Chapter 27 26. Resist the bomb on your head - start school!

It's really strange. The first thing Nanjing people do when they wake up every day is to check the weather. "I'm very sad. The morning glow is beautiful this morning, and it seems that it will be a good weather. While I was gazing out of the window, the gorgeous rose-colored morning sun had slipped in along the long weeping willow branches outside my east window. I was thinking : What will the day bring to people—how much pain, sorrow, and destruction, how many mutilated corpses, just as the recent air raids have caused..." This is a passage written by Vautrin after getting up on the morning of September 25 journal.The weather is so beautiful, but she and her school and students are going to be bombed by Japanese planes again and again.

There is no more dire reality than this. On September 26, Vautrin was invited by American doctor Wilson of the Gulou Hospital to visit the situation of the Central Hospital after the bombing together with President Wu Yifang and others. "They have planned it for a long time." Wilson pointed to a huge crater about 30 feet wide and 15 to 20 feet deep in the yard, and was very angry. "This is so close to our air-raid shelter. If it deviates a little bit, Yesterday, I and more than 100 doctors, nurses and workers inside will all be buried here!" Vautrin looked at the mud splashed around the crater, and some even flew to the surrounding roofs.The west wall of the auditorium to the east of the tennis court has collapsed, apparently from a bomb.Looking at other buildings in the hospital, almost without exception, they were shot by machine guns.Many houses were destroyed, including the nurse's building and a table tennis room. "It was clearly a well-planned attack," Wilson said. "The Japanese bombed our hospital like a skilled surgeon. . . . "

"Where will the wounded in the hospital be moved?" Vautrin asked Wilson worriedly. "The government has arranged for another military hospital." "What about common people's patients?" "They were asked to go home as much as possible." But Vautrin saw many patients being transferred to the air-raid shelter with the support of their family members.An elderly patient, apparently without the help of family members, fell to the ground as he struggled to walk toward the bomb shelter.Vautrin hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, and asked where the family had gone.

"They left Nanjing last month and settled down with their relatives in the countryside. Are you Miss Hua? We all know you. You are a good person." The old man was able to recognize Vautrin, which made her feel pleasantly surprised and happy . "Master, are you afraid of the Japanese? Do you hate them?" Vautrin asked with concern. "I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of the little Japanese!" The old man replied simply, and said, "I asked my family to leave Nanjing just to give them a chance to kill a few more of them when the Japanese came! Otherwise, they would think that we Chinese People are so easy to deceive. I want to live to see what they are doing in Nanjing!"

Vautrin was moved by the old man's words.This time she wrote something like this in her diary: "The Japanese are bringing the Chinese together as a nation more closely than ever before, if only they understood this! I have never seen such a thing from the Chinese before." Courage, confidence and determination.” At night, Vautrin walked alone on the street and found that there was no one there.Walking near the school, she was surprised to see that these houses that she didn't pay much attention to were all rented at the moment, and even some vacant houses where sundries were kept were inhabited by various people.

"It's safe next to your school." "Little Japanese dare not use violence against children." Vautrin heard the words of the new citizens who moved here, which made her both satisfied and worried: Can the Japanese army really be as civilized as the citizens of Nanjing think? impossible!Almost unlikely.The bombing of the Drum Tower Hospital has already shown that they don't even spare the sick and wounded, but can they spare children and women?Vautrin thought so, but she didn't say it, because she really didn't want to spoil the wishes of those poor people who lived next to her school.

October 10 is the National Day of China during the Republic of China government.It started raining early this morning.God provided a layer of natural protection for the city of Nanjing - it is impossible for bombs to fall from the sky on this day.Vautrin spent the morning praying for the church, and then took a group of children to the hospital to visit the sick and wounded.Walking down the street in the afternoon, she found that every household in Nanjing, let alone government agencies, had the flag of blue sky and white sun raised on their doors and roofs. Vautrin seemed to have eliminated all the grievances in her heart at that moment—how meaningful it is to come to China and stay in Nanjing!At that moment, she was happy.However, the Japanese plane appeared again the next day, and Vautrin's happy mood disappeared...

Now, Vautrin's biggest concern is whether her students can start school in late October.Information obtained from the sister school Jinling University: their freshmen have registered more than 100 people, which is 1/10 of previous years.The students of Jinling Women’s College of Arts and Sciences have moved to Wuhan and Shanghai according to the actual situation. Vautrin and the others at the headquarters are mainly coordinating the enrollment, opening of school and the basic budget of the whole school. Although the teaching function of Nanjing’s alma mater is basically lost, However, every work arrangement and student situation in all branch schools is still under the care and control of Vautrin and Dean Wu Yifang.

October 30 is the "Founder's Day" that Jinling Women's College of Arts and Science must hold.After a busy day, Vautrin wrote a letter to each branch school and every student on behalf of Dean Wu Yifang, and sent the following telegram to each branch school in the name of her alma mater: What made Vautrin particularly happy on this day was that she received a telegram from the Wuhan branch.The telegram reads: "Although we are separated, don't be depressed, rely on faith, and we will be together again soon. The alma mater is long!" "I love you!" Vautrin held the telegram and kissed for a long time.She seemed to hear the sound of her students reading in the sound of Japanese bombs.

"Miss Vautrin, it's time for us to celebrate Founder's Day! Tonight we should have a party at our alma mater." Wu Yifang said to Vautrin in the afternoon, and her light figure floated in front of Vautrin , leaving a very warm sentence, "Call all the faculty and staff and get together." "OK!" Vautrin accepted the task happily, and made intense preparations with Cheng Ruifang and others. That night, the large living room of the school teaching building was extremely lively.This is a rare joyous atmosphere in Jinling Women's Liberal Arts College since the Japanese bombing.There were 36 participants, 18 men and 18 women, divided into 6 tables.Beautiful chrysanthemums make the hall shine.

The show is not singing and dancing, because the people who can dance and sing are not in school.But Vautrin and others still feel rejoiced.In the second half of the mixed party, there were Dean Dr. Yifang Wu's speech "Nanjing Women's Liberal Arts College Facing the Current Crisis" and Vautrin's speech "How to Cope with the Immediate Crisis", and the most interesting program was the missionary Magee In "Let's Don't Forget to Laugh" by Mr. Wang, he is a gifted orator, and his words are witty and humorous. Although he talks about the topic of God, it reflects the beliefs of contemporary China and Chinese women.His point of view is: at present, the Japanese army is aggressively attacking the capital Nanjing. The belief in the fate of China is actually the belief in Chinese women, and the belief in Chinese women is, more importantly, the belief in God. Only in this way can China be born. Jinling Women's Liberal Arts College. Every day and every hour of the massacre in Nanjing, the benevolence of the foreign missionaries felt by the local people is real, even extraordinary and great. Vautrin is certainly one of the outstanding representatives. On the last day of October, Vautrin walked to the Drum Tower to finish worship, and when she sang "God, save our country" together with dozens of Chinese church members, Vautrin actually burst into tears. Cheng Ruifang said: "I feel like I am Chinese. Seeing my suffering mother suffer, I feel very sad. I really want to do something for her, even if it is to shield the children who are in class from the shrapnel and falling from the top of their heads. Dust." On October 31 alone, in order to meet the needs of the children staying in Nanjing, Vautrin went to three schools in one afternoon, sang and gave lectures to the children who were frightened by the bomb, and let a A young heart gets a moment of peace and joy.When she saw the children looking up at her with innocent smiles, Vautrin felt that she was the happiest person in the world at that moment. Leaving the child, returning to the school building, and standing in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary, Vautrin's heart was once again connected with the students of the branch schools of Jinling Women's Liberal Arts and Science College in Shanghai, Wuhan, and Chengdu who are thousands of miles away... "Children , I heard you reading, I heard you singing, I heard the sweet smiles on your faces under the night, and your girlish breasts are getting bigger every day. I pray for you at my alma mater, God bless you!" This is the sound of her beating heart, like a clear spring gurgling and flowing, like a ray of sunshine shining all over. "Children, have you heard my heart?" Vautrin confided to the sky every day. Letters from her students at the Chengdu campus: Miss Hua Qun, we have 20 people attending the "Founders' Day" celebration.The theme of this year's celebration is "Plants".Mr. and Mrs. Chapman and all our branch students attended.Our program is: Draw a hand with the College crest in the middle - it means we miss you and the Headmaster...   Letters came from her students at the Wuhan campus: it was an airmail letter. The celebration of 66 alumni, students and teachers in St. Hilda's Church was lively and solemn.The children told Ms. Vautrin: It was raining outside, but our celebrations were full of joy and laughter, and everyone was very happy.The theme of our event is "Birds with Nests".This theme means that we, the birds flying outside, yearn to return to our lovely nest - alma mater. The students at the Shanghai campus wrote in too: Miss Ruth and Mrs. New, unabashedly, chanted their hymns aloud, although the bombardment of Japanese planes and the return fire of anti-aircraft guns from the Chinese army accompanied the festivities. "Staying in our alma mater is like having a big meal - we received letters from three campuses on the same day. I have to say this is the happiest day." Vautrin wrote in her diary that night Write down this sentence. When she wakes up in a new day, Vautrin is as concerned about the weather as everyone in Nanjing.One of her Chinese believers said: "It's strange how much we have changed! Now we insist that bad weather is good, and good weather is bad. On rainy Sundays, we must go to church." So what about ordinary people in Nanjing?When it rains, they must go to the street to buy something and go home; and when the sun comes out, they must hide in their own or someone else's air-raid shelter early... Helpless and sad days live like this. On November 18, Vautrin officially heard for the first time that her friends were organizing a "refugee safety zone", which had been approved by the government and appreciated by the American embassy.Smythe was one of the key members of this organization, holding the post of secretary.After he introduced the situation of this safe zone to Vautrin, a series of questions suddenly popped up in her mind: Did the Japanese invade Nanjing so quickly?Will the city of Nanjing be completely destroyed?Will the Chinese army be forced to retreat instead of being trapped in the city?Will there be robbery or worse, murder and arson?How long will the fierce battle last?what should we do? "The embassy has prepared ships for you. You must evacuate within a few days, otherwise there will be no more chances!" The embassy seemed to imply that the Japanese army was about to attack Nanjing. Vautrin still used the original sentence: I will not leave unless the Japanese bombs blow me up! Mr. Paxton of the embassy always said politely: "We respect Miss Vautrin's decision." This made Vautrin feel that the diplomats in her own country are well-bred and they respect the wishes of others. This is the song Vautrin sang when she was a child herding cattle in her hometown.Now, she hummed it, adding to the bleakness. Sunday, November 21.On this day, Vautrin's diary wrote: The next day, Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences, with the suggestion and support of Dean Wu Yifang, established an "emergency committee" in order to deal with the increasingly serious imminent refugee problem. It speaks for itself.Therefore, the establishment of the "emergency committee" is a countermeasure. When Dean Wu Yifang asked for Vautrin's opinion, she firmly supported the principal's proposition.At 3 o'clock in the afternoon of this day, the first emergency committee meeting was held, and the preparations that must be done in four stages were discussed and concluded: 1. The combat stage; 2. After the Chinese army retreated; 3. There is no army in the city, it is very likely Without the police, criminals may want to take advantage of this opportunity; 4. Japanese troops enter the city.The committee consists of 5 people, 3 males and 2 females. Cheng Ruifang and Vautrin are the two female members. "Nanjing University also has an emergency committee, and there are more than 30 people left." Cheng Ruifang told Vautrin. "Great! This way we also have organizations and teammates who support each other!" Vautrin was delighted with the news brought by Cheng Ruifang. The school is already preparing for the problems it may face once the Japanese army enters the city.Naturally, the primary problem is to dispose of the valuable equipment and property of the school. Transfer is the first choice, followed by hiding, and all these make Vautrin and the others, who have limited strength, so tired that they almost suffocate every day.Vautrin still has one most important thing to do, which is to know how many refugees the school can accommodate, and how many refugees there will be in Nanjing as a whole.The Nanjing Safety Zone, which Rabe is chairing, believes that there will be more than 200,000 refugees. They have coordinated a plan with government agencies that have not yet evacuated. Among them, Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences will resettle about 200 to 1,000 refugees.Even with this number, Vautrin and Wu Yifang believe that it has exceeded the limit. "200 people is the maximum number, and 1,000 people is a disaster." Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences thinks so, because their estimates are not conservative.In fact, as of November, the total number of people who stayed at the school and were able to do some work was less than 20 to 30 people. Calculated as one caring for 10 people, more than 200 refugees settled here is the maximum limit of Jinling Women's Arts and Sciences College. "No one can guarantee whether the future refugees will be so rational, maybe 500, maybe 1,000, maybe more..." Chairman Rabe said to Vautrin. Uncontrollability is the key issue.Therefore, after the first meeting of the emergency committee, Vautrin devoted part of her energy to investigating how many children and women around the school would stay in Nanjing.After the establishment of the safety zone, the division of labor was clear. Once Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences received refugees, its main targets were women and children.Therefore, Vautrin believes that it is necessary to investigate the situation of the surrounding refugees first. November 25th is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving in 1937 was unprecedentedly special for Vautrin, and she was using her actions to repay God for her nurturing: dressing up the school. This is a very meticulous and special job, proposed by Wu Yifang and several other ladies: to dress Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences as an all-American Christian territory, and use it as an "island of life" to protect refugees. This is domineering. According to the topography of the school, Vautrin and Cheng Ruifang chose 4 prominent highlands and key points of the school, and inserted 4 flagpoles to show the inviolable range once refugees enter in the future.The first flagpole is inserted on the top of West Hill; the second is inserted in the middle of the two male teachers’ residences; the third flagpole is at the corner of the gatehouse; the fourth is inserted in the middle of the two male teachers’ dormitories in Nanshan.Another one was inserted in the experimental school. The flagpole will be hoisted with the American flag.This is Vautrin's idea, and she hopes that Dean Wu Yifang will give her support, because the predecessor of Jinling Girls' Arts and Science School and the current school funding are still mainly based on missionary institutions such as American Christianity. "There is no problem. Jinling Women's College is a school run by American church organizations. The Japanese should understand and know this." Wu Yifang said very definitely and clearly. "We should find out the two signs hanging on the gate of our school before." Wu Yifang is the first graduate of Jinling Women's University. She suggested that Wei Telin and Cheng Ruifang find two old signs that read "Great American Women's College" in Chinese and English. "Where will it be?" Vautrin was a little embarrassed. Although she had been in school for 19 years, she didn't know anything about what happened 19 years ago. "I remember there were some old things in the attic," Cheng Ruifang said. So the two went to rummage through the dusty attic.It turned out that the old brand of "Jinling College" used by the National Government before registration, but they couldn't find the one they wanted. "Use it to deal with it first!" Vautrin felt that "Jinling Academy" could also help.But when they were moving out, the moment the old sign was turned over, a miracle happened—behind the old sign of "Jinling College", there was a line of characters clearly: Great American Women's College. "Haha, it's just that there is no place to find after breaking through the iron shoes, and it doesn't take much effort to get it." Cheng Ruifang, who is usually unsmiling, laughed out loud this time. Not to mention how happy Vautrin was!She stroked those big characters lightly, and found that they were all covered by a thick layer of red paint, but the characters were still clearly visible. "We used white characters and black background to trace, and the words 'Great American Women's College' were clearly revealed!" Cheng Ruifang suggested. "Great! God protected it, let's let it bless us!" Vautrin hugged the "Great American Women's College" sign, pressed her cheek tightly, and said very excitedly. After Wu Yifang found out, she used 5 words to describe this lost and recovered old school brand: human tragedy and comedy. President Wu Yifang is leaving. She is a government official and must leave Nanjing at the request of Mrs. Chiang Kai-shek.This is an order from the government, and all important Chinese figures and institutions must leave Nanjing.Vautrin was very sad about this, but she thought it would be better for Dean Wu Yifang to leave Nanjing than to stay in Nanjing, because all the branches of Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences and most of the students are not in Nanjing now, and they need the presence of the principal. It is the soul of all Jinling Women's College.She should go. Now, on the campus of Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences in Nanjing, she Vautrin is the supreme leader. "There are still 5 students in our family handicraft school. This may be the only school in Nanjing that is still open. The students ask to continue to go to school..." Vautrin is proud of this. The city of Nanjing will not fall.Nanjing Jinling Women's College of Arts and Sciences will not fail either!