| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 歷史學系碩博士班 === 96 === Zheng Guan-ying（1842-1921）, who made big fortune by engaging in foreign companies, was one of the famous merchants in the late Qing Dynasty. In addition, Zheng invested in many businesses, including Union Steam Navigation Company and Sheng Xyang teahouse. In 1874, Zheng Guan-ying joined in China Navigation Company officially. At that time, Li Hong-zhang placed high value on his outstanding commercial experience. In 1882, Zheng entered the first government-supervised merchant undertakings enterprise-China Merchant’s Steam Navigation Company. Besides, he joined in several organizations, such as the Shang-hai Cotton Cloth Mill, the Shang-hai telegraph, the Kai-ping Coal Mines, and the Han-yang Ironworks, etc. Mr. Zheng filled the role of comprador, merchant and businessman, and his commercial activities proved how he became an important person in the course of Chinese modernization.
Zheng Guan-ying was not only a renowned industrialist but also a thinker. In his life, he wrote many important books which showed many reforms about his country, for example, Jyou-sh Jye-yao, I-yan 36 chapters, I-yan 20 chapters, Sheng-sh wei-yan, and Sheng-sh wei-yan edited, etc. In Zheng’s reforming suggestions about polities, military affairs, diplomacy and economy, he pointed out the importance of education. He emphasized that the national advance is on the basis of schooling education, and he further proposed many policies of educational reformation. Zheng’s educational ideas showed recent educational aspects. Zheng emphasized the importance of female education and noticed that compulsory education is necessary to the country earlier before Liang Qi Chao developed female philosophy.
This article focused on Zheng’s personal writings and other concerned people and historical data. Zheng’s experience and effort during his all life made us understand how his background and motivation brought about his educational advocate. Furthermore, the focus of general education and expert education turned out to be his reform issues. In this article, three categories discussed in general education were compulsory education, female education and social education. As for expert education, the four parts included in the discussion of the article were medical education, industrial education, military & political education and the teacher-training-education. Through the research of Zheng’s educational policy, we could dig out more knowledge about his thoughts in large scales, and therefore, we could understand the parts which recent merchants played in the course of modernization in China education.
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