In the winter of 1870, Tsang Kwoh Fan, after having settled the Tientsin imbroglio, returned to Nanking, his headquarters as the viceroy of the two Kiangs. There he received the imperial rescript sanctioning his joint memorial on the four proposals submitted through Ting Yih Chang for adoption by the government.
He notified me on the subject. It was a glorious piece of news, and the Chinese educational project thus became a veritable historical fact, marking a new era in the annals of China.
Tsang invited me to repair to Nanking, and during that visit the most important points connected with the mission were settled, viz. :
- the establishment of a preparatory school;
- the number of students to be selected to be sent abroad;
- where the money was to come from to support the students while there;
- the number of years they were to be allowed to remain there for their education.
The educational commission was to consist of two commissioners, Chin Lan Pin and myself. Chin Lan Pin’s duty was to see that the students should keep up their knowledge of Chinese while in America; my duty was to look after their foreign education and to find suitable homes for them.
Chin Lan Pin and myself were to look after their expenses conjointly. Two Chinese teachers were provided to keep up their studies in Chinese, and an interpreter was provided for the Commission. Yeh Shu Tung and Yung Yune Foo were the Chinese teachers and Tsang Lai Sun was the interpreter.
Such was the composition of the Chinese Educational Commission.