September 19, 1962, on an extremely ordinary day, in Washington, USA, a paralyzed old man closed his eyes and passed away.
Yan University first president Stu Leiden
His death was calm and did not attract any attention.
However, in China, which is separated by Pacific , many middle school students keep repeating his name in class - Stu Leiden . He almost became the most familiar American to the Chinese in that era.
The name "Stu Leiden" seems a bit unfamiliar to people today. The Chinese people know him, but it comes from an article "Farewell, Stu Leiden" in the middle school Chinese textbook in the 1970s and 1980s. This article was written by a great man and was published in the " Xinhua Daily " on August 18, 1949. After being selected into the middle school Chinese textbook, the name "Stu Leiden" was quickly known to the people of the whole country.
"Farewell, Stuart" published in the People's Daily
Of course, this article also set the tone for Stuart: He is a bad person, a foreign (American) bad person who has lived in China for a long time. Therefore, for a long time, Stuart's bad impression in the minds of the Chinese people was the spokesperson for the United States' intention to invade China and a symbol of the complete failure of the US policy of invading China. There is also a note in the selection of great men: He has always been a loyal implementer of the United States' policy of cultural aggression against China.
However, it is also a middle school Chinese textbook, Wen Yiduo's "Last Speech" said that he is a friend of the Chinese people, an educator, and an amiable scholar.
Which is right and wrong? History always draws objective conclusions.
Photos of Stu Leiden when he was working as the US ambassador to China
On November 17, 2008, in Anxian Park, Banshan, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the burial ceremony of Stu Leiden's ashes was held here. The US ambassador to China and the deputy mayor of Hangzhou attended the burial ceremony. The controversy over 60 years should have been settled and finally came to a perfect end.
Situ Leiden's tomb located in Anxian Park, Banshan, Hangzhou
Situ Leiden (1876-1962) was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. His parents were both missionaries who came to China in the early days. He was born in Hangzhou and spent his childhood in Hangzhou. He could speak fluent Hangzhou dialect . He didn't return to the United States to study until he was 11 years old and later got married in the United States.
In 1904, 28-year-old Stuart Leiden returned to Hangzhou with his wife and followed his father to preach in many places in China. After his father passed away, he naturally became a missionary of the Southern Presbyterian Church in China.
The church preached by Stu Leiden was
When it comes to Stu Leiden, it is impossible to avoid a famous university in the Republic of China period, that is Yenjing University . Stu Leiden is the founder and first president and principal of Yenching University. He has been in charge of Yan University for 27 years. It is no exaggeration to say that Yan Da devoted his life to the work, from raising funds, selecting campus sites, mediating differences in opinions from various factions, to site selection, building school buildings, and hiring famous teachers, all of which consumed a lot of Stuart Leiden's energy.
Before the establishment of Yenching University, Stu Leiden was teaching at Nanjing Theological College and lived a stable life. After receiving a letter invitation to become the president of the new school, everyone who knew him advised him not to wade into this muddy water. However, he refused one by one and finally accepted the challenge. It can be said that Stuart's choice was right. Under his leadership, Yan University rose rapidly and became the best university in China at that time.
Stu Leiden (second from left) took a photo with the professors in front of Yanda Gate
Yenjing University was formed by the merger of three church schools. It was originally located in the Dongcheng Armor Factory. It is very small in scale and insufficient funds, with less than 100 students. Stu Leiden decided to start a new job and re-select the school site. He either rode a broken bicycle or took a donkey cart and wandered around the streets and alleys and suburbs of Beijing City. Finally, he fell in love with an abandoned garden on the west side of Tsinghua Park. This was originally the garden of a prince of the Qing Dynasty, and later he went to the Shaanxi Governor Chen Shufan .Stu Leiden went to Xi'an to ask for a meeting with Chen Shufan. After negotiations, he finally bought the land for 60,000 yuan.
Yanjing University plaque is really extraordinary
A few words here, Chen Shufan is a warlord and has a bad reputation. He once followed Yuan Shikai and Duan Qirui , and also grew opium in Shaanxi, which brought great harm to the people of Shaanxi. But when he heard that Stu Leiden bought land to run a school, he agreed and transferred it at a very low price. The 40 hectares of land was sold for only 60,000 yuan, and he finally charged only 40,000 yuan, and another 20,000 yuan was given to Yenching University as a scholarship. Therefore, there is no absolute difference between good and bad in people. Chen Shufan later lived in Shanghai and Hangzhou, rejecting the Japanese's envy, not being a traitor, and adhering to national integrity, which is even more worthy of recognition.
Shaanxi Governor Chen Shufan
Later, Stu Leiden bought several pieces of land near the campus site, making the area of the new campus several times larger than the original one. Today's beautiful Peking University campus is the original Yan University campus site.
Stu Leiden hired a well-known American architectural designer Murphy to design it. Yan University's new campus was very grand, with small bridges and flowing water, pavilions, pavilions, red walls and gray tiles, and it was the university with the most beautiful environment in China at that time.
Yan University campus
In order to raise funds for school management, Stuart Leighton traveled to the United States 10 times in 15 years, raising a total of millions of dollars, one of which he raised $1.5 million in donations, which was undoubtedly an astronomical figure at the time. At that time, there were many universities in China, such as Peking University , Tsinghua University , Central University (now Nanjing University ), Jiaotong University , Zhejiang University , Sun Yat-sen University , Wuhan University , etc., but none of them were as financially funded as Yan University, and none of them were as grand as Yan. Stu Leiden hired famous teachers with high salaries and never owed the salary of faculty and staff. Therefore, at that time, Yenching University not only had a good campus environment, strong school strength and large scale, but also had abundant school funds and was well-known at home and abroad. Stuart Leiden also facilitated the joint construction of Harvard Yan University and Harvard Yanjing Society . The graduation certificates of the two schools are recognized by each other, and Swallow students can be exempted from the exam to enter Harvard for graduate studies.
Yenjing University Women's Arts and Sciences College
Yenjing University has left a strong mark in the history of Chinese education! Although it was abolished in 1952 and the departments were forcibly dismantled and merged into other universities such as Peking University, , Tsinghua and , its genes still exist. Today, Yan University's blood is still flowing in the blood of Chinese universities such as politics and law, central ethnicity, and central finance and economics.
Stu Leiden's life is closely related to Yanda and cannot be isolated. He made indelible contributions to China's education cause. Yan University disappeared, but Yan University students are active in various fields. Yan University has cultivated a large number of talents from all walks of life for China, and 53 academicians from both academies alone have been produced.
Stu Leiden (center) and secretary Fu Jingbo (right)
During the Anti-Japanese War , Stu Leiden firmly supported China and opposed the Japanese invasion. He took the lead in taking to the streets, scattering leaflets, giving speeches, and denounced the barbaric actions of the Japanese invaders. Beiping fell, and Stu Leiden raised the American flag on the Yan University campus to protect patriots and progressive students who were searched by the Japanese army. He had wandered between Yan University and the Japanese Army Headquarters many times, and as an American, he tried his best to rescue the detained patriotic students. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, the United States declared war on Japan. Stuart Leden was arrested by the Japanese army and detained for four years. It was not until the Japanese surrendered in 1945 that he gained freedom and returned to Yan University to coach.
Stu Leiden took a photo with Fu Jingbo's family
However, Stu Leiden inexplicably made a fool of himself in 1947. He was stubborn once again, regardless of the advice of friends and relatives and friends, and insisted on becoming the US ambassador to China. Many people are puzzled by the fact that the president of a good university does not want to do it and has to go into politics.To be fair, Stuart was a very qualified educator, a university president who devoted himself to the work, but not a qualified diplomat, and was at that special moment in 1947. Marshall failed in China, but instead recommended him as a diplomatic expert as ambassador to China, which is undoubtedly a wrong option. In the following two years, the People's Army was unstoppable and destroyed. The Kuomintang army was defeated step by step, and its regime was in danger. The establishment of a new regime was imperative. At this critical moment, the ambassador to China is definitely a hot potato.
Stut Leighton standing in front of the plane
Pure educators and scholars cannot be mixed with any political factors. The Kuomintang's defeat has been decided, and its master, the US government's policy toward China is still trying to reconcile it. Even the Soviet big brother wants China to make a ceasefire and mediate it.
Stuart Leiden is a standard China Communications. He has worked and lived in China for most of his life. The US government believes that he can be competent for the role of ambassador. In fact, Stuart Leiden served as ambassador to China for more than two years, and it can be said that he achieved nothing. He tried his best to stop the war and tried to form a coalition government, but the Kuomintang did not listen to him, and the US government also blindly favored the Kuomintang, and all his efforts were ultimately declared failure.
Stu Leiden and Yan University student
After the civil war broke out, Stu Leiden wrote in his diary with remorse: "I failed the trust of the Chinese people in me and failed to convince any party to reach an agreement and make concessions." In fact, under that situation, even gods and immortals could do nothing and could not stop the outbreak of the war and the unification of China.
In late April 1949, the People's Liberation Army launched tens of thousands of artillery artillery, and millions of heroic troops crossed the Yangtze River , and Nanjing was soon liberated. The Kuomintang troops retreated one after another, and the Executive Yuan stationed in Nanjing also moved south to Guangzhou, and embassies and consulates of various countries also moved south. However, Stu Leiden did not leave. He stayed in Nanjing for more than three months. He still had fantasies and tried to work harder. But he was indecisive again and did not obey the advice of Secretary Fu Jingbo to "go north to contact the CCP on the grounds of participating in the Yan University anniversary", and missed the opportunity. He was eventually forced by the US State Department to return to the United States immediately, and was not allowed to visit Peking for any reason, and he was not allowed to stay any more. Fortunately, Stuart Leiden was extremely disappointed with the Kuomintang regime and did not obey Chang Kaishen's request and asked him to go to Guangzhou first and then return to the United States, leaving a trace of face for the Kuomintang. Instead, he flew directly from Nanjing to Okinawa and then returned to China through Japan.
Stu Leiden talked with Chang Kaishen
August 2, 1949, Nanjing was raining, just as cold as Stu Leiden's depressed mood at this moment. At the Ming Palace Airport, an American-made C-47 transport plane was waiting quietly on the runway. Situ Leiden held a special passport issued to him by the Nanjing Military Control Commission. It signed Liu Bocheng's name and was stamped with the seal of Commander Liu Bocheng. Under the surveillance of the People's Liberation Army's city guards, the C-47 transport plane rose into the air and penetrated straight into the sky, ending Stu Leiden's 45-year history in China. Since then, he has never returned to China.
The commendation order issued by the National Government to Stuart Leiden
The scene was extremely embarrassing that when Stuart Leiden climbed the ladder, stood at the door of the cabin and turned around and took off his hat and waved, everyone chose to ignore it. Stuart Leden was very embarrassed and walked into the cabin awkwardly. As the cabin door slowly closed, Stuart Leden completely bid farewell to China.
Stu Leiden (later middleman) hosted the wedding for Bing Xin
Even during his stay in Okinawa,Stu Leiden issued a statement criticizing the corrupt Kuomintang government, agreeing with the new government led by the Communist Party of China, and hoping to meet with Beijing's senior officials. This made Chang Kaishen, who was far away on the island of Taiwan, extremely unhappy and also furious to the US government. Since then, the US government has issued a very strict ban on him, not allowing him to make any statement, not allowing him to speak, write books, or accept any interviews.
Stu Leiden suffered from stroke in his later years, and then developed hemiplegia and aphasia . On September 19, 1962, due to a sudden heart disease , Stu Leiden died in Washington at the age of 86.
Stu Leiden's former residence in Hangzhou is now the cultural heritage protection unit of Zhejiang Province
Before his death, Stu Leiden left two wills: one was to return the Ming Dynasty painted vase given to him by Premier Zhou that year to China; the other was to send his ashes back to China and buried on the Yan University campus.
Stu Leiden said more than once during his lifetime that China is his second hometown. He loves China and hopes to be buried in China after his death. He did two major things in his life, one was to found Yenching University, and the other was to mistakenly serve as the US ambassador to China at an untimely pace. The first one made him well-received, and is still missed by many people; the latter one made him questioned. However, we can't blame him all for this. He is an American after all and it is impossible for him to go against the will of the US government. He has made the best efforts within his abilities.
Stu Leiden's passport
In fact, during the negotiations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in 1946, the great man met Stu Leiden in person and gave him a high evaluation of his education in China. The simplicity, approachable, well-informed, and interesting words of the great man also gave Stu Leiden a deep impression. However, at that time, Stuart was just a university president and did not get involved in politics. Three years later, a great man's article "Farewell, Stu Leiden" sent away the unrealistic president of Yan University, and also declared the failure of the United States' conspiracy to try to influence China's political situation.
1888, the young Stuart Leiden took a photo with his family before returning to the United States
Through the vicissitudes of history, overcoming the fog of war, it is a confrontation between a nation's tragedy and ideology . To be honest, Stuart Leiden is an inconspicuous "little man" in the history of Sino-US relations. He has only been the ambassador to China for more than two years, and it is difficult to achieve great and effective results. For more than 40 years before this, he had been engaged in missionary and education in China, and he was respected by the Chinese for this reason. As the founder and first principal of Yan University, he worked hard and was obsessed with the cause of education. The story of him riding donkey to raise funds for Yanda is still circulating today. In the history of Chinese education, Stuart is indeed worth writing about.
Yanda Linhuxuan
Unfortunately, Stuart Leiden's last wish to be buried on Yanda campus has not yet been realized. The reason is that he was a person who was criticized by name in that era, so he is naturally not suitable to be buried on today's Peking University campus. A Yan University alumni said with emotion: "There is such a huge Yanyuan , but it can't accommodate a Stu Leiden!"
