Festschrift of Tan Kah Kee

Editor-in-Chief: Zhang Huanping

Associate Editor-in-Chief: Li Binbin

The Chinese Overseas Publishing House

February 2021

98.00 (CNY)

Zhang Huanping

Zhang Huanping， a Ph.D. in International Journalism from the Communication University of China， is an associate researcher at the China Institute of Overseas Chinese and an associate editor of Overseas Chinese History Studies. She is engaged in the studies of international journalism， international immigration， and overseas Chinese. Rising Challenges: To U.S. Dominance of Discursive Power is one of her major works.

Li Binbin

Li Binbin is an assistant researcher at the China Institute of Overseas Chinese， an editor in charge of Overseas Chinese History Studies， and a co-author of A History of Overseas Chinese in Russia， Central Asia， and Eastern Europe.

After the Revolution of 1911， China still suffered from the aggression of imperialism. During this period， Mr. Tan Kah Kee donated a huge amount of property to establish schools in his hometown， with the main purpose of saving the nation. In an article he wrote in 1919 about the preparation of the Higher Normal School Affiliated with Xiamen University， he said， “(China)， with its door open， is being coveted by surrounding great powers. Its survival is imminent now. If we stand by and give up our duties， the aftermath will be disastrous!” He also stated， “I’ve long lived in Singapore， but I’ve been concerned about my motherland， expecting to serve my motherland all these years.” Therefore， he planned to “build a university and its affiliated higher normal school in Xiamen”. He once said， “The national spirit is alive， and the country is still hopeful. There is no reason for the 400 million Chinese people to be enslaved. I will surely return to my motherland someday. If I can’t， my offspring will.” Thus， it is clear that his enthusiasm for running schools was attributed to his love for the motherland.

In 1913， Mr. Tan Kah Kee founded Jimei Primary School. In 1918， he founded Jimei Normal School and Jimei High School (collectively known as Jimei School at the beginning， divided into normal and high school sections). At that time， only meals were charged to high school students， while tuition and accommodation were free at Jimei School. Meals were even free for normal students. In 1919， Mr. Tan Kah Kee designated all his real estate properties， including 7，000 acres of rubber plantation and 1，500，000 square feet of shop and warehouse land， as Jimei School Fund， to supply the school-running expenses. Afterward， he continued to found the fisheries school， business school， women’s normal school， agricultural and forestry school， etc. in Jimei.

He had founded schools of primary education such as kindergarten and primary schools; schools of secondary education such as high schools， a business school， fisheries school， navigation school， agricultural and forestry school， and normal schools (including old-system normal schools， ordinary normal schools， simple normal schools， the normal school for nurse education， and rural normal schools); schools of higher education such as Chinese studies college， specialties and fisheries college， merchant marine college， and junior college. In addition， he built the science museum， library， agricultural and forestry testing field， and hospital in Jimei. Besides running schools， he organized Tongan Education Association and funded more than thirty schools in Tongan. He also set up the Education Promotion Department at Jimei School， founded model primary schools in several counties of Fujian， and subsidized many schools with financial difficulties.

In 1919， Mr. Tan Kah Kee returned to China and founded Xiamen University in person. He donated

1 million RMB for start-up expenses and 3 million RMB for running expenses for Xiamen University. At that time， there was no university in Fujian， while Xiamen University had schools of arts， science， law， business， and education， as well as fully equipped facilities. He selected a beautiful martial arts field to build magnificent school buildings for Xiamen University and designated May 9， 1921， the Day of Infamy in Chinese history， to hold the foundation laying ceremony. Xiamen University was founded this year， and the students were given lessons at the Jimei school campus before the school buildings were completed.

In addition， Mr. Tan Kah Kee was enthusiastic about the educational undertakings in the residences of overseas Chinese. Before 1919， there hadn’t been a sound high school for overseas Chinese. Therefore， in 1919， Mr. Chen invited the upper-class overseas Chinese in Singapore to initiate the grand Hwa Chong Institution. He also contributed a lot to Daonan Primary School， Chongfu Women’s School， Ai Tong School， Fishery and Navigation School， Nan Chiau Normal School， and Nan Chiau Girls’ High School founded by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan.

Mr. Tan Kah Kee attached great importance to Chinese language education in the residences of overseas Chinese. For example， in 1918， a foreigner planned to found a university in Singapore and invited him to donate $100，000 as the initiate. He agreed， but on the condition that the university would also teach the Chinese language， and that the $100，000 he donated would be used as a fund for this subject.

Due to the restrictions of the political environment and other historical conditions in old China， Mr. Tan Kah Kee couldn’t realize all his dreams of running schools， but he still made great achievements.

Most importantly， many of the schools he founded contributed numerous talents to the country and the overseas Chinese community. Besides， the schools he established promoted education in the Minnan region (southern Fujian) and other places. When he initiated schools in his hometown， the education of southern Fujian was backwards. Tongan County， with a population of more than two hundred thousand， had only a county primary school and four private primary schools， not including Jimei Primary School， and the total number of students was no more than three hundred. The founding of Jimei Schools and Xiamen University not only provided opportunities to study for many young people in southern Fujian and other places but also cultivated many teachers for southern Fujian and eastern Guangdong.

Furthermore， encouraged by Mr. Tan Kah Kee， many patriotic overseas Chinese began to run schools in their hometowns or residences overseas. From then on， the education in overseas Chinese hometowns and overseas Chinese education gained rapid development.

Mr. Tan Kah Kee donated more than 10 million SGD in total to education in his lifetime. As we know， the currency value at that time was much higher than today. Notably， when his business was in extreme difficulty， foreign banks exerted pressure on him， urging him to stop running schools. However， he resolutely replied， “No! I can give up my business， but not the schools!” Even after his companies closed down， he continued supporting Jimei Schools and Xiamen University despite many hardships. His strong perseverance and indomitable spirit were unparalleled.