Ma Xiangbo
Ma Xiangbo (simplified Chinese: 马相伯; traditional Chinese: 馬相伯; pinyin: Mǎ Xiàngbó; Wade–Giles: Ma Hsiang-po; April 7, 1840 – November 4, 1939) was a Chinese Jesuit priest, scholar and educator in late-Qing and early-Republican China. He was one of the founders of Aurora University, Fu Jen Catholic University and Fudan University.[1][2]
Ma Xiangbo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | Ma Liang |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1870 |
| Rank | Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 April 1840 |
| Died | 4 November 1939 (aged 99) Lang Son, Tonkin, Indochinese Union |
| Buried | Lang Son 1939-1952, Shanghai 1952 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Alma mater | Collège Saint-Ignace, Shanghai |
| Ma Xiangbo | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 馬相伯 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马相伯 | ||||||||
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Ma Xiangbo's original given name was Jianchang (建常) but was changed to Liang (良). "Xiangbo" was his courtesy name. He also adopted the Catholic name "Joseph."
Biography
Ma Xiangbo was born in Dantu, Jiangsu province to a prominent Catholic family. At the age of 11, he enrolled in a French Jesuit school in Shanghai, Collège Saint-Ignace (now Xuhui High School),[3] where he remained first as student and later as teacher until 1870. In 1870, he was ordained priest in the Jesuit order.[1]
Yet due to the French aggressions towards China, Ma would leave the priesthood in 1876 and eventually be married and have a family. In 1886/87, he visited France and eventually devoted his life to higher education.[4] Ma founded the following institutions of higher learning:
- Aurora Academy (1903)
- Fudan Public School (1905)
- Fu Jen Catholic University (1925), in co-operation with Ying Lianzhi
His idea of establishing a highest body of learning was eventually realized in 1928 by his close friend, the educator Cai Yuanpei, who established the Academia Sinica.
Ma Xiangbo and his brother, Ma Jianzhong, also led significant political lives. Ma Jiangzhong was a prominent official in the Qing government and Ma Xiangbo served as a diplomat from 1881 to 1897 in various postings in Asia including Japan (Tokyo 1881, Yokohama 1892), Korea (1882-1885?), Europe (Britain and France 1886–1887) and the United States.[5]
References
- Wiest, Jean-Paul (2010). "Ma Xiangbo: Pioneer of Educational Reform". In Carol Lee Hamrin (ed.). Salt and Light, Volume 2: More Lives of Faith That Shaped Modern China. Wipf and Stock Publishers. pp. 41–60. ISBN 978-1-60608-955-2.
- Weist, Jean-Paul (1999). "Ma Xiangbo". In Gerald H. Anderson (ed.). Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 443–444. ISBN 978-0-8028-4680-8.
- Who's who in China; biographies of Chinese leaders. Publisher Shanghai China Weekly Review. 1936. p. 185.
- Zhu Weizheng (1996). "Standing Between Two Worlds: Ma Xiangbo's Educational Thought and Practice". In Hayhoe, Ruth; Yongling Lu (eds.). Ma Xiangbo and the Mind of Modern China 1840-1939. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 13–88. ISBN 978-1-56324-831-3.
- Lu Yongling (1996). "Statesman and Centenarian: Ma Xiangbo as Witness of China's Early Modernity". In Hayhoe, Ruth; Yongling Lu (eds.). Ma Xiangbo and the Mind of Modern China 1840-1939. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. pp. 143–203. ISBN 978-1-56324-831-3.
Further reading
- Howard L. Boorman, ed. (1967). Biographical Dictionary of Republican China. Vol. 2. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 470–472.
- Ruth Hayhoe; Yongling Lu, eds. (1996). Ma Xiangbo and the Mind of Modern China 1840-1939. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-1-56324-831-3.