On May 22, the Dongguan Alumni Association of Jinan University went to the former residence of Chen Botao in Zhongtang to find roots, and held the launching ceremony of the Dongguan Jinan People's Scholarship Fund and other thanksgiving activities. Zhang Yingqin, deputy secretary of the Zhongtang Town CPC Committee, attended the event.
At the former residence of Chen Botao, the alumni listened carefully to the explanations, deeply understood the profound cultural heritage of Fengchong Village and the deeds of Chen Botao's founding of the school and the deeds of Future Generations, and felt its spirit of inheriting the past and revitalizing sinology. Chen Botao, a Fengchong person in Zhongtang, is one of the founders of Jinan University, and the word "Jinan" of Jinan University is named by Chen Botao. Chen Botao, in his capacity as Jiang Ning's envoy, concurrently served as the supervisor of Jinan Academy, and laid the foundation for Jinan Academy for two years.
Chen Botao is the only Literary Exploration Flower in the history of Dongguan, and his works such as "Dongguan County Chronicle" are the most prestigious. Fengchong Village Chen Clan Ancestral Hall and Shengqi Family Ancestral Hall (Chen Botao's former residence) are now the cultural relics protection units of Dongguan City, and the Dongguan Municipal Government uses this as the Chen Botao Historical Relics Exhibition Hall and the Dongguan Historical and Cultural Heritage Base.
Li Jianye, executive president of the Dongguan Alumni Association of Jinan University, said that the journey to find the roots in Chen Botao's hometown hopes to let more alumni understand the history of their alma mater and the deeds of Chen Botao's ancestors, trace the source of gratitude, inherit the spirit of the ancestors, more clearly define the mission shouldered by Jinan people, and strive to spread the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation.
The Dongguan Alumni Association of Jinan University also held the inauguration ceremony of the Dongguan Alumni Association Interpretation Team and the launching ceremony of the Dongguan Jinan People's Scholarship Fund in Chen Botao's hometown to provide love and assistance to Fengchong Village in Zhongtang Town.
Character stories
The only literary exploration flower in the history of Dongguan that lasted for six years to compile the "Chronicle of Dongguan County"
Chen Botao (1855-1930), number Xianghua, a character of Zi Li, in his later years changed his name to Yongtao, also known as Jiulong Zhenyi, Dongguan Zhongtang Fengyong people, Qing Dynasty Tanhua. At the age of 6, he studied under Chen Li, and at the age of 10, he read through the Five Classics, and later studied at the Luofu Mountain Pastry Monastery. In the first year of Guangxu (1875), Xiucai. In the fifth year of Guangxu (1879), he participated in the township examination and won the first place (Xie Yuan), and then went to Beijing to prepare to participate in the examination, but because his grandmother and father died one after another, he rushed back to his hometown. In the years that followed, he used the proceeds of his teaching to support his mother and younger siblings. In the eighteenth year of Guangxu (1892), ZhongrenChen Kejinshi won the third place (Tanhua) in the temple trial, becoming the only Wen Tanhua in the history of Dongguan, and was awarded the editing of Hanlin Academy, the school manager of Wenyuan Pavilion, and the assistant of Wuying Hall. Later, he served as the assistant editor and chief editor of the National History Museum.
According to historical records, in 1906, Chen Botao assisted Duan Fang, the governor of Liangjiang at the time, to establish the first school in China to train overseas Chinese students in Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, with the purpose of training overseas Chinese students in Chinese language and Chinese, and was named by Chen Botao - Jinan Xuetang, which is the predecessor of today's Jinan University. Chen Botao, in his capacity as an envoy to the academy, concurrently served as the supervisor of Jinan Academy, and personally formulated the school charter and budget. His deep roots in Chinese education are evident from this.
Later, Chen Botao went to Hong Kong to live in seclusion for twenty years, and his greatest contribution was to establish the Xuehai Library with Lai Jixi and others, open the altar to preach the scriptures, spread the essence of the country, and advocate the study of righteousness, in order to save the chinese studies that were in decline at that time. Lai Jixi, together with Chen Botao, Chen Wangzeng, Su Zhigang, Feng Bo'an, Luo Yuanxi, and a group of widows, lobbied hong Kong gentlemen and merchants to persuade them to spend huge sums of money to buy scriptures, and Chen Botao, Lai Jixi, and others took turns giving lectures every week. At first it was rented on Kennedy Road, with the first half of the book collection and the second half of the lecture. The collection is open daily for public viewing. Soon after receiving the sponsorship of a gentleman for 40,000 to 50,000 Hong Kong dollars, he purchased a Western-style building at No. 18, Banhan Road, Central, with one floor for lectures, one floor for books, and the other floor for rent, collecting rent to pay for expenses, and collecting more than 40,000 books. In 1963, the Xuehai Library needed to be demolished and built, so the library borrowed all the books in the City Hall Library, and in 2001, the special collection of books was moved to the Hong Kong Central Library for continued reading.
Chen Botao's contribution to Dongguan lies in his collation of Dongguan literature. In particular, he wrote the "Dongguan County Chronicle" after six years. Chen Botao had a profound education and many works during his lifetime, including 98 volumes of the Records of Dongguan County (with 4 volumes of the Records of ShaTian), 4 volumes of the Records of the Relics of Eastern Yue in the Sheng Dynasty, 2 volumes of the Records of the Relics of Dongguan of the Song Dynasty, 2 volumes of the Biography of the Five Loyalties of Dongguan in the Ming Dynasty, 15 volumes of the Supplementary Chen Qinxuan LuofuZhi, 3 volumes of the Sayings of Filial Piety, 3 volumes of the Manuscripts of Yuan Doushi, and 4 volumes of the Gualu Wencheng. Among his many works, the "Records of Dongguan County" and the "Records of the Relics of Eastern Guangdong in the Sheng Dynasty" are the most valuable.
"Dongguan County Chronicle" is Chen Botao's period in Hong Kong, organized dozens of people, Boxing interviews, detailed quotations, imitating Ruan Wenda's "Guangdong Tongzhi" and modern Nanfan Zhuzhi style, re-compilation, it took six years to complete. "Dongguan County Chronicle" is the greatest contribution he has made to the villagers of Dongguan, "the most historical Dongguan Chronicle". To this day, it is still an important document for reference to the past history of Dongguan, and it is a rare treasure of historical documents.
Text: Li Jianwu Correspondent Qiu Faping
Photo: Courtesy of Zhongtang Rong Media Center