Site of the Former Bacon Vocational School

Site of the Former Bacon Vocational School

The Site of the Former Bacon Vocational School is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Jiangxi Province.

The Bacon Vocational School, founded in the eighth year of the Republic of China (1919), was the first modern vocational school in Jiangxi Province. In its early years, the school appointed Liu Tianqu (father of Liu Shishun), a distinguished local scholar from Tianbao and a Japan-trained academic, as principal, and Liu Jida (who served as the Ganzhou Administrative Commissioner in 1938) as the academic affairs director. It had more than ten vocational teaching staff.

The school motto at the time — “It is our duty to cultivate self-reliance; roots may run wild but will thrive on their own” — gave the school its name, Bacon. It was the earliest and only modern vocational school in Jiangxi Province dedicated to training professionals in agriculture, featuring European architectural style. The founder was Liu Huacheng, the first principal was Liu Tianqu (father of Dr. Liu Shishun), and the school administrator was Liu Jida (later appointed as the Ganzhou Commissioner during the Republican era). Courses offered included: Chinese, arithmetic, chemistry, horticulture, soil science, natural sciences, history, geography, music, physical education, handicrafts, English, and agricultural research. The school was co-educational with a three-year program, drawing students from Yifeng, Tonggu, Fengxin, Nanchang, Hunan, and other regions. At its peak, student enrollment reached several hundred. Graduates went on to provide agricultural technical guidance in rural areas across the country and earned high praise from society.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Cultural Heritage Sites Protected at the Provincial Level in Jiangxi Province