Chapter 27 second quarter

At 9 o'clock in the morning on June 25, 1930, cars full of armed soldiers came at a high speed, winding in front of the gate of Tsinghua University.Soldiers jumped out of the car and lined up to the sound of military drums, ready to go, with shiny riding boots and shiny spears, forming a huge curtain with the rising dust.In the background, Qiao Wanxuan was greeted by a group of people. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, red tie, American western cowboy hat, and "old man's head" leather shoes.Except for his flat yellow face, he was completely Western.At this time, the sun was hitting head-on, shaking people's eyes sorely.He took off his top hat, covered the sun and looked at the lintel of Tsinghua University in the backlight, and then raised his hand to order to start action.

A group of soldiers rushed to Tsinghua Garden. However, suddenly there was a shout from inside the school gate, and hundreds of student pickets immediately poured out from both sides of the school gate, standing in rows like a city wall, blocking the soldiers from attacking. Feng Yuxiang's army was chosen to guard Qiao Wan, each of them was extremely fierce.Several attacks failed, the leading officer's eyes turned red, and under the crowd watching, he felt that he had lost face and was being trampled on.He asked Qiao Wanxuan for instructions and suggested firing a shot to clear the way.

"Damn, if you don't tell them the truth, I thought I was holding cotton candy!" He said cursingly. Qiao Wanxuan severely stopped him.After all, he was a person who walked out of Tsinghua University, and he didn't want to leave a bad name for future generations.Although there is a saying that "a scholar meets a soldier, there is no reason to explain it clearly", force will solve the embarrassing situation in front of him, but it cannot solve the fundamental problem, and the result can only be counterproductive. Shame and laughing stock. He finally quit.He went to the small auditorium alone under the leadership of the student picket team, signed a pledge to "never serve as the principal of Tsinghua University", and then left the school.

After Qiao Wanxuan concealed his troops and retreated to the city, the Tsinghua Garden was boiling.The school brass band was blowing and drumming, and the literature and art club was singing and dancing. All the teachers and students in the school were immersed in excitement and joy. In Tsinghua University, which advocates freedom and democracy, even if it is only a small wrestling victory with the rulers, it is enough to arouse people's lasting excitement. Ye Qisun was also infected and moved by this scene. The revulsion and rejection of the invasion of the political field and the power field by the teachers and students actually strongly echoed his inner persistence: this is the idea of ​​"gentlemen do not party" formed very early on.This is his belief, but also his flaw. This kind of thought can become a seed, take root and blossom in a suitable field and grow into a place of blessing, or it can become a stone in his body, and die dangerously at a certain period he himself.

In order not to anger Yan Xishan, he called and said: "1. Qiao came to the school today to take over as a dissuasion for the students. Yu students are purely out of love for the school and have no other intentions. 2. The school affairs have been maintained by the school affairs committee. As usual, it will not be affected. 3. The source of funds is stable, the fund has been consolidated, and the existing plans 'can be carried out as usual'. 4. Tsinghua University is not an administrative agency. If it is dealt with by extraordinary means, it will cause difficulties in school affairs and funds."

This telegram is full of Ye Qisun's style: upright and confident, neither humble nor overbearing.Although it is said that a scholar meets a soldier, there is no reason to explain it clearly, but Ye Qisun wants to understand it with reason.Our Tsinghua University is doing well, the school is governed by the president of the school, the professors run the school, the funds are sufficient, and the students are stable. Why do you make a mess?The school is not an administrative organ, nor is it a military militia. How can it use administrative means to interfere with orders?Since you Yan Laoxi dare to stand shoulder to shoulder with Lao Jiang, you must give the world an impression of who is more patriotic and who loves the people more.You can't compare who is more stupid, who is more unreasonable, whose knife is faster, and who is more ruthless, right?Since you all say that students are the future of the country and education is the foundation of a nation, you wouldn't come here to burn books and confuse scholars to destroy the future of the country, right?

In order to continue to exert influence on Yan Xishan, under the auspices of Ye Qisun and Feng Youlan, the Tsinghua University Professors' Association defied power and issued a declaration. In addition to supporting the first three points of the above-mentioned telegram of the School Affairs Committee, it emphasized respecting the system and insisting on academic independence: 1. The principal should be selected by the official government-led educational institution. If any institution can appoint the principal with a single order, the future of the school will be unimaginable. 2. I hope that school administration can step out of the political tide and be carried out independently, so that young people can still have a place to study with peace of mind in the midst of war and turmoil.

It is this kind of rational and disciplined persistence that made "Yan Xishan and his subordinates understand the origin and tradition of Tsinghua University, and they no longer questioned Qiao Wanxuan's rejection, nor did they send anyone to the school. The collective leadership of the school committee, Feng Youlan and Ye Qisun are responsible for handling routine affairs." ("From Tsinghua Academy to Tsinghua University", p. 35) From the time Luo Jialun left school in late May 1930 to December 3, 1931, when Mei Yiqi was the headmaster, for nearly a year and a half, in the huge vacuum of Tsinghua University without a headmaster, Ye Qisun used his extraordinary courage and ability to deal with the increasingly difficult situation. The more violent the political tide attacks, they even dare to break ground on Tai Sui's head until they find the ideal principal.On this point, Ye Qisun contributed a lot.

At the beginning of 1931, Chiang Kai-shek was also Minister of Education.The issue of the president of Tsinghua University is once again on the agenda. On March 17, Chiang Kai-shek personally presided over the 16th State Affairs Conference and appointed Wu Nanxuan as the president of Tsinghua University.Wu Nanxuan, born in Yizheng, Jiangsu Province, graduated from Fudan University, and later studied in the United States to obtain a master's degree and a doctorate degree.After graduation, he once worked in the US government and was also a professor at Lincoln University.After returning to China, he successively served as the deputy director of teaching affairs of the Central Political School, a member of the Examination Committee of the Examination Institute, a member of the Management Committee of Overseas Students, and the president of Henan University.Judging from Wu's resume, he should also be regarded as a scholar-type educator.However, due to his political background and his deep relationship with the Nationalist government, especially Chen Guofu and Chiang Kai-shek, the upper echelons of the Kuomintang, his scholarly position was greatly compromised.It is very likely that he will turn Tsinghua into the second central political school. Under the ideology of party-oriented education, Tsinghua's academic spirit and independent character will be completely lost.

It is precisely because of this danger that the Tsinghua people rose up to fight.