Zheng Guanying

Summary

Zheng Guanying or Cheng Kuan-ying (1842–1922 or 1923) was a Chinese reformist active in the late Qing dynasty.[1] He was a proponent of fighting economic dominance by Western countries of China[2] through economic nationalism, of parliamentary representative democracy, and of women's rights.[3]

Zheng Guanying
鄭觀應
Born(1842-07-24)July 24, 1842
Died1922 (aged 79–80)
NationalityQing Empire
Occupation(s)Merchant reformer
author
Known forChinese nationalist
republican advocate
Zheng Guanying
Traditional Chinese鄭觀應
Simplified Chinese郑观应
Zheng Guanying
Zheng in the 1920s

History edit

 
Mandarin's House

His family members resided in Macau,[4] but his birthplace was Xiangshan, Guangdong;[1] today this is the Yongmo area of Sanxiang, Zhongshan. He lived in the Mandarin's House in São Lourenço, Macau.[4]

He made a career as a comprador after moving to Shanghai at 16 years of age;[1] he previously took and failed the xiucai imperial examinations at that age;[5] he ultimately never passed any such examinations.[1] He first worked for Overweg and Company, a British firm,[5] and later for Butterfield & Swire.[1] Initially he used his funds to buy official titles. In 1879 he became a circuit intendant or daotai as an award for his community service, and he received other titles due to his service work.[6] He took night classes on the English language at the Anglo-Chinese School.[1] He began his own firm after turning 41.[1] He went back to Macau in late 1886.[4]

His employment background differed from those of other Chinese reformers of that era;[1] others had academic or government backgrounds.[3]

Works edit

In the early 1870s he published essays about politics.[6]

Words of Warning to a Prosperous Age (盛世危言 shèngshì wēiyán) was published in 1893.[6]

Travels to the South, a travel log, was the result of his 1884 intelligence-gathering mission in French Indochina.[1]

Legacy and scholarship edit

Zheng's writings had an extraordinary influence, both in his own time and in later decades. Among those who acknowledge his inspiration were Mao Zedong,[7] and Lu Xun.[6]

As of 2011 most English-language journal articles discussing Zheng were published in the 1960s, and few English-language books on him existed. Beginning in the 1980s more articles about Zheng were published in Chinese.[8]

Escola Oficial Zheng Guanying, a government school in Macau, was given its current name in 2011.[9] The 160th anniversary of the birth of Zheng was held in Zhongshan in 2002.[8]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Zheng Guanying 1842-1922/3." Chinese University of Hong Kong. Retrieved on 12 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Zheng Guanying, Merchant Reformer of Late Qing China and his Influence on Economics, Politics, and Society by Guo Wu ." Cambria Press. Retrieved on 12 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b Guo, Wu, p. 2.
  4. ^ a b c "Zheng Guanying." Mandarin's House, Cultural Affairs Bureau (Macau). Retrieved on 12 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b Guo, Wu, p. 1.
  6. ^ a b c d Davies, Gloria (Monash University). "Fragile Prosperity." China Heritage Quarterly. No. 26, June 2011. Retrieved on 12 November 2017.
  7. ^ Pantsov, Alexander V.; Levine, Steven I. (2012). Mao: The Real Story. New York and London: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-5447-9., p. 21
  8. ^ a b Guo, Wu, p. 3.
  9. ^ "Escola Zheng Guanying nega acusações de pais". Jornal Tribuna de Macau. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2017-08-15. "Confrontada com a polémica da mudança dos directores, Wu Kit disse que desde a transformação da Escola Luso-Chinesa de Tamagnini Barbosa para a Escola Zheng Guanying em 2011,[...]"

Sources edit

  • Guo, Wu. Zheng Guanying, Merchant Reformer of Late Qing China and his Influence on Economics, Politics, and Society. Cambria Press. May 28, 2010. ISBN 9781604977059.

Further reading edit

English:

Chinese:

  • Xia, Dongyuan. Zheng Guanying Ji Shang Ce. (Collected works by Zheng Guanying, Volume 1). Shanghai Renmin Chubanshe, Shanghai 1982.
  • Xia, Dongyuan. Zheng Guanying Ji Xia Ce. (Collected works by Zheng Guanying, Volume 2). Shanghai Renmin Chubanshe, Shanghai 1982.
  • Fung, Yiu-shing (馮耀成) (1998). "Zheng Guanying's (1841–1923) ideas of parliamentary reform as expounded in his Shengshi Weiyan = Zheng Guanying "Sheng shi wei yan" zhong de yi yuan gai ge si xiang" (鄭觀應«盛世危言»中的議院改革思想) (Master's thesis). University of Hong Kong. DOI 10.5353/th_b3195197. English abstract available.
  • Ha, Chi-kwan (夏志焜) (1999). "Zheng Guanying's (1842–1922) ideas of political reform = Zheng Guanying zheng zhi gai ge si xiang yan jiu" (鄭觀應政治改革思想硏究) (Master's thesis). University of Hong Kong. DOI: 10.5353/th_b3195199. English abstract available.
  • Kwong, Ming-wai (鄺明威) (2007). "Daoist influence on Zheng Guanying's (1842–1922) thought = Zheng Guanying de dao jiao qing xiang yu ji shi si xiang yan jiu" (鄭觀應的道教傾向與濟世思想研究) (Master's thesis). University of Hong Kong. DOI 10.5353/th_b3859870. English abstract available.
  • Siu, Men-yee Anita (蕭敏儀) (1989). "A study of Zheng Guanying's (1842–1922) economic thought = Zheng Guanying de jing ji si xiang yan jiu" (鄭觀應的經濟思想硏究) (Master's thesis). University of Hong Kong. DOI: 10.5353/th_b3194967. At the University of Hong Kong Libraries Electronic Resources Alumni e-Library. English abstract available.
  • Wang, Ying-k'ang. "Cheng Kuan-ying ch'i-jen chi chʻi ssu-hsiang" ("The Profile and Ideas of Cheng Kuan-ying"). Shih-hsüeh yüeh-kan ("Monthly Historical Study"), formerly Hsin shih-hsüeh t'ung-hsün ("Thorough Investigation of New Historical Study"). Volume 1 (January, 1958), Issue 34.

German:

  • Kehnen, Johannes. Cheng Kuan-Ying – Unternehmer und Reformer der späten Ch'ing-Zeit. Verlag Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975, ISBN 3-447-01716-3.