Chapter 21 Chapter 1 Adventures in the Tavern

The Institute of History and Philology of the Academia Sinica together with relevant scientific research institutions chose Li Zhuang thanks to the guidance of Tongji University. Tongji University was founded by a German doctor Erich Paulum (Dr. Paulum) who was practicing medicine in Shanghai. The general process is: the Boxer Rebellion broke out in 1900 (Gengzi), which led to the Allied Forces of the Eight Nations, including Britain and France, bringing guns and cannons. The Huaxing division questioned the crime. Under the order of the Qing Dynasty, the officers and soldiers united with the members of the Boxer Regiment who were known as the golden bell, iron cloth shirt, invulnerable, and invincible, and launched a fierce battle with the Allied Forces of the Eight Nations. A tragic end to the reparations sum, but there were also some casualties on the coalition side.In order to meet the urgent needs during the war, Germany shipped a large amount of medical equipment from Europe and hired Dr. Erich Paulon, who was very famous in Shanghai at that time, to assist in the establishment of a hospital for wounded soldiers in Shanghai.When the Boxer Movement ended, the Qing Dynasty surrendered, and the allied forces returned home proudly carrying large and small bags of spoils. Due to the difficulty in transportation, the German side presented the complete set of equipment for the wounded soldier hospital to Dr. Baolong free of charge as a token of gratitude.Faced with this windfall that fell from the sky, Baolong, who had lofty ideals and ambitions, was not complacent, or lay on the pile of silver to enjoy it, nor did he turn the equipment into pieces and sell them as scrap parts, and went home with a bag full of oceans to build a house Start a house, and marry a few concubines to enjoy secretly in your arms.Instead, based on this batch of equipment, and donated a sum of money, the Tongji German Medical School was established on Baike Road in the Shanghai Public Concession.The establishment of this medical school gave birth to a brand new Tongji University, and at the same time built the only bridge between Chinese and German cultures before and after the war. In 1917, taking advantage of Germany's defeat in the European War, Tongji Medical School was accepted by the Chinese government and moved to a new site in Jiangwan, Shanghai. In 1927, it was renamed National Tongji University.Before the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Tongji University was already a comprehensive German university with three colleges of medicine, engineering and science, which was quite famous at home and abroad.

When the "August 13" Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, the campus of Tongji University in Jiangwan, Shanghai was bombarded by the Japanese for the first time, and it was instantly razed to the ground.Tongji teachers and students fled in panic and panic under the enemy's bullets. First they fled to Jinhua, Zhejiang, then retreated to Ganxian County, Jiangxi due to the tight situation in Hangzhou. As the war situation continued to worsen, they moved to Babu, Guangxi again. After settling down, due to the tense war in Guangdong, the territory of Guangxi was invaded by enemy planes, and moved to Kunming again in December 1938.In February of the following year, all the teachers and students arrived in Kunming, and began to rent houses in more than a dozen narrow and chaotic blocks in the city, including Linjiangli, Wucheng Road, and Fuchun Street. In July 1940, due to the intensified Japanese bombing of Kunming City, Xiang Ruirong, a student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Tongji University, was unfortunately killed by a bomb in a Japanese air raid.Seeing that the situation continued to deteriorate, according to the wishes of the teachers and students of the school and the instructions of the Ministry of Education of the National Government, the senior officials of Tongji University decided to leave Kunming and move to Sichuan. Send a telegram for help, asking him to find a place to stay in Yibin and Luzhou.

Qian Zining received a telegram and learned that the teachers and students of his alma mater were under the threat of death from enemy bombs and suffering mentally. He didn't dare to be careless and immediately got busy.At this time, the small city of Yibin in southern Sichuan was already overcrowded. People who moved in from Shanghai, Wuhan, and Changsha were like crucian carp crossing the river. .After searching through friends, the situation in Luzhou downstream is even worse than Yibin, and there is almost no place to stand.Therefore, the fate of Tongji University can only be maintained in the narrow line along the river between Yibin and Luzhou.Fortunately, Qian Zining accidentally heard that Nanxi County and Jiang'an County between this line still had room for utilization, so he quickly sent capable officers to make inquiries.Unexpectedly, Jiang'an County already has teachers and students from the National Theater Academy who are already there, and they are unable to take care of others. Only Nanxi County has the conditions and ability to arrange them.But the local bureaucrats and gentry refused to help. The public reason was that "the small temple cannot afford to worship the big Bodhisattva." So many "downriver people" flocking to this small riverside town at once would cause turmoil in the local society. Law and order cannot be guaranteed, and traditional social customs will deteriorate and deteriorate.The real idea is that the local bureaucrats are not happy to be meddlesome, but just want to make more money, spend less effort, and enjoy their leisurely life in peace and tranquility.Some local gentry and social elites were deeply afraid that after the arrival of the "downriver people", they would drive up prices, and the price of rice and vegetables would be raised to sky-high prices, which would make their lives difficult, so they refused.Just as the people sent by Qian Zining walked out of the yamen in disgrace, exhausted physically and mentally and hopelessly in a restaurant in Nanxi County, a new opportunity came.I saw two middle-aged men in their fifties walking into the tavern. When the two met, they immediately greeted each other.The visitors were well-known gentry Luo Boxi and Wang Yunbo from Lizhuang Town, Nanxi County. The two had long been friends, and now they meet here by chance, and they are very cordial.After a brief exchange of pleasantries, several people sat at a table and started drinking. During the meeting, it was inevitable that Tongji University wanted to move to Sichuan for asylum, but Nanxi County bureaucrats and gentry refused to accept it.Hearing this, Luo Boxi was quite indignant, and said casually with a bit of alcohol: "This country is facing a crisis, how can there be no reason to accept it and not accept it, these officials and the gangsters are too disregarding the general situation and understanding the overall situation. "After finishing speaking, he turned his head suddenly to Wang Yunbo beside him: "I said Uncle Yun, they don't want it, how about we come to receive it, don't think that our Lizhuang town is not big, but there are nine palaces, eighteen temples and a large manor, I guess It is not a big problem to settle this group of 'downriver people'."

After hearing this, Uncle Yun nodded knowingly, and echoed, "There shouldn't be any problems, but we need to go back and discuss it." "That's right, we need to go back and discuss it. Look at those officials and idlers in Xixi, and let them lose face!" Luo Boxi seemed to be speaking to Wang Yunbo, but also seemed to be telling him on purpose. This Luo Boxi was not talking nonsense because he was too drunk, nor was he deliberately bragging about the length of the dragon.This person is a person who has seen the big world and handles affairs rigorously. He was born in martial arts in his early years. He was an adjutant to General Liu Yunhui of the Sichuan Army, and served as a major general counselor in the office of the 26th Group Army of the Sichuan Army in Chengdu. Later, he was dissatisfied with the warlords. They killed and fought each other, disarmed and returned to the fields, and returned to live in Lizhuang's hometown.Because of his unique political background, he is a well-known figure in Lizhuang and even Nanxi.When Qian Zining's subordinates were desperate and dejected, a bright Li Zhuang suddenly appeared in front of them. They were greatly surprised and expressed gratitude from their hearts.When he was full of wine and food, Luo Boxi invited the other party to stop by him to Lizhuang for a practical inspection, and after discussing with local officials and gentry, he would make a decision.In this way, the inadvertent patronage of history has destined Tongji University to move to Sichuan and become attached to the ancient town of Lizhuang.

When a few people arrived at Lizhuang, Luo Boxi found an elderly local aborigine and led him around the town.He and Wang Yunbo quickly found a heavyweight - Luo Nanxin, then Secretary of the Party Committee of the Kuomintang's Lizhuang District, explained everything.Luo Nankai was originally a scholar and respected intellectuals, so he immediately expressed that he could consider it, and sent people to arrest Li Zhuang's powerful figures such as Zhang Guanzhou, Zhang Fangqin, Yang Junhui, Wan Yuting, Fan Bokai, Yang Mingwu, Li Qingquan, Deng Yunkai, and gentry celebrities. Wealthy businessmen and rich men, please come to the hall of your home at No. 8 Yangjie, Lizhuang Town, to discuss together.

Previously, in order to avoid the bombing of enemy planes, two schools, including the Provincial Yibin Normal School and Yibin Middle School, had moved to Lizhuang Town, where they lived in the old house of the Zhang family and Lizhuang Xiaba respectively.With the experience of receiving foreigners, it will not seem abrupt to receive another Tongji University.After several hours of repeated weighing and discussion, the participants finally reached a consensus: if Tongji University intends to move to Lizhuang, everyone will do their best to accommodate it.The squires agreed so readily, and there was a reason for it.Many years later, Luo Efen, the son of Luo Nankai and a member of the Nanxi County CPPCC, recalled: "In addition to Luo Nankai and others' sympathy and respect for intellectuals, there is another historical reason that cannot be ignored, that is, the location of Nanxi County. Located in the north of the Yangtze River, Lizhuang is located in the south of the Yangtze River. The bureaucrats and the people in the north and the south have long been unconvinced with each other. If the enemy opposes it, we must support it. That is to say, since the bureaucrats and gentry of Nanxi County do not accept it, Li Zhuang will take it over. It’s the same.” It is precisely because of many complicated factors that the long river of history keeps turning. Unexpectedly, Tongji University turned to Lizhuang.

Now that Li Zhuang had expressed his consent, the few people who came to investigate with Luo Boxi were also quite satisfied after going around, so they shook their spirits and rushed to Yibin by boat to report to Qian Zining.When Qian Zining heard this, he was both pleasantly surprised and hesitant. Although Li Zhuang was affectionate, it was a town after all, and he didn't know if Tongji was interested, so he decided to take a boat to see what happened.When he came to Lizhuang Town, after inspecting the local mountains and rivers, folk customs, especially the Jiugong Shiba Temple and several large villas in the surrounding area, the stone hanging in his heart fell to the ground. As long as the place is acceptable, it might not be a safe place for refuge and study.

Qian Zining further discussed the relevant situation with local bureaucrats and gentry. Li Zhuang expressed his sincerity, and Luo Nankai drafted a ten-point agreement on the spot that "we will move to Sichuan with the big one, welcome to Li Zhuang, and provide everything needed." The six-character telegram was brought by Qian Zining to Yibin and sent to Tongji University in Kunming.Afterwards, he wrote several more letters, which gave a more detailed introduction in terms of history, geography, transportation, products, folk customs, etc., and sent them from Qian Zining to Tongji University and the Ministry of Education of the Chongqing National Government.I was very happy to receive the telegram at Tongji University in Kunming. The new president Zhou Junshi immediately sent Wang Baoren, the dean of the School of Science, and Zhou Zhaonan, the director of affairs, to Lizhuang to inspect and prepare for the relocation.Fu Sinian, who was in Chongqing, got the news through the Ministry of Education, and immediately sent a message to Rui Yifu, an associate researcher in the Ethnology Group of the Institute of History and Philology in Longtou Village, Kunming, and asked him to go to Lizhuang with Wang and Zhou for an investigation.Thus, a new cultural center destined to leave a deep mark in the history of Chinese culture was quietly formed in the southwestern corner where the mountains and rivers were broken.