Many years ago, I accidentally discovered a ten-episode TV documentary called "Mr.", which records ten scholars who had a huge impact on the Republic of China. I am very familiar with the characters, such as Chen Yinke, Liang Shuming, Hu Shi, Cai Yuanpei, Mei Yiqi, etc., but only

Yan Yangchu : Walking out of the ivory tower and stepping into the mud wall

Many years ago, I accidentally discovered a ten-episode TV documentary called "Mr. ", which records ten scholars who had a huge impact on the Republic of China. I am very familiar with the characters, such as Chen Yinke , Liang Shuming , Hu Shi , Cai Yuanpei, Mei Yiqi , etc., but only one is very strange, this is Yan Yangchu.

So, he collected a lot of relevant information to gain a general understanding. He is a famous civilian educator and rural builder, a pioneer of civilian education in China. He is known as "Southern Tao Xingzhi " together with Tao Xingzhi .

Yang Chu is from Bazhong, Sichuan, very close to our Guangyuan . I also have many friends from Bazhong . I also asked about it during chatting, but no one knew it at all. It seems that for today, Yan Yangchu's influence is not only in the country, but also in his hometown, the publicity efforts are not enough.

In 1943, a non-governmental organization in the United States selected the "Top Ten Greatest Men with the Most Revolutionary Contributions in the Modern World", in the name of the "Four Hundred Years of the Death of Copernicus", namely the ten contemporary pioneer scientists, such as Einstein , Ford, Dewey, etc. Yan Yangchu was also very interested. Although this was a selection with not very high value, it also shows that at least Yan Yangchu is a great Chinese in the minds of many top figures.

Yangchu's hometown Bazhong belongs to the mountainous area of ​​northern Sichuan. In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, many foreign missionaries put a lot of effort here. While spreading doctrines, they also carried out various activities such as charity and education, which had a great impact on the local area.

His father was a cultural person, and he taught in the countryside and worked as a part-time doctor. Although he was deeply influenced by Confucian education, he also accepted Christian doctrine, believing that "there is another world beyond the fragrance of books, and Western learning is the trend." So he sent his son to a church school in "Chengdu Province" and transferred to Hong Kong for further studies. Later, he went to Yale University in the United States to major in political economy.

After several years of study and research, he not only obtained master's degrees in multiple disciplines, but also received honorary doctoral degrees from three universities including Syracuse, the United States. Perhaps it was his understanding and subtle influence of Christianity since childhood. He was determined to open up the wisdom of the lowest-level people and devote himself to civilian education. Since then, he has become a "missionary" of civilian education.

He first went deep into the Chinese workers sent by the Beiyang government at that time, became a volunteer, wrote letters from home for them, worked as a translator, wrote thousands of characters, and started literacy classes, and did his best to provide help to these illiterate compatriots. This experience deepened his understanding of the Chinese farmers.

After returning to China, he walked out of the ivory tower and stepped into the mud wall. He was determined not to be an official, not to make a fortune, and devoted his life to the working people. In the spirit of "If you want to educate farmers, you must first become peasant", he plunged into the bottom and became a group with the farmers.

He contacted some cultural celebrities, such as Zhang Boling, Jiang Menglin, and Tao Xingzhi, and organized the Chinese Civilian Education Promotion Association , and served as the Director-General. He first used the call for "eliminating illiteracy and being a new citizen" to carry out voluntary literacy activities among civilians across the country, achieving great results.

After the whole family moved to Ding County, Yan Yangchu and his family

Under the leadership of Yan Yangchu, the "Ping Church" set up the practice base in Ding County, Hebei. Under his influence, nearly 100 highly educated scholars left the city and moved their families here to carry out the Enlightenment Movement together. Yan Yangchu persisted in the "Ding County Experiment" for more than ten years.

Yan Yangchu attributed the characteristics of the farmers at that time to ignorance, poverty, weakness and selfishness. In view of the root of this backwardness, he and his colleagues carried out a comprehensive work, not only teaching them to recognize words and learn, but also guiding them in various aspects such as hygiene, production, improvement, production increase, and living habits, and setting up a rural medical security network. These were the practice of new concepts and systems in Chinese society at that time.

1936, smallpox broke out nationwide, and a large number of people died. Ding County was completely vaccinated with cowpox vaccine, which was a shocking achievement. Moreover, the illiteracy rate in Ding County is quite low. According to statistics in the 1980s, Ding County is the only illiterate county in Hebei Province, which has to be said to be due to Yan Yangchu's efforts back then.

However, just as Yan Yangchu's civilian education practice was in full swing, it was forced to stop due to the Japanese invasion. In the days that followed, all his efforts were subject to the anti-Japanese plan, until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War was re-mentioned again, but it was shelved because of the civil war.

Dingxian City Gate

Due to lack of understanding of the Communist Party, Yan Yangchu went to Taiwan on the eve of liberation, ending his rural education campaign in mainland China, and later he went to the United States.

As for why he went to the United States, there is also a reason for this, because the support of Yan Yangchu's civilian education campaign was mainly the "Bontaine money" refunded by the United States. Under the circumstances at that time, it was impossible to continue to be used in the mainland, so he could only refuse the advice of Huang Yanpei to persuade him to stay in the mainland.

In the United States, he is committed to promoting the civilian education movement around the world, and focuses on developing countries in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia. With his help, Philippines , Ghana, Colombia and other underdeveloped countries have implemented similar plans. The literacy campaign he carried out in the Philippines has been persisting for 39 years.

In India, due to the achievements he has made in rural work, Yan Yangchu was also called "China's Mahatma Gandhi". Faced with various honors and titles, Yan Yangchu said calmly: "I am a missionary, and I teach people education, and the starting point is benevolence and love."

The famous American writer Pearl Buck once praised Yan Yangchu like this: "You have prepared a set that can not only improve lives in China, but also for civilians anywhere in the world, and has been proven to be effective. Law. You lit a bright light in the darkness of the world. I sincerely thank you and the Promotion of Civilian Education for your contribution to mankind! "

No matter from any perspective, Yan Yangchu is a very underrated generation of great men, but in mainland China, his name has gradually been forgotten. I was moved by the Nobel Peace Prize for charity in India, but I knew nothing about Yan Yangchuyi, who fought for the rest of his life to save the poor people in our country.

This is my lack of knowledge or the sorrow of the times. I don’t know, I hope it’s just the former, but it is certain that he doesn’t even have a name in the textbook. This is God’s injustice to Yan Yangchu, at least in the mainland.

Yan Yangchu has a huge influence in the world. He is "the first Chinese educator to spread the civilian education theory and rural education system created in Chinese people and local Chinese to foreign countries, so that it can take root on foreign land."

Dingxian City Wall, City Tower and Field

1985, at the invitation of Vice Chairman Zhou Gucheng, Yan Yangchu returned to China to visit and returned to the place he was dreaming about. When he rode a donkey to the country, he said to the loudspeaker: "Brothers and sisters, I'm back", he burst into tears and couldn't cry, unable to do so.

On his 96th birthday, US President Bush sent a congratulatory message: "By seeking to give help to those in trouble, rather than giving alms, you reaffirm human dignity and value." "You have made countless people realize that any child is not just a mouth for eating, but also a valuable person with unlimited potential, two hands of labor."

1990, the centenary Yan Yangchu died in New York. According to his will, his daughter donated all her savings to the ongoing Philippine International Rural Reform Academy, naked, and without taking away a cloud.

A talented and knowledgeable person could have lived a high-class life anywhere, but he did not seek any benefit for himself, devoted his whole heart and body to the cause of saving the lower-class people, poured his blood on this hot land of his infinite love, and then promoted it to the whole world. Such a person who enjoys a high reputation around the world is the soul of our nation and the light of our nation.

"The people are the foundation of the country, is the foundation of the country, is the foundation of the country", Yan Yangchu's words profoundly expounded the relationship between the people and the country. Now, the concept of civilian education has long been transformed into compulsory education, benefiting millions of students. I think this should be the realization of Mr. Yan Yangchu's "original intention". He can rest in peace under the sacred springs.