Zhongzheng (中正) — a name adopted by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) — was the most common name for elementary and junior-high schools in Taiwan in 2022, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Education found.
Eighteen Zhongzheng elementary schools operate nationwide, including two each in Taichung and Kaohsiung, while seven junior-high schools are named Zhongzheng, the survey found.
About 14,000 students, 1.23 percent, attend a Zhongzheng elementary school and 6,143 students go to Zhongzheng junior-high schools, it showed.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
The oldest Zhongzheng elementary school, founded in 1898, is in Pingtung City, while a New Taipei City school has the most students: 1,704 students in 66 classes.
Zhongzheng elementary schools can be found in all six special municipalities and in Kinmen and Lienchiang counties.
The second most common name for elementary schools in Taiwan is Zhongshan (中山), which is used by 16 schools that have more than 13,000 students, it said.
Zhongshan is associated with Republic of China founder Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙), who is also known as Sun Zhongshan (孫中山).
Taipei has two Zhongshan elementary schools — the Municipal Zhongshan Elementary School in Zhongshan District and Taipei Private Zhongshan Elementary School in Wenshan District (文山).
Sixteen elementary schools are named Chenggong (成功), 15 Datong (大同) and 14 Xinyi (信義), the survey showed.
As for junior-high schools, six are named Zhongshan, five Zhongxiao (忠孝), four Sanmin (三民) and four Chenggong, it showed.
Secondary and Elementary Principals’ Association president Chang Hsin-wu (張信務) said that the names Zhongzheng and Zhongshan might be rooted in history, as many cities and counties have roads with these two names.
Schools are usually named based on their location or suggestions of residents, while some are named after people who donated land or funds for the school’s construction, Chang said, citing Rongfu Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊), named after donor Chou Rong-fu (周榮富).
Elementary schools founded during the Japanese colonial period usually used area names for their schools, National Federation of Teachers Unions president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) said.
Some schools have changed names due to shifting political and cultural sentiment in the past few years, local education department officials said.
For example, Daguan (達觀) Elementary School and Boai (博愛) Elementary School changed their names to Puma and Tbulan respectively, to promote indigenous culture and identity, Taichung City Education Department Commissioner Chiang Wei-min (蔣偉民) said.
Jianmin (健民) Elementary School changed its name to Zhuzikeng (竹仔坑) Elementary School last year, restoring the old place name to preserve cultural identity, he said.
New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen (張明文) said that name changes could also be the result of the adoption of experimental curriculums, such as Jhongshan Elementary School changing its name to Jhongshan Experimental Elementary School.
School names are a source of identity for alumni and local communities and also represent the history and development of the school, he said.
Tainan City Education Department Commissioner Cheng Hsin-hui (鄭新輝) said that some elementary schools in the city changed their names to restore their previous names, which came from the location’s name.
For example, Henan (河南) Elementary School changed to Ditougang (?頭港) Elementary School, Donghe (東河) Elementary School became Kabuasua (吉貝耍) Elementary School and Khaupi (口埤) Experimental Elementary School changed the second character in its name to pi (碑).
Some school names no longer exist after merging due to a declining birthrate, Kaohsiung City Education Department Commissioner Hsieh Wen-pin (謝文斌) said.
While schools, parents and communities are reluctant to see original school names disappear, they agree that students’ learning and growth are more important than the school’s name.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its