When I arrived at the hotel to check in, it was completely dark. Fortunately, we live by the Cuihu Lake, and our group started the warm-up of this trip by the leader fisherman and Mr. Schumann.
The destination is now Cuihu Park. Cuihu Lake was originally a part of Dianchi Lake and was once called Caihaizi. However, seeing the pump room of Kunming Waterworks left a deep impression on me. The green lake in the moonlight is very quiet, and the colorful lights around it bring different excitement than during the day. Through the door glass of the pump room, we saw the Raven electric pump, and our hearts were filled with emotion. 1 10 years later, this machine is intact.
Under the bright street lights, Schumann told us that long before the opening of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, the progressive national entrepreneurs in Kunming had obtained the government's approval to build hydropower stations and ordered generator sets from Siemens in Germany. In the year when the railway was opened to traffic, the machine arrived. With the joint efforts of technical experts, construction engineers and installers, it was completed on Shilong Dam in the western suburbs of Kunming in less than two years. 19 12, Kunming lights the light bulb.
After COVID-19, you can't just enter the university campus. Passing by the main entrance of Yunnan University, Schumann mentioned the unavoidable topic of this trip-National Southwest Associated University. Unfortunately, I couldn't go to Yunnan Normal University to visit the memorial hall of the General Assembly.
During the whole trip, I saw that the National Southwest Associated University only had two places related to the teaching building, the former site of Mengzi Campus, Honghe Prefecture College of Literature and the girls' dormitory. However, the special history of moving to the school that really affected the whole higher education in China nearly 90 years ago kept churning in my mind.
In the late Qing Dynasty, the country was opened. The fiasco of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 made the first group of people of insight studying abroad in China deeply realize the backwardness and ignorance of our feudal empire. Therefore, saving the country by science and rejuvenating the country by culture became the main theme at that time. The only fundamental way to change is to start with education.
Cai Yuanpei, a Shaoxing native, was a leading figure at that time. He actively advocated the policy of freedom of thought and inclusiveness, and became the helm of Peking University. After the Revolution of 1911, the first batch of outstanding candidates in China obtained the qualification of studying abroad at public expense (international students in boxer indemnity). Many people choose to study advanced science, engineering and machinery majors in the west, and engage in the teaching of higher education after returning home with degrees, volunteering to train a new generation of practical talents for the backward motherland. Mei Yiqi, the first batch of G-class international students, taught in Tsinghua after returning to China and became the president of Tsinghua University in 193 1. His speech at that time is still ringing in my ears. He said that the so-called great scholar is not a building, but a master. He emphasized that there are only two key points in university education, one is to study academics, and the other is to cultivate talents.
In the more than 20 years after the Revolution of 1911, although warlords fought in melee, the spirit of learning western science and striving for self-improvement was first established in the hearts of those masters. As soon as the suffering Chinese nation overthrew the feudal monarchy and did not get rid of poverty, the Japanese invaders stepped into the northeast. With the national strength at that time, it was impossible to compete with the powerful Japan. 1937 shortly after the lugouqiao incident, the Japanese bombed Tianjin Nankai university, and Tsinghua and Peking university were also in jeopardy. In order to preserve the hard-won academic seeds and students' desks, with the support of the government of the Republic of China, the three best institutions of higher learning in Ping Jin decided to move south.
At that time, the traffic was much worse than today, and it was a long journey to complete this trip. For example, a group of professors and scholars such as Liang Sicheng and his wife arrived in Changsha by land and water from Beijing via Tianjin, Qingdao, Jinan and Zhengzhou with a large number of manuscripts and other materials. I can't help but think of all kinds of sufferings described by Qian Zhongshu in Fortress Besieged. Even if it is tragic, I can only smile bitterly.
The earliest people who arrived in Changsha, Hunan Province, formed the National Changsha Temporary University to resume their studies. Science, engineering and other subjects are in the city, while literature, history and philosophy rent a Bible school on the mountain, and there are a large number of books, experimental instruments, archaeological relics and precious manuscripts and materials to transport. What difficulties and obstacles those masters have experienced, and their lives are constantly turning, which is unimaginable for our future generations.
At the same time, the soldiers of the national army fought to the death and the fighting was fierce. However, with the continuous fall of countries and cities, Japanese planes bombed the south and mainland more arrogantly, and Changsha was not spared. Therefore, Changsha Temporary University has to consider moving to a more remote southwest area again, and Kunming is the final choice.
A large number of students and professors went to Kunming in three waves. The selected routes are as follows: the Guangdong-Han railway train goes to Guangzhou, passes through Hong Kong, then takes a boat to Haiphong, and finally passes through the Yunnan-Vietnam railway to Kunming; Mr. Zhu Ziqing and Mr. Feng Youlan led the bus through Guilin, Liuzhou and Nanning, Guangxi, from Youyiguan to Hanoi, and then transferred to the train on the Yunnan-Vietnam line for Kunming. There is also the "Hunan-Guizhou-Yunnan Tour Group" led by Mr. Wen Yiduo. It took more than a month to reach Kunming after more than a thousand kilometers of climbing mountains and mountains. Yunnan-Vietnam Railway played an important role in the journey here.
Today, we review the history of National Southwest Associated University 90 years ago, and sincerely believe that this is a miracle in the history of modern education. Never before, never after. Not to mention the death of students and school staff in the danger of constant migration under fire. Even in such an environment, normal teaching has never been interrupted. This can not help but make the younger generation respect us.
Professors wandered all the way, and to make matters worse, they lost valuable academic materials. Mr. Chen Yinke, a historian, suffered from serious eye diseases, but lost his precious books during his migration. He was sad, but he was helpless. Jin Linyue accidentally lost the manuscript while avoiding the air raid; Liu Wendian's four boxes of manuscripts were also lost in Hongkong. Lin suffered from illness and insisted on sorting out architectural manuscripts in a simple bed; The two daughters of archaeologist Li Ji died of illness in the flower season in an environment of lack of medical care and medicine. ...
However, even in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's bonfire years, the national spirit of these teachers and students was greatly encouraged. The teachers insisted on teaching and the students were not interrupted by gunshots. The seeds of these academic research have slowly taken root in the southwest frontier under such difficult conditions. It is a miracle that National Southwest Associated University has trained a batch of outstanding talents here. Thank you to three heroes who came to the school and managed the school affairs. They are Mr. Jiang Menglin (Peking University), Mr. Mei Yiqi (Tsinghua University) and Mr. Zhang Boling (Nankai University).
They are the presidents of three former universities, and they never thought of working for the Japanese invaders in the occupied areas during the war. They have overcome great difficulties and solved the problems of school buildings, courses, enrollment, graduation, academic research, writing books and teachers' and students' lives, so that their teaching has never been interrupted during the migration and change. Overcome soaring prices, material shortage and economic crisis, and often avoid air raid warnings to avoid being hit by bombs. ...
When we stand at Bise Village Station, when we stroll in the South Lake (Mengzi) in the night, and when we walk to the former site of Mengzi Branch of United University, we can't help but think of the young students and professors who used to walk and write poems here, miss their hometown and worry about the future of the nation. At that time, the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway carried them back and forth countless times. The teachers and students of this school were forced to temporarily borrow villages and temples in Yiliang and other places to attend classes in order to avoid the attack of artillery fire. There are also Xuyong Campus in Sichuan, Liziao Lizhuang ... they have suffered from displacement.
The professors who were almost displaced in the war did not change their minds, and their original intentions remained unchanged. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Britain, the United States, China and the Soviet Union, the allies of the world anti-fascist war, jointly declared war on Japan. The Chinese expeditionary force fought against the Japanese army on the Yunnan-Burma line. At that time, students from National Southwest Associated University joined the army, mainly communication soldiers stationed in various places, responsible for translating and conveying various telegrams and military instructions. Xu Yuanchong, a young student, is one of them. Mr. Mei Yiqi's sons and daughters also joined the army as translators for the Flying Tigers. Many young people died when they were evacuated from savage valley. The young teacher Cha Liang Zheng experienced this kind of life and death. He just wants to express everything in his heart in poetry.
After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, Mr. Zhang, Mr. Mei and Mr. Jiang began to prepare for returning to school. It can be said that the National Southwest Associated University, which lasted more than eight years, was a glorious moment in the modern education history of China. Despite the suffering of national destruction and landslides, there are still many talented people here. The time of the General Assembly in Yunnan has also brought local students the idea of being thirsty for knowledge, worrying about the country and the people, and seeking progress in the world. The teachers and students of the Congress established primary schools, middle schools, girls' schools and teachers' colleges in Kunming, which laid a good foundation for free learning and training talents. When they left Kunming, many local young people, especially vocational school students, listened to the teachers and students and were very reluctant to leave.
Today, with the change of the stars, China students' desks can be put down. Some conditions are extremely good, but the masters have long since left, along with their thoughts, charm, morality and feelings.
When I saw the photos taken by my friends on the herringbone bridge of Yunnan-Vietnam Railway, my heart surged. I think that the master professors or students of the General Assembly once traveled back and forth on this railway with full knowledge and the will to serve the motherland, hoping to defeat the Japanese aggressors and strengthen the motherland by spreading knowledge, democracy and science. And firmly believe that one day it will succeed.
For a period of history, some materials and precious cultural relics about National Southwest Associated University have been preserved in Yunnan University, Yunnan Normal University and Peking University. If we are lucky enough to see them, we should sincerely appreciate the precious spiritual wealth left by our predecessors and silently urge ourselves to take a step closer to their ideals.