Chapter 10 Section 3 The backbone of modern Chinese science

After the international students arrive in the United States, they start their intended study.Tsinghua School stipulates that 80% of them study science and 20% study liberal arts. Among the first batch of 47 students who studied in the United States in 1909, 39 studied science, engineering, agriculture and mining, and only eight studied literature, education, psychology, and financial economy; the second batch of 70 students who studied in the United States in 1910 were Only eight of them were studying liberal arts, and the rest were studying engineering, physics, chemistry, and agricultural medicine.Tsinghua School also has a calculation for the academic distribution of Geng students studying in the United States, "62.7% of them study science, engineering, commerce, agriculture, and medicine (31.3% of them study engineering, 9.9% of science, and 11% of business. 10.5% study agriculture and medicine), 7.2% study literature, history and philosophy, 24.5% study politics and law (including politics, economics, law, education, journalism, etc., among which economics accounts for the largest proportion, accounting for 9.6%), Those who studied military affairs accounted for 2.2%.This natural science craze among foreign students is largely influenced by the United States.At that time, the United States implemented the principle of pragmatism in the field of education, and science and technology were regarded as the key to the success of national construction. Therefore, foreign students in the United States were naturally influenced by this trend.They believe that the United States is a country founded on industry, with a vast territory, fertile land, and extremely rich gold, silver, copper, iron and other minerals. Therefore, only when it is advanced in technology and engineering can it discover natural riches. Therefore, most students studying in the United States study engineering.At the same time, the Manchu Qing government quickly collapsed in China, and the Republic of China government was established. The new regime was faced with the problem of building a new country. Developing industries and introducing science to save the country and build the country became a popular trend of thought at that time. Today is the age of construction. Politics must be constructed, laws must be constructed, and railways, mining, industry, and all other things must be constructed. Therefore, I am born today,...we must pay attention to practical learning.” Therefore, young people studying in the United States and the early 20th century The young people studying in Japan in 2010 had different understandings. Students studying in Japan carried out anti-Qing revolutionary activities through studying abroad; students studying in the United States combined studying abroad with economic construction. Li Ji, a student of Tsinghua University who studied in the United States from 1918 to 1923, recalled: "Generally speaking, foreign students want to learn something in order to prepare for service in China. Few (I can't say no) are prepared to live in the United States. So in that At that time, every international student had a certain purpose, and this purpose was to learn something new in the United States and prepare to fulfill some responsibilities to the society and the country after returning home.”

Most of the students studying in the United States study hard and have excellent grades.Mao Yisheng was a graduate of Tangshan Road and Mining School before being admitted to Tsinghua University. He went to study at Cornell University Graduate School in the United States and obtained a master's degree in just one year, which made the professors admire.Moreover, because he was particularly good in the entrance examination, the principal personally announced that in the future, anyone who graduates from Tangshan Road and Mine School and comes to the Cornell University Graduate School can register without the examination.Mao Yisheng opened up the way for latecomers to enter the school without examination.After graduation, he declined the school's invitation to stay and came to a bridge factory in Pittsburgh for an internship.There, while studying drafting and design, he went to component factories and assembly sites to work, and at the same time, he used his spare time to go to evening classes at Galikie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh to study for a doctorate.Because of his diligence and hard work, he completed the full credits one year earlier than the school stipulated.After that, after another full year in 1919, he studied the "second stress" of bridges day and night and wrote his doctoral dissertation.At the end of the year, he successfully passed the defense of his doctoral dissertation and became the first doctor of engineering in Galikie Institute of Technology. He was only 24 years old at the time!Hou Debang went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Tsinghua University to study abroad in 1913. He received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1917. He later entered Plato Academy to study leather making and obtained a diploma as a leather chemist. In 1919, he went to Columbia University to study chemical engineering, and received his doctorate two years later.They embody the ambition of the students studying in the United States to study hard in order to save the country through science.

During their studies in the United States, the students also actively carry out various cultural and sports activities to enrich their study abroad life.They often organize English speeches to train their ability to express themselves in English.Hu Shi used to be an active participant in this area. For this reason, he took a special course on speech training in his sophomore year of university.He once said: "Public speaking is also the best opportunity for a person to train his own writing and the systematization of his notes. This different form of expression can force a person to organize a proposition his impressions, ideas, and knowledge; this will enable him to understand the subject he wants to express in the way of writing. Therefore, I have summed up the benefits of public speaking in a simple maxim, this maxim is: The most effective way to make your impressions become your own is to record or express them in articles.” Hu Shi benefited greatly from speaking, and in the fourth grade, he won the Bu Langyin Dissertation Award, which was awarded by Chinese students studying abroad. Obtained, caused a shock in the press.At that time, all the newspapers in New York reported it, and groups from all walks of life came to invite him to give a speech, and even the "Bu Lang Yin Society" in Boston, the cultural center of the United States, also invited him to give a speech.Students studying in the United States often gather, hold concerts, dances, and write and perform dramas by themselves. At the same time, they organize sports activities, organize sports games, and hold football, tennis, baseball and other competitions, which reflect their lively and healthy learning and life. .This also facilitates their in-depth understanding of American society.This is just as pointed out in the "Annual Report of Students Studying in America" ​​in 1910: each gathering benefits a lot, "especially there are three authors. (2) The student unions of each school, due to the competition of sports, hospitality, speeches and debates, etc., the groups have become stronger and stronger, and the preparations for next year have become more thorough; (3) The respect for the Chinese in the United States has also greatly increased.” At that time, From 1902 to 1918, students studying in the United States established organizations such as the Eastern American International Student Association, Western American International Student Association, International Student Diligent Society, Gongyi Society, and Chinese Science Society, among which the Chinese Science Society was the most influential.

The China Science Society was initiated by several Chinese students studying abroad at Cornell University. At first it was the monthly "Science" magazine. The initiators hoped to introduce American science and technology through magazines to improve the scientific and cultural level of the Chinese people, so as to promote China's prosperity. the goal of.On this basis, they established the Chinese Science Society in October 1915, and appointed Hongjun as its president.Since 1916, the Chinese Science Society has held an annual meeting almost every year to conduct academic discussions, communicate with members, discuss social affairs, etc.In order to encourage young scientists to work hard, since 1919, the Science Society has set up various bonuses, such as Ms. Gao Junwei Memorial Award, Edison Electrician Award, He Yujie Physics Award, etc., which greatly inspired the courage of foreign students to march into science and determination.The activities of the Chinese Science Society continued until the autumn of 1959. It played a positive role in popularizing scientific knowledge, cultivating scientific and technological talents, promoting the development of scientific undertakings, advocating science education, and carrying out educational scientific research.

In addition, students studying in the United States also carry out work-study activities in the summer to pay tuition and living expenses.They do everything from farm work such as feeding pigs, removing manure, weeding grass, to delivering water, washing utensils, delivering letters, laundry and other chores, greatly training their ability to adapt to life. International student Qiu Changyun studied agriculture at the University of Wisconsin in the United States, and used his summer vacation to participate in labor in the American countryside. In a letter to his father, he talked about his feelings about this experience:

It's been half a month since the summer vacation, and I've traveled hundreds of miles from east to west, and I'm coming to the countryside to serve... I feel that I can't catch up with twelve hours of labor every day, that is, working half a day, from morning to noon, I feel exhausted. In the afternoon, you can only rest and recuperate, that is, your brain power can't be reused.The compendium of farming is from manure removal, hog feeding to weeding and harvesting. There are no less than dozens of kinds. I want to know the general idea. I don’t want to specialize in one thing at the beginning, so I have to change the work every day. He is like fetching water, Washing utensils, sending letters, washing clothes and other chores are also done from time to time...Now we know that agricultural products are gradually becoming popular [fire]...The heat is so hot these days, every time it reaches above Baidu (Fahrenheit), fortunately, the wind in the countryside is constantly blowing, and It is extremely dry, although it is hot and uncomfortable, but under the scorching sun, the skin color gradually turns from dark yellow to charcoal black, the face is slightly thinner, and the muscles are greatly increased. Although it is unsightly, it is not a bad phenomenon.

Qiu Changyun has gained a lot from his hard work experience. With their intelligence and hard-working spirit, students studying in the United States have achieved relatively excellent academic results and are highly praised.Liang Qichao once traveled to the United States in the 29th year of Guangxu (1903 A.D.), and praised him in his "New World Travel Notes": "The academic circles in the Americas are assiduous and honest, diligent in their studies, have no false weapons, and are patriotic. Great righteousness, Japanese mutual learning, good style of study.” In 1909, among 10 Chinese students studying at Wilton University, “five first-class and five second-class honors were awarded within one year.”By 1911, among the more than 650 Chinese students studying in the United States, 323 had graduated from universities, 23 from specialized schools, and 72 from technical schools.Wang Chonghui, an international student, received a Ph.D. from Yale University and ranked first in the law graduation examination.When accepting the graduation certificate, he gave a speech on behalf of more than 4,000 people in the whole school, which is the greatest honor in China.Hu Dongchao received a doctorate in engineering from Cornell University. He was especially proficient in the knowledge and skills of railways and bridges. He was praised by teachers and was elected into the Shimasi Society. It means that the purpose of being elected to this association is to encourage scholars to study new theories. At that time, there were more than 3,200 students admitted to Cornell University, but only 49 were elected to this association. Hu Dongchao was one of them, which is enough to be proud of China. In Columbia University’s graduation ceremony in 1911, three Chinese students received doctorate degrees, six master’s degrees, and three bachelor’s degrees, which was unprecedented in the history of Columbia University.Judging from the "Records of Traveling to the United States" compiled in 1917 and 1918, more than 90% of the students studying in the United States received a bachelor's degree, many of them obtained a master's degree and engineer qualifications, and 35 received a doctorate.Since then, more students studying in the United States have obtained doctorates, masters and other degrees.These students have become the backbone of construction after returning home.Hu Shi, Liao Shicheng and other students studying in the United States with Geng funds returned to China, and tried their best to advocate the implementation of new education and the establishment of a new school system.The new school system of "Six Three Three Four" announced by the National Government in November 1922 was imitated by the "Six Three Three" system of the United States under their influence and active promotion. The system had a great influence and was more suitable for China's educational reality at that time, and it was used until the national liberation in 1949. Mao Yisheng, who received a doctorate at the age of 24, served as the dean of Tianjin Beiyang Institute of Technology after returning to China.He presided over the construction of Hangzhou Qiantang River Bridge, a two-story joint bridge with a total length of 1453 meters.In the process of bridge repair, he carried out careful design and organization. On the turbulent river, he used the "water injection method", "caisson method" and "floating method" to overcome the complexities of bridge piling, bridge pier construction and steel girder erection. It was a difficult project, and it took only two and a half years to complete the construction of China's first road-rail dual-purpose bridge. In 1955, he presided over the design and construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge. At the same time, he also actively carried out popular science creation and published more than 200 articles in Chinese and foreign newspapers and periodicals.In his popular science works, he shows a colorful future world to teenagers. In 1963, his scientific essay "Bridge Talk" was serialized in the supplement of "People's Daily".Once on National Day, on the Tiananmen Gate tower, Mao Zedong said to him kindly: I have read your "Bridge Story", it is well written!You are not only a scientist, but also a writer!Mao Yisheng not only built tangible bridges throughout his life, but also built invisible spiritual bridges for young people.

He devoted his whole life to the cause of bridges in China. According to statistics, from 1909 to 1920, 507 Tsinghua students returned from the United States, and their occupational distribution is as follows (see next page): Among the academic committee members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced in March 1955, there were 29 Tsinghua students studying in the United States during this period, such as Zhou Peiyuan, Liang Sicheng, Tang Yongtong, and Yang Shixian. In 1936, Tsinghua University “had more than 210 teachers, including 90 professors, almost half of all teachers. Most of them are studying in the United States, and more than two-thirds are Tsinghua students studying in the United States.”

The students studying in the United States at that time were also very concerned about the fate of their motherland. When the Suzhou-Hangzhou-Ningbo Road Case happened, the Chinese Student Association in the United States issued a written opinion. International public law, blindly rejecting it, absolutely does not allow the British to take advantage of this argument to interfere with the right of way in China, or to demand a penny of compensation."The Revolution of 1911 was successful and the Republic of China was established. Chinese students from various American universities such as Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, and MIT held rallies to celebrate. In February 1915, the Japanese imperialists made unreasonable "21" demands to China. The news spread to the United States, which aroused the great anger of the overseas students.They held protest rallies one after another, and sent telegrams across the country to demand that the government resolutely boycott it, which shows their patriotism.The students studying in the United States made great contributions to China's road to science and democracy.