Author 丨 Wang Chunlin
In China's modern history, there have been many schools founded by warlords, but most of them have not died, because most of the warlords have not been in power for a long time. Northeastern University, for example, has developed rapidly with the long-term support of the warlord leader Zhang Zuolin and his son Zhang Xueliang. The support and influence of the Bong Department made the school's yamen color and regional concept very strong, which became another tone in the early stage of the school's development.
After the September 18 Incident, Northeastern University went into exile with Zhang Xueliang's local forces in the northeast, during which he suffered from exile, and the situation and identity of "exile" made Northeastern University extremely enthusiastic about salvation and partisan activities, and was diverted due to differences in political views. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, northeastern university that moved inland to Sichuan still had a very strong desire and regional concept, and was entangled with the campus struggle of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party at that time.
During the post-war Civil War, Northeastern University was in turmoil and deeply involved in the student movement, which was eventually accepted after the CCP liberated Peiping. The president or agent, regional concepts, the evolution of study style and partisan forces jointly influence the development of Northeastern University, and the development trajectory of UTokyo is the result of the combined action of these factors.
"Region and Mission: The Founding and Exile of Northeastern University in the Republic of China Period", by Wang Chunlin, Social Sciences Academic Press, November 2019.
Principal or surrogate
From its founding in 1923 to its takeover by the CCP in 1949, Northeastern University experienced the period of warlords in Fengzhi, the period of The Northeast Yizhi, the period of the Sino-Japanese War, and the period of the Kuomintang-Communist Civil War, during which Northeast scholars responded positively to the themes of the times such as the construction of Northeast China and the War of Resistance Against Japan. On the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the university, Cang Baozhong, the first graduate of UTokyo and a former faculty member, lamented on the one hand that "the school's fortunes are bumpy", and on the other hand, bluntly said that this was caused by "people's conspiracies".
In the 27 years from 1923 to 1949, Northeastern University experienced 5 presidents and 6 principal agents by Wang Yongjiang, Liu Shangqing, Zhang Xueliang, Zang Qifang and Liu Shuxun (see table below). Most of the proxies appeared during the Feng warlord and Zhang Xueliang periods. Among them, from 1928 to 1937, Zhang Xueliang's long school alone, he successively appointed Liu Fengzhu, Ning Encheng, Wang Zhuoran, Zhou Yuwen and other 4 people to act as school administrators, with an average term of two and a half years per person.
This is very detrimental to the long-term development of a university. Wang Shijie, then Minister of Education, pointed out in his diary: "Education must go through a long period of time to be able to achieve considerable efficiency, and those who are the □ of central or local education in our country often go away □□, which is one of the reasons why the efficiency of education is not easy to improve." ”
Sources: Wang Zhenqian, Qiu Qin, Jiang Kefu, eds., "Historical Manuscripts of Northeastern University"; Zang Qifang's "Memories"; "Collection of Wang Zhuoran's Historical Materials".
During the period of Wang Yongjiang and Liu Shangqing, the two men mastered school affairs through their agents Wu Jiaxiang and Feng Guangmin respectively. This made Northeastern University during the warlord period a strong brand of "warlord education". The influence of the official atmosphere of the Fengshi department has made the school tend to be a yamen, and the contradiction between the provincial nationality between Fengtian and Jilin within the Fengshi is also fully displayed. Zhang Xueliang's long school period is somewhat different from his predecessors, but his university philosophy is still relatively narrow. Zhang Xueliang's long school brought into full play the characteristics of "warlord education" to the extreme. On the one hand, Northeastern University developed rapidly before the 9/18 Incident; on the other hand, there was a large flow of faculty and staff at Northeastern University during this period. This highlights the attractiveness of emerging universities and their bottlenecks in development. There are many reasons for this, but the most important one should be the nature of "warlord education".
After the September 18 Incident, Northeastern University, which was exiled in Beiping, greatly deteriorated in terms of educational environment, funding, and teachers. However, Zhang Xueliang and his agents still presided over the school affairs, which was still tacitly accepted by the Ministry of Education. Ning Encheng, Wang Zhuoran, and Zhou Yuwen were all northeastern nationals, and managed the school on the orders of Zhang Xueliang, and were actually Zhang's staff.
Although Northeastern University is a national university and has long been planned by the Ministry of Education, the university is still owned by local forces in Northeast China to a considerable extent. At that time, although the school showed a tendency to nationalize in terms of funding, most of the teachers and students still regarded Zhang Xueliang as the leader. Therefore, at this time, under the appearance of "exile education", Northeastern University essentially continued some of the characteristics of "warlord education" in the Fengzhi period. However, the situation in exile has severely weakened the basis of such "warlord education" and the students' thinking has become diverse. The national reorganization after the Xi'an incident was a struggle led by the Ministry of Education aimed at eliminating the school's "warlord education" color.
According to the 1934 First China Education Yearbook, among the presidents and deans of the National and Ministry independent colleges, universities and junior colleges, except for the principals of Jinan University and four other departments set up by the Ministry of Finance and other departments, there is no record of educational background, and Zou Lu, president of Sun Yat-sen University, graduated from the specialized school, all of whom have a background in studying abroad.
Of the 21 presidents or deans, 9 have doctoral degrees, 3 have master's degrees, 2 have research experience at prestigious universities, and the rest have university or junior college degrees. Among the presidents and deans of the 12 provincial independent colleges, universities and junior colleges, 10 have studied abroad experience, 10 have a university degree or above (in addition, 1 is still a French student), and only 1 Zhang Xueliang graduated from the Army Lecture Hall of the Three Eastern Provinces. Judging from the educational background of the principal, Zhang Xueliang obviously lags behind the president of the provincial university, let alone the national university.
During the period when Zhang Xueliang was in charge of Northeast China, the development purpose of UTokyo was to "study advanced scholarship, cultivate specialized talents, and seek cultural development according to the needs of society." After the September 18 Incident, Zhang Xueliang regarded Northeastern University as a talent training institution for the "Northeast exile forces" to return to their hometowns, and was the most important group outside the Northeast Army. Zhang Xueliang's university philosophy is obviously to make Northeastern University a "local" university serving the local forces in Northeast China.
After the Xi'an Incident, Northeastern University entered the period when Zang Qifang presided over the school affairs. Although Zang Qifang had deep ties with local forces in the northeast, he was more inclined to the Nationalist government. He contributed greatly to the restoration and development of Northeastern University during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and even to the demobilization after the War of Resistance. From the perspective of Zang Qifang's personal educational background, he is also more suitable for the position of president of Northeastern University than Zhang Xueliang and others. After the reorganization of the state, Zang Qifang was only responsible for the Ministry of Education, and he also had full power over school affairs, and his university philosophy could be better put into practice.
Letter of appointment of the President of National Tohoku University
Therefore, during the Zang Qifang period, Northeastern University has steadily improved in terms of teaching environment, faculty level and academic achievements. The school style of Northeast University has greatly improved compared with the Peiping period, and its academic status has reached the highest level in the exile period, and the number of students has reached nearly 1,000 before the victory of the War of Resistance. However, among the northeastern exiles with strong regional concepts, many people do not agree with Zang Qifang's efforts. In the eyes of ordinary students, "Principal Zang Qifang is an old scholar who studied in the United States, but he is not Zhang Xueliang's person and has a close relationship with the Ministry of Education." Instead, Gao Ergong made a more colorful determination: "Zang Qifang intends to win over northeastern students as his backing, so he treats students... Adopt a 'tolerant' policy. ”
Liu Shuxun, the successor president after Zang Qifang, was deeply affected by Northeastern University during the most intense period of the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communists. In this situation, Liu Shuxun can only barely maintain the operation of the school, and nothing else can be discussed.
The growth of the concept of geography
Jiang Yongjing once pointed out: "Since the late Qing Dynasty in China, 'localism' has risen with the rise of local forces. On the surface, it seems to create obstacles to national unity, but in fact it is a historical trend that cannot be resisted by human beings. But from another point of view, 'localism' also has a positive effect on the revival of the nation, political democracy, and the unification of the country. Jiang further pointed out: "The so-called love of the country and the promotion of oneself and others are the spirit of the Chinese tradition. ”
Jiang Zhi's exposition contradicts the previous criticism of localism from all walks of life, and points out its rationality and positive effect. In fact, the idea of localism in various parts of China is indeed deeply rooted, and at a time when the idea of the modern nation-state is in full swing, localism, although it has retreated, still maintains its tenacious vitality. During the Republic of China period, the contradictions and entanglements between the local government and the central government or the state never stopped, but localism seems to have undergone a transmutation under the changes of the times, and although the response of localism to internal and external troubles was not as appealing and influential as nationalism, it also played a considerable role. In the case of UTokyo university students, for example, they spontaneously responded to national disasters, which, although of limited utility, were mostly in line with nationalism in their direction.
Northeast China is a region with a strong regional concept during the Republic of China period, and Northeastern University was founded by local forces in Fengzhi, although it has been transferred several times, it is still full of strong regional concepts. The "Draft History of Northeastern University" once pointed out: "Dongda and Northeast China have the same destiny. The September 18 Incident in 1931 dealt a heavy blow to the local forces in the northeast and the people of the northeast, and among the "exile forces in the northeast" formed later, Northeastern University became a group with high hopes.
Jin Yudian once wrote an article on the spirit of Northeast China: "The mission of the people of Northeast China is the mission of Northeastern University, and all teachers and students of Northeastern University, whether they are Northeasterners or not, should be responsible for fulfilling the mission of Northeastern University." Although the land of Northeast China has fallen, the spirit of Northeast China still exists, and the future northeast figures should be caused by Northeastern University, and all scholars who study Northeast issues should also be born in Northeastern University. The so-called War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the founding of the country, the so-called restoration of the homeland, are all conditions for the completion of the mission of Northeastern University, and we can work hard from this point and make unremitting efforts, and then we can create the spirit of The whole of China from the spirit of the northeast part, which is the spirit of Northeastern University attached to the foolishness. It can be seen that Northeastern University embodies the mission and expectation of the "northeast exile forces" and the people of the northeast to return to their hometowns, so it has received the attention of the townspeople and the national government, and has cultivated a large number of talents.
All the faculty and staff of National Northeastern University, which moved from Shenyang to Santai in Sichuan, took a group photo in front of the school gate
After the exile in Kannai, although Northeastern University is still full of regional concepts, the desire to return to the homeland is in line with the demands of the Chinese people who resisted Japan and restored the land to a considerable extent. Therefore, from 1931 to 1945, with Northeastern University as the position, the local forces not only shouldered the mission of recovering the lost land, but also stubbornly fought with the forces of the National Government. From 1931 to 1937, it was dominated by struggle; from 1937 to 1945, it was dominated by cooperation. From 1946 to 1949, Northeastern University was demobilized to Shenyang, but the concept of geography seems to have re-expanded. The transmutation of the regional concept of Northeastern University during the Republic of China period shows that although the local forces are declining, the regional concept is deeply rooted in the marrow. Although Northeastern University was gradually brought under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education on the surface, and state power was strengthened in the original groups of local forces, it also had to reach a certain degree of compromise with local forces. The extension of state power necessarily requires the cooperation of local forces, and the concept of geography can be preserved or mutated.
Before the September 18 Incident, Northeastern University was founded and developed under the wing of the local forces of the Fengzhi Clique, and the provincial entanglements and political culture within the Fengshi Group were also projected into the university. At that time, the northeast was completely under the rule of the local forces headed by Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Xueliang, and the model of "both support and control" seemed to be the proper meaning of the topic of local forces establishing higher education. At that time, the regional concept reflected in Tohoku University was a natural result of the growth of the concept of local provincial citizenship in Tohoku.
On the other hand, at that time, the strength of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was obviously still weak in the northeast, and had little impact on the eastern university, and the decrees of the National Government were even more rare in the northeast. Therefore, it was also the period when the concept of the Northeast region was most distinct. From 1931 to 1937, dongda, which was exiled in Peiping, was on the one hand under the potential competition between the "northeast exile forces" and the Nationalist government; on the other hand, the CCP also developed strength among the teachers and students of the school, and influenced the school's spirit and teaching.
Therefore, the national reshuffle of Northeastern University is essentially a conflict between the local and the central government, and the CCP forces are also involved in it for its development considerations, and have played a considerable role. From 1938 to 1946, The regional concept of Tohoku University, which moved inland to Santai, seemed to have weakened and replaced it with a kind of local care. During this period, the relations between the central and local governments were relatively relaxed, while the struggle between the CCP and the student organizations of the various factions of the Kuomintang became increasingly fierce and entangled with the contradictions of provincial nationality. During the Kuomintang-Communist Civil War, although the concept of geography was more radical in the July Five-Year Incident of the Northeast Students, it could only make some moral denunciations under the bad situation of the civil war and the weakening of the northeast forces, and finally reluctantly accepted the measures of the central government.
Before the September 18 Incident, the vast majority of Northeastern University students were Fengtian (Liaoning) students, and among northeastern university students after their exile in Guannei, liaoning students always accounted for the absolute majority except in the late period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. This reflects the wealth and advancement of Fengtian and its subsequent Liaoning in the northeast (and even the whole country), and the Fengzhi warlords named "Feng" did not come out of thin air. This phenomenon is also widespread in the Northeast Army, taking the 105th Division of the Northeast Army as an example, "because their tribal feudal thinking is very deep, so none of the officers above the company commander are not Liaoning."
This sense of "first province" or superiority in Fengtian and Liaoning is both an ever-present imbalance and maintains its legitimacy through the support of local forces and the state. The growth and entanglement of northeastern and Sichuan students was a special problem that arose during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. At this time, behind the issue of provincial nationality there were many problems such as regional concepts, partisan entanglements, and the future of the War of Resistance. In the end, the Ministry of Education could only make some balance between the concept of geography and the future of the War of Resistance, and this problem was quickly solved after the demobilization of the northeast.
Northeastern University office building
The evolution of study styles
Before the 918 Incident, despite the constraints of local forces, Northeastern University still formed a diligent and down-to-earth study style. The school has also shown a good development trend. The harsh internal and external environment in the exiled Guannei made it difficult for the students of the school to study with peace of mind, and instead became enthusiastic about political activities and partisan organizations to save the survival of the people, and then developed into one of the centers of the Peking Student Movement. This change has factors influencing the anti-Japanese salvation movement from all walks of life throughout the country, the internal driving force of the exile forces in northeast China seeking to return to their homeland, and the external attraction of student movement organizations and party activities in the Pingjin area. The drastic change in the study style of Northeastern University after the exile in Beiping reflects the pain of the exiled students in Northeast China for "the destruction of the country and the family, exile in Guannei", and also reflects their sense of mission and responsibility to resist Japan and save the country and return to their hometowns.
The author feels that after Northeastern University went into exile in Kannai, there was a clear tendency to "internalize". Northeastern University's ties with the "Tohoku exile forces," other universities in Kannai, the national government, local society, and the public have reached an unprecedented level. Tohoku University gradually integrated into the atmosphere of higher education in Kannai, and its study style, daily life, and partisan activities were deeply affected. The above-mentioned phenomenon, the author will call it "Kannai". The internalization of Northeastern University represents the tendency of local forces in the entire Northeast to approach the Nationalist government and reflects the further unity and consolidation of the country.
Comparing the differences between Tohoku University before entering the customs and Kannai University (which can be taken as an example in the Pingjin area), we can better appreciate the tendency of Tohoku University after entering the customs. This tendency is an expression of the construction of the nation-state, named after "Guanneiization", which can directly and concretely reflect the integration and interaction in the unified trend of local forces in the northeast moving closer to the national government. Since then, the study style of Tohoku University has generally coincided with that of Kannai University, which may indicate that Tohoku University has been largely integrated into the overall environment of domestic university development.
The rescue and propaganda of the "Northeast exile forces" and their impact on Kannai have a great impact, and the reality of this group is also a driving force for the awareness of national distress and the salvation movement of the people in Kannai. In the meantime, the "northeast exile forces" subjectively tried to preserve the relative independence of the localities, but objectively relied on the central government. The locality of local forces in the northeast has weakened under external forces, thus strengthening the trend of national unification. The Kannai activities of the "Northeast Exile Forces" strengthened their relationship with the Nationalist government, strengthened the degree of identification of this local force with the state, and invisibly became part of the national unification movement during the Republic of China period.
During the Peking period, Northeastern University paid close attention to the development trend of Sino-Japanese relations. Under the situation of tense Sino-Japanese relations and the rise and fall of the student movement, Northeastern University can only struggle to maintain, and the size of the school has recovered slightly. However, in the harsh political environment of North China, it is difficult for Northeastern University to achieve normal development. At the beginning of the inward migration to Santai, Sichuan, Northeastern University was far away from Beiping, the center of the student movement, and the local awareness of the university was weakened, and the teaching environment was relatively stable. Northeastern University has once again resumed its diligent and pragmatic study style. However, due to the development and confrontation of the Kuomintang party organization in the school, the contradictions between teachers and students from Sichuan and northeast Provinces have gradually become prominent, and the campus environment has deteriorated again. During this period, the campus environment of Tohoku University was similar to that of Kannai University. At that time, the CCP student organizations already had a certain advantage in universities, which laid the foundation for the second front to play a role after the war.
After the demobilization of Northeastern University in Shenyang, the campus environment continued the atmosphere of the late Anti-Japanese War, coupled with the impact of the Kuomintang-Communist Civil War, it was difficult for students to study with peace of mind. This national upheaval has left the whole of university education in a state of flux. The establishment of the CCP regime is also a good thing for the universities that are about to collapse. This means putting an end to the internal and external turmoil of the post-war years and getting education back on track.
At the same time as the study style evolved, UTokyo also developed from the original "Pheasant University" to the highest university in The Northeast. Cang Baozhong sighed: "Reading the history of the school, how many famous gentlemen have been hired, and how many useful students have been created, all of which have contributed and benefited the people of the country and the local society, directly or indirectly." ”
The growth of partisan power
Before the September 18 Incident, Northeastern University was completely controlled by local forces in northeast China, and the Kuomintang and Communist Party organizations on campus were still in the stage of secret activities. The two school upheavals in 1929 and 1931 showed that although the power and influence of teachers and students from the Kuomintang background such as Zang Qifang had increased, they could not shake the authority of local and school authorities.
During the exile in Beiping, Zhang Xueliang's local forces in the northeast still had a certain strength in north China, and the Nationalist government also had something to rely on, so that Northeastern University could be maintained under the wings of local forces. However, at that time, the control of local forces over Northeastern University had been loosened, and the infiltration of the Kuomintang, the Ccp and other parties made Northeastern University show a certain centrifugal tendency. This was particularly evident around the time of the 12.9 Movement and the Xi'an Incident. During this time, Northeastern University authorities have had difficulty controlling students. During this period, Northeastern University formed a situation of dependence on local forces in the northeast, and at the same time attracted forces or parties such as the Nationalist government (Kuomintang) and the Chinese Communist Party.
After the Xi'an Incident, Northeastern University was reorganized into a national university, and local forces in Northeast China basically withdrew from the school. In the early days of the inward migration, the Kuomintang organization held a strong position in Northeastern University, while the CCP's strength was relatively weak, and the school's concept of "state" was improved. With the development and growth of the CCP's strength in the Kuomintang area, the CCP student organization gradually developed in Dongda, and the Kuomintang organization of the university formed a confrontation between the CC Department and the Three Youth Leagues and other factions. Along with problems such as corruption in the National Government, the general student's concept of "party-state" seems to have declined. At the time of the victory of the War of Resistance, "we were all very depressed at that time, mainly dissatisfied with the corrupt rule of the Kuomintang. I have read Comrade Zhao Chaoju's "January in Yan'an", and I think china's hope is there. Although life is very difficult, the production there is self-help, the equality of officers and soldiers, and the unity of the upper and lower levels are very attractive to me."
Northeastern university authorities have weakened their control over the school. During this period, the northeast experienced a transformation from the strong control of the Nationalist government (Kuomintang) to the confrontation between the student organizations of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party in the school. During this period, the "Northeast exile forces" mostly played the role of elders and village sages, and their influence on the school became more moderate.
At the end of the Anti-Japanese War and after the demobilization of Shenyang, the ecology of the school deteriorated sharply. This made it difficult to demobilize the school and run the school, and the demobilized principal was more likely to be the result of the promotion of the Kuomintang and communist parties and other anti-Zang forces. However, in the context of the kuomintang-communist civil war, the struggle between the student organizations of the two parties of the kuomintang and the communist party in the school has become white-hot, and the control of the school authorities over school affairs has been weakened. After the July 5th Massacre, the Nanjing government was in a state of flux, the local forces in the northeast reacted fiercely, and ccp student organizations also actively participated in it. Corresponding to the CCP's military victory, Northeastern University was accepted by the CCP, and the local forces in the northeast moved towards a new regime.
In the development of Northeastern University, partisan forces have shown strong parasitic abilities. The encounter with Tohoku University from 1923 to 1949 reflected the decline of local power in The Northeast. During this period, the central government showed a posture of expansion and extension to the localities, while the aggressive posture of Japanese imperialism against China became increasingly severe, and the CCP's strength gradually developed and expanded. The September 18 Incident in 1931 caused the local forces in the northeast to be deeply affected and reduced to an exile force, and in the process of dealing with the national disaster, this force gradually integrated into the country, and its own regional concept was relatively weakened.
On the other hand, in the CCP's contest with the Kuomintang, local forces have become the hotbed and soil for its development. Under the interaction of these forces, the local forces in the northeast are gradually declining. In the process, Japan's aggression directly struck the local forces in the northeast, and the Kuomintang strengthened its control over this "exile force" because of the situation, and the CCP also drew energy from it. When the Kuomintang and the Communists fought a decisive battle after the victory of the War of Resistance, the local forces in the northeast had been marginalized; when the Ccp established the new Chinese regime, the northeast became its stable liberated area. In a situation of internal and external troubles, the local forces in the northeast were powerless to stop their own decline, while the Kuomintang and the CCP played the role of pushers.
This article is selected from "Region and Mission: The Founding and Exile of Northeastern University in the Republic of China Period" (by Wang Chunlin, Social Sciences Academic Press, November 2019 edition), which is the "conclusion" department of the book and is published with permission from the Social Science Literature Publishing House.
Excerpt 丨 Wu Xin
Edited by 丨 Yu Yaqin
Proofreading 丨 Zhai Yongjun