Public Education Hall

Public Education Hall

The Public Education Hall in Mengcheng County was a mass cultural institution during the Republican era. In December 1914 (the third year of the Republic of China), an Association for Popular Education was established in Mengcheng, which was renamed the Public Education Hall in 1928 (the seventeenth year of the Republic of China). The hall was initially located at the Temple of King Wen, and later moved to the west side of the Minglun Hall in the Confucian Temple (currently Qiyuan Gold Shop), forming a cultural center together with the Minglun Hall, the Hall of Sages, the Scripture Depository, and the Wenchang Pavilion.

The overall layout of the education hall can be divided into the main gate, front gate, central courtyard, and rear courtyard, consisting of approximately twenty rooms. Above the main gate, two curved steel frames connecting the gate pillars hold nine iron-red lacquered characters spelling out “Mengcheng Public Education Hall.” On either side of the gate are latticed wooden fences with tiled roofs, inscribed with the banners “Loyalty, Filial Piety, Benevolence, and Love” and “Integrity, Righteousness, Peace, and Harmony.” Walking through the gate, a two-meter-wide brick-paved walkway leads directly to the front hall, with a neat small courtyard in front of the hall and orderly flower stands and lawns. The front hall is spacious and tall, with a pink plaque hanging above the door inscribed with the three characters “Lecture Hall.” Inside the hall are colorful paper flowers and pomanders. The walls are adorned with eye-catching slogans. A portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen hangs above the podium, beneath which are rows of long benches, giving the entire lecture hall a solemn and dignified atmosphere. Behind the lecture hall lies the central courtyard, where a polygonal lotus pond is situated in the middle. During summer and autumn, the lotus leaves are lush green and the flowers stand gracefully upright. To the west of the courtyard stands a hexagonal pavilion called the “Nostalgia Pavilion,” inside which sits a bronze nude statue wrapped in leaves around the waist, hands resting on the knees, eyes slightly closed as if in deep thought, named the “Ancestor of Humanity.” Around the Nostalgia Pavilion, the pillars are adorned with poems themed on nostalgia created by local literati, and several goldfish tanks are placed around the courtyard. The entire compound is richly vegetated and offers a pleasant environment.

To the north of the main courtyard are the offices and reception room of the Public School. To the east of the courtyard is a long, narrow yard separated by a brick flower wall and a round gate. The three eastern wing rooms serve as an exhibition room, the three northern rooms function as a reading room for books and newspapers, and the southern section is a recreation room. The rear small courtyard serves as staff dormitories. Each hall and room is equipped with tables, chairs, and tools, along with a gramophone, slide projector, various board games, and balls. In 1936 (the twenty-fifth year of the Republic of China), a telephone was also installed.

The Public Education Hall housed the Teaching Department, Livelihood Department, Health Department, and Exhibition Department. Each department had a director and clerks, along with two workers assigned to general duties.

The Public Education Hall carried out a variety of rich activities. The Teaching Department operated a public school, promoted the New Life Movement, and organized book reading sessions, offering over 2,000 books and more than 20 types of newspapers and periodicals. It held lectures mainly covering practical knowledge related to people’s lives and work, social customs and moral values, as well as current political issues. The Exhibition Department displayed plant and animal specimens, human skeletal structures and physiological models, as well as educational charts on science and hygiene. The Livelihood Department primarily aimed to help people find employment, develop the economy, and improve living standards. It also operated lending services, founded rural cooperatives and public savings initiatives, conducted rural production and lifestyle surveys, organized agricultural product exhibitions and competitions, and managed vocational placement services. The Health Department ran a public clinic, carried out epidemic prevention and sports activities, improved public toilets, and conducted sanitation inspections. It also organized a Peking Opera troupe, a modern drama troupe, as well as research associations for music, chess, calligraphy, and fine arts.

In May 1938, Japanese forces captured Mengcheng, destroying and looting all facilities in the hall. During their retreat, the “Ancestor of Humanity” statue inside the Nostalgia Pavilion was stolen by the Japanese army.

During the Anti-Japanese War, various anti-Japanese salvation organizations such as the Mengcheng County Youth Anti-Enemy Association, the County Work Troupe, the Entrusted Sixteenth Work Troupe, and the General Mobilization Committee were stationed in the hall, carrying out various anti-Japanese salvation activities.

After the liberation of Mengcheng, the hall was discontinued.