Fujita Toyohachi facts for kids
Fujita Toyohachi (藤田豊八) was an important Japanese writer and professor. He taught about the history of East Asia. He lived from 1869 to 1929 and was from Tokushima Prefecture in Japan. He had a Chinese pen name, Jianfeng (劍峰).
He started a school in China and taught at Beijing University, which was a very famous university at the time. He wrote books like "Secondary Education East Asian History" and "Research on the History of East-West Interactions."
Fujita Toyohachi collected over 1700 Chinese books. After he passed away, his collection was given to the Toyo Bunko library. It became a special section called "Fujita's Library."
Contents
A Life Dedicated to History
Early Life and Education
Fujita Toyohachi was born in 1869 in a place called Awa Province, which is now Tokushima Prefecture. In 1895, he finished his studies at the University of Tokyo. He focused on learning the Chinese language.
Teaching and Founding Schools
After graduating, Fujita taught Chinese literature at several universities, including Waseda University and Toyo University. In 1896, he helped start a school called Dongya Xueyuan (East Asia College). He also founded a journal named "Jiangsu Literature." In 1897, he visited Shanghai, a big city in China. In 1898, he helped create the Dongwen Xueshe (East Asian literature society) with Luo Zhenyu.
After 1904, a governor named Cen Chunxuan asked Fujita to help with education in China. In 1905, he also helped create Suzhou High School. He invited more than 10 teachers from Japan to teach there. The Qing dynasty (the government of China at that time) even gave him a special medal. In 1909, Fujita became a professor at the famous Beijing University.
Return to Japan and Later Career
In 1912, Fujita returned to Japan and lived in Tokyo. He spent his time researching the history of how East and West interacted. In 1920, he earned a PhD in literature. In 1923, he became a professor at Waseda University. He taught about the history of sea travel between East and West, and the history of China's Western Regions (modern-day Xinjiang). In 1925, he became a professor at the Imperial Tokyo University. He was the first person to lecture there on East Asian history. In 1928, he became a professor and Minister of Culture and Politics at Taibei Imperial University. In May 1929, he came back to Tokyo to give another lecture on the history of the Western Regions. Sadly, he passed away in July of that year.
Books and Writings
Fujita Toyohachi wrote many important books about history. Here are some of his works:
- 東洋史 (East Asian History), 1896–97
- 先秦文学 支那文学史稿 (Pre-Qin Literature: Draft History of Chinese Literature), 1897
- 東洋歴史物語 (East Asian History Stories), 1929
- 東西交渉史の研究 南海篇 (Research on the History of East-West Interactions: South Sea Volume), 1932
- 東西交渉の研究 巻上・下(南海篇,西域篇及附篇) (Research on East-West Interactions: Volumes 1 & 2), 1943
