Fan Yuan-lien (1875-23 December 1927), a pioneer in the modernization of Chinese education, held such offices as minister of education (1912; 1916-17; 1920-21), president of Peking Normal University (1923-24), and director of the China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture. A native of Hsiangyin, Hunan, Fan Yuan-lien was orphaned at an early age. […]