Abstract: Tibet has been an integral part of China's territory since ancient times and has been under snceessive administration of The central governments since Yuan and Ming Dynasties. In the late Qing Dynasty,the central government dispatched Zhang Yintang to deal with Tibetan affairs in order to resist external invasion and consolidate the frontier, and to carry out a series of reforms including modern educational reform. In this modern reform known as Xingxue, Zhang Yintang established schools of modern education, and encouraged school attendance among school-age residents, rewarded teachers, and raised funds for schools operation. Zhang's efforts spread knowledge and promoted the development of modern education in Tibet. This played a positive role in consolidating the frontier of Southwest China and safeguarding national sovereignty. At the same time, it has laid a solid foundation for Lien Yu, the grand minister resident of Tibet to continue educational reform in Tibet. The rational educational conception then is worthy of learning from for future generations.

Key words: Zhang Yintang, Xingxue, Tibetan reform, Tibetan local government, Qing government, educational reform