Entering China
Jiang Hengyuan
Jiang Hengyuan was born in 1885 in Dunlangzhuang, West Gate, Banpu Town, Haizhou (now part of Guanyun County). He entered a private school at the age of five, and his father named him Hengyuan, and the teacher named him a fisherman. After the age of fifty, they sometimes call themselves fasting. Jiang Wenyu, Huang Yanpei and Yang Weiyu were the three important leaders of the China Vocational Education Society in the 1920s, and they were well-known educators at home and abroad who advocated and promoted vocational education in China. He actively founded vocational education institutions such as Zhonghua Vocational School, Girls’ Vocational School, Vocational Tutorial School, Vocational Guidance Institute, and founded the journal “Vocational and Education”, which created a precedent for vocational education in China. Mao Zedong praised him as “old and ambitious, fair and selfless”.
Selected Documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (1939-1940) (1939-1940), entitled “Political Counselor Mao Zedong and Others Sent a Telegram to the National Political Participation Conference on the Matter of the “North China Inspection Delegation” (printed in the New China News on February 3, 1940)
Learn to serve the country, revitalize religion and save the country
Jiang Heng was born from a young and intelligent age, entered a private school at the age of 5, and went to Haizhou to take the children’s examination at the age of 15. At that time, 3,000 children took the exam at the same time, and in the end, only more than 150 people were admitted, and he stood out and ranked 61st. In the second year, he was admitted to Xiucai and was elected as a “superior student” by local school officials.In 1904, Jiang Hengyuan was admitted to Jiangsu Provincial Normal School. Two years later, he was admitted to the university’s excellent normal school to study teacher naturalism. When he graduated, Jiang Hengyuan had excellent grades and was at the top of his class, and he was retained by the school to teach. Soon after, he was concerned about the development of education in his hometown and was determined to serve Sangzi, so he resolutely returned to Haizhou and served as a naturalist teacher at Donghai Middle School. During his three years as a teacher at Donghai Middle School, Jiang Hengyuan won the respect of local people and the love of students with his profound knowledge and conscientious and responsible attitude.
Jiang Hengyuan and Huang Yanpei together
In 1912, Jiang Hengyuan was admitted to Peking University with the first place in the country. After graduating, he taught Mandarin at several universities and middle schools in Beijing, and also served as a correspondent for the newspaper in Beijing, making his mark in the field of education and journalism.
In the summer of 1924, Jiang Hengyuan was invited to return to his hometown and served as the principal of the Jiangsu Provincial Eighth Normal School in Banpu. However, during his tenure, he was constrained by the local gentry and had many inconveniences in running the school, so he left in anger half a year later and returned to Beijing to take up his post. During this period, he devoted himself to academic research and compiled and published two books, “Introduction to Ethics” and “Theory of Human Nature of Chinese Philosophers”, which aroused widespread attention and heated discussions in the academic circles.
Jiang Hengyuan is the theme of China Vocational School: dedication and happiness
In 1926, recommended by Huang Boyu and Huang Yanpei, Jiang Hengyuan served as the director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education. After taking office, he traveled all day long to Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Suzhou, Changzhou, and Songhutai to rectify the educational work in various counties. He actively raised funds for education, enriched the teaching staff, planned the construction of school buildings, formulated and improved educational regulations, and often went to the grassroots level to inspect and guide the work. Thanks to his efforts, in less than half a year, Jiangsu Province has achieved remarkable results in education.
In April 1939, the China Vocational Education Society held a work seminar in Kunming, summed up the work of the society in the past 22 years, and put forward the goal of the whole society to participate in the Anti-Japanese War and save the country. The picture shows a group photo of the participants (the fifth person from the left in the second row is Jiang Hengyuan, the sixth person is Huang Yanpei, and the fourth person from the right in the first row is Sun Qimeng)
Participate in the promotion of Guanyun to set up counties
In ancient China, there was a so-called “school field”, that is, the land occupied by academies or state and county government schools, the source of which was mainly allocated by the state or purchased by the schools themselves. The school leases these lands as fixed assets to nearby farmers for farming, and rental income is the main source of the school’s expenses. However, in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, some local gentry relied on their power to annex land and embezzle public property.
Jiang Hengyuan: “My Opinion on the Problem of Reading”
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, Yuntai Mountain in the present-day Lianyungang area was still surrounded by the sea. Around 1711, due to natural reasons such as geological changes, the sea retreated eastward, and Yuntai Mountain gradually connected with the mainland. This new land was declared as a “school field”, and after the hard work of the tenants, it became a 10,000-acre fertile land with wheat waves. However, seeing this scene, the dignitaries of Haizhou City tried in vain to encroach on this land, which led to a struggle between the gentry and the squire.
In 1904, there was a severe flood in the Haizhou area, and the countryside was short of food and starvation. However, the wealthy gentry living in Haizhou hoarded grain, drove up prices, and instigated Zhizhou to relax the ban on grain exports in order to make huge profits. This act led to the intensification of the conflict between urban and rural areas, and the antagonism between the two sides intensified, which eventually led to bloodshed. Wang Yaozhai, the governor of Haizhou, went to Banpu to appease him, and only then did he calm down.
In 1909, the water of the Yi and Shu rivers in Shandong Province swelled, and the Haizhou area, which is located downstream, was seriously affected. In order to raise funds for disaster relief, Xie Baoting, the governor of Haizhou, listened to the opinions of the “city gentry” and proposed that “all those who have property of more than 5,000 yuan are included in the list of donations” and “those who intend to be well-off should also donate their money.” This simple, crude, and one-size-fits-all method of apportionment and extortion has aroused strong dissatisfaction among many people who meet the “standards”. Chen Baichuan, a person from the southeast township, and other members of the Haizhou Consultative Bureau complained to the Jiangsu Provincial Consultative Bureau, the governor of Jiangsu, and the yamen of the governor of Liangjiang, and finally the “donation” incident ended with “the dismissal of the state pastor.”
After the Xinhai Revolution, the Jiangsu Provincial Consultative Bureau was renamed the Provisional Council, and Shao Yetian, a member of the council, held consultations with Jiang Hengyuan, Wang Zibin, Qian Zhuqiao, and other people in Banpu on the matter of partition. At this time, Jiang Hengyuan was working as a clerk in the Ministry of Industry of the Nanjing Government, and he actively participated in it, drafted a submission, carefully drew a map of the county, and accompanied Qian Zhuqiao and Wang Zibin to Suzhou, and submitted the submission and map to the Department of Civil Affairs of the Jiangsu Governor’s Office, and also stated the many benefits of the county in person, which was recognized and praised by the relevant departments. In May 1912, the county division method was officially announced by the Governor’s Office, and Guanyun County (taking the territory adjacent to the Guan River in the south and Yuntai Mountain in the north) was born.
Just and upright, the sleeves are breezy
When Jiang Hengyuan was the director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Education, Sun Chuanfang, the “commander-in-chief of the allied forces of the five provinces”, was in Nanjing. One day, Sun Chuanfang asked the provincial governor to select dozens of beautiful female students and submit them to the headquarters, claiming that they would be trained to be military spies. Jiang Hengyuan was furious after hearing this, and went straight to Sun Chuanfang’s headquarters to make an impassioned statement: “I have heard for a long time that Commander Weijia has always respected the way of Confucius and Mencius, and today he is competing to select girls to spy on the military situation, which is inevitably against his original intention, which is shocking!” Don’t you hear the words of the sages: ‘Do not do unto others as you would have them do unto you’? If my maiden is allowed to betray her lust and act as a spy, will the commander disagree? I also hope that the commander will think more about etiquette and public opinion, so as not to be controlled and ruined his reputation! Sun Chuanfang was speechless for a while, and the matter was stopped.
Jiang Hengyuan (sixth from left in the front row) and Cai Yuanpei (fourth from left in the front row), a representative of the 7th Expert Meeting of China Vocational Education Society, took a group photo.
Jiang Hengyuan himself is strict with himself and honest and honest. At that time, the monthly salary of the director of the department was 400 yuan, but he only took 300 yuan, and the office expenses were 200 yuan per month. Once, he took a train to Suzhou to inspect the situation, and the relevant departments hung up a special car for him. When he was wearing a cloth shirt, a straw hat, and a rattan bag, and went to get on the bus, the attendant said: This is Director Jiang’s special car, and he will not take passengers. He replied calmly: I am Jiang Hengyuan.
In 1927, Jiang Hengyuan was invited by Feng Yuxiang to Henan to serve as a member of the provincial government and director of education. During this period, some bureaucrats conspired to dissolve the school on the grounds that the “Provincial No. 1 Middle School” had discovered seven Communist Party members. At the provincial government meeting, he argued with reason, pointing out: “Even if this is true, there are only 7 Communist Party members among the 3,000 students of the ‘First Middle School’, which is really very small. Aren’t there often Communist Party members found in provincial government organs? If the ‘One China’ is to be dissolved, then all provincial organs should also be dissolved! After the meeting, he wrote to Feng Yuxiang, Chen said the pros and cons. After receiving the letter, Feng Yuxiang immediately replied to cancel the order to dissolve the No. 1 Provincial Middle School. Provincial No. 1 High School was preserved, and 3,000 students were spared the pain of dropping out of school.
Pioneered professional education
In 1928, Jiang Hengyuan was invited by Huang Yanpei to take over as the director of the office of the “China Vocational Education Society”, and Yang Weiyu served as the deputy director. Under his auspices, the “China Vocational Education Society” actively carried out its work and established 1 China Vocational School, which consists of engineering and business; 1 vocational school for girls was opened, with sericulture under it; Organize agricultural groups and business groups; Career guidance centers are held to train staff for society. He also edited “How to Handle Vocational Guidance” and co-authored “Vocational Education” to guide the development of vocational education.
Jiang Hengyuan: Theory and Practice of Rural Improvement
In the process of long-term vocational education, Jiang Hengyuan summarized vocational education as “seeking the development of personality, preparing for personal livelihood, preparing for personal service, and preparing for the country and the world to increase productivity”. In terms of educational methods, he repeatedly emphasized that the training of vocational skills is as important as guiding students to study current affairs and politics, and the two should not be neglected. Under the influence of its educational ideology, it has created a group of talented people with national consciousness and patriotism and professional intelligence.
After the “128” Songhu Incident, the 19th Route Army rose up to resist the Japanese invading army. Jiang Hengyuan personally led the “China Vocational Education Society” and the personnel of the agricultural and commercial groups to actively raise funds and go to the front line to express condolences to the anti-Japanese soldiers, boost morale, motivate people’s hearts, and arouse the people’s enthusiasm for resisting Japan. After the “77 Incident”, Jiang Hengyuan led the members of the “China Vocational Education Society” to move to Chongqing. During his stay in Chongqing, he overcame many difficulties, stuck to his post, and paid a lot of effort for the cause of vocational education.
Old and ambitious, fair and selfless
During his move to Chongqing, Jiang Hengyuan witnessed the reactionary corruption and passive incompetence of the Kuomintang. Through contacts with Zhou Enlai and other Communists, he gradually moved closer to the Communists and progressives, and also more clearly understood the hope of national rejuvenation and the destiny of the country. As a member of the National People’s Political Council, he spoke out at the political participation meeting, refuted all kinds of fallacies of the reactionaries, and strongly advocated the cooperation of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to face the national crisis together. However, his righteous deeds were hated by the reactionary forces, and they were ostracized and attacked.
Jiang Hengyuan took a group photo with Ma Xiangbo, Huang Yanpei and other early leaders of the China Vocational Education Society. A horse Xiangbo on the left in the front, a cold Yuqiu on the left in the back, Huang Yanpei on the left in the back, and a Sanjiang Hengyuan in the back
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Jiang Hengyuan returned to his old residence in Shanghai. The joy of victory was fleeting because of the ugly appearance of the Kuomintang reactionaries’ “robbery.” He paid close attention to the development of the current situation, and often supported and supported patriotic democrats and patriotic students in the anti-hunger, anti-persecution, and anti-American patriotic struggles despite his physical illness. In 1947, after Chiang Kai-shek was elected president, he invited him to serve as deputy minister of education, but he decisively refused.
Soon after the liberation of Shanghai, the “People’s Political Consultative Conference” was convened in Beijing, and Jiang Hengyuan gladly accepted the invitation to go north and took an active part in various activities for the founding of New China. The Central Committee was originally going to entrust him with important responsibilities in the field of education, but due to his serious illness, he was unable to do so, and in the end he only served as a member of the Central Committee for Culture and Education, while still participating in the work of leading the headquarters of the “China Vocational Education Society.” In 1954, he was elected as a deputy to the First People’s Congress of Shanghai, a member of the Shanghai Municipal Government, a librarian of the Shanghai Museum of Culture and History, and the principal of Bino Middle School and Zhonghua Vocational School.
Jiang Hengyuan’s handwriting
On February 24, 1961, Jiang Hengyuan died of illness in Shanghai, Chen Yi served as one of the funeral committees, and Huang Yanpei presided over the memorial service and spoke highly of his life. Mr. Jiang Hengyuan has dedicated his whole life to China’s education, social progress and national rejuvenation, and his achievements and spirit will forever be recorded in history and admired by future generations.
