Chapter 1591 Cultural and Educational Industry
Danzhou was a famous local cultural city during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. There were several academies that were relatively famous in the south of the Ming Dynasty. They also produced many well-known literati in the past. After Haihan took over the rule of this area, he also continued the previous tradition and continued to preserve the cultural and educational industry that had been passed down here for hundreds of years. However, Haihan's approach was more radical than that of the Ming Dynasty. Instead of letting these academies destroy themselves, the cultural and educational department headed by Ning Qi made drastic changes to the academies' teaching content and business model.
The traditional academies that originally used the Four Books and Five Classics and a subset of classics and history as their main teaching materials and the imperial examination gold medal titles as their teaching purposes began to gradually introduce new textbooks edited and written by Haihan officials, and new subjects aimed at employment also appeared in these academies. . Of course, this process was not without resistance and backlash. However, in the Danzhou Assassination Case in 1631, Huang Zixing, the head of Danzhou Zhongming Academy, was sentenced to death for colluding with Jinyiwei to create a rebellion. Haihan officials therefore found an excuse. , the local academies in Danzhou that still adhered to traditional teaching content were cleaned up, and after that no one dared to go against the officials.
During this period, a number of new academies with official support from Haihan began to emerge in Danzhou’s cultural circles, such as Bailu Academy and Qiongxi Academy, whose names Xun Pengcheng had heard of. They were the forerunners that kept up with the official pace. These academies have already opened various vocational training courses, using short-term and intensive training methods to provide talents for the technical positions urgently needed in Haihan's development. These subjects are almost all suitable for employment, and the employment destination has been basically determined when entering school, so they are very popular among the children of poor people who are eager to change their destiny and obtain a better livelihood.
For ordinary people, if they send their children to a traditional academies, they will have a certain cultural foundation after receiving several years of education, and then continue to take the imperial examinations, they may have the opportunity to gain fame and enter the officialdom. But in the end, the people who can achieve this result are basically only one in a thousand, and the vast majority of scholars are just ordinary Confucian scholars throughout their lives. The investment time of this model is long, the results are slow, and there are great risks, and the chance of recovering the cost is very slim.
The vocational education model promoted by Haihan has a clearer control over personal prospects. Students basically know their employment prospects and career development direction from the beginning of enrollment, and they also understand that the skills they learn here can help them obtain A livelihood. As for whether you can use the skills learned in the academy to enter higher fields in the future, such as officialdom, it depends on your ability. But as long as you can participate in learning step by step, the time and tuition spent in the academy will definitely pay off in the future, which is not comparable to the traditional education model.
Xun Pengcheng was filled with emotion as he listened to Lao Gao's introduction to these academies while walking. Although he knew that culture and education had become an industry here before coming to Danzhou, the impact he received when he saw these large-scale academies with his own eyes was still huge. Before that, he couldn't imagine how to make a profit by operating this industry, but after gradually understanding the current situation of this industry, he had to admire the minds of these operators.
Each academy will basically have its own unique advantageous subjects to maintain competitiveness. For example, the secretarial major of Bailu Academy specializes in training clerical clerks for various institutions in Haihan. It is also one of the majors with the highest proportion of graduates entering official positions. Many Confucian students who had no hope of taking the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty would choose to switch to this major. As long as they apply for Haihan's native place, and then undergo a hundred days of training, after passing the exam, they will be recommended to various official institutions in Haihan for employment. Although the tuition for this major is not cheap, it has strong teaching staff and a high employment rate among students, making it popular among people from well-off families.
The rising star Qiongxi Academy is more focused on practice. Its shipbuilding, smelting, medical and other majors are already well-known in the industry, and it can provide thousands of qualified graduates to various professional institutions every year. The majors offered by Qiongxi Academy are all based on skill learning, which is enough to ensure that students can use this skill to find a livelihood after graduation. It is very suitable for those from poor families who just want to learn a practical skill as soon as possible to support their families.
Not all students who receive this kind of vocational training will just finish their studies here. Some of the outstanding performers will be recommended to go to high-end educational institutions in Sanya for further studies, thereby becoming senior talents with more specialized vocational skills. However, in the past two years, Danzhou's academies have begun to make efforts to create their own advantageous education projects and strive to have some professional advanced training stages settled in Danzhou. The local government in Danzhou is also very supportive of this trend. The current mayor of Danzhou City, Zhang Xin, has clearly put forward the slogan of making the cultural and educational industry bigger and stronger, and encourages college operators to open new majors and provide high salaries from Sanya and Recruit people from other places to improve local teaching staff.
From Xun Pengcheng's perspective, the mayor's slogan should be more than just a shout. In addition to the value it can create, Danzhou's cultural and educational industry will also have a huge impact on upstream and downstream industries. The economic benefits may not be comparable to those of physical industries such as plantations, but the social benefits they bring are far beyond those of plantations. For example, the proportion of educated people in Danzhou is probably the highest in Haihan State. Even in Sanya, the capital of the country where elites from all over the country gather, the cultural level of the people may not be as good as here.
When Xun Pengcheng was working in a newspaper, he once learned a very interesting data, which can also be regarded as one of the concrete manifestations of the development of Danzhou's cultural and educational undertakings. According to Haihan’s official statistics, the place with the highest subscription volume for newspapers as a media in Haihan’s country is not Sanya, but Danzhou. Even the Sanya Express, where Xun Pengcheng once worked, has a distribution point in Danzhou.
In addition to several major newspapers published and distributed in Sanya, Danzhou also has several local newspapers with their own characteristics, and the subscription volume is not small, at least the income can sustain their long-term operation. However, Xun Pengcheng had only heard of the name and had never seen the real thing. After arriving in Danzhou this time, he wanted to take a closer look at the works of his colleagues and see what the characteristics of the newspapers here were.
Xun Pengcheng got off the car near Academy City and started walking, so he walked slowly for the last few miles to Danzhou City. Under Danzhou City, there are all kinds of restaurant stalls along the city wall, which is very lively. Lao Gao introduced that since three years ago, the city defenses have been withdrawn here. People do not need to check when entering and leaving the city on weekdays. All the fortifications on the city wall have been removed, and not even a city defense cannon is left.
Xun Pengcheng asked curiously: "Then if an enemy attacks, wouldn't the undefended Danzhou City play into the enemy's hands?"
Lao Gao laughed and said: "It depends on where the enemy can come out from! There is a navy fleet stationed in Danzhou Bay. Every year naval military exercises are held in Danzhou waters, and the surrounding countries have to send generals here. Look, who would have the courage to do something again after seeing my Haihan naval fleet? The area around Danzhou has been repeatedly wiped out many times, and even the bandits and bandits are gone, so there is no danger. Some people want to try to rebel. There is an army camp stationed inside and outside Danzhou City! If you want to attack Danzhou, why don't you come with thousands of people? If the stability factor is gone, then do we still need to defend the area day and night to worry about war? As long as Danzhou maintains public security in the market, it is enough. As for war, that should not be a problem that Danzhou local officials need to worry about at the moment.
Xun Pengcheng entered the city from the south gate of Danzhou. As expected, there was no checkpoint to check people entering and exiting the city. There were only a few policemen in black on duty outside the city gate. Lao Gao said they were responsible for directing traffic at the city gate to prevent the flow of people and vehicles from mixing in the city. The door is stuck causing blockage. However, it is said that senior officials are already discussing whether the old city gates should be gradually demolished so that the roads in and out of the city can be widened to facilitate people's travel needs.
Danzhou City has basically maintained its original layout. Official offices are concentrated in the north of the city, and most shops are in the south of the city near the official road. Xun Pengcheng noticed that the shops here sell a high proportion of cultural supplies. About six or seven of the ten shops on a street sell pens, inks, paper, inkstones and other cultural supplies.
Of course, the pens, inks, papers and inkstones sold here are not of the traditional style. Most of them are products with Haihan characteristics, such as dip pens equipped with fine steel nibs, high-grade paper specially designed for dip pens, etc. Although these stationeries are also sold in stores in Sanya, and there are even extremely expensive collector's editions and gift packages, the styles are not as diverse as those in Danzhou. As a literati, Xun Pengcheng naturally had a special affection for these products. He immediately asked Lao Gao to send his luggage to the inn first, and he began to slowly shop one by one along the street.
Xun Pengcheng visited several stores and bought a colorful glass dip pen that he had admired when he was a reporter but had always been reluctant to buy it. This item costs more than 30 yuan in Sanya, but it is a little cheaper here in Danzhou. The store also generously gave away a bottle and a half of ink. In another store, Xun Pengcheng saw a pair of small glass paperweights in the shape of stone lions. He couldn't put them down after picking them up, so he paid for them again.
By the time he walked all the way to the inn recommended by Lao Gao and booked for him, he had already bought four or five items of stationery, as well as several locally printed books. In addition, he didn't forget to buy a copy of every newspaper on the stall when he passed by a newsstand, intending to take the time to study it carefully after he settled down. Anyway, he didn't plan to rush into investing in plantations now. Xun Pengcheng decided to live in Danzhou first and then slowly plan the next steps. If the funds he has now are just used to maintain his life, he can easily live a life of idleness for ten or eight years, and there is no need to rush to find a livelihood.
After Xun Pengcheng handed over to Lao Gao, he specially rewarded Lao Gao with twenty yuan as a thank you for being a tour guide along the way. Although the cost of hiring a car had been paid before departure, Xun Pengcheng knew that the information Lao Gao provided to him on the way was far more than the value of this tip, so he was not stingy when giving out the money.
Lao Gao did not refuse. After receiving the money, he asked Xun Pengcheng if he wanted to go with him to meet his son-in-law. Xun Pengcheng felt excited and quickly waved down Lao Gao's kindness. He didn't want to get involved with his old enemy the Security Department as soon as he arrived in Danzhou. However, he also promised Lao Gao that if he went to Changhua next time, he would try to get in touch with him. Xun Pengcheng was still happy to make friends with a person like Lao Gao who had many connections in the local area. He never knew when he would have to ask for help again.
Xun Pengcheng had just arrived, and he didn't want to reveal his true identity in front of outsiders. Before arriving in Danzhou, he made a request to Lao Gao and asked Lao Gao to recommend an inn with a better environment. Then Lao Gao rented an upper room. I paid one month's rent directly. The innkeeper is also very sensible. He knows that it is best for such a lavish but low-key patron to say nothing. He just asks Xun Pengcheng to greet him if he has anything to do. He also appoints a clever waiter to be responsible for Xun Pengcheng's daily life and food.
After arranging his life, Xun Pengcheng began to calm down and adapt to the local environment. In fact, the straight-line distance between Sanya and Danzhou is only more than 300 miles. There is no obvious difference in climate and human environment. Moreover, they are both under the rule of Haihan and are inhabited by Han people. The various laws and regulations are also the same. According to the standards, Xun Pengcheng doesn't have a strong feeling of being in a foreign land. The only inconvenience I feel is that I have to stay in an inn temporarily, which is not as convenient as living in my own home.
Of course, Xun Pengcheng also considered buying a house in Danzhou and settling down. However, almost all the private houses with better conditions in Danzhou City are in the hands of local officials at all levels. The possibility of selling these houses is extremely small, and ordinary private houses, based on Xun Pengcheng's current vision, are Look down on it. There are many newly built residential areas outside Danzhou City, but the layout and planning of these residential areas are similar to the collective apartments where Xun Pengcheng lived in Sanya, and he does not want to move back to that kind of environment.
Xun Pengcheng's own plan is to apply for a piece of land and then build a courtyard by himself. Even if it has only two or three entrances, it can be considered a decent house. However, he made some inquiries and found out that the fastest way for a foreigner like him to apply for a homestead in the local area is to invest and settle there. Especially for projects such as plantations that require land enclosures, it is not a problem to build their own houses. . However, Xun Pengcheng does not plan to continue to work in the plantation industry, so the plan to build a house can only be put on hold for the time being. Compared with housing, there is one thing that currently interests Xun Pengcheng more, and that is studying several locally published newspapers and periodicals.
(End of chapter)