Ma Xiangbo
| Ma Xiangbo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
1840 Dantu, Jiangsu |
| Died | 1939 |
| Nationality | Chinese |
| Other names | Ma Liang |
| Education | Collège de Saint-Ignace, Shanghai |
| Occupation | educator |
| Known for | founded three Universities |
| Religion | Christian |
| Denomination | Catholic, Jesuit |
Ma Xiangbo (simplified Chinese: 马相伯; traditional Chinese: 馬相伯; pinyin: Mǎ Xiàngbó; Wade–Giles: Ma Hsiang-po; 1840-1939) was a Chinese Jesuit priest, scholar and educator in the late Qing Dynasty and Republican China. His original given name was Jianchang (建常) but was changed to Liang (良). "Xiangbo" was his courtesy name. He also adopted the Catholic name "Joseph". He was one of the founders of Aurora University, Fu Jen Catholic University and Fudan University.
Biography
Ma was born in Dantu, Jiangsu province to a prominent Catholic family. At the age of 11, he enrolled in a French Jesuit school in Shanghai, Collège de Saint-Ignace, where he remained first as student and later as teacher until 1870. In 1870, he was ordained priest in the Jesuit order. In 1886/87, he visited France and eventually devoted his life to higher education.
Ma founded the following institutions of higher learning:
- Aurora Academy (Zhendan Xueyuan 震旦學院)(1903)
- Fudan Public School (Fudan Gongxue 復旦公學) (1905), literally meaning: a revived Aurora Public School
- Catholic University of Peking 北京公教大學, later renamed Fu Jen Catholic University （Furen daxue 輔仁大學）, in co-operation with Ying Lianzhi 英斂之.
His idea of establishing a highest body of learning was eventually realized in 1928 by his close friend, the educator Cai Yuanpei, who established the Academia Sinica (Zhongyang Yanjiuyuan 中央研究院).
His brother, Ma Jianzhong, was a prominent official in the Qing government.
See also
- Article on Collège de Saint-Ignace in Chinese Wikipedia.
References
- Boorman, Howard L., Richard C. Howard, and Joseph K. H. Cheng, eds. Biographical Dictionary of Republican China. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967.
- Hayhoe, Ruth, and Lu Yongling, eds. Ma Xiangbo and the Mind of Modern China 1840-1939. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1996.