Chapter 29 Beginning as a teacher

Hui Yin served as a teacher of professional English and art decoration history in the Department of Architecture, while Si Cheng taught courses such as "Introduction to Architecture" and "Principles of Architectural Design". In the Northeast at that time, there were Japanese outside and bandits coming out at night, and the situation was not peaceful.Huiyin later talked to his friends about their life during this period: "The situation in Northeast China was not stable at that time, and various factions were vying for territory. Bandits often appeared at night—the locals called them beards. Most of them came from the northern pastoral areas. Come down. We dare not turn on the lights at this time, and the atmosphere is really tense to hear their horses gallop past outside the house. Sometimes we peek out through the window, and the moonbeards ride horses in red coats. The cloak, galloping past, is also very romantic."

Life is certainly not so romantic. They worked very hard as teachers for the first time.Architecture is a new discipline in China, and there are no suitable teaching materials at all, and they are unwilling to copy European and American textbooks. They need to integrate the knowledge of architecture, aesthetics, history, painting history and other related sciences into their teaching. In the course, the workload of preparing lessons is very large. At the beginning, most of the students applying for the Department of Architecture did not know what architecture was all about. The young Mr. Liang and Mr. Lin led them from knowing this subject to loving this subject.

In the first class of enrollment, Liang Sicheng told the students: "What is architecture, it is the history of human culture, it is the record of human culture, and it reflects the characteristics of the spirit of the times." A good architect must have the mind of a philosopher, the vision of a sociologist, the precision and practice of an engineer, the sensitivity of a psychologist, and the insight of a writer. A well-rounded comprehensive artist.He said: "All projects are inseparable from architecture. For any construction, architecture must come first. Architecture is the king of all projects." His words made the students feel proud of their profession.

Students fall in love with Mr. Lin's class, and taking Mr. Lin's class is a kind of artistic enjoyment.They followed Mr. Lin through the historical corridors of ancient and modern Chinese and foreign art, calligraphy and painting, sculpture, music, language, Buddhist philosophy, engineering technology... It is not so much that what the students receive is knowledge and learning, it is better to say that what they receive is the influence of culture and art and edification.This kind of infection and edification is like the spring rain that "moistens things silently", penetrating the young and sensitive soul bit by bit.

The students fell in love with Mr. Liang's class, and they were impressed by Mr. Liang's profound knowledge and skills. "Introduction to Architecture" introduces the classic buildings of different eras from all over the world. Mr. Liang always starts with the images to help students master their characteristics.When talking about the development of medieval architecture from Roman to Gothic, Mr. Liang drew on the blackboard while talking... The thick walls of the building on the blackboard were thinned, and long and large windows appeared, in order to strengthen the thinned wall.Buttresses and flying buttresses appeared, the columns were elongated, the proportions were adjusted, ribs and various decorations were added, small water towers, water-spitting beasts... In less than ten minutes, a complete, accurate and exquisite picture appeared on the blackboard. The section drawing of the building, from the structural proportion to the detail decoration, is all lifelike.

After class, students often sigh that Mr. Liang and Mr. Lin are only in their twenties, not much older than themselves, but their character and knowledge make people yearn for and look up to. In teaching, Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin encouraged students to use both hands and brains and pursue "architectural honesty" according to the strong practical characteristics of architecture.Sicheng really wants to equip the department with an architecture laboratory, so that students can have a hands-on place.However, his wish has never been realized.