When Shi Jing Wentong Museum was founded, its purpose was to train "translators" who knew foreign languages. With the spread of western learning to the east, the Westernization School, from a practical point of view and for the purpose of maintaining feudal rule, invited to set up an astronomical and arithmetic museum in Wentong Museum to learn astronomy, mathematics and western manufacturing technology. In the Five-year Memorial of Tongzhi, Yi Wei said, "Westerners make machines, firearms and other parts, as well as sailing and marching, all from astronomy and mathematics. At present, Shanghai, Zhejiang and other places pay attention to all kinds of ships. If you don't use real kung fu fundamentally, that is, learn fur, it is still useless. " [3] However, the feudal die-hards are accustomed to a feudal and ignorant life. They are just used to reading Confucius and Mencius and learning from Yao and Shun. They can't bear to bow their heads to foreigners for advice and learn something about dealing with people. Therefore, there was a heated debate between the Westernization School and the feudal die-hards. Westernization finally gained the upper hand.
1867, Astronomical Arithmetic Museum was merged into Wentong Museum. This shows that westernization education has gradually shifted from attaching importance to learning foreign languages and characters to paying more attention to learning western science and technology. In the following decades, the teachers and students of Tongwen Museum compiled dozens of foreign natural science books, which created conditions for other schools to offer science and technology courses in the future. Since then, the curriculum of Shi Jing Wentong Museum has been continuously expanded, and many natural science subjects have been included in the curriculum plan. The establishment of the Mathematics Museum can be said to be the beginning of China students' formal acceptance of modern western natural science, and Wentong Museum has also changed from a translation school to a practical science school. (3) (P 192) This new westernization school has some characteristics of modern European and American schools, and its educational system, educational content and educational methods have had a great influence on westernization education. It emphasizes the use of advanced scientific knowledge system to cultivate and bring up new talents, thus opening the vein of school reform in modern China.
1876, Ding Weiliang, the head teacher of Wentong Museum, developed a new eight-year curriculum for Wentong Museum. Since then, Wentong Museum has a unified curriculum and articles of association. The first five years are equivalent to middle school education, and the last three years are similar to the university level. The first three years are mainly foreign language learning, and the last five years are mainly scientific knowledge learning. The eight-year curriculum is as follows: the first year: reading and writing, interpreting sentences and books; Two years: explaining shallow books, learning grammar and translating sentences; Three years: speaking the geography of various countries, reading the history of various countries and translating selected works; Four years: mathematics enlightenment, algebra, official document translation; Five years: stress style, geometrical features, flat triangle, arc triangle, practice translating books; Six years: stress on machines, calculus, navigation calculation, and practice translating books; Seven years: focusing on chemistry, astronomical calculation and the law of nations, practicing book translation; Eight years: astronomical calculation, geography, epigraphy, Fu, practicing book translation. These courses have also been increased, decreased and revised in the implementation process. Although there is no practical western medicine course in this eight-year program, Wentong Museum has not offered lectures on medicine and physiology for four years.
As can be seen from the above schedule, the knowledge of modern western science and technology has not only been formally included in the school curriculum, but also become the most important teaching content besides foreign languages. This indicates that modern curriculum has begun to get rid of the narrow, single and outdated habit mode of traditional curriculum and gradually move closer to the advanced western curriculum system. It creates conditions for students to systematically accept modern scientific knowledge.
Judging from the process of educational practice, Wentong Museum implements annual teaching and class teaching system, and the teaching method pays more attention to the combination of theory and practice. For example, Ding Weiliang, the chief instructor, specially bought typewriters for students to practice typing, and also introduced a small telegraph transceiver from the United States to teach students to send and receive newspapers in Morse code; In order to strengthen natural science education, chemistry and physics laboratories, observatories and museums have been specially set up and equipped as places for students' experiments and internships. In addition, students of Wentong Museum are often ordered to go abroad for internships with the missions of the Qing government. By studying abroad, I broadened my knowledge and promoted my studies. Translating books is one of the important practical activities of teachers and students in Wentong Library. Teachers not only translate by themselves, but also regard translation as an important way to cultivate students' foreign language ability and improve their translation and oral ability. Among them, the representative translations are: Ding Weiliang's Mathematical Physics and Billigan's French Act; Editor-in-Chief: Ding Weiliang Law of Nations, Introduction to Wu Ge, and Fei Lizhen Astronomical Almanac. The translation and compilation of these books have played an important role in enriching teaching content and spreading western science and culture.
Tongwenguan has a complete examination system for students. There are monthly classes, quarterly exams, annual exams and three-year exams. The monthly class is at the end of each month, the quarterly exam is in February, May, August, 165438+ 10, and the annual exam is at the end of the year. The examination courses are mainly foreign languages and western studies-mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, foreign history, examination and calculation, etc. Teaching authorities and Wentong Library decide rewards and punishments according to the quality of students' examinations. In the articles of association of Shi Jing Wentong Museum, there is such a provision: "Government officials must take self-taught examinations every three years for verification and screening. According to the old practice, the excellent ones will be awarded the ranks of seven, eight and nine, while the poor ones will be demoted and studied abroad respectively. Once you pass the examination, you will be promoted and registered with the official department. Those who pass the first-level examination should be rewarded to the principal. In order to encourage students, the old practice allows them to make up for any shortcomings. " [4] (Page 29- 35)
Because the graduates of Wentong Museum can directly take up official positions, this breaks through the stereotyped imperial examination system that has been accompanied by traditional education for hundreds of years. This laid the foundation for the Qing government to reform the academy, establish a new academic system and abolish the stereotyped writing system, broke through the unity of traditional education and Confucianism, and made modern new education start from this.
Thirdly, Shi Jing Wentong Museum had a positive impact on modern science and technology education in China.
The significance of Shi Jing Wentong Museum in the history of education in China lies in its initiative. This is the beginning of China students' formal acceptance of western science and technology education. No matter what the motivation of Shi Jing Wentong Museum was, it implemented a series of reform measures in the school education of the feudal ruling class for the first time, which injected fresh blood into the traditional educational content and challenged the traditional feudal educational thought. It sounded the death knell of China's feudal traditional education and marked the rise of modern new education in China.
Since the pre-Qin period, China's traditional culture has always attached importance to the study of interpersonal relationships, but ignored the exploration of nature. In ancient China, there were also propositions about "heaven", such as "the relationship between heaven and man" and "the feeling between heaven and man" in Han Dynasty, "the unity of heaven and man" in Wei and Jin Dynasties, and "the desire between heaven and man" in Song and Ming Dynasties. However, the "heaven" here mainly does not refer to the "heaven" in the sense of natural noumenon, but the "heaven" with superstitious color and the meaning of "god", mainly to demonstrate the rationality of "personnel" and "ethics" and provide a basis or excuse for feudal education and maintaining political order [5] (P2). The theme of culture "mainly revolves around the moral relationship between man and himself, man and the collective, man and society, in which' morality' is dominant" [6]. In ancient China thinkers, although the views on values are not consistent, on the whole, advocating benevolence and morality and advocating the restoration of perfection have always been the mainstream of values [7]. Under the influence of this kind of values, teaching naturally focuses on teaching the skills of governing the country and keeping the country safe, but ignores the research and study of natural science knowledge, emphasizes principle rather than equality, and emphasizes etiquette rather than legal system. Especially after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established Confucianism as respect, the academic thought showed a situation of respecting heaven and learning from the scriptures, returning to the roots and returning to the classics, making no waves and making little changes in circuitous ways. The imperial examination system aggravated the dryness of this culture, resulting in the rigid form of education and teaching and the lack of single content. Natural science knowledge has long been rejected by orthodox education, only serving politics, and taking learning as the step of progress has become the only purpose of learning. The educational method is mainly to recite the words and chapters of ancient books and describe them into old ideas. The highest pursuit of teaching is to cultivate "gentlemen" or "saints" who conform to feudal moral and ethical standards and codes of conduct. It is precisely because this traditional humanistic education has become the mainstream of the whole society that science and technology education was not conducive to the promotion and prosperity of individuals at that time, so it was not valued by society and schools. Scientific and technological knowledge is more taught in folk life and labor practice through mentoring.
The establishment of Shi Jing Wentong Museum has changed the traditional education and training goal, which is no longer only to train bureaucrats and rulers, but mainly to train talents in translation, science and technology and military affairs. Teachers and students of Shi Jing Wentong Museum, by translating western scientific and technological knowledge, made modern scientific knowledge such as sound, light, electricity, culture and medicine squeeze into the knowledge world occupied by feudal ethics for thousands of years, which led to the change of teaching content, changed the traditional curriculum structure and initiated the school curriculum reform in modern China. It accelerated the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, made China learn from the West with practical content, trained the first batch of talents who were familiar with Western languages and arts in modern China, and provided objective conditions for the emergence and development of capitalist modern industry.
The significance of Shi Jing Wentong Museum also lies in its scientific enlightenment. China was not the birthplace of modern science, nor was it directly baptized by scientific revolution and scientific culture. Since modern times, natural science is underdeveloped, modern scientific knowledge is scarce, and scientific spirit is relatively weak. It is deeply influenced by feudal superstition and perceptual experience in ideology, so that all kinds of feudal superstitions are widely popular in daily life. Many people believe in anti-science rumors and some fallacies that go against common sense. The fundamental reason lies in the lack of scientific and cultural accomplishment. Enlightenment has at least two main points: first, to promote human nature, advocate ideological emancipation and encourage people to know boldly; The second is to spread and popularize scientific and cultural knowledge and provide ideological resources for free thinking, exploration and innovation. The idea and pursuit of Shi Jing Wentong Museum have nothing to do with enlightenment from its establishment to development, but once advanced scientific ideas and cultural knowledge are deeply rooted in people's hearts, people will naturally stay away from ignorance and gradually enter the realm of rationality, and the effect of enlightenment will naturally come unexpectedly. Perhaps this effect was unexpected by the promoters and founders of Shi Jing Wentong Museum, and even violated their original intention, but objectively it was equivalent to lighting a rational lamp to stimulate ignorance in the vast dark and dull and conservative Qing Empire. Shi Jing Wentong Library introduced and imported scientific knowledge to China by translating scientific books, and spread it through school education channels, which made more and more people in China realize the value of scientific knowledge and scientific spirit. Therefore, the establishment of Shi Jing Wentong Museum has played an enlightening role in scientific knowledge.
Zhang Baixi, founder of Shi Jing University Hall, Chinese name: Zhang Baixi Gender: Male Age: Qing Nationality: Year of Birth and Death of Han Nationality: 1847- 1907 Biography of Zhang Baixi (1847- 1907), a native of Changsha, Hunan Province, Tongzhi. He has served as Minister of Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Punishment and Ministry of Official Affairs, and 1902- 1904 served as Minister of Church Management Department of Shi Jing University. 1900 After Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing, the University Hall was occupied and destroyed, and there were no books and instruments. Schools closed and teachers and students were displaced. 1902 10 year 10 month 10 The Qing government ordered the restoration of Shi Jing University Hall and appointed Zhang Baixi, an official minister, as the minister of management. After active planning, an entrance ceremony was held on190265438+February 17, announcing the official opening of the school. 195 1 years ago, Peking University celebrated its school on February 7th, 65438. Shi Jing University of Emperor Guangxu was the earliest national university in modern China, which was founded in the 24th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1898) and was one of the "New Deal" measures of the Reform Movement of 1898. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Emperor Guangxu was interested in reforming the country and sent a letter to seek talents who could be used at home and abroad. 1896, Zuo Shilang, assistant minister of punishments, proposed to set up a university hall in Beijing on the grounds of insufficient education and lack of talents in the past. 1898 Kang Youwei reiterated this suggestion in "Please open a school discount". In June of the same year, Guangxu issued "Ding Ming Guo Zhi" and announced the holding of imperial academy Hall, "with a view to bringing forth talented people and helping the times". The Ministry of Military Affairs and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Prime Minister entrusted Liang Qichao to draft the Constitution of Shi Jing University Hall, and ordered Sun Jianai to manage the affairs of the University Hall and prepare for the construction of the school building, which started in June 5438+February. The Constitution of the University Hall consists of 8 chapters and 52 sections, which has detailed provisions on the syllabus, courses, admission, graduation background, employment of teaching and learning, and funds. The main points are as follows: ① Shi Jing University Hall is not only the institution that implements school education, but also the highest educational administrative organ in China, and all provincial schools are under the jurisdiction of the University Hall; (2) Defining the three-level system of university, middle school and primary school; (3) Make clear the educational principle of "taking middle school as the body, using western learning, and taking both Chinese and western courses to see if we can communicate"; (4) Defining the contents of general disciplines and professional disciplines; ⑤ Pay attention to instruments and equipment. According to the articles of association, special disciplines should be set up in disciplines, manufacturing, agriculture, industry, commerce, military, mining and other fields. In fact, at first, there were only four museums, namely, Poetry, Calligraphy, Yi and Li, and two museums, namely, Spring and Autumn. Each museum had more than ten people, and its nature was still the same as that of the old-style academy. 1900, imperialist Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, Shi Jing University Hall was destroyed, and school affairs stopped. 1902 School resumed (Shi Jing Wentong Hall was also merged into Shi Jing University Hall on 1902), and Zhang Baixi was appointed as the management minister, who also took charge of the acceleration and compilation departments. The crash course is divided into official school and normal school, and the preparatory course is divided into political science and art. 1903 adds a Jinshi hall, a translation institute and a medical hall. In the same year, the minister of management was changed to the minister of educational administration, in charge of national academic affairs. In addition, a Governor's College was established to take charge of the affairs of Shi Jing University Hall, and HengJia Zhang was appointed as the first Governor's College, so Shi Jing University Hall became a pure institution of higher learning. 19 10 developed into a university with seven disciplines of economy, law, literature, geography, agriculture, engineering and commerce. 19 12 was renamed Peking University.