Chapter 163 Everlasting

Shortly after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Shanghai fell, the Kuomintang government moved its capital to Chongqing, and the Academia Sinica also moved to the mainland.Cai Yuanpei was unwilling to go to Chongqing with Chiang Kai-shek, so he went to Hong Kong from Shanghai, and planned to transfer to Kunming to preside over the affairs of the Academia Sinica.But before arriving in Hong Kong, Cai Yuanpei had just contracted typhoid fever.The old man, who is nearly 70 years old, is very worried about whether he can reach Kunming safely in the face of the long journey ahead.In desperation, he had to stay in Hong Kong first.

On December 26, 1937, his wife Zhou Yanghao and their children also arrived in Hong Kong, and the whole family rented a house at 156 Austin Road, Kowloon.During Cai Yuanpei's stay in Hong Kong, apart from reading books and newspapers, he had no other pastimes.For fear of being noticed, he seldom steps out of the gate.The residence in Hong Kong is very narrow, with three or four rooms, which become a small world for his daily activities. On May 20, 1938, at the invitation of Song Qingling, Cai Yuanpei, together with Hong Kong Governor Sir Luo Fuguo and others, attended the art exhibition held by the "Defense China Alliance" and "Hong Kong National Defense Medical Funding Association" in St. John's Auditorium and published speech.This was Cai Yuanpei's only public speech during his stay in Hong Kong. The intention was to say goodbye publicly. He left Hong Kong for Kunming or Chongqing, but due to his frail health, he was unable to make the trip.

In the early spring of 1940, 73-year-old Cai Yuanpei suffered a fatal blow from the death of his beloved daughter Cai William in dystocia.Cai Weilian, an artist who returned from abroad, has been devoted to the art teaching work of the National Academy of Art since his marriage with Lin Wenzheng. He died in Kunming before he could display and realize his talents and ideals.She died miserably, and before she swallowed her last breath, she wrote repeatedly on the wall with her hands, "National disaster, family disaster..." Her heart-piercing appearance moved the world.The white-haired man sends the black-haired man away, and the white-haired man will follow his daughter's back.

On the morning of March 3, 1940, when Cai Yuanpei got up and went to the bathroom, he suddenly felt dizzy at the door of the bathroom, stumbled and fell, and spat out a mouthful of blood.So I hurriedly called Zhu Huikang, a special physician from the Commercial Press, and Dr. Zhu did not find out the source of the disease after seeing it.That night, he didn't sleep well all night.The next morning, Dr. Zhu came for a follow-up visit. He thought it might be a gastric ulcer. Because there were not many people in the family, it was inconvenient to take care of it. Therefore, he suggested sending him to Sanatorium and Hospital for diagnosis and treatment.Arriving at the Sanatorium and Hospital, Dr. Zhu diagnosed that it might be acute gastric ulcer, so through the writer Xu Dishan, he found Dr. Kirk, a British professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, to diagnose and treat Cai Yuanpei and perform an operation.

Since the blood transfusion equipment is in the University of Hong Kong, Cai Yuanpei was transferred to the University of Hong Kong.During the blood transfusion, Cai fell into a coma.After beating, his hands and feet began to move slowly, and sometimes his lips moved slightly, as if he was about to speak. Afterwards, Cai Yuanpei returned to Sanatorium and Hospital after midnight.At about four o'clock, Cai Yuanpei's breathing began to appear to be labored.Around six o'clock, the hush in his mouth was already extremely weak.Although Li Shufen, the director of the Sanatorium and Hospital, and Dr. Kirk came one after another, but at around seven o'clock, both doctors believed that the treatment was hopeless.After nine o'clock, Cai Yuanpei let out his last weak breath.The educator finished his life at the age of 73.

Cai Yuanpei has successively served as the chief minister of education, the president of Peking University, the president of the Academia Sinica and other high-ranking officials. However, he was poor, his family was poor, and he didn't even have a house of his own.Mr. was a high-ranking official all his life, but he was always as clean as water. After his death, he didn't have a house or an inch of land. The medical expenses in the hospital were more than a thousand yuan, and the cost of clothes and coffins were all raised by people from the Commercial Press. On the 9th, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent a condolence message and sent Liao Chengzhi to express condolences.

On the 10th, the funeral coffin was escorted by Peking University students. The flags of schools and businesses in Hong Kong flew at half-mast. More than 5,000 people carried the funeral, and more than 10,000 people from schools and associations participated in the public funeral.Cai Yuanpei's coffin was to be transported back to his hometown in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province for burial at the Chucuo Donghua Yizhuang, but due to the outbreak of the war, he was unable to make the trip, so he was moved to the permanent Chinese cemetery in Aberdeen, Hong Kong. The tombstone "Tomb of Mr. Cai Zimin" was written by Ye Gongchuo.It is worth pointing out that his last words were only two sentences: "Science saves the country, aesthetic education saves the country".

On the 16th, the national government issued a commendation order and specially allocated 5,000 yuan as funeral expenses. On the morning of the 24th, all walks of life of the Kuomintang held a public memorial in Chongqing, and Chiang Kai-shek participated; in the afternoon, a memorial meeting was held.On the same day, all provinces and cities across the country held grand memorial meetings. On May 9, 1947, the national government issued a state funeral order to hold Cai Yuanpei's state funeral. Cai Yuanpei passed away, and the whole of China, regardless of political affiliation, expressed deep condolences.The national government issued a commendation order saying: Cai Yuanpei's "moral writings are time-honored", "promoting doctrine, inspiring new regulations, morale is prosperous, and admired by thousands of people".

The Ministry of Education of Peking University has the following words: "At the time when Chinese and Western cultures were handing over, Mister came into being, concentrating Western culture in one body; his quantity is enough to accommodate it! His virtue is enough to transform it! His learning is enough to be worthy of it! His talent is enough to choose him." Woohoo! Why is this gentleman a master of the generation?" Zhou Enlai sent an elegiac couplet: "From the Manchurians to the War of Resistance Against Japan, my aspiration was in the national revolution; from the May Fourth Movement to the Human Rights League, my trip was in democracy and freedom."

Mao Zedong sent a special message of condolence: "a leader in the academic world, a model for the world", and at the same time mobilized all walks of life in Yan'an to hold a memorial meeting and publish mourning articles to show respect and commemoration. Cai Yuanpei's coffin was first moved to the No. 7 funeral room in Donghua Yizhuang, waiting to be transported back to his hometown of Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province for burial. Due to repeated wars and continuous artillery fire, it was not possible to make the trip, so it was moved to the Hong Kong Chinese Permanent Cemetery.The "May Fourth Veteran", "Father of China's New Culture Movement", and "Academic Master" died on the bank of the Xiangjiang River.