Ding Weiliang statue
John fryer is full of interest in China, so he also wants to improve his Chinese and learn more about China. It was with this desire that 1863, he resolutely quit his job at St. Paul's College and came to Beijing alone. At this time, just as Bao erteng left his post, on the recommendation of wade, john fryer accepted the position of teaching in Tongwen Pavilion, teaching for two hours every day, with an annual salary of 1000 taels of silver. In Beijing, john fryer not only learned the Beijing dialect quickly, but also got to know many famous Chinese and foreign people in Beijing at that time. Prince Gong Yi? Wen Xiang, Minister of the Prime Minister's yamen, Bruce, British Ambassador to China, Pu Anchen, American Ambassador to China, Samuel Wells Williams, First Counsellor, and Hurd, General Tax Department of the Customs, all became his good friends.
Having met high-class people, john fryer was full of ambition and planned to do a great job in Beijing. However, his teaching career in Tongwenguan only lasted for more than a year, but the Anglican Church sent him south to Shanghai, because john fryer had mastered Chinese skillfully at this time, and the Anglican Church asked john fryer to be the principal of Yinghua College in Shanghai. It should be noted that the purpose of this school, which is jointly run by the Anglican Church and Chinese and foreign businessmen, is to spread the gospel and train a group of believers and priests in China. However, john fryer, who shoulders the high hopes of the Anglican Church, did not devote himself to Christian China according to the instructions given to him by the Church, but adopted a missionary way contrary to the missionary work of the Church, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the Anglican Church. After the expiration of john fryer's employment contract in Yinghua College, both parties who were dissatisfied with each other did not sign a renewal contract. 1in may, 868, john fryer was recommended to be a translator in the translation hall of Jiangnan manufacturing bureau, and took charge of the library affairs.
After john fryer 1865 left the Tongwen Museum for Shanghai, the Premier's yamen invited Ding Weiliang, an American missionary, to teach in the museum. Among the missionaries who came to China at that time, Ding Weiliang was an anomaly. He was born in a Christian family in Livania, Indiana, USA1April, 827 10. Ding Weiliang later became a missionary and paid attention to education and the study of academic traditions, which should be said to have a lot to do with the influence of his family. He graduated from Indiana State University and New Albar Theological Seminary with two degrees in natural science and theology. 1April 850, Ding Weiliang came to China for the first time, made a short stop in Hongkong and went to Ningbo to preach, and studied China Mandarin and Ningbo dialect in Ningbo, studying the Four Books and Five Classics.
Ding Weiliang, the chief teacher of the Tongwen Museum, and his students are at his residence.
During his stay in Ningbo, Ding Weiliang founded two private schools, each with about 20 students. The textbooks used were religious and secular books written by missionaries such as Guo Shila, and Ding Weiliang's "Tracing the Source of Heaven" was among them. 1858, as an interpreter for American negotiators, he participated in the negotiation of the Tianjin Treaty, which stipulated provisions to protect Christian priests from preaching in China. This clause was written into the treaty, and Ding Weiliang played a great role.
After the Tianjin Treaty negotiation, Ding Weiliang went to Beijing to participate in the Sino-US Tianjin Treaty exchange negotiation. 1860, Ding Weiliang left Ningbo and returned to the United States, starting his first vacation as a missionary. 1862, Ding Weiliang came to China again and began his missionary career. This time, his missionary activities started in Shanghai and then extended to Beijing and other places. During this period, Ding Weiliang translated The Law of Nations written by the famous American lawyer Wheaton, and published it after being examined and approved by the Prime Minister's yamen.
Ding Weiliang took advantage of the opportunity of translating books and gradually got to know the officials of the Prime Minister's yamen, and his reputation gradually became known to the Qing court. Prince Gong Yi? Appreciating his accomplishments in Chinese and western cultures, I gave him an nickname of "Guanxi".
When john fryer left the Tongwen Museum, the vacant teaching position was giving Prince Gong a headache. He asked Pu Anchen, the US envoy to China, and wade, the Counsellor of the British Consulate General in China, for help and then recommended it. They unanimously recommended Ding Weiliang, in the words of Hurd, the General Tax Department of the Customs: "Today, my teacher criticized the Chinese of all foreigners here, and he thought that Ding Weiliang was the best-whether speaking Mandarin or dialect." [ 1]
This article is rewritten according to "Foreign Adults in the Late Qing Dynasty Officialdom"
On the recommendation of Pu Anchen and wade, Ding Weiliang agreed to leave the Chongshi Hall, a missionary school being founded, and become an English teacher in the Jingshi Tongwen Hall. One of the main reasons for accepting this position is economic consideration. Because accepting this position can make Ding Weiliang get a relatively rich economic income, which is very necessary not only for his family but also for his missionary activities. At that time, the Presbyterian Church in the United States was in financial difficulties because of the impact of the Civil War, and it had to reduce the funds for missionary activities in China, which deeply affected Ding Weiliang.
Teaching in Tongwen Museum, Ding Weiliang can get silver 1000 taels a year, or 1330 dollars, and can advance his salary for half a year, which even catches up with the total budget of the Beijing Presbyterian Church Project submitted in 1863 10/0/459 dollars. This is naturally very attractive to a person who has to bear the family expenses and children's study in the United States besides preaching, so he once said bluntly, "I don't think my responsibility is to refuse it." Ding Weiliang also said, "I accepted the appointment out of doing good deeds and alleviating financial difficulties". [2] The essence of what he called "doing good deeds" is to hope to achieve the purpose of influencing the elites in China.
When Ding Weiliang took over as a teacher, there were only a dozen students in the English hall at that time. Although they were taught by Bulten, john fryer and others, their acceptance ability was very poor. When Ding Weiliang arrived, they could only stutter one or two simple English words, but he had to start teaching again from ABC.
References:
[1] Hurd's Diary:1863-1866, China Customs Press, 2003, p. 142.
[2] Wang Weijian: "Ding Weiliang and Jingshi Tongwen Pavilion", see Wang Xi's Series on the History of Sino-US Relations, Fudan University Press 1985, p. 1 197.
China (179) and Britain (35) Teaching (1)