Chapter 2 Book Excerpt: Study Abroad

Ah Ji and Zhong Shu left Shanghai for a long voyage on August 13, 1935, on a cruise ship of the P&O company. On that day, Ah Ji's third sister Runkang saw them off, but they were only sent to the shore.Zhongshu's teachers and friends Wen Yuanning, Shao Xunmei and others came to see him off at the pier, and they took them directly to the cruise ship in a small boat. Because Ye Gongchuo, who was the director of the board of directors of the Sino-British Geng Fund at the time, stipulated that Geng students studying abroad were not allowed to bring their family members with them; A Ji went abroad as a self-funded student, and he had to apply for a visa and buy a boat ticket with the certificate of studying abroad issued by the Ministry of Education.The identity on her study passport is Ms. Yang Jikang.Ah Ji boarded the ship and shared the same cabin with the other two female companions, but different cabins from Zhong Shu.This cruise ship carries many students studying in the UK in the same year. Everyone knows that Zhong Shu and Ah Ji are newlyweds and honeymooners.

The cruise ship sailed at sea for three weeks and arrived in England in early September 1935.Ah Ji and Zhongshu did not go straight to Oxford, but stayed in London for a short stay for sightseeing. It didn't take long for them to be driven to Oxford by Mr. Silcock, an Englishman in charge of Chinese students. When Qian Zhongshu arrived in Oxford, Mr. Silcock had arranged for him to enter Exeter College (Exeter College) to study for a Bachelor of Arts (B.Litt.) degree.A Ji originally planned to study literature in a women's college that does not have a dormitory, and become a Homestudent like Yu Da, but when he contacted for admission, the number of places to study literature was full, and he could only study history if he wanted to enroll.She was unwilling, so she decided not to go to college, but to audit several literature courses at Oxford University and study Western literature by herself.

Ah Ji and Zhongshu rented a larger room outside the school, which was used as a bedroom and living room, and the window faced the garden, but it was quiet.The homeowner's surname is Mr. King, who provides three meals and afternoon tea, and the room is cleaned by Lao Jin's wife and daughter.There are two other Chinese students studying medicine in the same boarding room. Qian Zhongshu is a public-funded student studying abroad with Geng fund in my country, but he is a commoner in Oxford. Both male and female students who are self-funded wear a black cloth vest with two black cloth streamers on the back.The boys also had a stiff square hat, but no one wore it.Scholarship students wear gowns.Oxford girls wear soft square hats.Students wearing black cloth vests can be seen everywhere on the streets of the small town of Oxford. This street scene made Aji feel uncomfortable at the time, feeling like a child out of school.Because she couldn't bear to ask her father who already suffered from high blood pressure for money to pay Oxford's expensive tuition and tutor fees, she would rather be an auditor, attend a few courses, and go to the university library for self-study.

After the semester started, Zhongshu also received a black cloth vest.In Oxford for two years, he often wore this kind of black cloth vest with black streamers to attend classes at Exeter College and to have dinner in the college cafeteria.Oxford stipulates that students must eat dinner four or five times a week in the canteen of their college.If you eat, it proves that the student lives in the school.Eating is more important than going to class.Meals are more expensive, because Zhong Shu has a family, he only needs to eat two meals a week. A Ji didn't have a black cloth vest, she went to class alone in a cheongsam, and she sat in the auditorium on the side of the class with two or three nuns to listen to the lecture.The big class at Oxford University, in the classroom of the university building.There are many auditors in the Exeter College's class, borrowing the college's dining room.

Ah Ji never attended classes with Zhong Shu, and he didn't take any of the classes Ah Ji attended, as he had his compulsory courses.But when they are not in class, the two go to the library together.Auditors have no homework, no papers, no exams, and have more time at their disposal.Ah Ji has never enjoyed such freedom, and he happens to spend most of his time in the library reading. The name of the main library of Oxford University is BodleianLibrary, which Mr. Qian translated as Baobeilou, with a collection of 5 million books and 60,000 volumes of manuscripts.The two of them are working hard here, and they are indeed a bit full of bookworms.Mr. Yang said: "In Soochow, I studied political science, which I was not interested in. After class, I often searched for it in the library. I wanted to enter the field of literature, but I couldn't find it. After entering Tsinghua University, I felt that I lacked a lot of education. There is no time for tutoring for literature courses. This time, in the library of Oxford University, the room is full of literary classics, and it is just time to take tutoring in a leisurely way."

Books are always on loan from the Oxford University Library.There is a row of single-person desks near the window, and Ah Ji occupies one of the desks, reading books by himself from the shelf.Leave the unfinished books on the table and read them next time.There are not many students studying in the library, and the environment is very quiet, and Ah Ji's mind is also peaceful. She made a schedule for herself, and read classic writers one by one according to the history of literature.The main works are read carefully from beginning to end one by one.In addition to masterpieces, also read related reviews.

Read foreign language books during the day, and read Chinese books at home at night.They brought a box of old Chinese books, as well as pens, inks, inkstones, and copybooks to Oxford.Whoever has read more books in the competition between the two will be settled at the end of the year. According to the statistics at the end of 1935, the number of books read by the two men was roughly the same. In fact, what Mr. Qian read was all big books, and A Ji also counted one booklet; Mr. Qian did not count all the Chinese books. Ah Ji counts.Mr. Qian wrote in his diary: "Ji admits that he is a 'rogue'." In fact, Mr. Qian has read much more Chinese and foreign documents, and some books have been read several times.His experience is: "If you read a book for the second time, you will always find that there are many negligence in the first reading. The most wonderful sentences will not be discovered until you read it several times." He not only reads, but also does notes.First, I read and took notes in the library of Oxford University, because the books there are not borrowed, only pencils and notebooks are allowed, and no traces are allowed on the books; all the notes are written after going home and ruminating.Mr. Yang didn't take much notes on reading. Although the books he read included a few thin booklets, some books, such as poetry collections and poetry talks, were read over and over again.