Today is May 4th Youth Day (五四青年节 wǔ sì qīng nián jiē), not an international but a unique day to China, established in memory of the patriotic movement broke out in Beijing on May 4th, 1919. Nowadays, Youth Day has gradually been regarded as a cultural symbol for young people as the mainstay of a country: to shoulder the responsibility of developing China by solving social problems with passion and creativity.
In order to serve these purposes, many young choose to study overseas broadening their horizon. Statistics shows that between 2005 and 2019 alone, the number of Chinese students studying in US alone increased by 100 times. However, when did young Chinese actually embark oversea journey? let us start from a photo…
First Group of Students Sent Abroad
148 years ago, a group of teenage dressed in long gown and mandarin jackets wearing skullcap, with a look of shyness and confusion in the camera. The image is recorded in middle school history textbook for students of later generations to read and says: The first group of children to study in the United States. This Chinese Educational Mission for kids was driven by Yung Wing, and funded by Qing government.
Father of China’s Oversea Students
Time flies back to 1846 when Hong Kong was ceded to British colonists. In Morrison school, headmaster Mr. Brown stood on the podium, facing a group of Chinese children and asked, “I am going home soon. Would anyone like to go to America with me?” Silence followed. Who would go so far out of China at such a young age?
A moment later, a loud voice replied, “I do!” A young man named Yung Wing stood up to everyone’s astonishment. The little guy had been in hard life whose mother made a living by picking firewood. He was sent to this foreign school because they provide free accommodation with no tuition need to pay. In an attempt to change the fate of poverty, young Yung Wing planted a “seed” in his heart.
When in US, Yung often studied to late night and entered Yale University by his own efforts. Yung made money to maintain life by running errands for locals. He walked to school and squeeze cost from daily meals so that he can send money back home. Still, none of those prevent him becoming top student at Yale University.
When Yung left Yale at the age of 26, he became the first Chinese graduate and promised, “The rising generation of China should enjoy the same educational advantage that I had; through western education China would be regenerated in prosperity.
After returning China, Yung was keen on the cause of promoting education. Overcoming one obstacle after another, he finally got his proposal approved by the Qing government. From 1872 to 1875, the Qing government sent four groups of total 120 students to study in the United State.
Life on Foreign Land
These youth were sent to the other side of the Pacific Ocean to begin their 15-year study life. Smart and quickly adapted to the new environment, they became the top among the same ages in local schools.
Zhan Tianyou was chosen as the first group of the children to the United States at 11. He studied English from Yung Wing and was admitted to the department of civil engineering at Yale in 1878. He led China to design and build its first railway: Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway and set up the whole Chinese railway system.
Liang Cheng was among the fourth group and studied at high school Phillips Academy Andover. He was the most famous baseball player among all students. Liang used to serve as the Chinese envoy to many countries. He successfully requested US to refund the indemnity about 10 million US dollar, part of which was then used to set up Tsinghua University.
Most of them became the key figures that influenced China’s modernization. Some of them the pioneer of China’s telegraph and mining industries, some the first president of Tsinghua University, and some the first premier of Republic of China…
End of the Mission
The conservatives in China that time thought these students abroad forgot traditions and talked about what they do not understand. They were angry about what the young had learnt from US as some even join Christianity and ran away. Moreover, Qing was lack of funding because of internal corruption. In 1881, the government ordered all students to return China as soon as possible. The plan to study in the US was broken.
These 120 children are long gone that only left in hostory. The joys and sorrows of them make the ups and downs of an ancient China. They are the first Chinese to see outside world. They are forgotten and rediscovered by us.
