Zhang Boling

Chang Po-ling (; April 5, 1876 – February 23, 1951) was a Chinese educator who, alongside Yan Xiu, founded Nankai University and the Nankai system of schools.

Biography

Chang Po-ling was born in Tianjin in 1876 during the last years of the Qing Dynasty. His younger brother, P.C. Chang, was a philosopher and diplomat. Chang Po-ling graduated from the Beiyang Naval Academy in 1894. He was a cadet officer in the Beiyang Fleet, but he abandoned his training after the fleet was destroyed during the First Sino-Japanese War.

After several years of teaching, Chang Po-ling organized funding for a private college- preparatory school, Nankai High School, in Tianjin in 1904. In 1917, he briefly studied at the Teachers College, Columbia University in the United States, where he was influenced by the American educator and reformer John Dewey. In 1919, he expanded his school into a full university, Nankai University. Under Chang's leadership, Nankai continued to expand for the next few years and became one of the most prestigious universities in China.

In 1935, during an opening ceremony at Nankai University, Chang famously posed three questions that would later be known as the "Three Patriotic Questions" , which are still recited as a university tradition during ceremonies:

He was noted for his emphasis on athletics, which he believed would rid China of its image as the 'Sick Man of Asia' in the early 1900s, stating that 'only a good sportsman can be a good teacher'. He established a number of annual national athletic meets, as well as the forerunner to the modern Chinese Olympic Committee. He also established several smaller institutions, including a girls' middle school (1923), an institute of economics (1927), an experimental primary school (1928), and an institute of chemistry (1932).

During the 1930s, Chang Po-ling anticipated the possibility of war with Japan and made preparations to evacuate Nankai University and Nankai High School from Tianjin to the Chinese interior. As part of these preparations, he founded the Chongqing Nankai Middle School in 1936. When the Second Sino-Japanese War began on July 7, 1937, Chang Po-ling evacuated the entire Nankai system of schools to Changsha, Hunan.

As the Japanese military advanced towards the Chinese interior, Chang Po-ling organized a second evacuation to Kunming, Yunnan in 1938.

In 1941, Zhang Boyu joined the Kuomintang and introduced the people as Jiang Zhongzheng.

On January 29, 1947, the president of the University of California wrote to Chang Po-ling, proposing to award him the degree of honorary doctor of law. On August 28, 1947, the UNESCO China Commission was established, with Chang Po-ling as a member. In July 1948, Chang Po-ling took office in Nanjing. Due to the regulations of the Ministry of Education in Taiwan at that time, the president of a state university could not hold a part-time job simultaneously. However, Chang Po-ling was unwilling to abandon the cause of his life.

After Chang Po-ling refused Chiang Kai-shek's invitation to Taiwan and stayed in mainland China, he began to get a cold shoulder politically. Because of the protection of Zhou Enlai, Chang Po-ling was not liquidated and tried like other former military and political officials. In November, the Chinese People's Liberation Army moved into Chongqing, and the regime in Chongqing changed. In December, Chang Po-ling verified property, donated the private Chongqing Nankai Middle School, Primary School, and Kindergarten to the Chongqing Military Control Committee, and the Nankai University in Tianjin and other south series of schools also returned to the state.

In the summer of 1950, Chang Po-ling hoped to return to Tianjin to Nankai University to live, specially solicited the Opinions of the Party Branch of Nankai University, but had not received any reply.

On September 15, Chang Po-ling left for Tianjin. Zhou Enlai gave him a farewell dinner at the West Flower Hall in Zhongnanhai the day before his departure. Zhou said: "When I am in Europe, some people persuade the old gentleman, don't help Zhou Enlai, he participated in the Communist Party, but he said, Everyone has their own choice. He is the officer of the Qing Dynasty, can say this, I am very grateful." Zhou Enlai learned that Chang Po-ling had returned to Tianjin, it may be stressed by the Tianjin authorities, and immediately said that the letter will inform Tianjin Municipal Government.

After returning to Tianjin, Chang Po-ling's family first lived in Nanhai Road and Ningjia Building. While on Nanhai Road, he was monitored by the Tianjin police, who were not removed until Zhou Enlai's letter arrived. Chang Po-ling's father Chang Yungae (courtesy name Jiuan 久庵) was an only child. He failed the imperial exam when he was young, but had a passion for music and mounted archery. Under a famous musician hired by his family, he was able to master multiple instruments. He was particularly talented at playing the lute, which earned him the nickname "Lute Chang" among people in Tianjin. was a representative for the Republic of China at the United Nations and had taught at Nankai University, Tsinghua University and Columbia University in the City of New York.

In 1895, Chang Po-ling married a woman surnamed Ang from Yixingfu , but she died of pulmonary tuberculosis five days after the wedding. Four of his sons died during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the remaining three were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.

Chang Po-ling's eldest son Chang Xilu (birth name Chang Xilu 张锡禄) (Note both names have similar pronunciation in Chinese, hence the same Romanized name) was born in 1901 and was a mathematician. During the Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted and suffered tremendous mental and physical harm, leading to him being bed-ridden near the end of his life. He died in 1988. Chang Po-ling's granddaughter Chang Yuanzhen once served in the National People's Committee, the Revolutionary Central Committee and the Revolutionary Jiangsu Committee. She also once served as the Vice-secretary of Jiangsu Province's Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and as a professor in the School of Life Sciences in Nanjing University. Chang Yuanzhen died of an illness in Nanjing on January 8, 2020.

Death and remembrance On February 26, 1951, the Tianjin Daily posted a brief article about Chang's death.

Death and obituary On February 14, 1951 (January 9 in the Chinese Lunar Calendar), Lu Muzhai's son Lu Kaiyuan visited Chang Po-ling and informed him that Beijing was planning to appoint him as Vice Chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Elated about his appointment, Chang personally walked Lu off his residence. At that time, it was freezing. The same night, Chang suffered a stroke, dying on February 23 at 75 years of age. When Chang was on the verge of dying, President of the Student Union of Nankai University Yan Ziheng suggested writing Chang's obituary on his behalf. Recommended by everyone for the job was Huang Yusheng . After the draft was completed, it was edited by Zhang Qingchang , Professor of Chinese at Nankai University. Quoted below is a translation of Chang's obituary:

Official memorial service in mainland China On February 24, 1951, Zhou Enlai went to Tianjin to attend a military meeting by the 20th Corps of the People's Volunteer Army. Once he arrived in Tianjin, he went to Chang's home to send his condolences and to deliver wreaths to pay his respects for Chang. On the ribbon, he wrote "Teacher Chang, may your teachings be passed down forever! Your student Zhou Enlai is here to pay his respects." On February 26, the Tianjin Daily posted a brief article that began with the title "Former President of Nankai University. Chang Po-ling Dies of Illness, His Obituary Stating that his Students should Continue to Support the People's Government". During the decades after his death, Chang was virtually unmentioned by mainland Chinese newspapers. After Chang's death, Zhou Enlai , an alumnus of Nankai University and the then Premier of the People's Republic of China, personally sent his condolences to Chang's family. Commenting on Chang, Zhou said during the memorial service, "A person should be judged based on the historical background and situation in his time, and we should not judge a person from the past by today's standards. President Chang was progressive and patriotic when he was alive, and his commitment to education has benefited the people. The People's Government was very concerned about him when he was sick and hoped that he would recover soon. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly." Due to the political environment at the time of Chang's passing, most people were afraid of the political repercussions and remained silent throughout the memorial service.

Official memorial service in Taiwan Taiwan also expressed condolences for Chang's death. Another version of Chang's written obituary was circulating on the island, but it was later revealed to have been falsified by Chang's eldest son, Chang Xilu . On February 27, 1951, upon learning of Chang's death, Chiang Chung-cheng wrote in his memoir that words could not describe the depth of his sorrow. On March 31 the same year, organizations such as the Nankai University Taiwanese Student Association and the Chinese Kuomintang Reform Commission held a grand memorial service. Chiang Chung-cheng presided over the ceremony and wrote the elegiac couplet "守正不屈，多士所宗" (Back translation: A man of uncompromising values, values people should follow). Attending the ceremony were Chang's close friends including Wang Chonghui , Chen Cheng , Wang Shijie , Zhang Lisheng and Zhang Jia .

Unofficial memorial services in mainland China In contrast to Taiwan's elaborate memorial service for Chang, the Tianjin Nankai Girls' High School conducted a modest ceremony in its hall. The atmosphere was not somber, and attendance was sparse. Due to the lack of public promotion, only a handful of individuals were aware of the event.

Annual memorial services After China reformed and opened up, the political situation stabilized and discussions of Chang became less of a taboo in mainland China. The loss of political sensitivity around the topic led to increasingly more public remembrance of Chang and studies of his life. Studies of his life became increasingly popular, and has become one of the hot topics in research in modern education. Currently, Nankai University holds an annual memorial service for Chang on the eve of Ching Ming Festival.

Evaluation After Chang Po-ling's passing, there was a stark contrast in how he was perceived on both sides of the Taiwan Strait due to his association with the government of the Republic of China. In Taiwan, Nankai alumni who relocated to Taiwan with the ROC government honored Chang Po-ling's educational legacy through commemorative anthologies, memorials, biographies, and monographs. They also organized commemorative events on his birthday every decade.

Conversely, in mainland China, Chang Po-ling's name was once considered taboo prior to the country's reform and opening up. As political movements unfolded in mainland China, criticism of Chang Po-ling from various sectors of Nankai University grew louder. Teachers at Nankai University were individually called upon to express their views, and dissenting opinions from former staff members who had collaborated with Chang Po-ling were marginalized.

In 1960, the History of Nankai University, published by the university, completely disavowed Chang Po-ling. It was not until the 1980s, following the reform and opening up, that mainland Chinese officials reevaluated and acknowledged Chang Po-ling's contributions. The assessment of Zhang Boling on both sides of the Taiwan Strait began to align, recognizing him not only as a symbol of Nankai but also as a uniquely successful figure in the realm of modern education in China.

In 1952, following the restructuring of Nankai University, a meeting was held that deviated from Chang Po-ling's vision of establishing a comprehensive university encompassing four disciplines: liberal arts, science, engineering, and business. Instead, the university was reduced to a liberal arts and science institution with only nine departments, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, philosophy, Chinese, history, foreign languages, and economics.

In October 2004, three bronze statues of Yan Xiu, Chang Po-ling, and Zhou Enlai were built in the Xiangyu Park in front of Nankai Middle School in Tianjin.

On October 16, 2013, alumni donated two bronze statues of Yan Xiu and Chang Po-ling, which were completed and installed on the campus of Nankai Middle School in Tianjin.

Furthermore, MingDao University in Taiwan named its administrative center the Po-ling Building in honor of Chang Po-ling, recognizing him as an exemplary educator dedicated to lifelong service.

Literature In August 2005, the TV series " Chang Po-ling" broadcast in China CCTV. In 2017, the historical and humanistic documentary "There was a School named Nankai" was broadcast on CCTV and Tianjin TV successively.