- Zhang Jian (politician)
Zhang Jian (Chinese: 张謇; 1853 - 1926), courtesy name Jizhi (季直), sobriquet Qiang'an (啬庵), was a Chinese entrepreneur, politician and educationist.
Biography
Zhang was born in Haimeng County,
Jiangsu Province in 1853. He took the Imperial Examinations ofQing Dynasty and attained "Zhuangyuan", or "exemplar of state" in 1894, and subsequently served inHanlin Academy .In 1909, Zhang was elected the chairman of Jiangsu provincial parliament. In 1912, Zhang drafted the "Abdication Edict" for
Puyi , the last emperor of China. He was appointed as the Minister of Enterprise of the temporary government of theRepublic of China . In 1913, Zhang became the Minister of Industry and Commerce and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry inBeiyang Government . In 1914, he served as the director of the State Administration of Water Resources.Achievements
Zhang founded the first normal school in modern China, Nantong Normal College. He established the first private museum of China,
Nantong Museum .The ideal he advocated, "Enterprise as Father, Education as Mother", has a profound impact on Chinese history. In his life, he founded over 20 companies, and over 370 schools, and made a significant contribution to the industrialization and education of modern China.
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