Chronicles

Fuzhou, Mawei, Tianjin, Beijing, London, Greenwich, Portsmouth, Xiamen, Shanghai Do you know who translated “survival of the fittest” into Chinese? It was a man from Fuzhou named Yan Fu. In 1898, a book called Evolution and Ethics was quietly published. Its core message—“natural selection, survival of the fittest”—exploded across late Qing China like a bombshell. Lu Xun later recalled that while studying in Nanjing, he would sit on the ground reading Evolution and Ethics on Sundays. After finishing it, his entire worldview had changed. ...

Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Sanming, Nanping, Longyan, Ningde, Putian, Zhangzhou, Wuyishan, Jianou, Dehua, Shaxian, Changting, Yongan, Lianjiang, Pingtan Did you know Fujian ranks first in China for forest coverage? You might think it’s only natural. Fujian is “eight parts mountains, one part water, one part farmland”—lots of hills, lots of trees. But here’s what you might not know: in 1934, Fujian’s forest coverage was only 18%. 18% is less than Beijing today (about 44%). ...

Fuzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Nan’an, Huian, Yongchun, Anxi, Tong’an, Fuqing, Putian, Yongding, Xianyou, Datian, Changting, Shaowu, Mawei, Gulangyu Have you ever been to school? To most Chinese today, the question sounds absurd. But a hundred years ago, in Fujian, being able to attend school was a luxury. The people who changed that were a group of Fujianese living far from home. One Man’s Obsession In 1894, the 20th year of Guangxu’s reign. A man named Tan Kah Kee from Tong’an established a small school called the “Tizhai Academy” in Jimei. ...