The basic idea of Zhang Zhidong's "Persuading Learning" published by 1898 is that education should first teach China's traditional Confucian classics and history, which are the basis of all learning, and should be placed in a dominant position, and then learn something useful from western learning to make up for the shortcomings of middle schools. Zhang Zhidong summarized the content of middle school as classics, history, philosophy and collection, with special emphasis on "Ming Gang". He believes that the Three Cardinal Principles and the Five Permanent Principles are the origin of middle schools, so as to oppose the reformist constitutional monarchy. He summarized western learning into three parts: western history, western art and western politics. On the eve of the Reform Movement of 1898, he once again emphasized that "middle school is the body and western learning is the use", with the aim of strengthening the feudal monarchy and opposing the reform, so this idea is obviously conservative and reactionary. However, this educational thought objectively promoted the development of modern education.