The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Outside the Peking University College, protesting students would come here every now and then.

Zhou Zuoren sat in a rickshaw, looked at the students with disdain, and walked into the office building openly. He was not afraid of the students making trouble, and even took the initiative to write an article to scold the students who attacked Li Shizeng's residence: "This generation is proud of beating up the Zhaojialou, but in fact it is a scum of the spirit of the May Fourth Movement. Therefore, the future of Peking University is not optimistic."

Zhaojialou refers to the "burning of Zhaojialou" incident during the May 4th Movement.

This building was originally the residence of Zhao Wensu, a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion in the Ming Dynasty, and later became the residence of Cao Rulin, Minister of Communications and Minister of Finance of Beiyang.

Cao Rulin belonged to the pro-Japanese faction, and presided over the signing of the traitorous "Twenty-Ones", which laid the bitter fruit for China's diplomatic failure at the Paris Peace Conference. Patriotic youths filled with righteous indignation set fire to the Zhao family building. This incident shocked China and foreign countries.

Zhou Zuoren originally belonged to the "May 4th Master", but in recent years his thinking has changed rapidly, and he gradually began to question the May 4th New Culture Movement that he had actively promoted. In particular, what Peking University students did during the May 4th Movement made Zhou Zuoren feel that it was flashy and useless to the country and the nation.

In addition, Zhou Zuoren hated Cai Yuanpei very much.

Two years ago, due to Zhang Zuolin's suppression, Peking University fell into the most difficult period since its founding. Zhou Zuoren actively joined forces and earnestly persuaded Cai Yuanpei to come back to be the principal, thinking that only Cai Yuanpei could save Peking University.

However, Cai Yuanpei publicly resigned from the post of principal several times and became the Minister of Education of the southern government.

In Zhou Zuoren's eyes, Cai Yuanpei had sold Peking University, its teachers and students, and he thought Cai Yuanpei was a hypocrite.

The enemy of an enemy is a friend, so Zhou Zuoren firmly supported Li Shizeng, and was appointed by Li Shizeng as the newly formed "Dean of the Faculty of Arts of National Peking University". Before the merger, this position was only the dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts of Peking University, but after the merger, he managed all the non-normal and illegal liberal arts students in Peking.

This position is so beautiful, you must know that Chinese universities at this time mainly focus on liberal arts.

As far as the actual power in his hands is concerned, Zhou Zuoren belongs to the third person in the Peking University area, second only to Li Shizeng and Li Shuhua. No wonder he wants to reprimand the troublesome students.

Zhou Zuoren walked into Li Shizeng's office and said angrily, "Those students are so stubborn, I really can't help it."

"Didn't the money arrive in the account?" Li Shizeng asked doubtfully.

This money was not what Zhou Hexuan asked for from Yan Xishan. It was Li Shizeng who used his status as a veteran of the Nationalist Party to forcibly raise more than 100,000 yuan after learning that he had been cheated, which came from social donations and wealthy businessmen.

For the more than 100,000 oceans, Li Shizeng gave up his old face and owed a lot of favors. And it's a one-off. If there is no stable funding next month, his education reform will still not go ahead.

More than 100,000 yuan is a lot to say, but it is hard to use.

Not to mention the salaries of officials in the education department, the merger of the nine national schools will take a lot of trouble. Because it is not only the merger of schools in name, but also the merger of disciplines and majors. For example, liberal arts students who are not teachers or science majors, no matter which school they used to be in, now all have to study at Peking University. The science and engineering students of Peking University have to transfer to the original Beijing Institute of Technology and Beiyang University to study.

Not only the students need to transfer schools, but the relevant teachers also need to be transferred. The huge personnel changes inside are a headache.

Although Li Shizeng was able to spend more than 100,000 yuan, the problem was not really solved, because the students at Peking University were too stubborn.

The teachers and students of several other universities supported or acquiesced in the merger after the funds were secured, but the students of Peking University strongly opposed it. They held high the "Glorious Peking University" sign and set off a vigorous school nursing movement.

To put it bluntly, Peking University students have a deep sense of superiority. Although Peking University is poor, it is the ancestral home of modern universities and the birthplace of the May 4th Movement. It seems to be superior to all universities in China.

I was admitted to Peking University with my own ability, but now I am asked to transfer to Peking University to study. Why should I agree?

This is like the high-achieving students admitted to 985 and 211 in later generations who were inexplicably assigned to the second college. They must be unbalanced in their hearts and must make an argument.

So Zhou Zuoren became depressed. He is the dean of the Faculty of Arts after the merger, and needs to make room for the transfer students. But old students from science, agriculture, engineering, and medicine at Peking University refused to leave. In the name of a nursing school, some of them occupied the classrooms, and some took to the streets to parade. This made it impossible for Zhou Zuoren to carry out his teaching work.

Zhou Zuoren explained the situation in detail, and said angrily: "Peking students have always been lawless, and it is Cai Zimin who is used to it. Their thoughts and actions are always correct, and everyone else is wrong. Whoever thinks differently from them, they will kill them." Knock down who! The students in all of China are the most difficult to serve the Beijing University gang!"

Li Shizeng frowned and said, "Why don't I go out and persuade him in person?"

"It's useless," Zhou Zuoren said distressedly, "Runzhang (Li Shuhua) tried to persuade him, but it didn't work. As for Mr. Shi Zeng, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult to clean up after you go. Believe it or not, they will beat you out on the spot."

"Hahahaha," Li Shizeng smiled instead of anger, "This is a student with free thinking, who will not be coerced by authority."

Zhou Zuoren said: "Extreme freedom means laxity, lack of order, disorganization, and anarchism!"

However, what Li Shizeng pursued was precisely "educational anarchism".

He believes that if the government is allowed to intervene in education, it will inevitably lead to bureaucratization of education. What professors think about all day is not about academics and education, but how to please the higher-level bureaucrats and the government. In the end, the school is also bureaucratized, and the school becomes a small society. The students don't study hard, but they are full of secular habits.

Only by realizing the independence of education and allowing scholars to manage national education can the academic, pure and professional nature of the education system be realized.

Li Shizeng's thinking is also justified. Many professors in later generations copied papers and mixed their qualifications, and those who really concentrated on academics were suppressed. This is the inevitable result of the bureaucratization of education.

But can these situations be avoided if the education system is independent of the government?

I'm afraid it won't be much better, because where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and experts and scholars who hold power will naturally become bureaucratic and form a small court in the education system.

Li Shi once discussed with Zhou Zuoren for a long time, but they didn't reach a good result. They had nothing to do with the students of Peking University Nursing School.

At this moment, the secretary suddenly rushed in, so happy that he didn't even knock on the door, and shouted happily: "Principal, He Qigong (the mayor of Beiping) has promised to allocate funds, 300,000 yuan per month for education, funded by Peking City Government finances."

"real?"

Li Shizeng stood up abruptly, and then laughed loudly: "Ming Cheng is truly amazing!"

"What's the matter with Zhou Hexuan?" Zhou Zuoren asked curiously.

Only then did Li Shizeng realize that he had made a slip of the tongue, and he quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay, the education funds have been secured."

Zhou Zuoren suggested: "Mr. Shi Zeng, Zhou Hexuan has great prestige among Peking University students, why not ask him to persuade the students to stop making trouble."

"I'm afraid it's not good to bother him again." Li Shi was a little moved.

A few days later, when Zhou Hexuan returned to Tianjin, Li Shizeng really had the cheek to ask for help. In the end, he couldn't even enter the gate of Zhou's house, and he only got a one-word reply - get out!