Abstract: The once most prominent Nanyang College(1896-1905) to which SHENG Xuan-huai devoted most of his efforts changed its name several times. Examining how and why the college changed its name helps to reveal the development of modern education. From the out set, the gentry and merchants represented by SHENG played the leading role in establishing the College in the name of Public School. This western-style College was then financed by the industry and commerce community. However, there was no mature and stable industrial and commercial class in China, while there was a well-developed traditional system of public administration, which made the education mode of Nanyang College less sustainable. After the reform in the School System in the late Qing Dynasty, SHENG’s mode gradually faded out in the process of education modernization led by the government.