Commemorating the 130th anniversary of Zhang Pengchun's birth
1892.4.22－1957.7.19
Zhang Pengchun is a world-renowned human rights activist
Text | Sun Pinghua
Chinese representative Zhang Pengchun participated in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and his outstanding contributions to the drafting process have been praised by Chinese and foreign scholars, and he has become a world-renowned human rights activist.
According to the materials in my possession, there are four main sources for the study of Zhang Pengchun's life.
Among them, the most detailed material is the book "Zhang Pengchun on Education and Drama Art" edited by Cui Guoliang and Cui Hong published by Nankai University Press in 2004, and the appendix of the book is published on pages 615-710, compiled by Cui Guoliang. This is one of the most detailed chronologies.
The second source is the "Life and Writings of Zhang Pengchun", edited by Zhang Pengchun's daughter Zhang Xinyue and son-in-law Zheng Shixuan, which provides Zhang Pengchun's life in both Chinese and English, but compared with the previously mentioned one, the life in the book is simpler and less detailed than the previous book.
The third source is Professor Sumner Twiss of Florida State University in the United States, who wrote a special discussion of Confucian contributions to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from a historical and philosophical perspective in 2009, and as a special discussion of the 14th chapter of the book "World Religions after the 9/11 Incident", the first part of the article is an introduction to the background of Zhang Pengchun's life, which has a total of 5 paragraphs, the first 4 paragraphs introduce The educational background of Zhang Pengchun. The experience of working in education, major treatises and diplomatic careers ends with a transitional period.
The fourth source is "China Representative Zhang Pengchun and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" published in the 6th issue of Human Rights magazine in 2003 by Professor Lu Jianping of Chinese University, and they later published a similar article in Southern Weekend to briefly introduce Zhang Pengchun's life.
Here, combined with the above main sources, we try to fully grasp the life and deeds of Zhang Pengchun, try to be simple and clear, and highlight the focus, and according to the author's understanding, zhang Pengchun's life will be classified and explained from the following aspects.
In the autumn of 1946, Zhang Pengchun (right) was on a ship in New York, USA, sending his brother Zhang Boling back to China.
First, Zhang Pengchun's family background
Zhang Pengchun was born in Tianjin on April 22, 1892. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Pengchun's ancestors lived on the banks of the canals in Shandong, relying on ships carrying goods on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which was the main waterway transportation running through the north and south. Later, he settled in the Hedong area of Tianjin and ran a boat company with the name "Xiexing". After several generations of running the Zhang family gradually became rich, Zhang Pengchun's grandfather Zhang Xiaozhou (1804-1842) abandoned the business and conformed to the text, but repeatedly failed to succeed, and unfortunately died early. The grandfather had one son, the only son, Zhang Pengchun's father, Zhang Jiu'an (1834-1909). He accepted the lessons of his father's generation, did not think about the name of merit, did not do anything, but was drunk on riding and shooting, loved music, played and sang everything, especially played a good pipa, and Tianjin people gave him the nickname "Pipa Zhang". When Zhang Pengchun was born, his father was 59 years old. In Chinese, "nine" became his nickname, known as "Mr. Nine". Zhang Pengchun followed his father in and out of the theater since he was a child, and was inspired and influenced by the art of theater since he was a child.
In 1905, Zhang Pengchun (back right) took a group photo with his brother Zhang Boling (second from right), his father Zhang Jiu'an (a sitting man) and his nephew.
Second, the educational background of Eastern and Western cultures
Zhang Pengchun graduated from Nankai Middle School in 1908, a school founded by his brother Zhang Boling, and graduated from Baoding Higher School in 1910. It was Zhang Pengchun who was admitted to the second batch of Gengjian tour students of the "Travel Aesthetic Affairs Office". Entered Clark University (1910-1913). He graduated from the university in 1913 with a bachelor's degree and went on to graduate school at Columbia University (1913-1915). In 1915, he obtained a double master's degree, one of which was a master's degree in arts from the Graduate School and the other a master's degree in education from the Faculty of Education (Faculty of Teachers). In 1919, after working in Nankai for several years, Zhang Pengchun returned to Columbia University to pursue a doctorate. After completing his doctoral dissertation in 1922, Zhang Pengchun was officially awarded a doctorate in 1924 due to the inability to pay for the publication of his doctoral dissertation, "Modernizing China from Education", in 1923.
Third, the teaching experience as an educator
After graduating with a master's degree, Zhang Pengchun returned to Nankai School to teach (1916-1919), during which he served as the acting president of Nankai from 1917 to 1918, assisted his brother in organizing Nankai University in 1919, and after completing his doctoral dissertation, Zhang Pengchun served as provost of Tsinghua Xuetang from 1923 to 1926, and proposed the establishment of Tsinghua University in 1923. In 1926, he returned to Nankai as the director of the middle school department and also served as a professor of philosophy at Nankai University (1926-1937). From 1928 to 1929, he was the acting president of Nankai University. While teaching in Nankai, he also taught Chinese philosophy and art at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Art College in 1931.
Left: When Zhang Pengchun was acting principal of Nankai School (1918); Right: Zhang Pengchun was the director of the middle school department of Nankai School (1928)
From 1933 to 1934, he taught at the University of Hawaii. In 1936, Zhang Pengchun visited the University of Cambridge as an exchange professor at the Ministry of Education. During his visit, he has given lectures at 10 British universities, including the University of Oxford, including 4 in 3 days in Oxford. From 1944 to 1945, he taught at Columbia University. He died in the United States in July 1957.
Fourth, the language talent as an artist
Zhang Pengchun wrote English scripts as early as the process of studying at Clark University, which is not unrelated to his experience of following his father in and out of the theater since he was a child, and the interest he cultivated from an early age enabled him to show his talents in the creation of scripts at the university level. Zhang Pengchun not only created the script, but also adapted Ibsen's script, etc., and created, adapted and directed more than 10 Chinese and English scripts.
He wrote three English plays in New York in 1915: The Intruder, The Intruder, The Man in Gray, and The Awakening. In 1921, he wrote the play "Mulan" at the request of Hong Shen and others, which consisted of 11 acts and was twice staged at the Cort Theater on Broadway in New York City from February 24 to 25.
In addition, during his university studies, he also served as the leader of the Clark University Speech Team and represented the school in speech competitions, where he won several awards. He served as the deputy head of the new theater troupe in Nankai, which trained Cao Yu, a famous drama artist in the mainland, and also because of his outstanding contributions to drama art, Zhang Pengchun was called "the first modern theater director", "an accomplished drama educator" and "one of the founders of drama in the north". His play XincunZheng is considered by theater historians to be "an iconic work of Chinese theater modernization."
In 1935, Zhang Pengchun (first from the left) took a work photo of directing "Money Mania", which was the scene of the rehearsal of the rehearsal play directed by Wan Jiabao (Cao Yu) as Han Bokang.
The creation and performance of the above-mentioned plays have played an important role and had a positive impact on educating the people and transforming society, and also demonstrated Zhang Pengchun's language talent as an artist. His talent for the English language was also fully developed by his years of higher education in the United States, laying a solid foundation for his later diplomatic career.
Fifth, outstanding talent as a diplomat
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937, Nankai University was bombed by the Japanese army on July 30, and Zhang Pengchun fled Tianjin in disguise overnight. Perhaps because of the anti-Japanese sentiment of the drama performed by the Nankai New Theater Troupe, Zhang Pengchun was sent by the Nationalist government to the United Kingdom and the United States to publicize the anti-Japanese resistance and win foreign aid. On 29 September, he began to publicize the War of Resistance in London, exposing the atrocities committed by the Japanese army. On October 5, Zhang Pengchun gave a speech at a national protest rally organized by the British "News Chronicle" at Albert Royal Hall in the United Kingdom, entitled Japan's War on Civilians. The assembly was presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Supreme Leader of the British Religious Community.
On June 21, 1938, Zhang Pengchun was elected as the only representative (the first suffragan) in Tianjin to attend the National Suffrage Conference held from July 6 to 15. In October, he participated in the second session of the National Political Participation Association. On December 23, he delivered a speech on "Wartime Diplomacy" at Nankai Middle School in Chongqing.
On January 19, 1939, Zhang Pengchun established the "Committee on Non-Participation in Japanese Aggression" in the United States, which was supported by former US Secretary of State Stimson, and successfully lobbied the US Congress to pass the "Economic Sanctions Case against Japan", and the US government also abruptly canceled the "US-Japan Commercial Treaty". In June, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Clark University. He was later Minister Plenipotentiary to Turkey (1940-1942) and Ambassador to Chile (1942-1945), and during his tenure as Minister Plenipotentiary of Turkey, he delivered an important speech (March 1942) in Baghdad, Iraq, detailing traditional Chinese culture and Confucianism.
From January 10 to February 14, 1946, the first session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in London, and Zhang Pengchun attended the meeting as one of the four official representatives of China. During the General Assembly, he was appointed permanent representative of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (1946-1952).
On January 23, 1946, Zhang Pengchun gave a speech entitled "A New Loyalty" at the first session of the Economic and Social Council. On February 7, Zhang Pengchun proposed the creation of the World Health Organization. On June 4, Zhang Pengchun delivered a speech on "World Significance in Economically Low-Pressure Regions" at the ECOSOC meeting in New York. In November, he delivered a lecture at Nankai Middle School in Chongqing, entitled "What is Modernization?". In his speech, he concluded: "For 30 years, the individual has sometimes devoted himself to education, sometimes to diplomacy, and sometimes to the study of drama. On the surface, it seems that the work is too extensive, but in fact, all activities have a consistent central interest, that is, modernization, that is, how China can modernize. ”
From 1947 to 1948, Zhang Pengchun served as Vice Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and Vice Chairman of the Drafting Committee, making outstanding contributions to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
6. As a major treatise of an outstanding scholar
Zhang Pengchun has written three works in English, which have had a certain impact on the international academic community.
The first was his doctoral dissertation, "Modernizing China from an Education Perspective," which was about education in China. The book was published by Columbia University College of Education Press in 1923, the article numbered No. 137, the full text of the text of a total of 92 pages, a total of 8 chapters. The AMS edition of the book was published in 1972.
Some of the ideas in this book have many of their own innovations, and they are still very inspiring to read today, and have certain research value. Cui Guoliang's evaluation of Zhang Pengchun's doctoral dissertation is as follows: "In terms of education, his doctoral dissertation combines Western education theories, ideas and practices with The actual situation in China and puts forward the concept of China's education modernization. The direction he set for Nankai University and Tsinghua University: the high standards of students trained by universities should "invent new theories and become the precursors of world learning"; and low standards should "keep pace" with the West, and ultimately cultivate creative leadership talents. In terms of methodology, he advocated 'taking action as the main and discipline as the secondary', that is, taking the 'living person' as the object of education and the discipline as the means of cultivating human ability. These ideas still have strong practical significance. ”
In addition, there are two books about Chinese history and culture. One of them was China: Where to Go, published in the United States in 1934. Why? The other is China at the Crossroads, published in England in 1936. These two books introduce China's history and culture in detail to Western society, and provide valuable documents for the West to understand China's traditional cultural thought and splendid and long history, which is still very readable.
Zhang Pengchun's China at the crossroads
His speeches and reports have been included in more than 100 of Zhang Pengchun's books on Education and Dramatic Arts, including two speeches and reports in Baghdad in English in 1942 and three speeches at the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1946.
He was not only a prolific and outstanding scholar, but also covered a wide range of fields, and was called a "multi-talented" by the famous Western scholar, Harvard Law School Greenton.
He is proficient in both traditional Chinese cultural thought, Islamic cultural thought and Western philosophical thought. He was good at flexibly applying Confucian philosophical ideas in his writings and speeches to expound his own ideas and views.
Pluralists as philosophers
Zhang Pengchun's expertise in philosophical thinking is closely related to the education he received, and he developed a strong interest in educational philosophy when he was pursuing a master's degree at Columbia University in 1913-1915. The formation of his philosophical view should be mainly attributed to two main aspects, one is the influence of traditional Chinese culture, especially Confucianism; the other is the influence of dewey pragmatism and philosophical thought of the famous American sociologist and educator Dewey.
As a proud protégé of Professor Dewey, his methodology of combining critical reflection with an emphasis on practice was influenced by the philosophical ideas of his mentor. Among them, critical reflection focuses on the logic of thinking and scientific methods, while the emphasis on practice focuses on solving social reality problems.
From Zhang Pengchun's speeches and treatises, it is not difficult to find the influence of Dewey's philosophical view on him. For example, Zhang Pengchun analyzed Dewey's concept of continuity philosophy in the fifth chapter of his doctoral dissertation, "The Prescient Experience of Modern Educational Methods", and evaluated Dewey's educational ideals, arguing: "No other modern philosopher can clearly state the inherent unity of philosophical thought and educational efforts as Professor Dewey. Zhang Pengchun further quoted Dewey's exposition of philosophy and educational theory: "If we are willing to think of education as a process of forming basic qualities, intellect and feelings, with nature and human beings as the goal, philosophy can even be defined as a general theory of education." The influence of traditional Chinese culture, especially Confucianism, on Zhang Pengchun is even more obvious, so much so that Western scholars believe that "habitual use of Confucianism" has become Zhang Pengchun's personal personality characteristics.
This can be found in his writings and speeches, and in the process of drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he often used the classic Confucian sayings, strategies and methods to reconcile conflicts, resolve contradictions, and solve problems. As Humphrey, the first director of the UN Human Rights Division, said of Zhang Pengchun, "He was a master of coordination, with a whole set of Confucian classics, and he was often able to provide rules to enable the Commission on Human Rights to emerge from the impasse." ”
In addition, Zhang Pengchun also has a deep understanding of Western philosophy and Islamic culture. All of this played an important role in the formation of his pluralist philosophical view.
8. Major contributions as the drafter of the Declaration
In January 1947, at the first session of the First Session of the Commission on Human Rights, composed of 18 countries, Zhang Pengchun was elected vice chairman of the Commission on Human Rights. In the following two years he participated in the discussions of the first session of the Commission on Human Rights, the first session of the Drafting Committee, the third session of the Commission on Human Rights and the meetings of the Third Committee of the General Assembly.
Pengchun Zhang (front row, first from left) and Eleanor Roosevelt, president of the World Commission on Human Rights and wife of President Roosevelt (front row, second from left), at the World Conference on Human Rights
As early as the first session of the Commission on Human Rights, Zhang Pengchun stressed: "Chinese philosophical thought and Confucianism have long been admired by European philosophers. Although the peoples of Europe in the 19th century went down a narrow path and were self-centered, after this world war, mankind should look at the world's major problems with a broad vision. Therefore, he advocated that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights should integrate Chinese Confucianism and doctrine.
Zhang Pengchun, with his profound knowledge and superior wisdom, made outstanding contributions to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the following aspects: 1. Put forward an overall drafting plan, first of all, to accurately characterize the Declaration; 2. Adhere to traditional Chinese culture and successfully integrate into Confucianism; 3. Adhere to the universality of human rights and resolve controversies about the sources of human rights; 4. Advocate the principle of conciseness and ease of grasp, so that the Declaration has a rigorous structure; 5. Use extraordinary wisdom to creatively break deadlocks and resolve contradictions; 6. Rely on profound knowledge 7. Attaching importance to the rights of economic and social documents and proposing the concept of mutual tolerance and harmony in society; 8. Thinking about problems from a philosophical perspective, and expounding the concept of Chinese rights to the world.
In short, Zhang Pengchun played an important role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and made outstanding contributions, which were respected by Western scholars, especially American scholars.
Conclusion
Zhang Pengchun's philosophical opponent, Malik, then chairman of the Third Committee of the General Assembly. On the eve of the universal declaration of human rights, at the 180th plenary session of the General Assembly on 9 December 1948, the contribution of the Chinese representative Zhang Pengchun in the drafting process of the declaration was highly praised: "It is impossible to even name hundreds of individuals and hundreds of institutions that contributed directly or indirectly to our initial work. Nevertheless, I must mention Dr. Zhang Pengchun, who is an outstanding Vice-Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights and the Drafting Committee. He often quoted Eastern wisdom and Eastern philosophy, succeeding in broadening our horizons each time, and he, with his peculiar drafting genius, was able to adjust many of our terms with pleasure. ”
Zhang Pengchun (left) talks to Malik
On July 19, 1957, Due to a heart attack, Zhang Pengchun died in New Jersey, USA, at the age of 65.
"He failed to witness the subsequent adoption of the International Covenants on Human Rights, which made the Universal Declaration of Human Rights binding and part of his proposed solution to the implementation of human rights throughout the world." Upon learning of Zhang Pengchun's death, Humphrey, director of the United Nations Human Rights Division, was very saddened. He wrote in his diary: "Zhang Pengchun has passed away. Of all the delegates on the Council, I feel that he is the one I have communicated the most spiritually and intellectually, and one of my favorites... He was a scholar and, to some extent, a master of art. Despite these outstanding talents, his diplomatic duties were also well exercised. Compared to those who follow the tide, he is a giant. ”
In 1956, Zhang Pengchun and his relatives and friends were in New York. From right: Zhang Pengchun, Liu Wuji, Gao Aihong (Lady Liu), Liu Guangnan (Lady Liu), Cai Xiuzhu (Lady Zhang Pengchun, holding Zhang Yuanping), Zhang Xinyue (second daughter, holding Zheng Zongshun), Zheng Shihuan (son-in-law), Gao Maji (eldest daughter-in-law, holding Zhang Yuanling), Zhang Yuanfeng (second son), Zhang Mingmin (eldest daughter), Zhai Hanping (second daughter-in-law), Zhang Chenzhong (eldest son).
In short, although Zhang Pengchun never had much academic achievement in the field of human rights or law before participating in the drafting, as a philosopher, educator, diplomat and master of language arts, his personal experience and the pain of Japan's invasion of China, especially the bombing of Nankai University, as well as his human rights activities in national diplomacy, deepened his understanding of human dignity and the principle of human rights.
His contribution to the drafting of the manifesto is no accident, but is attributable not only to his own ingenuity, thoughtfulness, and broad vision, but also to his mastery of Chinese and Western ways of thinking and his extraordinary ability to control the English language. In addition, thanks to the nourishment and cultivation of traditional Chinese culture, his style of quoting Confucian classics and famous sayings just shows his deep understanding of traditional Chinese culture and reflects the great influence he himself has been subjected to.
In the process of drafting, he sometimes put forward suggestions and proposals for adoption, sometimes raised questions for further discussion and clarification; in the process of resolving disputes, he sometimes gave good-faith exhortations, and sometimes stated his philosophical ideas. The lofty posture and ability to work with ease that he fully demonstrated during the drafting process made great contributions to leading the drafting work.
In a sense, his contribution is an outstanding contribution to Chinese civilization, national wisdom and excellent cultural traditions.
About the author:
Sun Pinghua is a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, a doctor of human rights law (the first doctor of human rights law in mainland China), and a visiting scholar at the University of Exeter Law School in the United Kingdom.
Professor Sun Pinghua has conducted in-depth research on Zhang Pengchun and his contributions to the construction of the world human rights system, and his representative achievements include "Research on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (the result of the project funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China, and won the second prize of the "13th Beijing Philosophy and Social Science Outstanding Achievement Award" in 2014), "Zhang Pengchun: An Important Designer of the World Human Rights System" (selected into the "National Philosophy and Social Science Achievements Library" in 2016), and "China's Contribution to World Cooperation and Win-win Cooperation in 2022— Zhang Pengchun's speech to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences Press). There are also two Chinese Academic Translation Projects: 1) Human Rights Protection System in China and 2) Historic Achievement of a Common Standard: Pengchun Chang and the Universal Declaration of Human Righs, both published by Springer Press. And a major project supported by the National Social Science Foundation: Chinese Contributions to International Discourse of Human Rights has been published by Springer Press.
In October 2021, he won the "Boling Research Contribution Award" at the celebration meeting of the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Zhang Boling Research Association.
This article was originally published in The 6th Issue of Human Rights Magazine in 2011 and reprinted from the public account of the "Zhang Boling Research Society".