Wang Shoupeng

Wang Shoupeng (1875.4-1929.7), born in Weixian (now Weicheng District of Weifang) and with courtesy name of Cijian, once came first in the highest imperial examination at the end of the Qing dynasty and was the founder of Shandong University.

He was born in a poor urban family, went to school in his hometown in his boyhood and always came out in the front in the imperial examinations held either by the county or by the city. In 1901 (the 27th year of Emperor Guangxu`s reign in the Qing dynasty), he passed the country examination and gained the title of Juren. In 1903 (the 27th year of Emperor Guangxu`s reign), he first became Jinshi, a title higher than Juren, and then came first in the highest imperial examination, after which he was sent to the Imperial Academy to compile books and to study politics in the Academy for Advanced Scholars.

In 1905 (the 31st year of Emperor Guangxu`s reign), he followed Zai Ze, Duan Fang and three other top leaders to Japan to investigate the politics, business and education there, which resulted in the book A Record of Investigation. In 1901 (the 2nd year of Emperor Xuantong`s reign), he became envoy in the Department of Schools and Education of Hubei Province. He also founded the First-Class School in the area of Hubei and Hunan and cultivated a great number of educational personnel for this area. At the same time he also temporally served as provincial treasurer, during which period he founded the budget system and set up regulations for the independent use of academic capital so that the outlays for school running could be used for specific and proper purposes, which was the first such practice throughout the country. 

He returned to Beijing after the Revolution of 1911. In the early years of the Republic of China (1912-1949), he served as secretary of the military government of Shandong. From 1916 on, he acted for a few years as secretary of the President`s Palace in Beijing. In 1925, he became the top leader of the Education Department of Shandong Province, and the next year he reorganized the province`s six academies of agriculture, industry, mining, medicine, law and business, to form the Provincial Shandong University, with himself as concurrent president. Then he added subjects of liberal arts to the original curriculum. Although he had received certain modern ideas, Wang Shoupeng had never forgotten his duty as a Number One Scholar in the old federal society. He advocated respecting Confucius and reading his works. Most of the teachers he employed to teach classics, history, philosophy, etc. were scholars having passed different levels of imperial examinations. This was strongly criticized by the students and other teachers in the university. Because of this, he was forced to take his hasty leave in anger. Then he made a living in Beijing and Tianjin alternatively and later died of an illness in Tianjin.

He was also famous for his handwriting, to the extent that people at that time would feel proud if they could get hold of a piece of his handwriting. The four characters on the board at the gate of Shandong University were inscribed by him. Much of his calligraphy can still be found in his hometown, most of which being couplets, horizontally inscribed boards, and inscriptions on the covering of fans. He had once autographed the name for the Celestial Master`s Temple in the southwest of Weifang and presented the temple a couplet which says, ``Widely-spread medical skills can help the public; sincere prayers will naturally bring good luck.`` Today, Weifang Museum still keeps a stone, on which Wang inscribed the postscript composed by an advanced scholar called Chen Hengqing for Cao Hongxun`s copying of the Epigraph for Li Spring in Jiucheng Palace. Besides A Record of Investigation, Wang had published another work entitled Manuscripts of Verses by Jing`an.