Chapter 90 Section 1 The Department of Foreign Languages, Past and Present

Walk down those few steps, cross Zhoushan Road that no longer exists, enter the campus within the old wall of National Taiwan University, pass through the campus police station, welfare agency, and exit from the path between the administrative building and the Agricultural Chemical Museum, and immediately face The red building of the Faculty of Arts.Crossing the Coconut Grove Avenue full of rhododendron trees and the bell commemorating President Fu Sinian, you can enter the corridor from the imposing and wide porch.For me, it seems to have a "ritual" meaning.This open, old corridor sits firmly in the center of the newly built campus of Taipei Imperial University (founded in Showa 3rd, 1928) with a large semicircular arc. There are small doors at both ends. Surrounded by a small courtyard, it has not changed at all from when I first met it thirty years ago.During the long summer in Taiwan, I can vaguely feel a kind of Whispering coolness flowing (I can't translate this feeling into Chinese), which settles my body and mind.This is where my teaching career began, and it will end here.

What is difficult to compromise with memory is that the office of the Department of Foreign Languages ​​has been moved downstairs, and it is now a lively place.After entering the courtyard gate, turn right downstairs and turn to a row of large rooms, only the door of this room is always open.Facing you is a wooden cabinet with a large aluminum teapot that was used in the standard office in those days. When you don’t have the strength to lift the teapot from the wooden cabinet, you should retire.The tea is packed in small white sacks and distributed to the offices of various departments by the General Affairs Office.I still remember the tea-like color of coffee and the bitter taste of the tea. I was so thirsty between classes that I often had to drink a large cup. The tea was almost always cold.The wooden cabinet has dozens of grids, which are used as the teacher's mailbox, and the tables and chairs are connected behind it.There are five teaching assistants and one clerk sitting there, and there is an endless stream of people and things.Until my retirement, the Department of Foreign Languages ​​did not have a real faculty lounge.The "friendship" before and after class seems to be "held" in the corridor.I still remember that sometimes when I came out of classroom 24 and waited for the next class bell to ring, I would stand by the window sill quite tiredly, and I would see an old friend who had not seen me for many years appearing at the end of the corridor, and I would inevitably feel "exclamation and enthusiasm." ", then hurriedly wrote down the phone number on the rough wooden window sill, and each rushed to the classroom.

At that time, there were nearly 80 people in the Department of Foreign Languages.There are also many part-time teachers.The first batch of teachers such as Ying Qianli, Wang Guohua, Huang Qiongkan, Su Weixiong, Li Benti, Xia Ji'an, Li Liewen, Zhou Xuepu, Cao Qinyuan, Zeng Yuenong, etc. have left.In the Department of Foreign Languages ​​and Languages ​​of National Taiwan University after 1970, some people joked: "The carved railings and jade bricks should still be there, but the red face has been changed." Those who came from the first volunteer test may have a psychological feeling of being in a carved fence.And the curriculum does have a very "modern" big change.The biggest promoters happen to be Zhu and Yan.Zhu Limin and Mr. Yan Yuanshu returned to China with a doctorate in literature from the United States in the late 1960s. They were called "rare and precious metals" on the campus of National Taiwan University; soon another doctor of literature, Mr. Hu Yaoheng, also returned to National Taiwan University. Teaching Western drama in the latest way, leading students to care about the development of Chinese opera with comparative literature methods.

The reform with the greatest impact is the recompilation of freshman English textbooks to enhance the English ability of all students in the school and expand the knowledge of humanities and science."Reading Literary Works" is set up for first-year students in the department, and "History of Chinese Literature" is listed as a compulsory course. Before and after this class, famous teachers from the Chinese Department such as Tai Jingnong, Ye Qingbing, Lin Wenyue, and Ke Qingming teach, not only to enable students to truly understand Chinese literature The tradition and evolution of the school have also strengthened the friendship between teachers and students in the Chinese and Foreign Language Departments, and have a profound impact on students' future study horizons.

"History of English Literature" was changed to a two-year course with twelve credits: the first year from the Middle Ages (The Middle Ages 1485) to the eighteenth century (The Eighteenth Century): the second year from the Romantic Period (The Romantic Period ,1785-1830) to the Twentieth Century (The Twentieth CentUry).The textbooks used are mainly important works, not just background, trends, and development narratives.When I was teaching, I had used the world's standard edition, Norton's "History of English Literature", with a total of about 5,000 pages. At National Taiwan University, I have been teaching the second year of the history of English literature. One year, Mr. Yan Yuanshu went abroad.I took the first-year course in the History of English Literature as my substitute.I have taught this course for four years at Chung Hsing University and have done considerable research.In the same week, I have to adjust my thoughts according to different paces. In the classroom of the second grade, I have to teach the eighth-century North Sea heroic epic "Belwulf", and even play a record of Old English pronunciation once or twice.On the second day, the third grade class struggled to explain the mystery of the eighteenth century Romantic poet William.Blake's "Spiritual Traveler", this poem describes two cycles that rotate in opposite directions, nature and life, the mystery of which cannot be fully explained in the classroom.When I was in middle school, I read an article written by an Englishman. He said that there seem to be many compartments in the human brain to store different knowledge.I clearly distinguish in my mind the important works of each stage in the history of English literature.Each shines brightly for its time, so there is no danger of time-space confusion or anachronism.