To Serve and to Lead: A History of the Diocesan Boys' School in Hong Kong

2 The School in the Making(1869–1918)

The School in the Making (1869–1918) 17 That Bishop Alford’s appeal issued on 30 January 1869 to open the DNFTS for the purpose of an orphanage “met with a liberal response”1 must be seen against the backdrop of dramatic developments in Hong Kong brought about by the changing political scene in China: the Taiping Rebellion, the Peking Convention and the “Self-Strengthening Movement”. Sociopolitical Setting In the 1850s, with the Taiping Rebellion, refugees poured into Hong Kong from the southern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. They came from a different social class and were wealthier than the earlier immigrants, bringing with them capital for trade and commerce, a pattern we shall see repeating itself in the next century. They intended to settle in Hong Kong and were keen to have their children educated, as shown by the rapid rise in the number of students in the late 1850s.2 The Second Opium War ended in 1860 with the signing of the Peking Convention with Britain and France which, in addition to the permanent cession of Kowloon to Britain, opened the interior of China to its merchants and missionaries. With British trade in China flourishing, Hong Kong became the focal point from which trade extended into the Mainland. As a result, the colony prospered and the increasing commercial and missionary activities required bilingual individuals with not only a good command of both English and Chinese but also a sound knowledge of both cultures. The Self-Strengthening Movement in China from 1860 to 1890 was similar to the Meiji Restoration of Japan in its intention to learn from the 2 The School in the Making (1869–1918) 18 To Serve and to Lead West, but it was fundamentally flawed in that it focused only on certain practical aspects, first and foremost, guns and warships. However, it also established a number of specialist schools and called for young men who were competent in English to study science, engineering and medicine in order to set up factories and hospitals and to build, for example, arsenals, railways and dockyards. While the overall plan failed in its objectives, it did give an impetus to Hong Kong to develop education with a heavy emphasis on English.3 During the course of the nineteenth century, the people in Britain became much more concerned about the education of their children. Although the government adopted a non-intervention policy, from 1833 it began to give grants to educational societies to help children from the poorer classes. A grant-in-aid scheme was introduced in 1862 whereby government grants were given to schools according to the results of an annual examination of the pupils.4 The Forster Education Act, which required the state to set up elementary schools, known as board schools and supported by local taxes, was passed in 1870. It also required the government to subsidize the voluntary schools in providing education for all school-age children.5 The social climate in Britain no doubt encouraged some of the expatriates in Hong Kong to promote education in the colony. Bishop Alford’s proposal to turn the DNFTS into an orphanage was very sound strategically. After the Opium Wars, the Qing Empire was forced to make numerous concessions and to open ports to foreign powers for trade. These ports soon turned into melting pots for intermarriage, legalized or otherwise, usually between European men and Chinese women. Most of the large corporations at that time exercised a “10-year rule” for young men who ventured to outposts of the British Empire: the rule forbade their marriage until they had been away from home for 10 years.6 As a consequence, some Eurasian* children born out of wedlock became orphans without support when their fathers left the Far East. This phenomenon, common to all ports, was particularly prevalent in Hong Kong. The term “half-caste” (equivalent to zazhong in Chinese) used to describe these children reflected the disparaging attitude of both Chinese and Europeans. Bishop Alford’s proposal represented not only a bold attempt to address a social problem, but also a subtle appeal to the conscience of the expatriates as well as the local people. * For Eurasians, see Carl Smith’s book on Chinese Christians. The School in the Making (1869–1918) 19 DHO under Mr. Monarch Burnside William Arthur (1870–78) When the DHO came into being in September 1869, its committee members were: Patron...