Zhang Jizhi: The ‘New Gentry’ Bridging Tradition and Modernity Born in Haimen County, Jiangsu Province in 1853, Zhang Jizhi – whose courtesy name was Jizhi and art name Se'an – stands as a fascinating figure of late 19th-century China. Often described as a “new gentry,” he embodied the complex transition between traditional Confucian values and the burgeoning forces of modernization. More than simply an entrepreneur, Zhang Jizhi was a politician, educator, and a pivotal player in shaping the economic and intellectual landscape of his era. His life story is one of ambition, calculated risk, a…