Chapter 2 Second principal

In Changsha Temporary University in 1937, three principals, Jiang Menglin, Zhang Boling, and Mei Yiqi, inspected the student dormitories and saw the dilapidated houses. Principal Jiang thought it was not suitable for living; but Principal Zhang believed that students should take exercise, and they should be satisfied with such a dormitory.So Jiang said: "If it is my child, I don't want him to live in the dormitory!" But Zhang said tit for tat: "If it is my child, I must let him live in this dormitory!" Mei did not express his opinion. After Cai Yuanpei took office, he spoke to the students for the first time, saying: "College students should take academic research as their bounden duty, and should not use universities as a ladder for promotion and fortune."Later, Mr. Cai put forward the "Sixteen-Character Proverbs": including the grand ceremony, enlisting all families, freedom of thought, and inclusiveness.In just over two years, Mr. Cai transformed a bureaucratic training center into a "spiritual sanctuary" in China.

Dewey commented on Cai Yuanpei: "Comparing the presidents of universities around the world, Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, Berlin, Harvard, Columbia, etc., among these presidents, there are many who have made outstanding contributions in certain disciplines. However, as a president Besides Cai Yuanpei, there is probably no one who can lead that university and play a turning role in a nation and an era.” Cai Yuanpei also mentioned in a letter to Wu Zhihui: probably the reason why the university is not satisfactory is that the courses are miscellaneous and the discipline is corrupt.To save the first disadvantage, hire pure scholars to teach and conduct research with students at the same time, so as to transform the university into an institution for purely studying knowledge.To save the second disadvantage, recruit model figures of students to rectify the style of study.

When Peking University held a professor meeting, the meeting place was chaotic, and everyone spoke one after another. Cai Yuanpei also stood up and was about to speak. When Gu Hongming saw it, he first said loudly: "Now, please listen to the principal's orders!" Zhou Zuoren said, this is Gu's tone, he The spirit is also fully expressed in it. During the "May 4th" Movement, the professors dealt with the incident together, among which was to retain Cai Yuanpei. Everyone said a lot, and there was no objection to the retention.Gu Hongming said his own special reason: "The principal is the emperor of our school, so he must be retained."

Because Peking University advocates "new culture" and "inclusiveness", it often leads to the interference of "State Council", "Senate" and other yamen.Cai Yuanpei was very angry: "Freedom of thought is the general rule of the world's universities. ... How can there be such an unfree university in the world? Do you want me to be the president of this kind of university?" On June 15, 1919, Cai Yuanpei published " Declaration of Refusing to Be the President of Peking University again, proclaiming three basic principles of modern Chinese universities: first, universities should be independent and autonomous; second, universities should have freedom of thought and academic freedom; third, university academic and ideological Freedom requires a correspondingly free social and political environment. "I can never be a university president who is not free anymore."

Fu Sinian, who was the acting president of Peking University, said: "Mr. Cai Yuanpei really represents two great cultures: one is the cultivation of traditional Chinese sages; the other is the ideal of freedom and fraternity in Western Europe. These two cultures have their own difficulties. Gou. After the death of Mr., these two cultures have disappeared in China!" Nankai is a private school, and its funds need to be donated from all walks of life. Some students said: "We don't want the stinky money of bureaucrats, warlords, local tyrants and evil gentry!" Principal Zhang Boling said: "Beautiful flowers might as well be watered out of dung water!"

Zhang Boling often said: "People can have bad luck, but they must not have bad luck! The more unlucky you are, the more you should have a clean face, haircut, clothes and shoes, so that people will have a fresh, bright and comfortable feeling at first sight. It will get better soon." He also made up a jingle: "Comb your hair and wash your face frequently, even if you are unlucky, you won't show it!" Zhang Boling especially believes in this concept: how can one save the world if one is disheveled? There are also four cross mirror mottos in Nankai: "The face must be clean, the hair must be trimmed, the clothes must be straightened, and the buttons must be tied; the head must be upright, the shoulders should be flat, the chest should be wide, and the back should be straight. Yihe Yijing Yizhuang."

At the end of 1924, some conflicts occurred between teachers and students in the university department. President Zhang quelled the internal turmoil with the spirit of making big things small and small things small. Pat the dirt off your body and go home to eat." In 1929, the first batch of students from Nankai Women's High School graduated. Principal Zhang's speech was both humorous and profound.He said: "When you get married in the future, take care of your husband and raise your children. You should help your husband to be a public and a country. Don't ask your husband to get promoted and get rich. After a man gets promoted and gets rich, the first person who dislikes you is you, the first wife!"

Zhang Boling said many times the reason for his education: "I was in the Beiyang Naval School, and I saw that Lushun Dalian was taken away by Japan, and Qingdao was taken away by the Germans. When I went to Jigong Island, I saw two people, one was British. The other is a Chinese soldier. The British soldier is tall and well-dressed, but the Chinese soldier is quite different. He is wearing a gray and shabby military uniform with the word "Yong" on his chest. He has a haggard face and two shoulders. Qi towering. Compared with these two soldiers, there is a world of difference. I felt ashamed and sad at that time. I was greatly stimulated since then, and it is still reverberating in my mind. I was determined to reform us Chinese , but I don’t want to train the army or navy to deal with foreign countries. I think the way to reform the people is to provide education.”

Principal Zhang encouraged students to work hard, but he was afraid that young people’s eagerness for success would be bad. He took stewed meat as an example and said: “Stewed meat should be cooked slowly and for a long time. Don’t be impatient. The meat will be rotten and delicious. Open it and take a look, and take a look after a while, this pot of meat cannot be stewed well." President Mei Yiqi gave his inaugural speech at Tsinghua University in 1931: "The reason why a university is a university lies in whether it has good professors. Mencius said: "The so-called old country is not just that there are trees, but that there are ministers." I can imitate it now and say: 'The so-called university students do not mean that they have buildings, but also that they are called masters.'”

Mei Yiqi served as the president of Tsinghua University from 1931 to 1948. Before he became the president, it was common for Tsinghua teachers and students to catch up with the president and professors, and the president did not serve long.Someone asked Mei Yiqi what her secret was, and Mei said: "Everyone pours this, pours that, and no one wants to pour plums (unlucky)!" When President Jiang Menglin took office, he told the deans of the three schools of literature, science, and law: "I will dismiss the old people, and you will do it; recruit new people, you will do it... Do it freely, and select professors and research talents from all over the country."

After the "March 18th Massacre", Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Zhu Ziqing and others all wrote commemorative essays. On March 23, people from all walks of life in Beijing, various social organizations, and various schools gathered in the playground of Peking University to hold a mass memorial ceremony for the souls of the "March 18 Massacre".Jiang Menglin, the acting president of Peking University, said sadly at the meeting: "As the president, I make people's children, talents of the society and the country, and friends of classmates sacrifice so much, and it is impossible to avoid and save. I really don't know how to grieve." He said Tears flowed down here, causing "all the students in the audience to cry at each other, and crying was heard outside the door." Zhu Kezhen served as the president of Zhejiang University. At a party, someone asked him to "excuse me." Ma Yinchu successively served as the president of Zhejiang University, the president and honorary president of Peking University, and was criticized for writing "New Population Theory".When the whole country was under siege, Ma Yinchu became angry again, saying: "I am quite sure about my theory, I have to persist, and the dignity of academics has to be maintained!...Although I am nearly eighty years old, I know that I am outnumbered, and I am alone. Horse, come out to fight, until you die in battle, never surrender to the critics who specialize in persuasion and persuasion.... I am personally criticized as a trivial matter, but I am thinking about the major issues of the country and the nation , I believe decades later, the facts will prove that I was right." Decades later, it turned out that he was right. Fu Zhongsun, vice-president of Beijing Normal University, said: "When every political movement starts, even though the name of the movement is not called struggle, no matter whether it is called study, thought reform, or eradication of counter-revolutionaries, every time a movement starts, the intellectuals are frightened. It's daring. It's unprecedented to be blinded and slapped repeatedly for the ruler's sincere flattery. I can't think of a single Xingchao who ruined intellectuals like this, and I don't know what these intellectuals have done You have suffered such a great calamity due to your sin!" Zhang Baixi was the first Minister of Management of Peking University. For Peking University, the credit is by no means inferior to that of Cai Yuanpei.As soon as Zhang took office, he invited Wu Rulun to be the head teacher. After visiting the thatched cottage three times, Wu still refused. Zhang knelt down on the spot until Wu agreed.But Wu Rulun asked to go to Japan first for inspection, but he died just after returning from Japan. When Jiang Baili was 29 years old, he was the principal of Baoding Military Academy. On the first day he came to the school, he gave a brief speech to the students: "Fang Zhen came to school today, and I have two things to talk to the students: one is about spirituality, and one is about Regarding education...Fang Zhen is incompetent, he should commit suicide to show his responsibility." When Jiang Baili was the principal, he was constrained by the Beiyang government, especially Xu Shuzheng, and his financial resources were difficult to sustain.Jiang then summoned the students to lecture: "When I first came to our school, I taught you that I must do what I want you to do; I must do what you want me to do. If you can't do it, I will do it." Punish you; I can't do it, I have to punish myself. Now it seems that everything is fine for you, and you have not done anything wrong to me, but I myself can't fulfill the responsibility of the principal, I am sorry to you." After finishing speaking, pull out the The pistol was just a shot to the chest. Fortunately, the tragedy was avoided when he was rescued. Li Zongwu once served as a middle school principal and provincial supervisor in Sichuan. One year after a middle school student graduated, the provincial government sent Li as the test committee member. Li took the exam seriously, and the students hated him.One night, many students, holding wooden sticks and dumbbells, dragged Li Zongwu out, beat him severely, and cursed before leaving: "You bastard, do you still advocate strict examinations?" Li was lifted up and said loudly: "As long as If you can't be beaten to death, you still have to take the test." Afterwards, he went to class with his wounds wrapped up and continued the test. In 1929, Liu Wendian became the president of Anhui University, supporting progressive students to make student riots.Chiang Kai-shek summoned him to Anqing and ordered Liu to hand over the list of Communist Party members.Liu Wendian said: "I only know how to teach, but I don't know who is the Communist Party." Jiang said: "How did you become the principal? If you don't get rid of your schoolmaster, I will be sorry for the Prime Minister's spirit!" Liu did not give in: " Speaking of the Prime Minister, I didn’t even know your name when I started the revolution with him in Tokyo!” In the "March 18" massacre in 1926, 47 students were killed and more than 200 were injured.Cultural circles such as Jiang Menglin, Fu Sinian, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, Lin Yutang, Zhu Ziqing, Wen Yiduo, etc. all expressed their indignation in different ways.Many years later, Fu Sinian met Lu Zhonglin, walked up to him and said, "We used to be friends, but now we are enemies. Students are like my children. If you kill them, can I still remain silent?" Fu Sinian said, "Where a kind of knowledge can expand the material it studies, it will progress, and if it can't, it will regress." When Fu Sinian talked about several presidents of Peking University, he thought: Jiang Menglin was not as good as Cai Yuanpei in knowledge, but he was better than Cai in handling affairs; his own knowledge was not as good as Hu Shi, but he was better in handling affairs than Hu Shi.Cai and Hu's handling of affairs is really unflattering!Jiang Menglin said to Fu Sinian again: "So the two of them are the heroes of Peking University, and the two of us are just the heroes of Peking University!" When Fu Sinian became the president of National Taiwan University, he said: "A first-rate university cannot be an educational institution in vain, and must have its important academic contributions; however, there is no first-rate university that ignores its education." He also said , "A university is a group of professors, not a government office. According to the university law, although the president has great power, I remember the future of the school and must not have a totalitarian style." In order to maintain the independence and academic freedom of the university, Fu Sinian refused to degrade the children of the rich and powerful to enroll.For this reason, he specially pasted a note on the door of the principal's office: "Those who have an education program for their children, please refrain from speaking out. Fu Sinian!"