Suzhou High School of Jiangsu Province facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Suzhou High School of Jiangsu Province 江苏省苏州中学
Location
699 Renmin Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215007 China
Information
Motto	Honesty, Faith, Thoughtfulness, Courage (诚、信、思、勇)
Established	1035; 990 years ago (1035)
Principal	Wei Xin (卫新)
Staff	348
Faculty	251
Number of students	2014

The Suzhou High School of Jiangsu Province (Chinese: 江苏省苏州中学) is a public high school in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. It is one of the oldest and most respected schools in the country.

This school has a very long history, starting way back in 1035. That's almost 1,000 years ago! It was first founded by a famous politician and writer named Fan Zhongyan. Over the centuries, it became known as one of the best colleges in China. Many important scholars and thinkers taught here.

Today, Suzhou High School is still considered one of the top schools in Jiangsu Province. It was even chosen as one of China's key high schools by the Ministry of Education in 1953. This means it's a really important school for the country. It also sends many students to top universities around the world.

A Long History of Learning

The First School: Suzhou Prefecture School

A map of Suzhou Prefecture School in 1790

The gate of Suzhou Prefecture School

The story of Suzhou High School began in 1035. A famous leader from the Northern Song dynasty, Fan Zhongyan, started the Suzhou Prefecture School. This was a very special school because it was the first time a government-supported school was combined with a Confucian temple. Confucian temples were places for studying the ideas of Confucius, a great Chinese thinker.

Fan Zhongyan even gave his own house to help build the school. He wanted to create a place where students could learn important skills and ideas. He hired a great teacher named Hu Yuan, who had a special way of teaching. This marked the beginning of Suzhou High School's "Millennium Prefecture School" history, meaning it has been a center of learning for a thousand years.

Ziyang College: A Focus on New Ideas

Later, during the Qing dynasty, another important leader named Zhang Boxing started the Ziyang College. This college was built inside the Suzhou Prefecture School. While many schools at that time mainly prepared students for government exams, Ziyang College focused on something called Neo-Confucianism. This was a new way of thinking about ancient Chinese philosophy.

Zhang Boxing brought in famous teachers from all over China. Students from everywhere came to study at Ziyang College. Sadly, in 1860, the school was badly damaged during a big conflict called the Taiping Rebellion. But about 14 years later, a governor named Zhang Shusheng made sure it was rebuilt with a lot of money.

Changes in the Late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China

Gate of Wisdom and Virtue (智德之门)

In 1902, Ziyang College changed its name. Two years later, a governor named Duanfang turned the school into the Jiangsu Normal School. A "normal school" trains teachers. He invited two very famous scholars, Luo Zhenyu and Wang Guowei, to join the school. Luo Zhenyu became the principal, and Wang Guowei was a teacher. This was a big step, as the school became a public high school for everyone.

Jiangsu Provincial Suzhou High School

The school changed its name again in 1911 to Jiangsu Provincial No.1 Normal School. During the May Fourth Movement, which was a big student protest, students from this school helped lead the way. They protested against a treaty that was unfair to China. Their actions even influenced the government's decisions.

In 1927, a new principal named Wang Maozu took over. He had studied at famous universities like Harvard University. He invited more well-known scholars, including Qian Mu and Zhang Taiyan, to teach at the school. In 1932, something very important happened: Suzhou High School started to accept girls! This was a big step forward for education in China at that time.

However, in 1937, the Japanese Army took over Suzhou and the school campus. For eight years during the war, the school had to move many times and even change its name to stay safe. It moved to different cities and even pretended to be private schools to avoid attention. Finally, in 1945, after the war ended, Suzhou High School returned to its original campus.

In the years after the war, Suzhou High School continued to be one of China's best high schools. Many of its students went on to study at top universities like Peking University and Tsinghua University.

Suzhou High School Today

In 1978, Suzhou High School was recognized again as a key secondary school in Jiangsu Province. This meant it was one of the most important schools in the region.

In 1985, the school started a special program with the University of Science and Technology. This program helped prepare younger students for college.

Today, Suzhou High School has strong connections with schools and universities around the world. It works with schools in Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Some of these include famous places like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Waseda University in Japan. In 2007, the school even started a special program called the Cambridge International High School program.

The school has also grown by adding new campuses. The Suzhou Lida Middle School was founded in 1996 and later became a joint-venture school. In 2003, the Suzhou High School Park affiliate was opened in the Suzhou Industrial Park.

In 2004, the school was given a "four-star" rating in Jiangsu Province, which is the highest rating for a high school. It has also won awards for being a "Civilized Unit" for many years, showing its commitment to good values.

Amazing Teachers

Suzhou High School has a team of highly skilled teachers. It has five professors who teach at the senior secondary school level. It also has 19 "grade teachers" who are recognized as top teachers in the province.

A Beautiful Campus

Science Building

West Red Building

Classical garden style

Library

The school is located on Renmin Road in Suzhou. It covers a large area, about 160 mu (a Chinese unit of area, where 1 mu is about 666.67 square meters).

The main teaching areas are built around a hill called Daoshan Hill. The most famous building at the school is the Science Building, which faces the main gate. Other important buildings include the East and West Red Buildings, and the East and West White Buildings. The school also has a modern Library, a Laboratory Building, an Info-tech Building, and a stadium, all built in the 1990s. The campus combines modern facilities with a classical garden style, making it a beautiful place to learn.

Famous Alumni

Many successful people have graduated from Suzhou High School. Here are just a few:

Scientists

• Tsung-Dao Lee: A theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize.
• Chien-Shiung Wu: An experimental physicist who won the Wolf Prize.
• Chien Wei-zang: A physicist.
• Hu Ning: A theoretical physicist.
• Feng Duan: A physicist.
• Feng Kang: A mathematician.
• Yao Zhen: A biologist.
• Xiaowei Zhuang: A biophysicist.
• Tianxi Cai: A biostatistician.

Engineers

• Yuan-Cheng Fung: A bioengineer.
• Shi Jun: A chemical engineer.
• Chia-Shun Yih: A fluid mechanics engineer.
• Ju-Chin Chu: A chemical engineer and the father of Steven Chu, who also won a Nobel Prize.

Politicians

• Qin Bangxian: An early leader of the Communist Party of China.
• Zhou Yongkang: A party and state leader.
• Yuan Weimin: Made important contributions to Chinese sports.

Writers

• Wu Zuoren
• Lu Wenfu

Entrepreneurs

• Yu Liang: The president of China Vanke Co., a large real estate company.

Principals

Images for kids

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  Suzhou High School logo

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  Suzhou High School gate