Humanistic Qingdao | The establishment of Private Qingdao University and its twists and turns
2024-08-27
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□Zhang Wenyan, chief reporter of Peninsula All Media (photo taken from "List of Private Universities in Qingdao")
A century-old university, a century-old university.
As schools reopen, we will focus on the ivory tower. This year, Ocean University of China celebrates its 100th anniversary, and this century of history is closely related to the development of the city. Especially in the evolution of the school, the people who come and go have become the most dazzling light of Qingdao's cultural context.
Therefore, Peninsula All Media reporters visited universities, interviewed experts, and searched through historical records to restore the century-long growth process of a university, including the changes in different stages of the school and close-ups of characters. In this issue, we go back to the autumn of 1924 to reproduce the details and behind-the-scenes stories before and after a school opening ceremony.
The right time and right place
A university was born
"This port is located in the north and south, with convenient transportation, beautiful scenery, and a mild climate. It is most suitable for establishing a university and developing culture here... This port is an important area in the east and a major coastal town. It is natural to establish a university district, which can not only inherit the history of the honor of the country of etiquette, but also commemorate the restoration of the country."
When Principal Gao Enhong made this speech at the opening ceremony, he was filled with emotion. Facing young faces full of hope and longing, his voice was high and excited, because October 25, 1924, was a day of clear and crisp autumn weather, and this day was hard-won!
In Qingdao, it is a consensus of the education community to establish a Chinese university. "Qingdao is located in the eastern part of Shandong, surrounded by mountains and facing the sea, with beautiful scenery, warm winter and cool summer, pleasant climate, convenient transportation, and not a strategically important place. The environment is quiet and clean, making it a good place to explore knowledge and study academics." The book "Shandong University Centennial History" lists the common proposals of people of insight.
In fact, as early as March 1923, Li Yiyan, an employee of the Ministry of Education, solemnly proposed in his Qingdao education investigation report that a university should be established in Qingdao. The reason was similar to the previous consensus: "Qingdao is a natural cultural center. Germany has established a university here before, so its development achievements can be predicted. A university should be established here so that children from various provinces can enroll; it is far away from the political center, so scholars can teach with peace of mind, and students can also study with peace of mind."
Li Yiyan set her sights on the Bismarck Barracks, which coincided with the idea of Kang Youwei, Qingdao's best copywriting spokesperson.
Also on June 15, 1923, Kang Youwei was overjoyed because he could find a satisfactory residence in Qingdao. He did not forget his dream of education and mentioned the idea of establishing a university in Qingdao many times.
Now that I have a house, how far can a new career be?
"This house in Qingdao is so good (very large, and can accommodate many people), which is the best I have ever had in my life. In addition, there is a university, and I want to open it in Qingdao, because there is a ready-made university building. I will start the university as soon as I receive the money (I will receive 80,000 first), and then I will live in Qingdao for a long time." In his family letters, he repeatedly expressed his ideal of opening a university in Qingdao. He also had high hopes for the former site of the Bismarck Barracks built by the Germans: "I plan to open a university here, and use the Wannian Barracks nearby. It is only a few hundred steps away. When I have time to look at the clouds and the sea with a cane, I can give lectures to the world's talents, which is far better than Shanghai."
Unfortunately, the barracks were occupied by the Beiyang Army and the plan had to be shelved.
Hope again and again, and then sighs again and again.
It wasn't until his appearance that the deadlock was broken.
Gao Enhong (1875-1943) was a man who was resolute and decisive. He was born in Penglai and studied in England. After returning to China, he was appreciated many times and changed jobs many times, from secretary to director of Shanghai Telegraph Bureau. In June 1922, he entered the cabinet and served as the representative of the State Council and Minister of Transportation. Later, he also served as Minister of Education. In 12 years, he changed jobs eight times. Although he did not stay in each position for a long time, he always did something impressive, such as abolishing railway freight donations and canceling subsidies for newspapers. Each policy caused a lot of waves at the time. Li Dazhao's evaluation of him was: "Gao Ding'an (Gao Enhong) is a scientist and a scholar. He does not have the aura of a politician nowadays." Later, Gao Enhong became a victim of the internal struggles of the Zhili warlords.
Of course, Gao Enhong's confidence was backed by Wu Peifu's strong support. On March 31, 1924, Gao Enhong was appointed as the director of Qingdao Jiaoao Commercial Port under Wu Peifu's recommendation.
At this time, Qingdao, after returning to the embrace of the motherland in December 1922, was opened as an international commercial port and became a famous port in the north. Coupled with the incomparable natural environment, the establishment of a university became a common expectation of people from all walks of life.
After Gao Enhong arrived in Qingdao, he immediately "made the establishment of a university a priority." The generally accepted address of the university was occupied by the troops led by Sun Zongxian, the commander of the Jiao Defense Force, leaving everyone helpless.
Unexpectedly, a great opportunity came.
In May 1924, Sun Zongxian was transferred to Weixian and Wang Hanzhang took over. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Gao Enhong took decisive action and asked Wu Peifu, the inspector general of Zhiluyu, for help, saying that "commercial ports should not be stationed with troops" and asked Wang Hanzhang to go to Weixian to make room for the university. Wu Peifu agreed generously. He also knew that education was the foundation of a country, and immediately ordered Wang Hanzhang, who was still not warm, to pack up and leave Qingdao.
The school building problem was easily solved.
"Since I came here, I have made the establishment of a university a top priority, but at that time there was no suitable location. The army was withdrawing, and this huge school building was vacated. It would be a pity if it were abandoned, so I united my comrades and worked actively. It has been painstakingly preparing for the event, and fortunately it has been established recently. I am so pleased that I can't express it in words," Gao Enhong expressed his heartfelt admiration at the opening ceremony!
People and hearts are united
Private Qingdao University opens grandly with famous teachers
"We are still in the early stages of establishment, and it will take a long time to run and establish the school. All school affairs are managed by the school directors. Most of the students come from far away and have their own purpose. Once you enter our school, you will have a very close relationship with the prosperity and decline of the school's operation and the rise and fall of the school's reputation, and you will have a great responsibility. This is something that students should pay attention to."
Yes, the establishment of a university requires not only school buildings, but also funds, talents and students. Problems arise one after another -
On May 29, 1924, the Preparatory Office of the newly established Private Qingdao University held a grand preparatory meeting in the Bismarck Barracks.
Many heavyweights gathered together, including Gao Enhong, Shao Yunnong, Song Chuandi, Fu Bingzhao, Zhang Dechun, Liu Zishan, Wang Ziyong, Song Yuting, Yu Yaoxi, Sun Bingyan, Sun Guangqin and 11 other people, forming the school board. These names represented the education and chamber of commerce at that time and were the economic backing.
The board of directors nominated Sun Guangqin as the preparatory director, Shao Yunnong and Sun Bingyan as deputy directors, and nominated 29 well-known Qingdao figures such as Wang Xiyuan and Wang Xiuqing as directors, and hired 24 domestic academic celebrities such as Liang Qichao, Cai Yuanpei, Zhang Boling, Huang Yanpei, Yan Huiqing, Gu Weigou, and Luo Jialun as honorary directors.
The luxurious lineup has amazed the whole country.
So, where did the funds come from? After the meeting, Gao Enhong donated 10,000 yuan and Liu Zishan donated 20,000 yuan as preparation funds, but it was still not enough and not a long-term solution. They set their sights on the Boxer Indemnity, but the letters they sent fell into the sea and there was no response, so they had to solve it themselves. In the end, it was decided that the Jiaoao Commercial Port Office would allocate 10,000 yuan per year, the Jiaoji Railway Bureau would allocate 6,000 yuan per month, and the Qingdao gentry and wealthy businessmen would donate 4,000 yuan as school funds.
The school board recommended Gao Enhong as the principal, Sun Guangqin as the school director, and Li Yiyan as the academic director. At the same time, the private Qingdao Middle School founded by Liu Zishan was taken over as an affiliated middle school. Everything was ready. In August 1924, a Chinese university was finally established on the Qingdao coast.
After the establishment of the private Qingdao University, the school established the purpose of "teaching advanced academics, cultivating great talents, and meeting the needs of the country". According to the needs of society and its own conditions, it decided to first establish engineering to adapt to the rise of industry and machinery manufacturing; and to establish business to adapt to the development of trade and economic competition. In addition to professional courses, the courses offered by the two departments of business and industry include Chinese, mathematics, English and Japanese as compulsory courses, and elective courses such as law, logic, and world history. Most of the textbooks are compiled by teachers themselves. The school system is four years. Students will be awarded a bachelor's degree in a certain subject after completing the course and passing the examination.
In mid-August 1924, the school simultaneously enrolled students in four cities: Qingdao, Jinan, Beijing, and Nanjing. The enrollment advertisements were accompanied by photos of school buildings with sea views to attract students to apply.
Since there were only a few colleges and universities in the country at that time, and Qingdao had convenient transportation, beautiful scenery, pleasant climate, and was well-known both at home and abroad, there were very many students applying for admission. In addition to students from the province, there were also students from overseas Chinese and Koreans. "I remember a student named Palke, who was a nobleman from Korea," recalled Liu Weihan, who studied at the private Qingdao University from 1925 to 1926 and later became a professor of the Chinese Department of Zhengzhou University. "Students from all corners of the country came together to study and improve their morals. It is truly worth remembering."
The campus of the private Qingdao University is located on the South China Sea at Huiquanjiao, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, with an elegant and quiet environment. The campus is surrounded by University Road and Yushan Road, with lush acacia trees and wisterias on both sides, and the tree-lined avenues are full of vitality. In front of the gate is a bathing beach with a mirror-like surface and a fine sand bottom. To the east is the beautiful Zhongshan Park, and to the west is the Seaside Park (now Luxun Park) embedded in the sea. It is a good place to visit Qingdao. There are "four solid and magnificent two-story buildings in the campus, named Building 100, Building 200, Building 300, and Building 400," recalled Chen Shizhai, a student in the first class of engineering.
The school is designed to be built on the hillside, with a neat layout, gray bricks and red tiles, and a harmonious style. The building is spacious, the air is flowing, and the courtyard is open and comfortable. According to its building conditions, it can be run as a university with thousands of students. The original plan was to gradually add liberal arts, law, science, agriculture, and medicine to promote the development of scientific education in Shandong, but the result was contrary to expectations.
Due to the school's conditions, only 40 engineering students and 40 business students were admitted this year. On September 20, 1924, after more than a year of preparation, Private Qingdao University finally opened. On October 25 of that year, at the re-opening ceremony, President Gao Enhong delivered the above speech.
To commemorate the opening ceremony, October 25th became the anniversary of Ocean University of China.
The faculty is the basis for judging the strength of a university. Private Qingdao University is very strict in selecting teachers, and all the professors hired are talented and knowledgeable, such as Chinese teacher Li Yisheng, logic teacher Ling Daoyang, foreign language teachers Min Xingying and Ling Dayang, who were all famous at the time. Most of these teachers are graduates of Peking University, Tsinghua University, Yenching University, Beiyang University and other domestic schools. According to statistics, there were 38 teachers in the school at that time, of which 20 graduated from domestic universities, and 13 studied in the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan and obtained doctoral or master's degrees. Moreover, most of the teachers were between 30 and 40 years old, vigorous and energetic, teaching seriously, and with good results.
Therefore, there is a strong learning atmosphere on university campuses.
However, due to insufficient funds, the salary of teachers was lower than that of similar schools. The principal had a monthly salary of 350 yuan, the school director, the academic director and professors with special expertise had a monthly salary of 200 to 300 yuan, the average teacher had a monthly salary of 100 to 200 yuan, and the staff had a monthly salary of 30 to 80 yuan. The monthly funds of the school were mainly used for the salaries of teachers, and there was no money to purchase teaching equipment. This also laid the foundation for the school to suffer from financial difficulties in the future.
Twists and turns
Funding was cut off and the program was discontinued
"In addition, there is one more thing that I must solemnly admonish for all the students... This school is a newly established school, and all the students are new students. Everything should be based on seeking truth from facts and constantly improving. We should wash away the bad habits of various places, create a unique and good school spirit of this school, and be a model for the youth of the whole country and useful talents for the country in the future. I would like to encourage the faculty and students to do the same!"
Gao Enhong's concerns at the opening ceremony were justified. The political situation was turbulent at that time, and it was not easy for students to have a quiet desk.
The school was in operation for less than a year when the Second Zhi-Feng War broke out in May 1925. Wu Peifu was defeated and stepped down, and the principal Gao Enhong was forced to resign. The school was left without anyone in charge and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
In order to save the school from collapse, the school board nominated Song Chuandi, the chairman of the Shandong Provincial Assembly, to take over as the principal to maintain the school. The school's funding originally depended on Gao Enhong's appropriation and donations from the gentry. When Gao Enhong fell, the funding was gone, teachers resigned, and students left one after another. The school could only continue classes while struggling to survive.
After the Fengtian warlords came to power, Zhang Zongchang was appointed as the governor of Shandong, and Wen Shude was appointed as the director of Jiaoao Commercial Port. Wen Shude was a military man who not only lacked enthusiasm for education, but also destroyed it. At that time, Wen Shude coveted the school buildings of the private Qingdao University and planned to restore the barracks and continue to station troops. Thanks to Song Chuandian's strong support, the school continued to hold classes while lingering on. Moreover, the barracks had long been converted into the school buildings of Qingdao University. Wen Shude was afraid of being condemned by public opinion, so he did not dare to rashly force the stationing of troops. Only some vacant houses were temporarily lent to the military with the consent of the school. The school was in a downward trend at this time, and no students were enrolled since 1925.
During the three years, due to funding reasons, some students dropped out and some transferred in. According to records, the maximum number of students reached 122, and the minimum was only 80.
In February 1928, according to Liu Tingchen's "A List of Private Qingdao Universities", Private Qingdao University was still a university with a complete organizational structure, orderly curriculum, and strict admission qualifications and examination rules. However, as the school's funding source was cut off, most of the teachers and students left, and the school was forced to close, and the students were treated as university graduates.
Although Private Qingdao University still hovered on the brink of life and death for a long time in early 1929, the "Hundred Years of History of Shandong University" actually set the deadline for Private Qingdao University as early 1928.
“Private Qingdao University was established in August 1924 and closed in early 1928. It was not easy to maintain for nearly four years amidst turbulent times, regime changes, and funding shortages. It was indeed dependent on the generous sponsorship of a number of enlightened gentry who were enthusiastic about education.” Therefore, it can be said that only a group of graduates were sent out intact. However, the establishment of this university provided an ideal site and school buildings for the later National Shandong University, and also passed on the school’s revolutionary traditions and good school spirit, which had a profound impact on National Shandong University.
Two or three things in school
Since the private Qingdao University is quite old, most of its former teachers and students have passed away. However, the memories they left behind are preserved in records such as "Shandong University History Materials" (second issue) and "Qingdao Cultural and Historical Materials". Now, let us review the memories of the current students.
Ling Dayang helps poor students
Liu Weihan entered the private Qingdao University in 1925 and stayed there for two years.
He said that when he was in school, Gao Enhong had already resigned and Song Chuandi succeeded him as principal, but Song was basically not in school and the school affairs were managed by the Dean of Academic Affairs Lin Jiqing.
"My classmates at that time came from all over the country. Qingdao is a summer resort with beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, which attracted outstanding young people from all over the country to study here," Liu Weihan said. At that time, most of those who could afford to go to private universities came from well-off families and lived a wealthy life, but Liu Weihan was an exception.
"My family was bankrupt at that time. I had no roof over my head and no place to live. Life was extremely difficult." In order to study, Liu Weihan borrowed 100 yuan from a local landlord at high interest rates. The loan agreement stipulated that the principal and interest would be repaid after graduation.
It can be said that Liu Weihan entered the school with a debt. The tuition fees of private universities at that time were not low, ranging from 30 to 50 yuan per semester. In order not to borrow money from classmates and not to be looked down upon by other classmates, Liu Weihan walked into the office of his English teacher Ling Dayang and asked for help from the English teacher, hoping to earn royalties by translating Tolstoy's short stories and collecting some folk songs to publish in newspapers.
Ling Dayang took good care of his students and immediately introduced Liu Weihan to contribute articles to the Qingdao Times, which was co-founded by him and the British. The newspaper was divided into Chinese and English versions, and the manuscript fee was 3 yuan per thousand words. Liu Weihan contributed articles under the pen name Liu Tiehai and earned about 10 yuan per month, which was finally enough to cover the school expenses.
Liu Weihan was good at Chinese, so he was nicknamed "Old Scholar". Later, he became a professor of Chinese at Zhengzhou University, taking over the mantle of his mentor and teaching...
Luo Ronghuan at Private Qingdao University
General Luo Ronghuan's deeds at the private Qingdao University are recorded in the memoirs of Chen Shizhai, Liu Weihan and others, and the most detailed account is in the Centennial History of Shandong University:
In the autumn of 1924, Luo Ronghuan, Zhang Shenchuan and Peng Mingjing traveled a long way from Hunan to Qingdao, were admitted to the private Qingdao University, and were elected as chairman and director of the school's student union.
The Student Union headed by Luo Ronghuan formed the core of the school's progressive forces and carried out revolutionary activities in secret. At that time, Qingdao was under the influence of Japanese imperialism. The Japanese opened textile factories, printing and dyeing factories, machinery factories, etc. in Qingdao, controlling the political and economic lifeline of Qingdao.
In April 1925, the reasonable demands of the workers of the Dakang Spinning Mill in Japan, such as striving to establish a trade union, guaranteeing the legal rights of workers, and increasing wages, were rejected by the Japanese capitalists, who also detained and tortured the workers. As a result, more than 18,000 Chinese workers from Longxing, Fuji, Zhongyuan, and Neiwai Cotton went on a general strike to protest. Under the instigation of Japanese imperialism, the reactionary Chinese authorities dispatched a large number of military and police to carry out a bloody suppression, killing 8 people on the spot, seriously injuring 17 people, and arresting more than 70 people; in addition, more than 30 workers were secretly killed, causing an appalling white terror.
The reactionary authorities were afraid of causing public outrage, so they strictly checked the postal and telecommunications newspapers and blocked the news. After the private Qingdao University Student Union learned about this, it organized people to write a declaration overnight, print leaflets, and announce the truth. At the same time, they sent people to Jinan, Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai and other places to publicize, expose the crimes of Japanese imperialism and the reactionary authorities in Qingdao, hold fundraising activities, comfort the families of the victims, and mobilize all walks of life to seriously ban Japanese goods. This move caused fear in Shandong warlord Zhang Zongchang, who personally led his guards to Qingdao to search. The members of the student union had to hide in the pavilion in the middle of the lake in Zhongshan Park to sleep at night.
Soon after, Luo Ronghuan, Zhang Shenchuan, Peng Mingjing and the backbone of the Student Union left the school one after another to prevent any accidents. Under extremely difficult conditions, the Student Union of Private Qingdao University actively supported the workers' just struggle against imperialism and Chinese reactionaries, which not only established a glorious revolutionary tradition for the school, but also made the general public see their own strength and awaken day by day.
