The role of American missionaries in the development of education in China in the late Qing period: William Martin and the T’ong-Wen Kuan (late XIXth -early XXth century)

In the second half of the XIX century China began to develop a new system of education aimed at training staff for the benefit of pro-Western reforms of Qing dynasty. In this regard, Beijing Foreign Languages School T’ong-wen Kuan presents an interesting example of the first state-owned educational institution to teach foreign languages and a number of European naturals sciences. Taking into account specifics of the educational institution, great attention was paid to the recruitment of teachers, the most impressive of which was a missionary of the American Presbyterian Church William Martin. His initiatives helped to develop the educational potential of the school and strengthen its position among the Chinese intellectuals. However, these steps were taken in the conditions of traditional China, which had its impact on the process of modernization of Chinese educational institutions including T’ong-wen Kuan School.