One evening, Mr. Zeng, one of my good friends from Xiamen, asked for a photo of Mr. Tianci, my former primary school headmaster, in a call.
Mr. Tianci, also known as Zhang Hong’en, was the principal of PingHe Yuying Primary School founded by Christians in 1904.
His father, Zhang Hanshao, was a devout Christian. After Christianity was introduced into Pinghe, he often went to the first evangelical village in Pinghe, Dahu Village in Yanban. After the Guanxi church was built, regardless of the opposition from his parents, he insisted on his faith and was later appointed as an elder by the church.
Zhang Hong’en, the eldest son of Zhang Hanshao, was born in 1884. He graduated in 1904 from Xunyuan Middle School, founded by the Xiamen Christian Church, and successively served as a primary school teacher in Nan 'an and other places. In 1920, he returned to his hometown and was employed by Yuying Primary School as the third headmaster.
Zhang was an honest, rigorous, and diligent Christian, and he took the school motto of "Honesty, Prudence, Diligence, and Courage" as his motto too, especially "Diligence". He often said, "If one doesn't teach often, he won't be benevolent; if one doesn't study hard, he won't be wise." Under his advocacy, being diligent in teaching and studying became a common practice on campus.
In the 1930s, he dared to challenge the old school system, adding English, letter-writing, and practical writing to the classes above the fourth grade, and personally taught practical writing. With his love for the teaching career, he regarded teaching and cultivating talents as his duty. As the head of the school, he got up early and went to bed late every day, regularly patrolling the campus, cleaning and repairing desks and chairs by himself.
"Love others as self" - In addition to teaching, being keen on learning medicine and studying herbs, he personally developed a herb garden, cultivated and made experiments, and was a well-known herbalist. When some people sought medical treatment, he never got paid. He wrote a book called "Folk Herbage Collection" (commonly known as the “Heaven-given prescription”), which is widely used among the people.
Zhang loved religion as well as teaching. He dedicated much to the Pingping Church. He was a well-known elder of Guanxi Christian Church, and wrote the "Brief History of Guanxi Church", leaving a precious page for future generations to study the history of the church.
In 1952, Yuying Primary School was merged with Xiao National Central Primary School and renamed XiaoXi Primary School. Zhang Hong’en served as the vice-principal. In 1953, he died at the age of 69.
- Translated by Sophia Chen
一天晚上，厦门好友曾先生来电话，要一张我童年小学校长天赐先生的照片。
天赐先生又名张鸿恩，他是基督教于1904年在平和创办的平和育英小学的校长。他的父亲张寒绍是一位虔诚的基督教徒。基督教传入平和后，他经常到平和首个福音村——岩坂大湖村听道，琯溪建堂后，不顾父母反对，坚持对基督信仰，后被堂会按立为长老。
张鸿恩是张寒绍的长子，1884年出生，1904年毕业于厦门基督教会创办的寻源中学，先后在南安等地任小学教师，1920年（民国九年）起回乡，被育英小学聘为该校第三任校长。张先生是一个忠厚朴实、生活严谨且勤于任事的基督徒，他以“诚、谨、勤、勇”的校训为自已的座右铭，尤重于“勤”，他常说：“不勤教无以为仁，不勤学无以为智。”在他的倡导下，校园内勤教、勤学蔚然成风。
上个世纪30年代，他敢于突破当年的旧学制，在四年级以上的班级增设英语、尺牍（信札及书信）和应用文等教学内容，自己亲授应用文。凭着对教学事业的热爱，视教书育人、培育人材为已任。他身为一校之长，每天早起晚睡，勤巡校园，整理、打扫及课桌椅修缮等亲自动手。
他“爱人如己”，教学之余，好学医道，研究青草药，自辟青草药圃，亲自栽培、实验，是一位知名青草医生。有人求诊，从不取报酬，著有《民间本草拾遗》（俗称天赐方）一书，民间广为传用。
张先生爱校也爱教，他勇于奉献，为平和教会做了大量工作，是琯溪基督教会知名长老，著有《琯溪堂会史略》一文，为后人研究教会史留下珍贵的一页。
1952年，教会办的育英小学与小溪国民中心小学合并改称小溪小学，张鸿恩任副校长，1953年安息主怀，享年69岁。
怀念小学老校长张鸿恩先生
One evening, Mr. Zeng, one of my good friends from Xiamen, asked for a photo of Mr. Tianci, my former primary school headmaster, in a call.
Mr. Tianci, also known as Zhang Hong’en, was the principal of PingHe Yuying Primary School founded by Christians in 1904.
His father, Zhang Hanshao, was a devout Christian. After Christianity was introduced into Pinghe, he often went to the first evangelical village in Pinghe, Dahu Village in Yanban. After the Guanxi church was built, regardless of the opposition from his parents, he insisted on his faith and was later appointed as an elder by the church.
Zhang Hong’en, the eldest son of Zhang Hanshao, was born in 1884. He graduated in 1904 from Xunyuan Middle School, founded by the Xiamen Christian Church, and successively served as a primary school teacher in Nan 'an and other places. In 1920, he returned to his hometown and was employed by Yuying Primary School as the third headmaster.
Zhang was an honest, rigorous, and diligent Christian, and he took the school motto of "Honesty, Prudence, Diligence, and Courage" as his motto too, especially "Diligence". He often said, "If one doesn't teach often, he won't be benevolent; if one doesn't study hard, he won't be wise." Under his advocacy, being diligent in teaching and studying became a common practice on campus.
In the 1930s, he dared to challenge the old school system, adding English, letter-writing, and practical writing to the classes above the fourth grade, and personally taught practical writing. With his love for the teaching career, he regarded teaching and cultivating talents as his duty. As the head of the school, he got up early and went to bed late every day, regularly patrolling the campus, cleaning and repairing desks and chairs by himself.
"Love others as self" - In addition to teaching, being keen on learning medicine and studying herbs, he personally developed a herb garden, cultivated and made experiments, and was a well-known herbalist. When some people sought medical treatment, he never got paid. He wrote a book called "Folk Herbage Collection" (commonly known as the “Heaven-given prescription”), which is widely used among the people.
Zhang loved religion as well as teaching. He dedicated much to the Pingping Church. He was a well-known elder of Guanxi Christian Church, and wrote the "Brief History of Guanxi Church", leaving a precious page for future generations to study the history of the church.
In 1952, Yuying Primary School was merged with Xiao National Central Primary School and renamed XiaoXi Primary School. Zhang Hong’en served as the vice-principal. In 1953, he died at the age of 69.
- Translated by Sophia Chen
In Memory of Zhang Hong’en, My Former Primary School Headmaster
