Educational reform in China, 1880--1910: Timothy Richard and his vision for higher education

In 1880, missionary Timothy Richard (1845–1919) first articulated a vision for higher education reform in China. By the mid-1890s, many Chinese scholars and officials began to embrace it. Richard's collected writings with contemporary and secondary English language sources demonstrate his dissemination of this vision while editor of the newspaper Shih Pao, General Secretary of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge Among the Chinese, and an active member of the Educational Association of China.; After the 1900 Boxer Uprising, Richard was invited by the Chinese government to mediate the settlement of the indemnity issues in Shansi Province. Refusing money for missionary lives lost, Richard recommended that the province pay a 500,000 Tael (approximately {dollar}735,000) fine in ten annual installments. This money was to found a college of Western learning in the provincial capital. This recommendation was ratified by the Peace Plenipotentiaries around May 30, 1901, and received the Imperial seal. However, the next spring Richard had to renegotiate the agreement. Finally, an amalgamated university with Chinese and Western Departments was established. In July 1902, the Imperial University of Shansi (now Shanxi University) officially opened with Richard as Joint Chancellor with the provincial governor.; This research suggests the creation of the Imperial University of Shansi likely prodded China to establish a system of government-supported institutions for higher education teaching Western learning. The Imperial University of Shansi sought to model goal development, admission/student selection, curriculum, governance, funding, and language of instruction for the new government universities. This is contrary to general acceptance of Yuan Shih-k'ai's university in Shantung as the model. With the founding of the Imperial University of Shansi in its provincial capital, Richard also experienced personal vindication. The success of Richard's reform ideas in higher education was due to his contextualization into Chinese culture of educational concepts and methods he had used as a teacher in Wales.