An article entitled “Sino-Western Elementary School in Xiayang Village, Haicheng County” was published in a Taiwan newspaper published, in Chinese, in 1906 as follows.
Since the abolition of the imperial examination system in China, education departments have been established in every province, and orders were issued to set up schools in prefectures and counties. However, most officials and gentry showed little enthusiasm for the cause. Even when efforts were made, they were often superficial rather than practical. The saying “propriety and righteousness should come from the virtuous” seems to have been ignored—a truly puzzling situation.
I have traveled to major cities such as Quanzhou’s Jinjiang County and the trading port of Xiamen, where influential gentry abound. Yet few were willing to fulfill their duties in promoting education. Recently, I heard that in the border area between Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, a man named Guo Chunyang founded an elementary school to educate children from his clan and local community. His story was published to inspire others.
《近代厦门历史资料汇刊 申报纪闻》– A compilation of written records about Xiamen’s modern history scattered in Taiwan’s newspapers and magazines, published by Xiamen University Press, 2020.
I came to Xiayang Village and found out that the Yeo clan has lived for generations, with a population of several thousand. Many have migrated to Singapore, Penang, Rangoon, and the Philippines, and built successful business careers. These overseas merchants were exposed to educational trends in Southeast Asia and proved more progressive than the traditional scholars trained under the imperial examination system in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Thus, they took the lead in donating funds to promote education, hiring teachers of both Chinese and Western subjects, and enrolling local students. After one to two years, the school since built showed promising results. Additional funds were remitted from Southeast Asia to expand the scale and ensure ongoing financial support. This initiative was pioneered by Yeo Cheow Kaw, a Chinese merchant based in Rangoon and the business owner of Chip Moh trading firm. His contribution is truly commendable, and it is hereby published in recognition of his admirable deeds.
Page 101,
from Volume 4，
《近代厦门历史资料汇刊 申报纪闻》
The author describes how the founder of Xiayang Primary School not only funded the school but also, with great sincerity and respect, invited talented Chinese and Western teachers (most likely from other places or Southeast Asia) to teach in the village. The author used the word “谆” (pronounced in HanyuPinyin as ‘zhun’) to vividly capture grandfather Yeo Cheow Kaw’s eagerness to seek good teachers and his own dedication to educating the clan youngsters.
Further Readings:
[1] 《Our Grandfather Yeo Cheow Kaw》Chapter 2
[2] Xiayang Primary School on Baidu (In Chinese)
[3] Xiayang Primary School Celebrating 120th Anniversary (In Chinese)
[4] (On Site, in Chinese) XYPS’s 120th Anniversary
[5] (On Site) Yeo Cheow Kaw and his schools
[6] (On site, in Chinese) A Bronze Statue in Xiayang Primary Schol
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2025.09.16