The provincial academic tradition begun by his precursor Ruan Yuan ( 1764-1849) had a great influence upon thefamous late Qing scholar-bureaucrat Zhang Zhidong ( 1837-1909 ) ． However，after he assumed the viceroyship inGuangzhou in 1884，Zhang and the literati around him intended to transcend the experiences of Ruan and other precursors，with a strategy of reinterpretation of the local academy sources such as Chen Li's ( 1810-1882) Dongshu School． In 1887，Zhang founded a new provincial academy called Guangya Academy to practice his eclectic academicopinions and statecraft demands． All these provincial academic experiences were accumulated in Zhang Zhidong'scircle and prompted the latter to occupy an essential position in the modern transformation of the traditional educationg system．