The historical status of Mawei Shipbuilding School

The imperial examination system, which has been passed down for thousands of years, was the most important way for Chinese intellectuals to get ahead and enter the upper class in the feudal era.

The education system of the entire society is built around this system.

From the Imperial College to county schools, and even private academies and private schools, the goal of running schools is to pass the exam.

When the format of the imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties became the eight-legged art, the minds of young scholars were completely imprisoned, and any lively natural science knowledge became an unrefined side sect. As a result, China's scientific and technological development has shrunk in recent hundreds of years.

Before the Opium War, modern scholars advocated practical management of the world.

After the war, Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan advocated "learning from the barbarians and developing skills to control the barbarians."

During the Westernization Movement, natural science and military technology began to receive attention, and new military academies came into being.

Fujian Shipping School is the first naval school in modern China.

Its establishment was almost at the same time as the establishment of the Shipping Bureau.

The founder is Zuo Zongtang.

When the school started enrolling students, it was envisaged that the students would mainly be local students who were smart and proficient in writing.

However, in the context of the era when the imperial examination was prevalent, this unprecedented military technical school was not very attractive to scholars, so the enrollment was later expanded to Guangdong and Hong Kong.

Applicants must fill in the name of the three generations, their occupation, the recommender’s achievements and experience, fill in the guarantee form, and obtain a letter of guarantee from his father, brother and himself.

The question in the first admissions examination was "On the theory of filial piety and lifelong admiration for parents."

Those who applied for the exam at that time were mainly people from poor families.

Secondly, there are the children of families and businessmen who have been influenced by foreign countries, and students of foreign schools.

Yan Zongguang (later renamed Yan Fu) from Fujian, who won the first place in the examination, has a very representative life experience.

Both generations of Yan Zongguang’s father and ancestors were traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.

He attended a private school since he was a child, and with his father's guidance, he laid a good academic foundation.

Soon after, his father died of an infection while rescuing cholera patients, and the family suffered a sudden decline.

I heard that all food, clothing, and housing at the Shipping School were provided by the government, and there was a monthly subsidy of four taels of silver, so I decided to sign up.

Yan Zongguang’s uncle was a juren, and the mother and son asked him to be their guarantee. The juren had no good impression of this new school and immediately refused. Later, they had to fill out the guarantee form privately without telling him, which even caused a dispute. quarrel.

Zong Guang and his mother had no choice but to cry and beg, before the matter was settled.

When Yan Zongguang faced the test questions during the exam, he was moved by the scene, and the article was naturally written with emotion and richness, which was greatly appreciated by Shen Baozhen.

This time, dozens of people, including Yan Zongguang, Luo Fenglu, Lin Taizeng, Liu Buchan, Fang Boqian, Lin Yongsheng, Huang Jianxun, Jiang Chaoying, Ye Zugui, Qiu Baoren, He Xinchuan, etc., were admitted, and they were about 12 to 15 years old. .

In addition, Zhang Cheng, Lu Han, Deng Shichang, Ye Fu, Lin Guoxiang, etc. were recruited from Hong Kong. They have all learned English and have a good foundation.

On January 6, 1867, the school officially opened.

At this time, the school building was not completed, so the vacant room of Dingguang Temple (Baita Temple) in the south of the city was used as a classroom.

In the ancient temple with drums and bells in the evening and morning bells, the sound of reciting A, B, C, and D floated out.

It irrefutably announces the beginning of a new era.

In addition to Baita Temple, the school has also set up temporary school buildings on Xianta Street and Abelshun Bungalow.

Soon after, the Shipping Bureau completed its new school in Mawei, and students from the three places were moved in together.

The school is divided into two parts. The former school teaches classes in French, including manufacturing majors and design majors.

The manufacturing major is the main major of the former school, and its training direction is mainly for the design and manufacturing of ship hulls and steam engines.

The design major is a Japanese-Italian term. It is called the "Painting Academy" in Chinese literature, and its goal is to train draftsmen.

The post-school courses are taught in English, including driving majors and engineering (engineering) majors.

It trained a large number of officers for the later naval career.

The school also has an art garden to train skilled workers.

After the Shipbuilding School is officially opened, it will recruit students from all over the country, and both Manchu and Han nationalities can apply.

But apart from Fujian and Guangdong provinces, there are only one or two students from other provinces.

People from Guangdong and other provinces mainly sign up to learn driving.

Those who study manufacturing are all Fujianese.

Even in the driving class, Fujianese make up the majority.

This is naturally because the school is located in Fujian, and Fujian is located on the coast, so it was the first to get popular.

Later, Fujianese not only spread throughout the navy, but other naval schools were also hosted by Fujianese or people related to the Shipping Bureau.

In the old Chinese navy, Fujianese were the most numerous.

Fujian people recommend and quote each other, which has certain positive significance for the development of the navy. However, forming a small circle and excluding non-Fujian people has a strong color of feudal regional group, so it is called As "Fujian Party".

In the autumn of 1874, the British warship "Lapwing" visited Mawei.

Naval officer Shour recorded the scene of the shipbuilding school he saw at that time, which can generally reflect the situation of the early shipbuilding school:

"On the day I visited the school, the students were about Fifty people, the first class is doing algebra homework and simple equations.

The second class is studying Euclidean geometry under the guidance of a teacher trained by the school.

Both classes are taught in English.

The propositions are first written on the blackboard, and then students are assigned to perform calculations and deductions at each stage. After the work on the examples is completed, they are copied into a beautiful book. , for future reference.

I checked out a few of them and was impressed by their neatness.

Some of the dictated titles are in capital letters.

When we think about the difference between the Chinese characters written with a brush and the pinyin language written horizontally with a pen, we know that this is an extraordinary thing

Students go to school for six hours a day. But a lot of homework is done in their own rooms outside of class.

Some of the students are from Guangzhou and Hong Kong, and some are from Fuzhou. These people from the south are often the smartest young people, but the disadvantage of their work is that they do not understand Mandarin; if they do not understand Mandarin, they have no hope of promotion in the ***

Therefore, they work every day. Spend some time learning Mandarin with a qualified local teacher... The way to recruit students to the Naval Academy is to post notices in all obvious places in Fuzhou City

The required age is under sixteen years old, but this is not the case. It is very strictly enforced, because some students recruited from Hong Kong advertisements are over 20 years old.

Students who sign up are given a test on Chinese classics.

Until then. Recently, the school has not admitted students who do not have considerable knowledge of their country's classics and literature.

Mr. Galler's duties do not extend to the students' private quarters. Managed by officials.

Students in Guangzhou and Fuzhou live separately and use different cooks.

Mr. Jia Leer praised these students and said that their diligence and concentration may exceed those in the UK. students.

Because they worked tenaciously regardless of whether he was present or not.

In terms of intelligence, they were on par with Western students. In other aspects, they are far inferior to the latter.

They are weak and small characters, with no spirit or ambition at all, and are somewhat heroine-like.

This is naturally caused by the way of upbringing.

After class, they just walk around in a daze, or do their homework, never exercise, and they don't know how to entertain.

Generally speaking, staying in a Buddhist shrine is more suitable for their tastes than doing security work at sea. "

In addition to modern scientific knowledge, we must also learn traditional culture.

Shen Baozhen said: "Every day outside class, we are required to read "The Holy Edict" and "The Classic of Filial Piety". At the same time, study policy and theory, and use clear principles... If you want to learn skills, you must rely on smart people. However, in the world, there are often fools who still follow the rules. Smart people, if they do not follow the standard, they will easily fall into strange evils.

In today’s affairs, it is possible to use Chinese thinking to adapt to foreign skills, but it is not possible to use foreign habits to change Chinese temperament.

There will be no long-lasting success if you keep your children in danger.

In the future, in astronomy, algorithms and other matters, can we strive for excellence and precision? It’s important to be careful when starting out, so we have to talk about it.

"This is an early expression of the theory of Chinese integration and Western application, and it is also the basic attitude of the Westernization Party towards Western science and technology.

To a large extent, they have something in common with the conservative die-hards.

Around the 1870s, the Westernizers were the social group that knew the most about the world situation and the crises China was facing, and Shen Baozhen was one of the best.

However, his views on Chinese and Western culture are nothing more than this. How can people pray for the "self-improvement" movement advocated by the Westernization movement to achieve fundamental victory?

In 1871, Jia Leer, a foreign teacher at the Shipbuilding School? Received a beautifully decorated letter:

" James Carroll Professorship:

In the fifth year of Tongzhi's reign, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang requested the establishment of a shipping bureau as one of the powerful countries Law.

The emperor ordered Shen, the former governor of Jiangxi, to build the necessary dormitories in Chung-Tzé, Fuzhou Prefecture, and sent Mr. Riyige and others to try their best to assist in this project.

Master Shen established a naval academy, recruited a group of students, and hired British gentleman James

Mr. Carroll as a teacher, teaching navigation principles for five years.

The students have finished their homework and are about to go sailing to try their skills.

We have made extensive preparations for this voyage.

Before leaving, we - your loyal students - express our gratitude for your care and tireless teachings... From now on, we have to deal with hurricanes and control them. Rage the waves, spy on the movements of the sun and stars, understand the patterns of storms, survey islands, and investigate the properties of rocks.

Everything we learn from our teachers will be proven true in our later life experiences.

In this way, the most terrifying difficulties become easy, and the most dangerous situations become tranquil.

Our empire, ***, will take the system as an example and promote it to infinity... Although we feel sad to part with you, we are very dedicated to serving ***, so we must Personal wishes take a back seat.

Our patriotism will not diminish, and our departure, teacher, will be your joy and praise.

Your loyal students (signed by twenty-three people)"

Soon, 18 people including Yan Zongguang, Liu Buchan, Lin Taiceng, Ye Zugui, Fang Boqian, Lin Yongsheng, Qiu Baoren and others joined the former Some students from the school boarded the "Jianwei" ship and began their long-awaited sea voyage.

This voyage lasted four months, reaching Xiamen, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Penang Island. /p>

After deducting the berthing time at various docks, the actual day on the ocean was 75 days.

The sea and sky were rippling, sometimes the distant mountains were invisible for several days, sometimes the islands were lingering, and the sand lines were intertwined. The practice ship underwent various tests. .

During the trip, the instructor supervised the driving. Each student transcribed the navigation diary paragraph by paragraph, measured the position of the sun and constellations, and practiced operating various instruments.

When returning to the voyage, the students took turns driving, and the teacher carefully checked the voyage diary.

During this period, the government and the public paid increasing attention to the naval cause, which should have been a great opportunity for the development of naval education. However, with Shen Baozhen's transfer from the Ship Administration Bureau, the management of the Ship Administration School became increasingly lax.

On December 17, 1880, Li Shibin, the censor of Jiangnan Supervision, reported: "I heard that when the Fujian Shipping Administration first started... students from the bureau's middle school supervised Qi Yan.

Diligent Award , The lazy ones will retreat.

In the near future, they only focus on human feelings, and they use the Yu to make up for their numbers, and so on."

On October 23, 1884, the Minister of Shipping Zhang Peilun even pointed out that when Shen Baozhen founded the school, he established detailed charters, selected talents, and the school was very clean.

In the past ten years or so, students who have passed the examinations have indulged in abuse. However, with the rapid development of technology in the West and the dwindling of shipping funds, it is inevitable that they have to make do with the shabby and become self-proclaimed. This is especially true in the later schools. .

He ordered foreign teachers to learn the books and skills that naval generals should read, buy more foreign books, open enough courses, and obtain the Tianjin Naval Academy Charter to make up for the omissions in Fujian learning.

As the first naval school in China, the Shipbuilding Academy actually has to learn from the Tianjin Academy, which was only opened three years ago. This shows that the laxity and confusion within it are already very serious.

It is sometimes very interesting to make horizontal comparisons in the process of historical research.

Just half a month ago, on October 6, U.S. Secretary of the Navy William Chandler signed an order deciding to establish the U.S. Naval War College in a poorhouse in Newport, Rhode Island.

Although the United States began to use steam ships and ironclad ships for combat very early, it neglected naval construction for a long period of time.

During the Civil War, there were more than 700 naval ships. After the war, a large number of warships were decommissioned or sold to businessmen and converted into merchant ships.

By 1880, there were only 48 warships left, and they were all outdated.

Admiral Porter called it "the dragon painted on the ancient Chinese forts, which can only frighten the enemy."

The U.S. Navy ranks 12th in the world, behind Denmark, China, and Chile.

On April 8, 1875, under the initiative of Commodore Luce, Congress approved the recruitment of 750 teenagers aged 16 to 18 to enter the academy.

First receive preparatory training in the port, and then go to the training ship to learn artillery, boatmanship and other skills.

This approach is very similar to that of the Shipping School.

Then, the United States’ long-awaited naval reforms began to be introduced.

Luce served as the first president of the Naval War College.

He invited Lieutenant Colonel Mahan to teach naval history classes.

At the end of the first academic year, all the equipment of the Naval War College, including a map of the Battle of Trafalgar Cape, 4 borrowed desks and 12 borrowed chairs.

General Luce said: "Not only are there no instructors, there are no textbooks."

There was considerable doubt that the Naval War College would survive for many years.

At that time, even the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England, only taught technical courses, but Luce envisioned "using modern scientific methods to study how to elevate naval warfare from a purely empirical stage to a scientific level."

"Two years later, Mahan became the second dean.

Although official figures still intervened to prevent the college from studying strategic issues and only asked for courses on technological development, Mahan was unyielding and persisted in naval strategic research. He revised the lecture notes he taught at the college into "Naval Strategy". The book "The Influence of Power on History, 1660-1783" thus established the basic theory of the development of the U.S. Navy and laid the foundation for the huge development of the U.S. naval industry.

Today, the U.S. Naval War College is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious naval academies in the world.

It may not be appropriate to simply compare naval education and naval power between China and the United States, because the two countries have different political and economic systems, and the purposes of building navies are also very different.

However, from the fact that the United States’ emphasis on naval education has greatly promoted the development of its own naval industry, and the fact that China’s new naval schools have become increasingly corrupt, many historical lessons worth learning can be summed up.