Break with Tradition

Between 1872 and 1875, one hundred and twenty Chinese youths set sail for America to acquire a Western education and vocational training. They went under a government-funded scheme supervised by the Chinese Educational Mission (CEM). In a broader sense, the CEM turned a new page in China's relations with the West as well as in its ideas about education.

Traditionally, China's relations with foreigners were driven by a deep-rooted belief in its own superiority. As Zhongguo 中国, "the Central Kingdom," and also the "Celestial Kingdom," whose Emperor claimed to be the Son of Heaven, China regarded itself as the center of civilization. Envoys from other nations were considered representatives of inferior barbarians who had to come kowtowing to the Emperor and bringing tribute to signify their submission. In past centuries, to acquire Chinese culture and learning, Japan, Korea and other countries sent thither their cohorts of scholars who were called liuxuesheng 留学生. The term roughly means "foreign-educated students," and previously only referred to foreign students coming to China. Thus, the CEM students represented the first liuxuesheng sent abroad by the Chinese Government. Because of their young age, they were known as liumei youtong 留美幼童, "the American-educated youngsters".

The CEM also marked a break with the traditional Chinese curriculum and with the method by which candidates were usually selected for government posts. For centuries, the syllabus never deviated from the Confucian Classics - memorizing them and writing formal essays on their texts and commentaries. The "standard route" of entry to a government career consisted in passing the public examinations based on this curriculum at the local, provincial and national levels. However, under the CEM scheme, after completing their training in America, the successful graduates would be given junior ranks in the civil service.

The origins of this radical scheme lay, firstly, in the conditions facing China, both externally and internally, and secondly, in the single-minded dedication of Yung Wing 容闳 (Rong Hong in Mandarin) - the man who conceived the scheme and brought it to fruition.

Country in Crisis

During the latter half of the 18th century, while the European powers were industrializing and expanding their trade and empires abroad, China largely withdrew behind its walls and age-old traditions. But by now Qing Imperial China was plagued by runaway population growth, severe shortages in land, food and resources, plus serious corruption and dysfunction in the government. Yet, it still treated Westerners as barbarians and permitted only limited trade with them in Canton, under highly restrictive regulations. Its repeated snubs of diplomatic overtures from Britain and her demands for free trade caused mounting frustration. The British found little appetite for their goods, but to satisfy the home market, they bought great quantities of tea, silk and chinaware, for which the Chinese demanded payment with silver. This trade imbalance caused an alarming fiscal deficit for the British East India Company that controlled the tea trade until 1834, and for the UK Government, which heavily relied on the import duties on this merchandise. However, by the early 1800s, this problem was solved by the importing of opium processed for smoking from their plantations in India which created huge demand and a spike in addiction amongst the Chinese populace. To get around the Chinese ban on opium, British and other foreign merchants, with the connivance of their governments and of corrupt Chinese officials, smuggled immense quantities of the drug and reaped huge profits. In 1839 when the Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu sent to stop the illegal trade impounded and destroyed over 20,000 chests of opium and interned the British traffickers in their quarters for six weeks, his tough actions touched off the so-called Opium War. Pressured by the powerful free trade advocates in manufacturing and by exporters, and lobbied by the leading opium smugglers, Jardine and Matheson back home, the UK Government dispatched a modern fighting force to impose its will.

China's first war with the West brought not only abject defeat, but also severe punishment. In the Treaty of Nanjing (1842), which ended the Opium War, followed by the Treaty of Tianjin (1858) and the Beijing Convention (1860), which ended the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the victors imposed harsh terms. Besides owing some 30 million Mexican dollars in reparation, China had to cede Hong Kong and Kowloon to Britain and open 16 Treaty Ports to British merchants. British nationals and missionaries gained the right to live and work where they pleased, while enjoying the protection of British law on Chinese soil. Britain won the right to establish a legation in Beijing and consulates in major Chinese cities. The United States, France and other Western countries quickly followed and required China to give them similar privileges, thereby seriously eroding Chinese sovereignty. But despite such a crushing defeat, the Qing Government dragged its feet in fulfilling the terms of the “unequal treaties.” This led to another armed intervention by Britain, now joined by France. In 1860, when a combined French and British force invaded Beijing, the Royal Court fled in panic to safety in Manchu territory. After trashing the Summer Palace and looting its priceless treasures, the invaders burnt it to the ground. This great calamity exposed the Qing Government to be weak and helpless in the face of the political, commercial and cultural dominance of the "foreign devils.”

This double threat facing the country impelled the more progressive officials to advocate a program of "self-strengthening." They believed that only by adopting Western techniques for making modern armaments and institutional changes could China defend itself against Western aggressors. During the 1860s, under the leadership of Prince Gong, Zeng Guofan 曾国藩, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Li Hongzhang 李鸿章, his protégé and others, reforms slowly gained ground. The new Zongli Yamen 总理衙门 (Bureau of Foreign Affairs), was opened in 1861, as well as the College of Foreign Languages in 1862 and a school of Western languages and science in 1863. Foreign works on science, mathematics, mechanics, geography, history and international law were translated to spread the knowledge of Western techniques. Zeng Guofan played a central role in these reforms, which included the creation of shipbuilding and armaments factories. In 1863, Zeng summoned the foreign-educated Yung Wing for an interview and this fateful meeting opened the way for Yung to eventually present his scheme of sending youths to be educated in America.

Yung Wing: The First Foreign University Graduate

Yung Wing (1828 -1912) came from a poor Cantonese peasant family in Nanping, near the Portuguese outpost Macao. At the age of seven he was taken into a missionary-run boarding school in Macao, which he attended for four years. After the Opium War, he resumed studies in the newly-formed Morrison Education Society School (named after Dr. Robert Morrison, 1782-1834, the first Protestant missionary to China), which in 1842 relocated to Hong Kong, the freshly-acquired British colony. The School's principal and missionary teacher was Dr. Samuel Robbins Brown (1810-1880), a graduate (1832) of Yale College. Yung distinguished himself as a bright student with considerable initiative. In 1847 Dr. Brown brought Yung and two other Chinese students back with him to complete their secondary education in America. After graduating from Monson Academy in Massachusetts, Yung entered Yale College and graduated in 1854, being the first Chinese to do so from a foreign university.

At Monson and Yale, Yung Wing received the best liberal education that America could offer. Boarding with Brown's relations at first, Yung got involved in campus and church life; he became highly Americanized, being a devout Christian, as well as an ardent believer in Western liberal thought. Nevertheless, he keenly felt for "the lamentable condition of China.” During his final year, he pledged:

Following his interview with Zeng Guofan, Yung entered government service and in 1864 returned to the U.S. to purchase machinery for Zeng's new Jiangnan Arsenal. Soon after this endeavour, Yung's educational scheme for sending youths to America gained Zeng's strong support. Due to unforeseen setbacks, the memorial to recommend the scheme, jointly signed by Zeng and Li Hongzhang, could not be presented to the Throne until 1871. Unfortunately, Zeng died in March 1872, two months before official approval was secured, leaving Li Hongzhang to oversee its implementation.

Mission Approved

The Government's choice of the United States as the destination was largely due to the Burlingame-Seward Treaty of 1868. This was a pact signed by the American diplomat Anson Burlingame (1820-1870) serving as the plenipotentiary for China, and William Seward (1801-1872) for the USA. Unlike other treaties with the Western powers, this treaty put China and the U.S. on equal footing and thus assured the Qing Government of American goodwill. In particular, Article VII had a specific provision allowing the citizens of each country the reciprocal right to "enjoy all the privileges of the public educational institutions" in the other country.

The final plan of the CEM contained these main elements:

• 120 boys aged between 11 and 15 will be selected for aptitude and character to study in America, in batches of 30 per year, for 15 years, including training in military and technical arts;
• While in America, they will continue their Chinese studies, observe traditional rituals and pay homage to the Emperor;
• All educational and living expenses will be paid for by the Government;
• After training, candidates will enter government service, and will not be permitted to stay or seek naturalization in America, or seek other employment;
• The scheme will be administered by the Chinese Educational Mission (also known as Commission) - with an office in Shanghai to recruit students, and another in America as administrative center and for Chinese lessons;
• The Mission will be headed by Commissioner Chen Lanbin 陈兰彬, a conservative Confucian scholar, and Deputy Commissioner Yung Wing, leading a staff of two Chinese teachers, one translator and support staff.

Despite the generous terms of the Government's offer, there was little interest among the wealthier families from the capital and main cities in China. This was probably owing to the entrenched prejudice against foreign countries and also to the 15-year commitment required. To fill the quota, Yung Wing personally went to recruit students in Guangdong Province, especially the coastal communities, whence the Chinese had traditionally emigrated overseas and where the population was more aware of the advantages of a Western education. The breakdown of the 120 students by province was:

In summer 1871, the CEM set up a preparatory school in Shanghai. There the students were taught both English and Chinese, tested and screened, and only the best were selected to go abroad. Yung Wing travelled some weeks ahead of them to make preparations for their placement in New England schools. On August 11, 1872, the first detachment of 30 boys departed from Shanghai on their epoch-making voyage.

B.A.C.

NOTES

1. Yung Wing (1909), 40- 41.