Chaos under a New Roof: Voices from Inside the Beijing Tongwen Guan (1862–1900)

Abstract

This thesis reexamines the Beijing Tongwen Guan (1862–1900), the Qing dynasty’s first state school for foreign languages and sciences. Moving beyond the conventional narrative of modernization, it combines the perspectives of William Alexander Parsons Martin (chief foreign instructor, 1869–1894) and Qi Rushan (student, 1894–1899) to reveal the institution’s inner dynamics. By juxtaposing Martin’s reflections on reformist ambitions with Qi’s candid account of student life, the study highlights tensions between design and practice across admissions, curriculum, faculty, and discipline. These sources show how bureaucratic routines, cultural frictions, and everyday improvisations shaped the school’s outcomes. The Tongwen Guan emerges not as a simple success or failure, but as a contested arena where tradition and reform intersected. This thesis thus offers a more nuanced view of late Qing educational reform and China’s uneven encounters with Western knowledge.