Adesina Sade
InthepastthirtyyearsasChinaimplementeditseconomicreformandopendoorpolicy,Chineseinterestsinoverseas educationintensifiedamongnotonlyscholarsbutalsothegeneralpublic,andthenumberofChinesestudentsgoingabroadhas grownsharply.ThispolicywasutteredbylateChineseleaderDengXiaopingwhodeliveredaspeechinJune1978advocating scholarsandstudentsstudyingabroad.Deng’spolicy,however,wasoldwhenitwasuttered.
TheStudyAbroadMovementactuallybeganinthemid-nineteenthcentury;YungWinghappenedtoinitiatethismovement bymoreanaccidentthananydesign.Borntoapoorpeasantfamilyin1828inasmallvillagecalledNanpingnotfarfromMacao, hewassenttoamissionaryschoolbyhisfather.HelatertransferredtotheMorrisonEducationSocietySchoolinHongKong. Yungwasasmartstudent;andwhenRev.SamuelR.Brown,aYale-educatedministerandtheprincipaloftheschool,returned totheUnitedStatesin1847,hebroughtYungwithhim.YungenteredYaleCollegein1850,andearnedaB.A.degreefouryears later.HereturnedtoChinain1855andbecameoneofthepioneerreformersintheSelf-StrengtheningMovementandhelped ZengGuofanestablishtheJiangnanArsenalinShanghai,thefirstmodernarsenalinChinesehistory.Hethenwasappointedasa diplomatandChina’sspokesmanintheUnitedStateswhileChinainitsforeignrelationstransformedfromthetraditionaltributary system to the modern nation-statesystem.
Thismovementisinitselfalong-lastingandinfluentialeventdeservingmarkedattentionwhichissuretoattract.Inspired byYung’ssuccess,beginningin1872QinggovernmentorganizedtheChineseEducationMissionandsent120youngChinese studentstobeeducatedintheUnitedStates.Whenstudyingabroad,theseyoungChineseboyswereanxioustolearnnotonlynew knowledgebutalsonewideas.TheybegantodressinWesternstyles,abandoningtheirManchurobes,andmanyofthemcutting offtheirqueues,whichactuallyforeranoneofthebiggestsocialreformsinChinesehistorytostopdressingintraditionalChinese clothesandcutoffChinesequeuesatthebeginningofthetwentiethcentury.ThesestudentsalsobroughttheadvancedWestern scienceandtechnologybacktoChinaandbecamemodernizationleaders.ZhanTianyou,forexample,wasknownas“thefather ofChineserailroads,”whileTangGuoanbecamethefirstpresidentofprestigiousQinghuaUniversity.
Thestoryisnotrare.In1879,SunYat-senwenttoHonolulutojoinSunMei,hisbrotherwhohadabusinessinHawaii.He wasenrolledintheAnglicanmissionaryIolaniSchoolandin1883graduatedfromOahuCollege.DuringthisperiodthoughHawaii wasstillanindependentkingdom,itwasrapidlyinfluencedbytheUnitedStates,especiallytheideasofdemocracyandrepublic; someAmericansandlocalprogressiveswerepreparingtooverthrowthekingdom.Wemayfacetheessentialfactthatthepolitical developmentinHawaiihadastronginfluenceonSunYat-senduringtheformativestageofhislife.Thereislittlequestionthat atthisstageofhislifetheseedsofhisfuturevalues,plans,andeventualcontributionstomodernChinawereplanted.After beingbackinChina,headvocatedandinitiatedrevolutionaryactivitiestooverthrowtheManchurule.Thesuccessofthe1911 RevolutionandtheestablishmentofaWestern-stylerepublicmarkedtheendoftheChinesedynastichistoryfirsttimein4,000 years,agreatturningpointinChinesehistory.SunYat-senisthereforerecognizedbyboththePeople’sRepublicofChinaandthe RepublicofChinaastheFatherofModernChina.
ThousandsandthousandsofChinesewenttoWesterncountriesandJapantostudyespeciallyaftertheturnofthetwentieth century.WemaymentionanotherexampleofCaiYuanpei.AfterstudyingintheUniversitatLeipzigofGermanyfrom1907to 1911,CaibecametheleadingliberaleducatorofChinaintheearlytwentiethcentury.HewasknownforbeingthefirstMinisterof EducationoftheRepublicofChina,PresidentofPekingUniversity,andthefounderoftheAcademiaSinica,thehighestnational academicinstitution.JohnDeweyoncecomparedCaiYuanpeiwiththepresidentsofsuchprestigiousuniversitiesasOxford, Cambridge,HarvardandColumbiaandpointedoutthattheseWesternuniversitypresidentswerenomatchforCaiYuanpeibecauseCaihadturnedPekingUniversityintoChina’sfirstmodernuniversity.Evidenceindeedsuggeststhatthecomplete ChinesemoderneducationsystembeganfromCaiYuanpei.BehindallofhisworkforimprovingChina’seducationsystemlaythe valuesandknowledgewhichhadbecomepartofhimduringhisEuropeandays.
Likewise,HuShiwasaWestern-educatedscholarwhohelpedestablishthevernacularastheofficialwrittenlanguage,a literaturerevolutioninChinesehistory.AftergraduatingfromtheChinesePublicInstitute,hewonaBoxIndemnityScholarshipto studyintheUnitedStates.HeearnedhisB.A.in1914fromCornellUniversityandcompletedhisdoctoraldissertationunderJohn DeweyinColumbiaUniversityin1917.DuringhisyearsintheUnitedStates,HuShiwasinfluencedbyHarrietMouroe’sPoetry: AMagazineofVerse,whichadvocatedversewritinginplainlanguage.WhileatCornellin1915,hebegantopromotewritingin thewrittenformofmodernChinese.AfterreturningtoChina,hepublishedin1917anarticleentitled“OnLiteratureReform”, whichlaunchedtheVernacularMovement.TransformingwrittenChinesefromaclassicalformtovernacularstyle,themovement withoutdoubtisaliteraryrevolution,oneofthemostimportantturningpointsinChineseculturalhistory.
Historyaboundswithsimilarexamples.ChenDuxiuin1902enrolledintheTokyoHigherNormalSchoolandstudiedat WasedaUniversityinTokyoin1906.LiDazhaoalsostudiedpoliticaleconomyfrom1913to1917atWasedaUniversitybefore returningChina.AftertheRussianRevolution,LispreadMaxismtoChinesebypublishingarticles,establishingMaxistResearch Society,andurgingstudentstogotothecountrysidetodisseminate“humanismandsocialism.”AssistedbyCominternagents, ChenDuxiufoundedthefirstCommunistgroupinShanghaiinMay1920,arrangedforthepublicationofTheCommunistManifesto lateinthesameyear,andwaselectedthefirstGeneralSecretaryoftheprovisionalcentralcommitteeoftheChineseCommunist PartyinJuly1921.Wemayfacetheessentialfactthatasthevanguardsandthefoundersoftheparty,LiDazhaoandChenDuxiu initiated the magnificent Chinese Communistmovement.
ManystudentsalsowenttoEuropeancountries,Japan,andtheUnitedStatestostudymilitary.Wemayciteanexample ofChiangKai-shek,theChinesepoliticalandmilitaryleaderfrom1928to1945.AfterstudyingforashorttimeattheBaoding MilitaryAcademy,ChiangKai-shekwenttoTokyoShinbuGakko(TokyoShinbuMilitaryAcademy)in1907wherehespentthree yearsforhismilitarystudies.HealsoservedintheJapanesearmyfrom1909to1911.InJapanhejoinedTongmenghui(Chinese UnitedLeague),aprecursoroftheKuomingtang(KMTorNationalistParty);hereturnedtoChinain1911andservedinthe revolutionaryforces.Underhisleadership,KuomingtanglaunchedtheNorthernExpedition(1926-1928),whichledtotheendof thewarlorddisorderandrealizedmilitaryunificationofChina.IntheWarofResistanceagainstJapan(1937-1945),heagainled ChinatofightoneofthebloodiestwarseverfoughtinChinesehistory.ObviouslylikeotherChinesereturnees,Chiangregarded Chinawithgreataffectionandwantedtoservethecountryofhisbirth.
ThousandsofChinesestudentsespeciallywenttotheUnitedStatestostudyscienceandengineering.DengJiaxianandQianXuesenprovidednotableinstanceoftheircontributions.DengreceivedhisdoctorateinphysicsfromPurdueUniversityin1950. Immediatelyafterhisgraduation,hereturnedtoChinaanddevotedhislifetotheconstructionofChina’satomandhydrogen bombs.InChina,heisrespectedasthe“FatherofChina’sNuclearProgram.”Qianhadasimilarexperience.HewonaBoxer RebellionIndemnityScholarshipandwenttoMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyin1935tostudyengineeringandearneda MasterofSciencedegreetherelater.HereceivedhisdoctoratefromCaltechin1939andreturnedtoChinain1955.Because ofhiscontributiontoproduceChina’sintercontinentalballisticmissilesandreconnaissancesatellites,hewasregardedasthe “FatherofChina’sSpaceandMissilePrograms.”
ThereislittledoubtthatseriousattentionmustbedevotedtoDengXiaoping.In1919and1920,morethan1,000Chinese studentswenttoEuropebythework-studyprograms.AmongthegrouptoFrancewasDengXiaoping,whojoinedCommunist Youthgroupslaterthere.AfterMao’sdeath,DengbecamethefatherofChinagreatesteconomicreformandintroducedtheOpen Doorpolicyin1978,whichalteredtheworldeconomiclandscape.IntheseyearsChinahasentereduponprocessoffundamental leap.WemaypointouttheastonishingfactthatChina’seconomygrewatanaverageannualrateof13%from2003to2011and surpassedJapanastheworld’ssecond-largesteconomy.Therewasnospotonthisearthwheretherehadbeengreatereconomic progressmadewithinthepastthirtyyearsthaninChina.
Thiseconomicmiraclehasfacilitatedandpromotedthepre-existingtrendforChinesestudyingabroad.Theeconomic prosperity has produced more and more wealthy families that can invest a large portion of their savings for their children’s overseascollegeeducation.AccordingtoChina’sMinistryofEducation,in2014,459,800Chinesestudentsgoingabroad,of which36,800weresupportedbypublicandemployerfundingsources,and423,000wereself-funded.Nowtherearemore than 270,000 students from China in the United States alone, more than a third of all international students in the country. Accordingtoarecentrecord,itcanbelearnedthatatUIUC,whichhasthelargestnumberofinternationalstudentsamongpublic universitiesintheUnitedStates,about5,000ofitsstudentsarefromChina.Thisnumberisexpectedtogrow.Studyingabroadis areadyresource,andthestudentshaveastrongdesiretolearnfromothercountriesinordertocontributeChina’sknowledge, technology,andprogress.Andmoreandmoreyoungstudentsarewaitingforleavefromtheirnativetownsandtheadmissions fromuniversitiesintheUnitedStates,Europeancountries,Japan,Australia,andothercountries.Asthemostnumerouspeopleon thefaceoftheglobe,afewscorethousandsmayappearameredriblet.Theenthusiasmandpassionheartenedbythemadmit nodoubt.
ChinesestudyingabroadissimplythemightiestmovementinmodernChinesehistory.WhenDengXiaopingmadehis speechin1978stressingChinawouldsendmorestudentstostudyabroad,hefullyrealizedhowimportantitwastoChina’s futureprogress.Thespeechwasevidenceattheoutsetofthewisdomofthissagaciousstatesman.Itis,therefore,apparentthat thepowerofyoungChinesemindhasbeen,andwillcontinuetobe,kindledbyoverseaseducationandburnonthelandbeneath whichrestthebonesoftheinventorsofgunpowder,ofpaper,ofcompass,andofprinting.TheinfluenceoftheStudyingAbroad Movementwassoparticularlynoteworthyandall-roundinmodernChinesehistorythatwecannotfailtoregarditasonewith peculiar significance andimportance.
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