Chang Chih-tung

Chang Chih-tung (jäng` jûr`-dng`), 1837–1909, Chinese Ch'ing dynasty statesman and educational reformer. He occupied the high post of governor-general for over two decades, first of Guangdong and Guangxi provs. (1884–89), and later of Hunan and Hubei provs. (1889–1907). In that position he vigorously pressed the late Ch'ing self-strengthening program, establishing an arsenal, iron- and steelworks, military and naval academies, and schools of mining, agriculture, commerce, and industry. Chang encouraged the early reform movement between 1895 and 1898 (see K'ang Yu-wei), advocating a balance between study of the Chinese heritage and adoption of Western scientific and technical knowledge. In the end, however, he supported the coup of Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi against the Hundred Days' Reform (1898), convinced that K'ang was surrendering too much to Western culture. After the disastrous Boxer Uprising he urged radical educational change, including a public school system from kindergarten to university and abolition of the traditional civil service Chinese examination system. He was appointed (1907) head of the new ministry of education.

Bibliography

See W. Ayers, Chang Chih-tung and Educational Reform in China (1971).

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Zhang Zhidong

 or Chang Chih-tung

(born Sept. 2, 1837, Xingyi, Guizhou province, China—died Oct. 4, 1909) Chinese classicist and one of the foremost reformers of his time. From 1862 to 1882 he was a scholar and educational director; from 1882 to 1907 he rose from a provincial to a national leader. He supported the dowager empress Cixi, who in turn favoured him with many promotions. Concerned with rejuvenating China, he searched for a way for China to survive in the modern world that could accommodate Western knowledge but preserve traditional ways. His attempt to launch China's first iron-and-steel works failed, but he later built a railway that extended from Hankou to near Beijing, and he founded a mint, tanneries, tile and silk factories, and paper, cotton, and wool mills. In response to China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War, Zhang turned his attention to education, encouraging study abroad for Chinese students, establishment of a school system, translation of Western and Japanese books, and acquisition of knowledge from foreign newspapers. He also urged that civil service examinations be abolished, which occurred in 1905. See also Zeng Guofan.