Liu Guang-fen And Early Modern Education In Shaanxi Province

As one of the enlightenment educators in Shaanxi Province in the late Qing Dynasty,Liu Guang-fen devoted his whole life to teaching and educating people as his own duty.During his tenure as president of Weijing College and Chongshi College,Liu Guang-fen founded and presided over the "Qiuyou Zhai”,the Weijing Publication,"Shiwu Zhai",Weijing Lectures in Weijing College,the Chongshi College and so on.Inside the college,Liu,who was against imperial examination system featuring the eight-stock essay,vigorously promoted the mathematics education,and introduced such modern science and technology courses as astronomy and geography,attempting to cultivate practical talents who could cope with the current situation for the country;outside the college,he published a large number of new books,created academies,send disciples for southbound inspection,introduce advanced machines with Weijing College and Chongshi College as camps,striving to improve people's livelihood through industries and education.His reform of traditional education,advocacy of new education set a precedent in Shaanxi society,promoted the opening up of Shaanxi social atmosphere in the late Qing Dynasty,and cultivated a large collection of talents for modern Shaanxi.Therefore,Liu had an important position and played a significant role in the process of early modern education in Shaanxi Province.This paper chooses Liu Guang-fen as the research object,and explores his influence on the early education in Shaanxi Province based on his educational thoughts and practical activities.This dissertation consists of five Parts;Introduction:This part summarizes the origin of the topic,the life of Liu Guang-fen,literature review,research methods and so on.The first part analyzes the historical background of Liu Guang-fen's educational practices from two dimensions of social background and ideological background.The second Part combs and analyzes Liu Guang-fen's educational thoughts.From such three aspects as criticism and reflection on traditional education,universal education thought and women's education thought,this paper analyzes and expounds on the fundamental educational ideas of Liu Guang-fen.The third part introduces and analyzes the main educational practical activities conducted by Liu Guang-fen.Based on a variety of reforms implemented by Liu Guang-fen in the Weijing College and Chongshi College,this part studies and evaluates a series of educational practices including the "Qiuyou Zhai",Weijing Publication,the "Shiwu Zhai"of Weijing College and Chongshi College that were chaired by him.And the basic characteristics of Liu Guang-fen's educational practices are also analyzed.The fourth part discusses and combs the influence of Liu Guang-fen on the early modern education in Shaanxi Province.This paper analyzes the role of Liu Guang-fen in promoting the early modern education in Shaanxi from three perspectives:the opening of new education in Shaanxi Province,the cultivation of modern talents in Shaanxi and the external communication of Shaanxi's early modern education.