Enter the Pragmatic Engineer: Ling Hongxun at Jiaotong University, 1920–1927

ABSTRACT

In the early 1920s, the Chinese Ministry of Communications reformed the technical colleges under its control. The era constituted a dogmatic vacuum: Confucian elements had largely been abandoned, and Nationalist Party propaganda had not yet been instated. At Shanghai Jiaotong University, the US-educated civil engineer Ling Hongxun (1894–1981) oversaw this period as the school’s principal. This article argues that Ling, more a practitioner than an educator, promoted a form of pragmatism that aimed at utilising solution-oriented learning to benefit the nation. In his speeches and essays, he propagated a training that prepared engineers to “save the country through transport and communications.” Accordingly, the curriculum at Shanghai Jiaotong stressed the importance of practical experience, discipline and physical exercise. Despite remaining a short-lived era in education, pragmatism became the work ethos for a new generation of engineers.

KEYWORDS:

• China
• engineering
• Jiaotong University
• Ling Hongxun
• pragmatism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

^1. Waldron, From War to Nationalism, 241–62.

^2. Ling, Qishi zishu, 39–40; Huo and Gu, eds., Nanyang gongxue, 155; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 206–10.

^3. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 134.

^4. Borevskaya, “Searching for Individuality,” 33–40; Brown, “American Progressivism in Chinese Education,” 127–36; Chen, Touches of History, 151–91; Culp, Articulating Citizenship, 31–8; Ding, “Nationalization and Internationalization,” 165–72; Hayhoe, China’s Universities 1895–1995, 14–57; Keenan, The Dewey Experiment in China, 81–110; Luo, Shifts of Power, 250–74; Romano, “Hu Shi, Pragmatism, and Confucianism,” 61–74; Yao, “Rediscovering Tao Xingzhi as an Educational and Social Revolutionary”; Yuan, “The Status of Confucianism in Modern Chinese Education, 1901–49,” 202–12.

^5. Chinese Students Alliance, USA, “Club News,” 448; Ling, Qishi zishu, 23–5.

^6. See Downey and Lucena, “Knowledge and Professional Identity in Engineering.”

^7. Zhu and Jesiek, “Confucianism, Marxism, and Pragmatism,” 162–5; Zhu, Jesiek and Gong, “Past/Forward Policy-Making.”

^8. See Chen, “Technology for Re-Engineering the Qing Empire,” 33; Elman, “Naval Warfare and the Refraction of China’s Self-strengthening Reforms into Scientific and Technological Failure, 1865–1895”; Fang, Jindai gongchengshi qunti de minjian lingxiu, 20–7.

^9. Zhu and Jesiek, “Confucianism, Marxism, and Pragmatism,” 158.

^10. Huo and Gu, eds., Nanyang gongxue, 30.

^11. Introduced sometime between 1916 and 1919; see Huo and Gu, eds., Nanyang gongxue, 63–5, 83–4; Jesiek and Shen, “Educating Chinese Engineers,” 131.

^12. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 158; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 21.

^13. Borevskaya, “Searching for Individuality,” 34–8.

^14. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 90–1.

^15. Ibid., 92, 100–4, 139.

^16. Ibid., 114; Ling, Shiliu nian zhulu shengya, 113.

^17. Chinese Students Alliance, USA, “Club News”; Ling, Qishi zishu, 24–7.

^18. Ling, Qishi zishu, 29–30.

^19. Ibid., 32–5.

^20. Ling, Shiliu nian zhulu shengya, 112.

^21. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 104.

^22. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 122, 139–41.

^23. See also Tan, “China’s Pragmatist Experiment in Democracy,” 52–7.

^24. Lü, “Ling Hongxun de gaodeng jiaoyu sixiang ji shijian,” 58–9; Ye, Jiaotong jiuguo lun.

^25. Grayson, The Making of an Engineer, 142.

^26. Ibid., 79–81.

^27. Ibid., 129–32.

^28. Calvert, The Mechanical Engineer in America, 1830–1910, 270–2; Layton Jr., The Revolt of the Engineers, 111–201.

^29. Akin, Technocracy and the American Dream, 4–45; Grayson, The Making of an Engineer, 76, 89, 120, 132.

^30. Keenan, The Dewey Experiment in China, 9–51.

^31. Daykin “The Glocalization of John Dewey’s Educational Philosophy in Republican-Era China,” 33; Nair and Bulleit, “Pragmatism and Care in Engineering Ethics.”

^32. Nair and Bulleit, “Pragmatism and Care in Engineering Ethics,” 20–1.

^33. Fang, Jindai gongchengshi qunti de ‘Minjian lingxiu’, 76–9; Layton Jr., The Revolt of the Engineers, 109–14.

^34. Culp, Articulating Citizenship, 34–5; Ding, “Nationalization and Internationalization,” 166–168; Keenan, The Dewey Experiment in China, 64–6; “John Dewey,” 126–7; Wang, John Dewey in China, 42–4, 56; Yuan, “The Status of Confucianism,” 205–7.

^35. Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 22.

^36. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 123–4; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 22.

^37. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 107.

^38. Ibid., 101, 115; Jesiek and Shen, “Educating Chinese Engineers,” 132–3; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 22; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 139–41.

^39. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 121–3; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 22; Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 104–8.

^40. Layton Jr., The Revolt of the Engineers, 38–40, 79–91.

^41. Jesiek and Shen, “Educating Chinese Engineers,” 133.

^42. Survey conducted through the Shanghai Library database. See also Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 195–6.

^43. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 110, 126–7, 148–9, 160–1; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 177–8.

^44. Ling, “Record of the Engineering Inspection Trip,” 38–9.

^45. Survey conducted through the Shanghai Library database.

^46. Jia, Beiyang junfa shiqi de jiaotong xi, 37; Jia, “Sun Zhongshan jituan yu jiaotong xi de enyuan.”

^47. Ling, Shizheng gongcheng xue; Ling, Tielu gongcheng xue.

^48. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 127; Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 124.

^49. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 130–2.

^50. Ibid., 149; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 132; “Muxiao yaowen,” 7.

^51. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 158.

^52. Daxue, ed., Nanyang daxue gaikuang, 64.

^53. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 144–5, 155–6.

^54. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 139–41; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 21–3.

^55. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 148–50; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 163.

^56. Survey conducted through Pelzer, Kaske and Chen, eds., “Chinese Engineers Relational Database (CERD).”

^57. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 149.

^58. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 138–9; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 23.

^59. Ling, “Duanlian shenxin yi wei jia guo”; Ling, “Tielu gongcheng de duobian renshi [5],” 4.

^60. Ling, “Duanlian shenxin yi wei jia guo,” 13.

^61. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 106.

^62. Ibid., 161, 170; Lü, “Ling Hongxun de gaodeng jiaoyu sixiang ji shijian,” 57, 60; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 133.

^63. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 180–3; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 22.

^64. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 126–7; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 21.

^65. See, e.g., Hershatter, Dangerous Pleasures; Zhang, ed., Cinema and Urban Culture in Shanghai.

^66. Daxue, Nanyang daxue gaikuang, 65.

^67. See Pelzer, “Engineers on the Move.”

^68. See Wakeman, Policing Shanghai, 65–8.

^69. Ling, “Yanjiang tumu gongcheng shiye zhi dagai,” 15–16.

^70. Ling, “Tielu gongcheng de duobian renshi [7],” 6.

^71. Ling, Shizheng gongcheng xue, 1–3.

^72. Ling, Shiliu nian zhulu shengya, 62.

^73. Ling, “Yanjiang tumu gongcheng shiye zhi dagai,” 14–15; Ling, “Tielu gongcheng de duobian renshi [1],” 5.

^74. Ling, Shiliu nian zhulu shengya, 12–13.

^75. Ling, “Tielu gongcheng de duobian renshi [7],” 6; Ling, “Yanjiang tumu gongcheng shiye zhi dagai,” 13–14.

^76. Ling, “Yanjiang tumu gongcheng shiye zhi dagai,” 12.

^77. Ling, “Tielu gongcheng de duobian renshi [7],” 6.

^78. Ling, “Yanjiang tumu gongcheng shiye zhi dagai,” 12–13.

^79. See Ling, Shiliu nian zhulu shengya, 38–9.

^80. Dewey, Interest as Related to Will, 11; cited in Wang, John Dewey in China, 58.

^81. Ling, “Yanjiang tumu gongcheng shiye zhi dagai,” 15–16.

^82. Ling, Qishi zishu, 31.

^83. Ling, “Yue Han tielu quanxian jietong hou reng ying jixu nuli,” 108–9.

^84. Mann, A Study of Engineering Education; Grayson, The Making of an Engineer, 88, 122.

^85. Ling and Zukang, “Gongcheng jiaoyu diaocha tongji zhi yanjiu,” 242; Fang, “Zhongguo gongchengshi xuehui yu Minguo shiqi gaodeng gongcheng jiaoyu,” 77–8.

^86. Ibid., 242–3.

^87. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 165–6; Wen and Huo, “Ye Gongchuo dui Jiaotong daxue de gaige ji yingxiang,” 22.

^88. Ling and Zhao, “Gongcheng jiaoyu diaocha tongji zhi yanjiu”: 248–9.

^89. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 158; Fang, “Zhongguo gongchengshi xuehui yu Minguo shiqi gaodeng gongcheng jiaoyu,” 78–9.

^90. See, e.g., Liu, “Zhongguo jiu gongcheng shuji shulüe”; Liu, Zhong guo ji xie gongcheng shiliao; Liu, “Zhongguo zai reji shishang zhi diwei”; Liu, “Wang Zheng yu woguo di yi bu jixie gongchengxue”; Xu, Mingren de gushi.

^91. Ling, Qiaoliang, 1–4.

^92. Ling, Shizheng gongcheng xue, 7–8.

^93. Ling and Zhao, “Gongcheng jiaoyu diaocha tongji zhi yanjiu,” 248–9; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 168–9.

^94. Ling and Zhao, “Gongcheng jiaoyu diaocha tongji zhi yanjiu,” 245–7.

^95. Jesiek and Shen, “Educating Chinese Engineers,” 132–4; Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 170–1.

^96. See Pelzer, Engineering Trouble, 134–38.

^97. Waldron, From War to Nationalism, 242.

^98. Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi bianxie zu, Jiaotong daxue xiaoshi, 134–6.

^99. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 170.

^100. Ling, Qishi zishu, 43.

^101. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 181.

^102. Ling, Qiaoliang; Ling, Gongchang sheji.

^103. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 217.

^104. Culp, Articulating Citizenship, 38–9; Daykin, “The Glocalization of John Dewey’s Educational Philosophy,” 33; Jesiek and Shen, “Educating Chinese Engineers,” 134–7; Yuan, “The Status of Confucianism in Modern Chinese Education,” 207–209; Hongshan, U.S.–China Educational Exchange, 94–119.

^105. Ling, Qishi zishu, 47.

^106. Foucault, The Use of Pleasure, 10–12 Foucault, The Care of the Self, 43–68.

^107. Ling, Shiliu nian zhulu shengya, 12–13; Ling, “Duanlian shenxin yi wei jia guo,” 13.

^108. Lü, “Ling Hongxun de gaodeng jiaoyu sixiang ji shijian,” 57, 60.

^109. Huo and Gu, Nanyang gongxue, 281.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [SFB-1199].