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
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhèng Guànyìng
Wade–GilesCheng Kuan-ying
Zheng Guanying
Zheng in the 1920s

History

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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

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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

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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

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  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

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  • 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

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English:

Chinese:

German:

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