Chapter 17 at Penn

In early June 1924, Lin Huiyin and Liang Sicheng went to the United States.This year, Huiyin was 20 years old and Sicheng was 23 years old. In the United States in July, the sun is bright and the air is refreshing.Huiyin and Sicheng went to Cornell University and used the summer vacation to study homework, adjust their body and mind, and adapt to the new environment.They plan to register at the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in September.Sicheng's Tsinghua classmate Chen Zhi, who came to the United States with Huiyin and Sicheng, was also planning to study architecture.

On July 7, Sicheng wrote a letter to his relatives in Beijing.He told his father that he and Huiyin had settled down at Cornell University as planned and started homework tutoring; Huiyin took two courses of outdoor sketching and advanced algebra, and himself took three courses of trigonometry, watercolor still life and outdoor sketching .He told his father: "The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, and the scenery is extremely beautiful!" The apartment they rented had a small balcony with black carved iron railings in a semicircle.Standing on that little balcony, you can look out over the green valley and the bright river.During the day, they went out to sketch with their portfolios on their backs, and the midsummer sun and fresh air bathed them.When they return to the dormitory in the evening, they like to stretch their limbs and lean on the balcony to chat and read books until the gorgeous sunset is gradually swallowed up by the darkened valley.

More than a month of tutoring time passed quickly. When Huiyin, Sicheng, and Chen Zhi came to the Department of Architecture of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to report, the school informed them: In order to facilitate the management of the school, the Department of Architecture only accepts boys. Accept girls.The administrators of the school believed that students in the Department of Architecture often had to paint at night, and it was inappropriate for a girl to stay in the studio late at night. After discussing with Sicheng, Huiyin re-applied to the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Pennsylvania, and at the same time took the main courses of the Department of Architecture.

Sicheng quickly adapted to the study life.He is very much like his father in this respect. Once he devotes himself to learning, he will forget everything around him, concentrate and be serious. One day, he excitedly told Whein that he had taken a senior course in the history of Western architecture—the course was taught by Professor Alfred Gumier.He never knew that there was such interesting knowledge in the world. From then on, after completing the studies and homework of various subjects, Sicheng plunged into the library.In front of him are English loose-leaf notebooks and various books and materials.According to the professor's lectures, he analyzed and studied the important buildings recorded in the history of Western architecture one by one. From various books and documents, he extracted important data and comments about these buildings, and drew them in his notebook based on the photos of these buildings. into a pen drawing.

These pen drawings are lively, exquisite and rigorous, and all the notes are recorded in English.Si Cheng joked that this was "a stupid effort by a stupid person". This time-consuming and labor-intensive "stupid effort" cost Sicheng a lot of hard work and time, and also laid a solid foundation for him to become a generation of Chinese architects. When Sicheng found his professional direction and devoted himself selflessly, Huiyin's grades were also good. Although Huiyin has long been determined to study architecture, she has no foundation in painting and drawing. Unlike Sicheng, after all, she still has the foundation of Tsinghua Art Club. Huiyin almost learned from scratch.However, Huiyin has a strong understanding, and her innate artistic temperament makes her grasp of lines and shapes with distinct personality characteristics. The teacher who teaches painting appreciates her ability very much.

Huiyin's dress in the United States is still the same as in China, with a light-colored Chinese-style top and a dark skirt. Her beautiful and light figure has attracted many eyes on the campus.