Title: Lu Xun,Li Siguang and China Education Culture Foundation
Abstract: The decision of Duan Qirui's cabinet to join the Allies and declare war on Germany relieved the financial pressure of China at that time,because first of all,the reparation to Germany and Austria could be halted right away,and of the allies,the signatory states to Peking Protocol also consented to postpone the payment of boxer indemnity for 5 years( till 1922) starting from 1917. After the war( World War I),the Beiyang Government negotiated successively with countries concerned on the complete exemption of the indemnity and formally decreed that the boxer indemnity fund hopefully refundable should be earmarked for education expenditure,which on the contrary led to the conflict between the educational circle in Beijing and the central government,esp. Ministry of Education. How to set up an institution to take charge of the large sum of refund and how to appoint and select related personnel became the focus of struggle among various factions and interest groups. China Education Culture Foundation organized through consultations between Cao Kun Government and USA and entrusted to take charge of refunds by USA is such an institution. After the Beijing coup directed by Feng Yuxiang,Li Shizeng,a professor with Peking University,a KMT senior from a distinguished family in Gaoyang of Hebei and the founder of Sino-France University,belittled Duan Qirui aovernment which was short of military strength and scrupulously abused the right of property scrupulously on grounds of his wide connections in the national army. The rise of China Education Culture Foundation which was not in the control of Li Shizeng largely accelerated Li's pace to seize power,and what is more,the Sino-Russia and Sino-France Boxer Indemnity Administration Committee set up in the wake of China Education Culture Foundation were all in the charge of Li Shizeng. Open and transparent in its financial affairs,China Education Culture Foundation took the initiative to put itself under the supervision of the government and public opinions—a striking contrast to the Sino-Russia and Sino-France Boxer Indemnity Administration Committee which had few guidelines to follow. At the turn of 1925 and 1926,Lu Xun watched with concern the salary of Li Siguang acting as a part-time deputy curator of a library funded by China Education Culture Foundation,which not only implied Lu Xun's doubt over China Education Culture Foundation but also served to absolve Li Shizeng from charges of taking numerous part-time jobs against the regulations of Peking University. Despite his repeated unnamed criticism by the magazine Modern Review,Li Shizeng never gave a positive response. Lu Xun's lash at Modern Review was not only due to his personal causes but also an act of relieving the besieged by besieging the base of the besiegers,which was later concealed purposefully for various reasons. Yi Peiji who served as president of Beijing Women Normal University and Minister of Education in place of Yang Yinyu and Zhang Shiqin was an agent of Li Shizeng,therefore,the campaign of expelling Yang Yinyu and bringing down Zhang Shiqinin Beijing Women Normal University in 1925 should be interpreted in a more complex historical background.
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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