Chapter 41 Chapter 5: On the Hall of Dacheng——meeting Mr. Zhu Guangqian for the first time

My floating state changed drastically at the end of the first grade. The first-year Chinese and English courses in the whole school are initially organized into classes after the examination, regardless of the department or department.In the end, the common examination results are used as the standard for upgrading or transferring to another department.Wuhan University does not have a medical school, and the Departments of Foreign Languages, Economics, Law, and Electrical Engineering have always been the most popular departments with the highest elimination rate.Not long after the exam, one day a classmate went back to the dormitory and said that he saw a notice just posted in the Confucian Temple, saying that I had won the first place in the university-wide English exam in my freshman year, and my score was very high.After I heard about it, I was not too surprised or excited, because I only thought about how to tell my parents that I was allowed to go to Kunming and transfer to the Department of Foreign Languages ​​of Southwest Associated University.This heart is no longer in Leshan.Knowing that it was very difficult to speak and get consent, I couldn't sleep that night.Everyone in the dormitory is packing their luggage.The summer vacation will be over in ten days, and everyone will go home.For the first time in my life, I faced a problem that I had to solve on my own.

In the afternoon of the next day, Lao Yao solemnly gave me a written notice from the Academic Affairs Office, ordering me to see the Dean of Academic Affairs, Mr. Zhu Guangqian. Mr. Zhu was already a famous scholar all over the world.Before the age of fifteen.He had memorized scriptures and ancient prose for ten years at his home in Tongcheng, Anhui Province before entering Tongcheng Middle School. At the age of 21, he studied at the University of Hong Kong at public expense.After graduating, he went to Shanghai to teach, and founded magazines with Kuang Husheng, Zhu Ziqing, Feng Zikai, Ye Shengtao, Liu Dabai, Xia Yan and others, founded "Da Xueyuan" and Kaiming Bookstore.At the age of 28, he entered the University of Edinburgh at public expense to study English literature, philosophy, psychology, ancient European history and art history, and went to the University of Paris to study literary psychology. , and wrote a paper on "The Psychology of Tragedy".During his eight years in Europe, he often lingered in the library of the British Museum, reading and writing at the same time. For the fee, he wrote in the publications "General" and "Middle School Students" of Kaiming Bookstore, and later compiled "Twelve Letters to Youth" Letter", this book and "Talking about Beauty" are must-read books for "enlightenment" for middle school students and above.

How could such a university scholar summon me, a first-year student?To be honest, I was more horrified than honored to walk into his main hall in the Confucian Temple.Dacheng Hall, a long and dense office.And the "old man" in a gray robe who was not strong and was sitting in a huge wooden chair (Mr. ”) and no kindly smile. He looked at me.Said, "You were assigned to the Department of Philosophy for the joint entrance examination, but you are good at English and ranked first in the school. Why don't you transfer to the Department of Foreign Languages?" I said that my first choice was the Department of Philosophy. I didn’t fill in the Department of Foreign Languages ​​of my school, so it’s not that I didn’t pass the exam.When I graduated from high school, both my father and Mr. Meng wanted me to study Chinese.

He asked me why I wanted to "read" the philosophy department, and what philosophy books I had read? My answer sounded rather "childish and ignorant" to him (my father said it to me euphemistically), and he thought Say, "Now that Wuhan University has moved to such a remote place, it is difficult to find teachers, and some courses in the Department of Philosophy cannot be offered. I have seen your composition from the Chinese teacher. You are too sentimental, and it seems that you have not delved into philosophy. Huigen. You can attend classes in the Chinese department, or you can study on your own for the rest of your life. But the courses in the foreign language department must be led by teachers, and you must have a good foundation in English before you can get started. You can think about it before you go back to the summer vacation. If you If you transfer to the Department of Foreign Languages, I can be your tutor, and you can ask me anytime if you have any questions."

That last sentence still haunts me to this day.