Zeng Baosun
曾寶蓀
Born(1893-03-09)9 March 1893
Xiangxiang, Hunan Province
Died27 July 1978(1978-07-27) (aged 85)
Taiwan
Resting placeNo. 1 Public Cemetery, Taipei
NationalityChinese
Occupation(s)Feminist, historian, Christian education

Zeng Baosun or Tseng Pao Swen (Chinese: 曾寶蓀; 9 March 1893 – 27 July 1978) was a Chinese feminist, historian, and Christian educator.

Biography

Zeng was born into a prominent family in Xiangxiang, Hunan Province, and was the great-granddaughter of Zeng Guofan,[1] a Qing dynasty Chinese official who commanded the Xiang Army during the Taiping Rebellion. Her feet were not bound and there was no early, arranged marriage.[2]

At the age of 14, she studied at a girls' school in Shanghai before entering the Hangzhou Women's Normal School. Zeng converted to Christianity while studying an Anglican church school, Mary Vaughan High School,[3] which she entered in 1910.[2] She then attended Blackheath High School in London, before entering Westfield College, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1916, thus becoming the first Chinese woman to receive the "Bachelor of Science degree with honors" from this college. Zeng often attended the Quaker meeting at Hampstead during her time at Westfield.[4] She received teacher's training while at Oxford University and Cambridge University.[2]

Zeng founded I Fang Girls' Collegiate School in Changsha.[3] She left China in 1949 to settle in Taiwan. In 1953, she represented the Republic of China in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.[5] Self-described in her memoir as a "Confucian feminist", Zeng published her autobiography as well as women's issues essays. She served on the Board of Directors of Donghai University in Taichung.[6]

She died in Taiwan and was buried at No. 1 Public Cemetery in Taipei.[6]

Works

References

  1. ^ Tiedemann, R. G. (2009). Handbook of Christianity in China. Leiden: Brill. p. 627. ISBN 978-90-04-11430-2.
  2. ^ a b c Zhao, Liangfeng (6 December 2012). "A Pioneer in Women's Education". Women of China. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Zeng, Baosun 曾寶蓀 (1893-1978)". Ricci Institute, University of San Francisco. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  4. ^ Zeng, Baosun (2002). Confucian Feminist: Memoirs of Zeng Baosun (1893-1978). Translated by Kennedy, Thomas L. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-87169-921-3.
  5. ^ "Pao Swen Tseng, Westfield College alumna". Queen Mary, University of London. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Zeng Baosun (1893—1978)". Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
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