Generations
Since the launch of Project Hope in October, 1989, Ningbo merchants who have always taken “rejuvenating the country through education” as their motto have tried every means to support the program. According to the statistics provided by China Youth Development Foundation, among the overseas donors for this program, many are Ningbo merchants, among whom Chen Din Hwa and Chao An Chung rank first and second both in terms of amount and scale of donations.
4 Building Universities
People of Ningbo have long dreamed of building universities. The earliest higher education in Ningbo started with Ningbo School of Law and Political Sciences in 1906. Later, Ningbo merchants gradually built some universities in China, including Nankai University, Guanghua University, and Zhejiang University of Medical Sciences. Moreover, erudite scholars from Ningbo served and are still serving as president of such prestigious universities as the University of Nottingham, Peking University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and National Tsinghua University in Taiwan. The founding of Ningbo University is another important event in the history of Ningbo Bang.
Contribution of the Father of Nankai
Nankai University, founded by the patriotic educationist Yan Xiu, a native of Cixi, was once one of the most successful private universities in China, known to the world with its motto “Administrating the country with arts, strengthening it with sciences, and making it prosperous with commerce”. It has nurtured a large number of outstanding figures, including Chou En-lai, Shiing-Shen Chern, Ta-You Wu, and Cao Yu. Later, Yan Xiu also started Nankai Girls’ School, and Nankai Primary School, gaining him the honor of “Father of Nankai”.
Ningbo University
Ningbo University, a comprehensive local university with its name written by Deng Xiaoping, was founded by Sir Y.K. Pao. It is China’s first Hong Kong-funded university since 1978. Its foundation was laid in October 1985 and the first opening ceremony was held on November 26, 1986. It has received a lot of donations in its development from members of Ningbo Bang and K.C. Wong Education Foundation, such as Pao Yue-Kong, Run Run Shaw, Pao Hei Kit, Chao Kuang Piu, Li Dak Sum, Chao An Chung, Hans Tang, Koo Kuo Hwa, Anna Pao, and Chu Yin Lung. Over 60 people donated nearly RMB 400 million yuan for Ningbo University.
Buildings in Fudan University
Li Yip Yio Chin, Li Dak Sum’s wife, graduated from Zhendan University in Shanghai (now Fudan University). For this reason, Li Dak Sum donated 5 million yuan in 1992 for the construction of the building of the College of Administration of Fudan University, later named “Li Dak Sum Building”. Madame Li followed his husband and made a donation for the construction of Fudan Students’ Cultural Activity Center, which was later named after her.
5. Providing Scholarships to Excellent Students
In 1922, at the request of Ningbo students learning in France, Ningbo Association of Shanghai set up scholarships and stipends, opening the history of private education funds in China. In 1930, Wang Boyuan of Cixi established a scholarship after his name, setting a precedent of instituting scholarships by individuals in China. Later, K.C. Wong and Sir R.R. Shaw instituted education funds respectively, known as two biggest funds set up by individuals. Other Ningbo merchants, such as Pao Yue Kong, Chao An Chong, Chao Kuang Piu, Li Dak Sum, Ming Yu Chang, Ing Chang-ki, Nelson Ying, and Fu Zaiyuan, have also set up education funds around the world, contributing to the development of educational undertakings and the rewarding of excellent students.
K. C. Wong Education Foundation To cultivate advanced talents in science and technology and provide financial assistance to scholars from China’s mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao who go abroad for PhD degrees, post-doctoral research or academic exchanges, K. C. Wong, a native of Yinxian, set up an 100-million-dollar education foundation in Hong Kong. Academician Qian Weichang, under the recommendation of Deng Xiaoping, has been responsible for its operation. Since its establishment, the foundation has provided assistance of varied forms to over 4,000 scholars.
The Shaw Foundation and the Shaw Prize
In 1973, Run Run Shaw set up a foundation in Hong Kong aiming at helping the development of education, medical care and art. Specifically interested in education in China’s mainland, he worked together with the Ministry of Education of PRC in providing large sums of donation to mainland education every year, totaling over 3.0 billion HKD till now. The money has been used for 4,500 university and school education programs, benefiting schools in all parts of China and gaining fame all over the nation. In 2002, he set up an international prize “The Shaw Prize”, awarding people of excellent achievements in astronomy, mathematics, life science and medicine, and had Chen-Ning Franklin Yang as chairman of the evaluation committee. With a prize as high as 1 million USD and a fair and strict evaluation process, this prize is now known as “Nobel Prize in the East”.
Ing Cup Go Award
To encourage the inheritance of Go, China’s “national chess”, and enable the go match to reach its perfect realm, Ing Chang-ki, a native of Cicheng, started the Ing Cup World Professional Go Tournament in 1998 based on the new rule of “point count system” and “filling-in method” invented by himself. The tournament has now become an international event with the biggest influence and the highest award.
Orange County Science Award
In 2004, Nelson Ying, a native of Ningbo and Chairman of American Great China Group, injected funds to revitalize the dying Florida Science Award, which, therefore, changed its name to “Dr. Nelson Ying Orange County Science Award”. The World Journal said high praise for him, claiming that he was not only a charitable educationist, but a background hero for the development of middle school education in central Florida.
