Beijing Evening News·Five Colored Earth | Author Yuan Fan
The earliest messengers of cultural exchanges between China and the world in modern times were those overseas students who had traveled far away to study in Europe and the United States. The Western Returned Students' Club (WRSC), founded in October 1913, is the earliest and largest organization for Chinese students studying abroad and continues to this day. Since its establishment nearly 110 years ago, the European and American Alumni Association has followed the tenet of "study, entertainment, friendship, and action", carried out fruitful and extensive practices for the revitalization of the Chinese nation and promoted communication between China and foreign countries, and has had a unique impact in all fields and levels of society. It plays an important role in modern history.
The early emblem of the European and American Alumni Association
With the great changes in the world, many important historical facts of the early European and American Alumni Association have been lost in the smoke of the times. Fortunately, there are still some figures hidden in the lenses of photographers or in the albums of private collectors. The true face is constantly revealed in the careful historical research of future generations.
A suspense in Gamble’s photos has been solved
American Sidney D. Gamble (1890-1968) took a large number of precious photos while living in China in the first half of the 20th century, which contributed to the study of modern China History has left behind rare image data. In my article "Modern Chinese Education Silhouette: Gambo's Tsinghua Perspective" (published in the "Humanities" edition of " Beijing Evening News " on March 10), I focused on the Tsinghua -themed photos taken by Gambo. I came to a number of conclusions, and also put forward ideas for discussion on some photos that he did not leave clear explanations for. Among them, "a group photo obviously taken on the lawn on the west side of Tsinghua Academy " attracted my special attention.
The second annual meeting of the China-North America Alumni Association was held at Tsinghua School (April 1919)
As for the identification of the characters in this group photo, the determination of the shooting time and the judgment of the background of the event, I wrote at the time: "In Among the 20 people sitting in the second row, it can be identified that those in the C position are Cai Yuanpei (1868-1940) and Zhang Boling (1876-195 1), and the young Hu Shi (1891-1962). In addition, several Western faces can be seen among these people, so this event should be an inter-school international exchange. As for the shooting time, it is very important. It may be that Cai Yuanpei was still serving as the president of Peking University before May 1919. "At the same time, I also hope that this photo can attract the attention of history enthusiasts and "keep an eye out and continue to research."
As I hoped, after the article was published, it aroused the interest of many readers, and they have tried to solve various unsolved mysteries in Gambo's Tsinghua photos. Among them, "Supplementary Investigation of the Photo taken by Sidney D. Gamble" written by Mr. Zhao Jinduo is the most insightful, giving a clear investigation conclusion on the background of this photo.
Sidney D. Gamble (1890.7-1968.3)
This article provides the Beijing "Morning Post" and Shanghai " declaration html" in April 1919 3" news reports, and mutually corroborated the relevant memories of celebrities such as Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi, clarifying that this "cross-university international exchange" held in Tsinghua University was actually the "1919 Annual Meeting of the Chinese and North American Alumni Association" ( Hereinafter referred to as the "Tsinghua Annual Meeting"). This new discovery not only broadens the research space of "Gamble Photo Album", but also provides important historical basis for the study of early European and American alumni associations.
二 An important event in the history of the European and American Alumni Association
What are the main contents of this Tsinghua Annual Meeting held by the European and American Alumni Association?
From the "Forecast of the Meeting of European and American Students" published in Beijing's "Morning Post" on April 1, 1919, we can learn that "in addition to inviting Minister Rui, Fan Junjing, Cai Junjie to give speeches, there will also be annual meetings, football and tennis matches and Discuss various social service implementation issues." Obviously, this annual meeting is not only about the usual social activities such as "banquets, football, and tennis", but also involves political and social issues such as returned overseas students' participation in "various social service implementations."
Among the three people mentioned here, "Mr. Rui" refers to Paul Samuel Rui, the then U.S. Minister to China. Reinsch, 1869-1923); "Fan Junjingsheng" refers to Fan Yuanlian (1875-1927), who served as the director of education of the Peking University; "Cai Junjimin" refers to Cai Yuanpei (1868-1940), who was the president of Peking University at the time. Among these three people, Minister Rui himself was a professor at the University of Wisconsin in the United States, and Fan Yuanlian and Cai Yuanpei have study backgrounds in European and American countries respectively. They served as "guest speakers", which naturally added a lot of color to this annual meeting of international students.
Since this event is scheduled to be held in the Tsinghua University Garden in the suburbs, which is far away from the capital and the transportation is not very convenient, and the activities are diverse, the duration of the meeting is scheduled for one and a half days. "The meeting will be held at 12 o'clock in the morning on the 5th and 9 o'clock in the evening on the 6th Close the meeting". Since April 5th and 6th fall on the weekend, the interference between the normal teaching and conference activities of Tsinghua University can be greatly reduced. In addition, "those attending the conference must bring their own luggage and stay in Tsinghua for one night, and then take the Beijing flight the next night." Sui Road provides a special car to go back to Beijing, and food and accommodation are also very convenient. This arrangement was obviously carefully planned and received great assistance and support from Tsinghua University.
Tsinghua Academy (April 1919)
Regarding the progress of the "Tsinghua Annual Meeting", Beijing's "Yishi Bao" reported on April 8, 1919, "On the fifth and sixth day of this month, "The second annual meeting of returned students from China, Europe and the United States was held in Tsinghua University, and about a hundred people attended the meeting." This confirmed that the event was held as planned, and the number of attendees was basically consistent with the 76 people who appeared in the group photo, indicating that the annual meeting was The organization of the meeting was quite efficient, resulting in the enthusiastic participation of European and American students in Beijing.
"Declaration of Returned Students from Europe and the United States on the Current Situation" ("Yi Shi Bao", April 8, 1919)
The Tsinghua Annual Meeting was obviously not an internal social event. Just from the media reaction at the time, we can see its social status. Political trends. "Yi Shi Bao" said in a report on the third day after the meeting, "There are two extremely important things for this annual meeting. The first is to organize social service groups from Beijing and Tianjin; the second is to write a declaration on the current situation." .
The Shanghai "Declaration" on April 9, 1919 published two messages about this "Tsinghua Annual Meeting". One disclosed the key points of the "Resolution on Returned Students from Europe and the United States", and the other stated that "Returning to Beijing" "Students in Europe and the United States are striving for the right to speak. Don't be discouraged by the Japanese. Our colleagues here are willing to support you." The "Lu Envoy" here refers to the Beiyang Government's Foreign Minister Lu Zhengxiang (1871-1949) who attended the Paris Peace Conference. He was also the president of the European and American Alumni Association.
These important news reports not only allowed us to understand the outline of the Tsinghua Annual Meeting today, but also perceived from the media voices the degree of public concern for this event and the social impact of the event.
As for why the European and American Alumni Association held such an annual meeting in early April 1919, and why did it issue a "Declaration" in response to the current situation? Mr. Zhao Jinduo has a concise analysis in the article "Supplementary Investigation": "The timing of this annual meeting held at Tsinghua University is quite delicate. In terms of internal affairs, the country is still in a state of de facto disunity. At this time, the Beijing government and The North-South peace talks held by the Guangzhou military government in Shanghai were intermittent, and the Chinese people could not see the dawn of national reunification; in terms of diplomacy, Japan wanted to seize the Paris Peace Conference. Taking German 's rights and interests in Shandong, the performance of the Chinese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference also affected the nerves of the Chinese people. These situations have an impact on the agenda and activities of the annual meeting. "
It is no coincidence that during the Tsinghua University Year. One month after the meeting, the May Fourth Movement, which marked the "Awakening Era" in modern Chinese history, broke out. The "accidental" voice of the European and American Alumni Association has undoubtedly become a prelude to the "inevitable" awakening of the people, echoing forever in the symphony of history.
3 The historical value of the "Declaration"
The "Declaration" issued in response to the current situation has undoubtedly become a highlight. The Tsinghua Annual Meeting in 1919 also became a milestone in the development history of European and American Alumni Associations because of its clear political attitude. On April 8, 1919, Beijing's "Yi Shi Bao" commented on the "Declaration": "The Declaration is particularly noteworthy in recent times.This is because students who have returned from Western countries have a passive attitude towards the political situation in their junior high school and have no active opinions. Nowadays, they are affected by the world political situation and domestic political trends, and they actually have a formal declaration, which naturally attracts the attention of all parties. "
This message shows that in the public impression at the time, European and American students were not keen on the domestic current situation, and they had no clear positive opinions. Therefore, when they took the initiative to speak out in the "Declaration", they naturally attracted great attention from the media.
In order to help readers fully understand, "Yi Shi Bao" further reported, "The declaration is divided into two types, one is the outline of the proposition, and the other is the implementation details. Its details have been formulated by more than ten specialized scholars entrusted by the meeting and will be published soon. The outline was revised and adopted by the conference the night before yesterday (the 6th)."
If people today want to understand the political opinions of the returned overseas students a hundred years ago, they might as well read the original outline of the "Declaration":
We are waiting for Europe and the United States Returned students now feel that there are urgent problems that need to be solved, among which there are particularly urgent and important problems that should be crystallized into a formal declaration. The following items are what we think are the most important fundamental constructions for China today.
(1) China should be unified. Because China is not unified, not only cannot it be a strong and powerful proposition at the Paris Peace Conference, but also There is no hope of progress in the country because China is not unified, so people across the country cannot concentrate on improving society and revitalizing industry. We must achieve true unification. 1. Many things that hinder reunification need to be removed. Therefore, we advocate: (a) Abolition of warlordism (warlordism); (b) Military personnel must not interfere in politics.
(2) We firmly believe that democratic politics is most suitable for China. If the foundation of the Republic of China is solid, it advocates: (a) Implementing universal national education to avoid the danger of ignorance and preventing people from being fooled by despicable politicians and powerful traitors; (b) Speech Freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Anyone who unreasonably interferes with free speech is considered to be against the principles of democratic politics.
(3) We advocate that politics should focus on practical improvements, financial management must be responsible, and civil servant appointment laws must be vigorously implemented. The budget must be carefully prepared, and the government's fiscal revenue, expenditures, and negotiations with outsiders must be made public and not kept secret. tml1
(4) It is necessary to promote the unification of the currency system for the development of China's economy.
(5) It advocates the abolition of the consular judicial system.
(6) It advocates the abolition of the sphere of influence and interests of the great powers in China.
We believe that the above items are today. China must build. As for the details of each condition, experts have been recommended. The discussion, planning and implementation procedures will be published as soon as they are completed.
In China in the early 20th century, although the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the Manchu dynasty, the huge historical inertia formed by the feudal system for thousands of years still inevitably continued to restrict it. With the development of society; although it has begun to accept the severe impact from the outside world, it has been stuck in its ways for a long time. The society and long-imprisoned thoughts have not allowed the Chinese to quickly find a way to stand on their own among the nations of the world. For the majority of the people, they are still faced with national division, weakness, and poverty; for the intellectual class. Of course, the most distressing thing is the cultural gap and the failure of ideals.
Finally, these returned overseas students, who are regarded as "pioneers in communicating Chinese and Western civilizations", are in a special situation. At this historical node, we should step out of ourselves, come together, pay attention to the national affairs and people's livelihood, and discuss good strategies for governing the world. "Pursue national unity, abolish the dictatorship of warlords, promote democratic systems, carry out political reforms, abolish the foreign consular adjudication system, and abolish the scope of interests of great powers in China." , these key concepts in the "Declaration" not only express the core political demands advocated by the intellectual class, but also conform to the general desire of the broad masses of the people to change the national conditions.
Although we cannot feel the broad sentiments of "asking the vast earth, who is in charge of the ups and downs" in the words of the "Declaration", nor can we find systematic assumptions and action arrangements related to the implementation of the goals, but it can be said that under the dictatorship of warlords and the hegemony of great powers, Under the circumstances, bravely raising the voice of social groups is enough to show the social responsibility, responsibility and courage of the "scholars". Reminiscent of the famous slogans of the "May 4th Movement" such as "Strive for sovereignty abroad and eliminate national traitors at home", "Take back Shandong rights and refuse to sign the Paris Peace Treaty", who can say that they were not influenced by the "Declaration" and a generation of "awakening pioneers" "Aren't the concepts of "democracy" and "scientific" that were vigorously advocated at that time not the permanent goals of future generations in pursuing social progress?
4 More historical highlights from the Tsinghua Annual Meeting
Locked in the true background of this group photo, it was like getting a key to decipher history. The idea of exploration was opened, and the goal was more accurate. As a result, more highlights of the Tsinghua Annual Meeting emerged.
Part of the group photo (second row): Hu Shi (1st from left), Cai Yuanpei (3rd from left), Zhang Boling (4th from left)
Cai Yuanpei’s memories
Cai Yuanpei, also known as Jiemin, is not only an outstanding educator in modern Chinese history, but also a Chinese and foreign culture An excellent practitioner of communication, he has studied in Japan, Germany, France and other countries throughout his life. He was expected to become one of the leaders of the early European and American Alumni Association, and he served as the director of the Alumni Association for three consecutive years starting from 1918. In April 1919, Cai Yuanpei was 51 years old and had been the president of Peking University for two years. From the information that has been verified so far, we know that he publicly mentioned the Tsinghua Annual Meeting nearly four years later, in January 1923. At that time, he was extremely dissatisfied with Peng Yunyi (1878-1943), the director-general of education of the Beiyang government, who often interfered with the judiciary and destroyed education in the name of "rectifying the academic style." He resolutely decided to resign as the president of Peking University and publicly issued a "Guan Guan" "Declaration of Non-Cooperation", explaining the reasons for the resignation, which mentioned:
In the spring of the eighth year of the Republic of China, the China-North America Alumni Association held a meeting at Tsinghua University. Some members put forward their opinions on political issues, which were passed at the meeting. timely Ask them: "We have raised it, but what if the government ignores it? My personal opinion, if we are just to express an opinion, it is the same as a journalist's editorial, then there is no need to say it; if we want to have some effect, at least There must be someone who will no longer help the government. Determination."
This paragraph not only confirmed the time and location of the Tsinghua Annual Meeting from the perspective of an eyewitness, but also revealed some details of the meeting. It mentioned an "opinion on political issues", which should refer to the speech issued at that time. 's "Declaration". Combined with the specific background when Cai Yuanpei elicited this memory, it can be seen that he has long advocated that international students should have independent opinions on the current situation and a stance of integrating knowledge and action; he advocated that the expression of political opinions should pay attention to practical results. If the expression of political opinions is not recognized by the authorities, , "You must have the determination not to help the government anymore."
History has proven that he not only advocated this, but also did so.
Hu Shi’s evidence
In the spring of 1919, Hu Shi was just a young professor who had returned to China to apply for Peking University for less than two years. His image in the group photo at the Tsinghua Annual Meeting was very clear. His recollection of this event was also in January 1923, the day after Cai Yuanpei resigned. As the provost of Peking University at the time, Hu Shi published the article "Cai Yuanpei resigned as a protest" to express support for Cai Yuanpei's decisive action. He wrote:
In March and April of the eighth year of the Republic of China, European and American students held a three-day conference in Tsinghua University. At that time, when the Ministry of Anhui and Welfare was running amok, most Western students with a little conscience still wanted to work hard, so several people were recommended at the conference to organize a "Political Suggestions Drafting Committee" and drafted a very detailed political platform , reported one by one, and all passed. Finally, a gentleman - it seemed to be Mr. Zhang Boling - stood up and asked: "What if the government does not adopt our ideas and continues to be corrupt like this?" At that time, everyone looked at each other and were speechless.Mr. Cai stood up and said: "There will come a time when the darkness becomes too unseemly. Generally, people who have a little bit of humanity and self-love will have no choice but to abandon their official positions and leave the Beijing government. The Beijing government will also "Falled." can express Mr. Cai's attitude during the Anfu era.
The "Ministry of Anhui and Welfare" in the article specifically refers to the group of bureaucratic politicians who relied on the Anhui Warlords during the Beiyang Warlords period. Although the individual details in Hu Shi's recollection are slightly different from the actual situation of the Tsinghua Annual Meeting, they do not affect the corroborative value of Cai Yuanpei's statement at all. Moreover, he also revealed more information in a vivid and detailed manner, which still has a strong picture in the eyes of later readers. feel.
Gambo and the European and American Alumni Association
In the early days of the European and American Alumni Association, in addition to members, there were also "members". European and American people living in China who had dropped out of college could become foreign members after approval. Gamble had dual academic qualifications from Princeton University and the University of California, Berkeley. During his three trips to China from 1917 to 1932, he inevitably had contact with the European and American Alumni Association. In fact, among the foreign members of WRSC, S.D. Gamble is indeed listed.
Gambo's hand-colored paintings: Zhang Boling (left) and Rui Enshi (right)
However, Gambo should only be a "volunteer" at the Tsinghua Annual Meeting. Judging from the interests of photographers, in addition to taking group photos for the conference, being able to take pictures of the scenery of Tsinghua Garden and the ruins of the Old Summer Palace is the biggest attraction. Based on all the information currently available,
can speculate on Gambo's movements in the past two days: he arrived at Tsinghua University around noon on April 5, and during a break in the afternoon meeting, he took a group photo of Zhang Boling and Rui Enshi. He visited the Tsinghua Campus in the camera again, and this resulted in the clear photo of Tsinghua Academy we see today, as well as the first images of Tsinghua Auditorium, Science Museum, Gymnasium and other buildings. As for why more Tsinghua scenes don’t appear in Gamble’s album, it remains a mystery.
In addition, the photos of the Yuanmingyuan ruins that remain in Gamble's album are most likely the works he took during this trip. As a sociologist and photographer, it must have been his long-cherished wish to leave the incomplete beauty of this "Garden of Gardens". Taking advantage of the opportunity of visiting the Tsinghua University Gardens and photographing the "so close" Old Summer Palace at the same time, this kind of efficiency must be the most ideal for Gambo.
Old Summer Palace Ruins (April 1919)
It can be considered that Gambo gained a lot from his trip to the Tsinghua Annual Meeting, and all the masterpieces he left behind are anecdotes and treasures. In particular, we were able to verify many historical facts about the Tsinghua Annual Meeting, which was directly due to the photos left by Gambo. Because the image information is the most intuitive and valuable evidence about this event, it will continue to play a unique role in the historical research of the European and American Alumni Association. For this reason alone, it is no exaggeration to call Gamble an “outstanding foreign member” in the history of the European and American Alumni Association.
五 The Reverie of the Metaverse
Entering 2022, the word "Metaverse" appears frequently in the media. With curiosity, I explored the concept of "evil supplement" and finally understood that the "metaverse" is a "magic world" based on Internet communication and digital technology . So I had a sudden idea that one day I could use VR/AR equipment to travel through time and space in the "metaverse" and go back to the spring of 1919, immersing myself in the "virtual space" of Tsinghua University and meeting the elites of the European and American Alumni Association. We came to the lawn together, bowed to Cai Yuanpei, asked for Zhang Boling's autograph, chatted with Hu Shi, and even squeezed into the group of 76 people to "take a photo".Of course, I must walk up to Gamble, show him respect from the 21st century, and discuss with him the unsolved mysteries in "Gamble's Photo Album"...ah! Come quickly to the magical "metaverse" of history!
The group photo taken by Gambo was on this lawn
Time and space travel
(2022.08.18 Revised in Shanghai)
Reference
1. Xu Suining: "European and American Alumni Association in Beijing during the Republic of China", Chinese Publishing House, February 2014 edition;
2. Cai Yuanpei: Volume 3 of "Collected Works of Cai Yuanpei";
3. Zhao Jinduo: "Towards the West" Photography by Denis D. Gamble Supplementary Investigation of the Group Photo";
4. Ma Jianbiao and Lin Xi: "Crossing Borders: Rui Enshi and Three Experiences of Sino-US Relations";
5. Ma Jianbiao: "Progressivism in China: Rui Enshi and the Shared Experiences of European and American Alumni Associations";
6.In April 1919, Beijing "Morning News", Beijing "Yi Shi Bao", Shanghai "Shen Bao", etc.
(Editor: Sun Xiaoning)
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