In 1820, Ruan Yuan, Viceroy of Liangguang, established Xuehai Hall (Chinese: 学海堂; literally "Sea of studies") by borrowing Wenlan Academy in western Guangzhou (now Wenlan Lane, Xiajiu Road). In 1824, Ruan Yuan moved Xuehai Hall to a new school building at the foot of Yuexiu Hill. Under the efforts of Ruan Yuan, Xuehai Hall became the cultural and academic center of guangdong at that time.[2] Since its establishment, Xuehai Hall has cultivated many talents at that time. In 1903, the hall was abolished and replaced by Ruan Taifu Temple to commemorate Ruan Yuan. The temple was abolished in 1911.[3]
In 1867, Jiang Yili, the grand coordinator and provincial governor of guangdong, and Fang Junyi advocated the establishment of Jupo School (Chinese: 菊坡精舍), and hired Chen Feng as a senior. Jupo School cultivated many talents at that time, whose students had a certain influence on the local culture of Guangdong. In 1903, the school was closed and replaced by Chen's Temple.[4]
In 1869, Wang Kaitai, Governor of Guangdong, founded Yingyuan Academy (Chinese: 应元书院) before Yingyuan Palace, which was designated for Juren, and became the highest institution of Guangzhou.[5] After the fall of imperial examinations, the academy was no longer popular. In 1903, the academy was closed.[3]
In 1906, the Qing government announced the formal abolition of the imperial examination system, and the academy originally set up for the imperial examination lost its value.[6] In 1908, Zhang Renjun, grand coordinator and provincial governor of guangdong, founded the Guangdong Ancient Academy (Chinese: 广东存古学堂), which aimed to preserve the quintessence of Chinese culture, on the former sites of Yingyuan Academy and Jupo School.[7]
After Xinhai Revolution, in 1921, Zhixin High School was built in the old site of Xuehai Hall but later moved to its current campus in 1923. In 1929, Guangzhou No.1 High School moved here.
After establishment
"Guangzhou No.2 Middle School" was formally established in August 1930. The first principal was Xu Gantang (Chinese: 徐甘棠), a well-known educator. It first rented the chapel and private houses in Xiguan as temporary buildings until 1932, moved to a new campus in Penglai Road (now Guangzhou No.1 High School, Chinese: 广州市第一中学). In 1938, after the Canton Operation, the school was suspended.[8]
In September 1947, No.2 middle school reopened on the site of No.1 middle school in Yingyuan Road, with legislatorWang Hsiao-ying (Chinese: 王孝英) as the principal.[9] In November 1949, CPC military representative Lai Yihui took over the school. In 1956, it was rated as the key middle school of Guangzhou. In the early 1960s, the school was designated as the experimental school for education reform with a five-year system for middle schools.
In January 1967, after the outbreak of the cultural revolution, mass organizations seized power and the school work was completely paralyzed. In the winter of 1969, a rural branch school was established on the barren hillside of Baishui Village in Shiling, Hua County (currently Huadu District). In the winter of 1974, the branch moved to Chen Dong reservoir. In March 1978, the revolutionary committee of the school was abolished. In August of the same year, the branch school was cancelled.
In 1994, the school was awarded as the first class schools of Guangdong. In 2007, it passed the acceptance of National Demonstrative High School of Guangdong.[10]
In 2012, the school's English name was changed from Guangzhou No.2 Middle School to Guangzhou No.2 High School.[11]
Campuses
The school has 2 campuses.
Yingyuan Road Campus
Yingyuan Road Campus (Chinese: 应元路校区) was built in 1930 on the south slope of Yuexiu Hill, Yuexiu District and used to be the site of Xuehai Hall. The campus now is the main campus of the school and used to serve students from grade 7 to 9.
Science City Campus
Science City Campus (Chinese: 科学城校区) was built in 2005 on Suyuan Hill in Guangzhou Science City, Huangpu District. It is renowned in Guangzhou for its environment and high-quality education.[12] This is an accommodation campus and serves high school students from grade 10 to 12. [1]
Education
Guangzhou No.2 High School is ranked top five among high schools in Guangzhou, Guangdong, both officially and unofficially.[13]
Campus culture
Motto
The school's motto is "Dingtian Lidi" ("顶天立地", lit. standing with his head in the clouds and feet on the earth), which was first introduced in 1940s by principal Wang Hsiao-ying, and relaunched in 2019.
"Yi-Zhong-Ren"
The concept of "Yi-Zhong-Ren" (Chinese: 義忠仁; pinyin: Yìzhōngrén; Jyutping: Ji6zung1jan4) debuted in 2010, on the 80th anniversary of the school, while "Yi-Zhong-Ren" has a similar pronunciation with "Peoples of No.2 School" (Chinese: 二中人; Jyutping: Ji6zung1jan4) in Cantonese. A series of T-shirts and hoodies of "Yi-Zhong-Ren" were designed by alumni, which has achieved its prevalence both inside and outside of the school campuses.[14] In March 2018, "Yi-Zhong-Ren" obtained a trademark registration license.
Extracurricular activities
Music Creator Concert
The Music Creator Concert (Chinese: 广州二中创作人音乐会) activity held by the students' union and the Art Department in every November is unique, while competitors are required to perform an original song or a song whose lyric or melody was rewritten by the competitors. Until the end of 2018, the concert has been held for 28 sessions. In 2015, the concert was awarded the first prize of "Brand activities of Schools in Guangzhou" (Chinese: 粤美校园品牌活动).[15]
Lantern Festival Charity Sale
The charity sale (Chinese: 元宵花市爱心义卖) held in Lantern Festival every year since 1997.[16] It was organized by student union, and parts of the profit from sales and auction would be used for charity. There are also entertainment and firework shows during the sale.[17]
Education Group
The Guangzhou No. 2 High School Education Group (Chinese: 广州二中教育集团) was founded in Dec 2017.[18] Besides the school itself, the education group has founded 2 private schools and hosted 4 public schools. In 2019, the whole group has 7,066 students and 166 classes.[19]
Private schools
The two private schools have been assessed for good performances,[20] but in recent years, it has been disputed and even punished for illegal enrollment.[21]
Yingyuan School (Chinese: 广州市越秀区二中应元学校, grade 7 to 9): This school was opened in 2002, which replaced a 70-year-old public primary school.[22] The campus is relatively small; however, the education provided is also renowned in downtown Guangzhou.[20]
Suyuan Experimental School (Chinese: 广州市二中苏元实验学校, grade 7 to 9): This is a boarding school which located near Science City Campus and opened in 2011.[23]
Public schools
The education group are hosting these public schools:[24]
Huangpu Huiyuan School (Chinese: 广州市黄埔区会元学校, grade 1 to 9): This school was opened in September 2016 and mainly serving children in nearby communities. As of 2019, only the primary school in use, and the middle school will be enabled in 2020.[25]
Huangpu Kaiyuan School (Chinese: 广州市黄埔区开元学校, grade 1 to 12): This school was opened in September 2018 and mainly serving children in nearby communities. As in 2019, only the primary school and middle school is in use.[26]
Zengcheng Yingyuan School (Chinese: 广州市增城区应元学校, grade 7 to 9): This school was opened in September 2018 to serve children in Zengcheng District.[27]
Nansha Tianyuan School (Chinese: 广州市第二中学南沙天元学校, grade 7 to 12): This school was opened in September 2019 to serve children in Nansha District. As of 2019, the school is under construction, and students have to take classes in a nearby primary school.[28]
Controversy
Dispute of cellphone ban
In early 2010s, the school issued a policy called "no IC" that no electronic products in teaching areas ("I" for electronic devices like iPhone, iPad etc.; "C" for computer).[29] But in the late 2017, the executives of grade 10 issued a joint policy that the use of cellphones would no longer be allowed in the school including resting areas. The ban was fiercely opposed by grade 10 students, as the allowance of cellphones was a long-held policy of the school that demonstrated the freedom and humanity valued by prior principals and executive teams. In fact, many classes required in-class use of cellphones to finish assignments, and many students used their smartphones to study efficiently in their spare time. The policy was also criticized for unequal and biased treatment of students of grade 10 because students from grade 11 and 12 were not subject to the ban and could continue to use their phones. Under pressure from students and parents, executives held an unofficial conference at the end of the semester to revoke the ban.
References
^ ab"学校简介" [School Introduction]. GZ No.2 High School. Retrieved 2018-10-30.
^Benjamin A. Elman (2006). "学海堂与今文经学在广州的兴起" [The Hsueh-hai T'ang and the Rise of New Text Scholarship in Canton]. Journal of Hunan University (Social Sciences). 20. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
^ ab曹思彬 (1989). "广州历代书院的沿革" [The history of the academies in Guangzhou]. Journal of Educational Development (4). Archived from the original on 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^曾凡亮 (2009). 菊坡精舍考 [The research of JuPo Academy] (Master of History thesis). Sun Yat-sen University.
^"应元书院" [Yingyuan Academy]. Yuexiu Library. Archived from the original on 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2017-02-20.
^张洁铃 梁宝莹 卢佩珊 卢嘉韵 于锦花 (2015). "广州书院文化源流考" [Historical Development of Guangzhou Ancient Academy Culture]. Journal of Jiaying University (10). Archived from the original on 2020-03-16. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"广州书院全部改为学堂" [All academies in Guangzhou changed to schools]. Local Chronicles of Guangzhou. Archived from the original on 2017-11-17. Retrieved 2017-11-16.
^叶志盛等. "中等教育-广州市第二中学 广州市越秀区图书馆" [Middle Class Education - Guangzhou No.2 High School]. 《越秀春风-广州市第二中学建校70周年纪念(1930-2000)》. Archived from the original on 2017-08-09. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
^"广东实验中学等94所学校被批准为第一批广东省国家级示范性普通高中" [94 Schools were approved to become the first batch of "National Demonstrative High School of Guangdong"]. Guangdong Education Bureau. 2008-05-04. Archived from the original on 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"广州市第二中学章程" [School Handbook]. GZ No.2 High School. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
^"市二中今年扩招六个班" [The No.2 high school expanded six classes this year]. Education channel of southcn.com. 2005-04-27. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"广州高中名校近5年分数线排行分析:前5强稳定,"黑马"闯入前10" [Analysis of the scores of famous Guangzhou high schools in the past 5 years]. southcn.com News. 2019-07-18. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"广州市一所中学15年义卖扶贫助困" [A high school in Guangzhou has sold charity goods to help the poor for 15 years]. China Network Television. 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"爱心义卖很"给力" "义忠仁"卡贴受到热捧" [The charity sale is awesome]. South China Sea Online. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"广州成立首批四个市属教育集团" [Guangzhou established the first four municipal education groups]. Xinkuai Daily. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"广州二中教育集团简介" [Introduction of Guangzhou No.2 High School Education Group]. Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau (doc). Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"二中应元学校等三所学校 被罚减少明年20%招生计划" [Three schools including Yingyuan were fined to reduce 20% of enrollment plan next year]. Netease News. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
^"广州一公办小学被解散让位给高收费初中" [A public primary school in Guangzhou has been cancelled to make way for a high-priced junior high school]. Eastday.com. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"广州二中会元中学初中部预计2020年6月建成" [The middle school of Huiyuan School will opened in 2020]. Yangcheng Evening News. 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"市二中黄埔第三所子学校,广州开元学校如期开学礼" [Kaiyuan School, the third sub-school of No.2 High School, opened today]. Southern Metropolis Daily. 2018-09-04. Archived from the original on 2018-09-05. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"我区实施中小学校基础教育设施三年提升计划,投资21.7亿元新改扩建13所中小学校" [Zengcheng will invest 2.17 billion yuan to build, rebuild or expand 13 schools]. Zengcheng Government. Portal of GZ government. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
^"今日开学!多所在白云区南沙区"开张"新校引人注目" [Many schools opened today in Baiyun and Nansha are noticeable]. Sohu. Retrieved 2019-11-07.