中国第一所女学开办

·严氏女学

清末兴学的初期，由于男尊女卑思想还禁锢着人们的头脑，在创办学堂的进程中，只重视男子教育，女子教育仍被排斥在教育制度之外。清光绪二十九年十一月二十六日 (1904年1月13日)颁布的 《奏定学堂章程》 (癸卯学制)中，就未提及女子教育； 直到光绪三十三年(1907),学部才制订出 《女子小学堂章程》和《女子师范学堂章程》,中国女子教育开始列入教育制度。
但是在这以前，天津的有识之士，便开始关注女子教育问题。教育改革家严修，以其非凡的魄力，冲破重重阻力，积极提倡女子教育，主张男女教育并重，把男女教育完全摆在平等的地位，并身体力行。用自己的家宅为试验基地，以家塾的形式作为过渡，然后创立正式学校。
清光绪二十八年(1902),严修在自己的家里创办了严氏女塾。入学的学生主要是严氏的家属，有其女儿、侄女、儿媳、侄媳和亲友的女儿。年龄从10岁到20岁不等。严修的次子严智怡任该塾主任兼教员，教国文； 严修的三子严智钟，教英文； 日本教员川本教日文和唱歌； 日本教员山口教手工； 日本教员野崎教织布。学费每人每月1元。上午学缝纫、洗衣、织布； 织布从纺纱到织成平纹布、斜纹布和毛巾。下午上国文、英文、算术、日文、音乐、国画等课。严修曾亲授作文。该塾所用教材和教具，大多是严修从日本购买的。
光绪三十一年(1905),严修女塾改为严氏小学，设高小(3年),初小(4年)两级，课程有： 国文、英文、日文、数学、理化、史地、音乐和国画等。严修之妹严叔琳担任监学。初小教员有韩升华、韩咏华等。高小只办了1班，有学生13名，教师有华海门、郑趾周、戴有三、张星六等，均为当时天津教育界知名人士。严氏女学是天津设立的第一所女校，也是全国开创最早的女子学校之一。
1919年该校增设中学班； 1923年9月，由严修、言仲远捐资，租南开六德里为校舍，改建为南开女子中学； 1925年，在南开中学操场南面建女子新校舍一所，此时学生增加到近300人。1937年7月28日，南开女中被日本侵略军炸毁。天津沦陷时期，南迁重庆南渝中学继续学业。抗战胜利后，因为校址没有着落，1945年10月未能与南开中学同时复校。转年，南开中学迁回原址——天津市南开区四马路22号(今南开中学现址),匀出了南开中校复校时的天津市一区甘肃路88号(后第二南开中学校址) ,南开女子中学才于1946年7月18日复校，东楼作为教室，北楼作为宿舍。招录新生高一年级48名； 初一年级48名，于8月31日开学，9月9日上课。
解放后，南开女子中学于1953年改名天津市第七女子中学，1959年改名天津市医科大学附属中学，1962年改名天津南开女中，1968年改名东方红中学，1985年改称天津第二南开中学。
中国早期女子教育倡导者，还有吕碧城(1833—1943),女，安徽旌德人，幼即聪敏好学，能文善画，十五六岁词作便声名鹊起。1903年，被英敛之聘为天津《大公报》编辑，后游学日本，1909年回津后，应直隶提学使卢木斋之约，创办卢氏蒙养院，并在卢氏所办学堂中兼任教习。不久，自己创办起一所私立北洋女子公学，任校长并执教。民国后，曾被袁世凯聘为公府秘书。1918年后，赴美国留学和游欧美。著作丰，流传广，吟咏多宣传佛学。
In the last years of Qing Dynasty,though many a schoolwas set up,superiority of men to women as the majorobstacle prevented women from receiving education.Thus,men`s education was focalized while women`swas excluded from educational system in the process ofdevelopment of education. For example,the Statute forSchools issued in January 13th 1904 (the 29th year ofEmperor Guangxu) did not mention women education.Women education was not officially listed into educationsystem until 1907 (the 33rd year of Emperor Guangxu)when Education Department of the royal governmentissued Statute for Women Primary Schools and Statutefor Women Normal Schools.
However,some men of insight in Tianjin hadalready paid their attention to women education before1907. Education reformer Yan Xiu was one of them.With extraordinary resolution,he actively advocatedwomen education. He preached that both men andwomen should be equal. Even more,he put what headvocated into practice,taking his own house as afamily class. Then he set up a formal school.
In 1902 (the 28th year of Emperor Guangxu),Yan`s Women School was set up in his own home,moststudents of which were mostly his family memberssuch as his daughters,nieces,daughter-in-laws,wivesof his nephews and daughters of his friends and otherfemale family members. They aged from 10 to 20. Thesecond son of Yan Xiu,Yan Zhiyi,was the director ofthe school and also taught Chinese. His third son,YanZhizhong,taught English. A Japanese teacher taughtJapanese and singing,another taught handcraft,andanother taught weaving. The tuition fee was 1 yuan permonth for each student. In the morning,students learnedsewing,washing and weaving (they weaved plain cloth,twills and towels. Weaving also includes spinning). Inthe afternoon,they learned Chinese,English,arithmetic,Japanese,music and traditional Chinese painting. YanXiu himself taught writing. Teaching materials and aidswere mostly bought from Japan by Yan Xiu.
In 1905 (the 31st year of Emperor Guangxu),Yan`s Women School was enlarged into Yan`s PrimarySchool,where there were two grades,higher primaryschool (three years) and lower primary school(4 years),whose courses included Chinese,English,Japanese,mathematics,physics,chemistry,music and traditionalChinese painting etc. The sister of Yan Xiu,Yan Shulin,assumed the office of warden of this school. Teachersof the lower primary school included Han Shenghuaand Hua Yonghua etc. There was only one class in thehigher primary school which had thirteen students taughtby teachers such as Hua Haimen,Zheng Zhizhou,DaiYousan and Zhang Xingliu etc. All of them were well-known in Tianjin educational cycle at their time. Yan`sWomen School was the first women school in Tianjinand one of the earliest in China.
In 1919,middle school was added. In September1923,founded by Yan Xiu and Yan Zhongyuan,Yan`sSchool rented Nankai Liudeli to be the school buildingand remade it into Nankai Women Middle School. In1925,a new school building for women was built tothe south of the playground in Nankai Men MiddleSchool. At that time,there were almost 300 students.In July 28,1937,Nankai Women Middle School wasbombed out by the Japanese invaders. During the periodwhen Tianjin was occupied,Nankai Women MiddleSchool moved to Chongqing Nanyu Middle Schoolto continue its operation. After the victory of the anti-Japanese war,Nankai Women Middle School did notresume in October 1945 with Nankai Middle Schoolbecause no appropriate school location was available.In the next year,that was,July 18,1946,when NankaiMiddle Scholl returned to its original location,No. 22in Si Road in Nankai district and spared the location inNo. 88 Gansu Road in Yi district (where Nankai MiddleSchool resumes its operation after the victory of the anti-Japanese war and where the Secondary Nankai MiddleSchool is now located),Nankai Women Middle Schoolresumed using the eastern building for classrooms andthe northern building for dormitories.In that year,itrecruited 48 students for the first grade of high schooland 48 for that of middle school. The new term began inAugust 31 and classes formally started in September 9.
After the liberation,Nankai Women Middle Schoolwas renamed as Tianjin No.7 Women Middle School in1953,Affiliated to Tianjin Medical University MiddleSchool in 1959,Tianjin Nankai Women Middle School in1962,Dongfanghong Middle School in 1968 and finallyTianjin Secondary Nankai Middle School in 1985.

·天津南开女子中学