The School That Began with Thirteen

十三名学生，开启太平一所学校的故事

In July 1883, a Taiping school called Central School opened with just thirteen pupils. That modest number is recorded by King Edward VII (1) Primary School in its own history. The landmark gate photographed here belongs to a later chapter, not to the original classroom.

1883年7月，太平的 Central School 开校时只有十三名学生。这不是后人为老建筑增添的传说，而是 King Edward VII（一校）官方校史记载的数字。照片里的大门则属于较晚的年代，不能拿它当成第一间课室的样貌。

The school history places the first Central School at a nurses’ hostel near the railway station. A school beginning in a borrowed setting sounds less imposing than the name on today’s gate. That is precisely the point: institutions can be older than the buildings tourists photograph.

校史记载，最初的 Central School 设在火车站附近的护士宿舍。今天我们熟悉的校名、宏伟校门，当年都还没出现。先有学习的需要，后来才逐渐有像样的校舍；这种次序，比一句“百年古校”更值得细想。

Construction of the replacement school began in 1904. Pupils moved into the new building in 1905, when the school became King Edward VII School. Perak Tourism also distinguishes its 1883 beginnings from the move in 1905; treating both as the same building would erase twenty-two years.

1904年，新校舍开始兴建；1905年，学生搬入新址，学校正式以 King Edward VII School 之名开办。霹靂旅游局也分别列出1883年的创校与1905年的迁校。两个年份不可混成同一件事，否则建筑无端老了二十二岁。

The school’s history identifies the new site with Taiping’s former railway-station grounds. It is one of the town’s quiet intersections: education and transport occupying successive layers of local history. Do not confuse this old site with the operating Taiping station of today.

最耐人寻味的是地点。学校官方资料指出，新址建在太平旧火车站的地段上。原来一片土地先后见证铁路与教育的发展。不过，这是旧站的历史位置，别把它误认为现在仍有列车停靠的太平站。

Perak Tourism points visitors to the gateway, colonial-era architecture and trees planted in 1910. The gateway offers a photograph, but trees offer a different scale of time. Students who first watched them grow would be long gone; the shade continues working without asking for attention.

霹靂旅游资料特别提到学校的大门、殖民时期建筑形式，以及1910年种下的树木。大门最容易入镜，树却安静得多。当年在树下走过的学生早已毕业，树荫仍继续为一代代人提供一点凉意。

Another date matters: March 1958. The school history says the institution was divided into three schools, including a secondary school and two primary schools. A surviving name therefore does not mean an unchanged organisation. The story has branches, like the trees outside.

1958年3月，学校又走到一个转折。校史说明，原来的学校分成三所，包括一所中学和两所小学。沿用一个熟悉的名字，不代表校制从未改变。历史有时不是一条直线，而像树枝那样分出去。

The accompanying picture was made by photographer Meshrarao on 4 September 2018 and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. It records the entrance in 2018; it is not visual evidence of the thirteen students in 1883, nor a photograph of the opening in 1905.

本文照片由摄影者 Meshrarao 于2018年9月4日拍摄，刊于 Wikimedia Commons，采用 CC BY-SA 4.0 授权。照片能让我们看到2018年的校门，却无法证明1883年十三名学生坐在哪里，更不是1905年开幕的现场记录。

Visitors can appreciate the architecture from public areas, without assuming that a working school is an open museum. Check access arrangements rather than entering grounds uninvited; children and school activity are not tourist exhibits.

想在太平认识这段历史，可以从公共地方欣赏校门与周围景观，切勿把仍在运作的学校当成任意出入的博物馆。参观前先查明安排，也应尊重学生与教职员的日常，不要为了照片擅闯校园。

Taiping is often introduced through its oldest landmarks. Here the more interesting fact is how an institution kept changing while a town changed around it. Thirteen pupils, a railway-adjacent first home, a new building, then three schools: each date deserves its own place.

太平有不少“第一”的故事，但这里最值得记住的不是争论哪幢楼最老，而是十三个孩子如何成为一段延续至今的教育史。从宿舍旁的课室、旧站地段的新校舍，到后来分出的三所学校，每个年代都有自己的角色。

Published 23 October 2026

发布于2026年10月23日

Explore Taiping's heritage respectfully. Compare Sojourn's current dorm beds from RM59 and private rooms from RM99, subject to conditions and availability.

到太平看建筑，也记得尊重仍在运作的校园。晓客栈宿舍床位参考价 RM59 起、私人房 RM99 起，须以当前房况及条件为准。

Rooms and rates · Book Direct — advance enquiry

An advance direct enquiry is NON-BINDING. It does not reserve, hold or guarantee a room until Sojourn explicitly confirms a reservation.

提前直接住宿查詢不具约束力。晓客栈明确确认预订之前，并不代表房间已被预订、保留或保证。

Sources and photograph rights

SK King Edward VII (1) — Official school history: 1883 opening, 1905 move, 1958 division · Tourism Perak Malaysia — King Edward VII School architecture, move and trees · Photograph: Meshrarao, 4 September 2018, Wikimedia Commons · Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0.

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