Chung Hwa Confucian School

Chung Hwa Confucian School (Chinese : 孔圣庙中华学校) was founded in 1904 in Penang, Malaysia. It is one of the oldest formal Chinese Schools in Malaysia and is the first to use Mandarin as the medium of instruction instead of the Chinese Dialects.

It is the only Overseas Chinese School to be sanctioned by the Qing Dynasty Government of China, which officially presented it with royal seals bearing the school's name through its consulate and prominent local businessman Cheong Fatt Tze, who is also credited with being the founder of the school.

History

The ancestors of the Chinese community in Penang came from various backgrounds, various dialect groups, clans and provinces, and they settled here during different periods in Penang’s history. They took up various trades and occupations, and established many religious and social institutions. Later, they established their family here, and built schools for their descendants.

Chinese education was only introduced to Penang in the early 20th century, a century later than the English schools were introduced. Penang Free School was founded in 1816, followed by Hutchings School in 1821, Saints Xavier’s Institution and Convent Light Street in 1851, Methodist Boys’ School in 1881 (was known as Anglo-Chinese School), St George’s Girls’ School (1884) and Methodist Girls’ School (1895).

Cheong Fatt Tze, was worried that new generations of Chinese might eventually forget their mother tongue and their own culture. He saw education as a means to bring the Chinese into the 20th century. He, therefore, donated funds to build Chung Hwa School (1904) in Penang and Ying Sin School (1905) in Singapore. These schools were the oldest formal Chinese Schools established in South-east Asia as a result of influence by the educational reforms in China in early 1900s, Mandarin is the school’s medium of instruction.

Cheong founded Chung Hwa School on 15th of May 1904 at “"Ping Zhang Hui Guan"” (Chinese : 平章會館), Pitt Street, where the present Penang Chinese Town Hall is located. The school is one of the oldest formal Chinese Schools in Malaysia and the first to use Mandarin as the medium of instruction instead of the Chinese Dialects. It is the only Overseas Chinese School to be sanctioned by China's Qing Dynasty Government, which officially presented it with royal seals bearing the school's name.

Initially, the school had only an enrollment of 160 students and 8 teachers, classes were only conducted for primary level. The administration of the school came under the patronage of the School's Board of Governors. In 1908, it was moved to Maxwell Road when a new school building was completed.

In 1912, the Republican overthrew the Qing Dynasty Government and took over the administration of China. In the same year, the Confucian Association known as the Confucian Temple allocated funds to sponsor the school which came under the patronage of the Temple and the term “Confucian” became part of the name of the school. The school was then renamed to Chung Hwa Confucian School.

Lower secondary classes were started at Chung Hwa Confucian School in 1924. The school enrolment increased to 900 pupils. The school progressed and prospered until the period of Japanese occupation, fortunately the school premises survived from the destruction of the second world war.

A year after independence was declared in Malaya, Chung Hwa Confucian Primary School became a government-aided school, which is known as a national type primary school. Meanwhile, Chung Hwa Confucian Secondary School remained under the administration of the School's Board of Governors. As the enrolment of students increased in 1964, Chung Hwa Confucian Primary School was divided into two schools, which are Chung Hwa Confucian (Morning) Primary School and Chung Hwa Confucian (Afternoon) Primary School.

In 1972, students of the secondary school commenced their classes in the new school premises at 2, Persiaran Tembaga, Green Lane (now known as Jalan Masjid Negeri). It was renamed Chung Hwa Confucian High School. The primary schools remained at Maxwell Road.

The school premises at Maxwell Road served its last batch of students in 1979, and was demolished to make way for the KOMTAR project. A new school building at Jalan Ibbetson, Air Itam was built for the primary school. Both primary schools were then renamed to Chung Hwa Confucian (A) Primary School and Chung Hwa Confucian (B) Primary School. Now, both of these schools share the same building.

On 15th of May 2004, the school celebrated centennial with grand dinner at Chung Hwa Confucian High School's main hall, more than 1,000 guests attended the centenary dinner, and more than 5,000 visitors including teachers, students and parents visited the school's centenary exhibitions.

The high school is now upgraded various high-tech facilities for its teachers and students. For example, the auditorium, which is built at the top floor of the building, is fitted with 8 air-conditioners, 3 LCD display in a theater-like room.

Motto

Respect (Chinese : 敬, pinyin : jìng)
"To respect, to respect parents and teachers, to respect work and like to mix around."

Sincerity (Chinese : 诚, pinyin : chéng)
"To be sincere, to owe allegiance and to be honest, not to cheat and not to bully."

Diligence (Chinese : 勤, pinyin : qín)
"To be industrious, have determination and willing to achieve the peak of success."

Moderation (Chinese : 朴, pinyin : pǔ)
"To live moderately, pure and truthful not to be greedy and not to live luxuriously."

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/chunghwa1904 Chung Hwa Confucian School Web Site]