Chapter 5 fourth quarter

In the summer of 1913, Ye Hongjuan re-examined Tsinghua University under the name of Ye Qisun, was admitted again, and entered the Wuwu class after the "examination". From then on, he began his five-year study life at Tsinghua University. It was the second year of the Republic of China.After the Revolution of 1911, the Tsinghua Garden did not seem to have changed much. It was like an ordinary thunderstorm. After a short pour, the objects here were only dripping with blisters.It is still the imaginative "Shuimu Tsinghua", or the hall with the vines and lotuses intertwined, but the frogs singing in the lotus pond are louder, and the lotus is in full bloom under the moonlight.Ye Qisun lingered in his nostalgia for the past with the mood of revisiting the old place. In just over a year, the empire has gone and the Republic of China has come, but in the nature of heaven and earth, there is no trace of it at all.

However, this school, which once entrusted the dream of empire, is now only moving forward along the inertia.The government of the Republic of China only adjusted the personnel of the school, and did not have a clear design for its future.A huge void remains to be filled. Regarding the use of boxer indemnity, although there is a good talk about Xingzhi running a school in China, the origin is due to the calculation of Westerners.The Americans have known for a long time that China's compensation has been exceeded, but they just kept silent.When discussing whether the Chinese government should pay the compensation in gold or in silver, Liang Cheng, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, insisted on paying in silver, claiming that if the payment was made, it would inevitably increase taxes and intensify the hatred of foreigners.Not long ago, there was an incident of abuse of Chinese in the United States, and the domestic public was outraged, setting off a wave of boycotts of American goods.If the current situation is shaken due to compensation, it will not be in the interests of the United States in China.Seeing Liang's earnest attitude, John Hay, the US Secretary of State, was moved when he heard the words, "I was silent for a long time, because I said that Boxer paid too much compensation."After Liang Cheng got the information from the U.S. side about the excess of the Boxer indemnity, he stopped discussing how to pay, and instead asked for the excess amount, and reached a verbal agreement with the U.S. government within a short period of time.

Although the United States has a clear attitude towards the decision to return the money, the Americans have not yet figured out how to return it, or in what way. I have thought about this for several years. One day, President Roosevelt saw two missionaries who came back from distant China in the church.The place where these two missionaries preached was in Wuchang, on the bank of the Yangtze River.Probably because they were deeply attracted by the Liqingchuan and the luxuriant grasses there, they were full of praise for the local mountains, rivers, scenic spots and cultural landscapes, and they also mentioned their happy missionary life by the way, and exaggerated it without losing the opportunity.This was originally a trivial matter, but Roosevelt caught an extraordinary signal from it.

Relying on strong ships and sharp guns to seize wealth from the defeated ancient civilizations, no matter how cleverly they pretend, they will inevitably be suspected of robbers.Initiating a war was a matter of the previous presidency, and Roosevelt felt that their behavior was a bit stupid.Roosevelt was a cultural expansionist. He always wanted to find a path different from his predecessors to achieve expectations that could not be achieved by strong ships and guns.Roosevelt also noticed changes in Japan's strategy toward China.Japan is also a country that participated in the war, but since Zhang Zhidong, a Chinese Westernization faction, proposed to encourage students to stay in Japan, the Japanese have more intentions to cater to it.In just a few years, there were more than 50,000 Chinese students studying in Japan. In 1904, the Chinese government also imitated the Japanese education system, promulgated the "Zouding School Charter", and hired more than a thousand Japanese teachers to teach in China.Why do the Japanese behave like this?At that time, the ambassador to China, Rou Keyi, said that Japan attempted to influence and dominate China on a spiritual level, and then achieve commercial interests.The opinion of Smith, another American church education president in China, won Roosevelt's heart even more.He said that spending some money in order to expand spiritual influence, even in a material sense, can gain more than other methods, and business follows spiritual dominance, which is more reliable than military flags.

The banner that waved before Roosevelt's eyes was more reliable than the military standard, but it was not very clear.As a part of Western culture, American culture has no idea how much advantage it has over Chinese culture.However, two missionaries from Wuchang, China gave him confidence, and he gained a clear judgment from their conversation, that is, "Christian education can assimilate China."This judgment made him a little overjoyed.He was filled with inexplicable excitement, like a saint suddenly enveloped by spiritual light.In an article, he said that he saw "China's awakening", as long as justice and education are emphasized, and the use of force is no longer used, the Chinese will change their hatred of foreigners.Roosevelt loudly declared that if we want to defend the interests of the United States at the root, we must turn our attention to Chinese education to "encourage a just life" and "if we stand still...then brave and powerful people will surpass We pass by, triumphantly taking control of the world."

President Roosevelt no longer hesitated, saying that the chance to do it was today, not tomorrow.He soon delivered a State of the Union address, explaining the goodwill of the United States in returning the excess claim money, and made it clear that he wanted to use the money to assist China's education so that the Chinese could adapt to the modern environment as soon as possible.The best way to accomplish this idea is to promote China to send international students to study in American universities, and call on educators in American institutions of higher learning to take concerted action to complete this work.

President Roosevelt successfully transformed personal will into national will, and he also expected China to give him a corresponding response.However, there were many disagreements within the Qing court about how to use the money.Liang Cheng advocated using the money for education.Although the Americans tried to talk to him when they confirmed the refund, and asked him how the Chinese government used the money, he pretended to be diplomatic and said: "This is our China's internal affairs, and there is no comment." But he already had something in his heart. Xiao Jiujiu.As a diplomat, he clearly sees why the United States is rising and why China is declining. He thinks education should be the most important thing in everything. This not only grasps the fundamentals, but also conforms to the wishes of the United States.However, he is only a diplomat with limited powers. He can only play a limited role in the gaps in diplomacy and cannot represent the will of the country. That's why he so euphemistically said those inconclusive diplomatic rhetoric to the United States.On the one hand, Liang Cheng will report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about dealing with the United States over money, and on the other hand, he will infiltrate his views to the domestic power ministers, and has gained some support in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other institutions.

However, Yuan Shikai, the Minister of Beiyang, learned of Liang Cheng's report from the United States, but wanted to use the money for economic construction in the three northeastern provinces.He sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister, hoping to use the money "to rectify the road and mines, as a basis for organizing school affairs, that is, to revitalize the schools with the remaining profits."Yuan Shikai did not say that he would not start education, but that he would pour the money into his hands first, and then use the profits from the road mine to run schools.Yuan Shikai's intention at this time was to deal with Japan and Russia's coveting of the three northeastern provinces. He wanted to play the economic card to revitalize the Northeast economy.However, Yuan Shikai's proposition was met with cold reception by the prime minister, Prince Qing, and Qu Hong, the minister in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.They said to Yuan Shikai in a neither soft nor hard way, your idea may be good, but the Americans may not agree with it.Yuan Shikai couldn't stop, he kept putting pressure on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to give Liang Cheng an order to return the extra money.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs adopted a strategy of neither offending nor eagerness towards Yuan Shikai, instructing Liang Cheng to say that you should "consider the situation" and if there is no hindrance, you can make Yuan's request again.Liang Cheng, on the other hand, put Yuan's words on the back burner. During the negotiation process with the United States, he did not mention the road and mine matters at all.

Soon, Yuan Shikai was appointed by the Qing court as Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Council.He ordered Fengtian Governor Tang Shaoyi to lobby the US Consul General in Shenyang, Shi Cuide, to ask him to act on behalf of the US State Department and use the refund as a development bank fund.Tang also proposed this proposal to the then US Minister in Beijing, Rou Keyi, and the US railway tycoon Harriman. In the summer of 1908, Yuan Shikai appointed Tang Shaoyi as the special envoy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to go to the United States to lobby, but returned without success.

On July 14 of the same year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note to American Minister Rou Keyi, agreeing that Chinese students go to the United States to "teach higher education". At least 50 people must be sent to study in the United States until the refund of compensation is exhausted." From the proposal of Chaosuo to the conclusion of the final agreement for education, Liang Cheng played an extraordinary role. This somewhat stubborn southerner risked offending his immediate superiors and bet on his top-wearing flower feathers to finally become wise. Fulfilling the wish of running a school in the United States.From a historical point of view, Liang Chengzhen should be regarded as the first behind-the-scenes hero in running Tsinghua University.

The road to the United States has been opened. In Ye Qisun's class, 4 batches of "directly studying in the United States" have been sent away.Most of these four groups of students later became the top figures in my country's science and technology and education circles, such as Mei Yiqi, Hu Shi, Hu Gangfu, Zhang Zigao, Jin Bangzheng, Jin Tao, Zhu Kezhen, Zhao Yuanren, etc., can be described as prosperous and brilliant. Most of these students studying in the United States chose to return to China to serve after completing their studies.They are the earliest "returnees" in China. With regard to the selection and management authority of students studying in the United States, the Qing court at that time negotiated with the United States many times.Zhang Zhidong advocated many times that Chinese should be the supervisors of foreign students, and that the academic department should be responsible for the selection of foreign students. He also proposed that both Chinese and Western learning should be emphasized during the selection process, and Western learning should not be emphasized. These have played a very good role in the growth of Tsinghua students. However, how should Tsinghua go after the Republic of China? Americans will not give up their expectations of Tsinghua.They fantasize about training Tsinghua people into future leaders, business or economic elites, so that the influence of the United States of America will be realized through these political or business stars.In order to realize the American dream, they must indoctrinate Tsinghua students with a strong Western culture and Christian culture. Otherwise, this move is like breeding tigers. After the Republic of China, the future of Tsinghua University lacked planning. The changes were only personnel adjustments: the Academic Affairs Office of Youmei was abolished, the general office Zhou Ziqi was appointed as the governor of Shandong, Fan Yuanlian was promoted to be the Minister of Education, and Zhang Boling, the dean of education, resigned.Tsinghua Academy was renamed Tsinghua School, Tang Guoan, the supervisor of the academy, was renamed Tsinghua President, and Zhou Yichun was named Dean of Dean. In 1914, the second year after Ye Qisun re-entered Tsinghua University, Liang Qichao, a famous scholar, came to Tsinghua University to give a lecture. , the gentleman strives for self-improvement; the situation is kun, the gentleman takes virtue as the basis, and inscribed the school motto for Tsinghua University, "Self-improvement, virtue". It was Liang Rengong's passionate filling that made the students see their responsibilities as Chinese students when they were confused.The ancient teachers had private schools at home, schools at the party, orderly techniques, and learning at the state level.The principles and interests of educating people, such as distinguishing aspirations from the classics, respecting one's work and being happy with the group, learning from relatives and teachers, discussing learning and learning from friends, mastering knowledge and understanding, and changing people's customs, are all completed in the school. Therefore, in this sense, the school is especially important. It is a country's university, and it is usually the place where a country's cultural essence and moral conscience are stored.Liang Qichao and Zhang Taiyan, including Wang Guowei and Chen Yinke, who later joined Tsinghua to teach, were clearly aware of their responsibilities as a generation of intellectuals. They all influenced Tsinghua with their own different styles, making Tsinghua always have a clear memory in terms of Sinicization. Ye Qisun finished listening to Liang Rengong's speech with tears in his eyes.Because of his young age and short stature, he was always at the front when he assembled and stood in line.On and off the stage, he was only a few meters away from Liang Rengong, and he could clearly see the gray hair wrapped around Liang Rengong's huge and peculiar head.Liang Rengong's eyes are very bright, and his forehead is very broad. Because of his baldness, beads of sweat gathered like springs, and soon flowed down.It was winter when he spoke, but even so, he was sweating profusely.From time to time, he took out a towel to wipe his face and head, but the words never stopped, and the witty words kept bursting out of his mouth.He spoke Cantonese mandarin, with a sonorous voice and rich emotions, and when he was agitated, he beat his chest, stamped his feet, and burst into tears.He told everyone affectionately: Tsinghua students, who are great Confucians from both China and the West, gather talents from all over the world, become teachers and friends, learn from each other, travel overseas in other years, absorb new civilizations, improve our society, promote our politics, the so-called gentleman Those who are not students of Tsinghua University, who will soon belong to... I sincerely hope that at this time, I will respect morality and study, encourage myself to be a real gentleman, and take up great responsibilities in the future. At this speech meeting, Ye Qisun recorded a passage of Liang Rengong in his notebook: Tsinghua students should study Chinese studies in addition to Western studies.Building Chinese studies is the foundation of building a country and making contributions, especially if Chinese studies are not for meritorious service.Gou Ri devoted himself to Western learning and neglected Chinese learning. Although he stayed in the United States for hundreds of years, he was still not able to achieve anything after returning to China. Ye Qisun probably had an understanding of this, so he specially copied it down.