Education for all
Oxford College, founded in 1882, and so named because Mackay raised funds for it on a trip back to his home county of Oxford, Ontario, was Taiwan’s first modern school. The building still stands on the campus of today’s Aletheia University.
Prior to this, Mackay had taught out in the open, “under the spreading banian-tree, with God’s blue sky as our vaulted roof.” He led students out into nature to learn knowledge about the environment that wasn’t in books. Besides lecturing on theology and the Bible, he taught many subjects, including geography, astronomy, anatomy, botany, zoology, and medicine. When out and about, he invariably collected plants, minerals, and indigenous people’s cultural artifacts.
This curriculum, explains Cheng Yang-en, was based on the spirit of the Scottish Enlightenment. In the 17th and 18th centuries, various European countries initiated the modern era of development in science, medicine, education, and other fields. “Scotland was special because its Enlightenment focused on education, to train intellectuals with a social conscience.”
This concept was similar to today’s liberal (or general) education. Hence some people say that Oxford College was the pioneer of general education curriculums in Taiwan.
In 1914, 13 years after Mackay’s death, his only son, George William Mackay, founded Tamkang High School, the predecessor to today’s Tamkang Senior High School. David Wang, curator of Tamkang Senior High’s school history museum, notes that it has produced many famous graduates, including Tsai Ah-hsin (Chhoà A-sìn), Taiwan’s first female physician; Chung Hsin-hsin, who reformed Taiwan’s nursing system and education; the late president Lee Teng-hui, who led Taiwan from authoritarianism to democracy; and Chung Chao-cheng, known as one of the fathers of Taiwan literature.
The arcaded building of Tamsui Girls’ School, founded by Mackay, still stands today. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
In his residence in Tamsui Mackay had a small museum where he kept items he had gathered from all over Taiwan. Most of this collection is now held by the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
Mackay’s son George William Mackay founded Tamkang High School in 1914. Its dormitory, topped with an octagonal tower, housed many Taiwanese students who went on to achieve great things. (photo by Jimmy Lin)