"People are like seeds, to be a good seed"

On January 13, Xinhua Daily Telegraph published a report titled "People are like seeds, be a good seed" – a century-old high school and its famous alumni.

"Chongqing Municipal Education Bureau Thirty-four Years Of Spring and Thirty-Five Years of Spring" "Hankou Municipal Government Thirty-five Years of Autumn and Thirty-six Years of Spring", this is an ink book on the cover of an archive, witnessing a precious memory of Yuan Longping, the "father of rice". From 1946 to 1948, at The Erxue Middle School (the predecessor of Wuhan No. 4 Middle School), Yuan Longping spent his unforgettable boyhood...

In October 2020, when Wuhan No. 4 Middle School was sorting out the old school archives, it accidentally found Yuan Longping's student registration file in Boxue Middle School, which was well preserved.

"My good body and English foundation were laid at my alma mater." Yuan Longping once recalled his alma mater. His words and deeds have also influenced generations of Wuhan four middle school students: "People are like seeds, to be a good seed." ”

■ Love alma mater

6 times back to school to sow spiritual seeds

Walking into the gate of Wuhan No. 4 Middle School located in Qiaokou District, Wuhan, historical buildings and modern buildings shine together. Next to the red bell tower, two statues are particularly eye-catching, namely academician Yuan Longping and academician Lin Huabao, who are alumni.

The original bell tower is now a school history museum, and there is a restored classroom on the second floor, and the desks in the third row are restored according to the desks that Yuan Longping used when he was studying in the fourth middle school. Lin Huabao, a well-known space technology expert and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was once the same table as Academician Yuan Longping, leaving behind the good story of "two academicians at one desk".

As the largest middle school in the downtown area of Wuhan, Wuhan No. 4 Middle School, a century-old school, has spanned three centuries.

On the day of leaving his alma mater, Yuan Long usually had a sincere heart and returned to visit him 6 times.

"He was an amiable, wise and humorous old man." Wang Bo, vice principal of Wuhan No. 4 Zhongyuan and secretary of the party branch of Wuhan No. 17 Middle School, recalled that because of her work, she had many face-to-face exchanges with Academician Yuan Longping, and the most impressive one was on April 21, 2009, when Yuan Longping was invited to return to Wuhan No. 4 Middle School to participate in the "Face to Face with Famous Alumni" activity. At that time, the old man was in good spirits, walked into the classroom where he was in class, sat down on the left side of the third row of the second group, and said: "At that time, I was sitting here, and the same table was Lin Huabao, who was also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering." ”

The renaming of the school as Wuhan Boxue Middle School is also a suggestion made by Yuan Longping. In April 2009, when Yuan Longping returned to his alma mater, he proposed to the leaders of Wuhan City to restore the old school name, saying: "On the surface, the change of the school name is only a few words, and the most important thing is to carry forward the spirit behind the erudition culture, that is, to cultivate a wide range of interests and broad knowledge, and to cultivate the spirit of perseverance." With the approval of the Wuhan Municipal Government, on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Wuhan No. 4 Middle School in 2009, Wuhan No. 4 Middle School was also listed as "Wuhan Boxue Middle School".

On June 28, 2015, 85-year-old Yuan Longping returned to his alma mater for the last time to attend the opening ceremony of the World Student Athletics Championships. The fact that this event can "land" in Wuhan stems from a proposal made by Yuan Longping 6 years ago.

In April 2009, Yuan Longping returned to Wuhan No. 4 Middle School to participate in the "Face to Face with Famous Alumni" activity. At the scene, he fondly told the story of his swimming championship when he was studying in Wuhan: In 1947, Hubei Province held a provincial sports meeting. He loved swimming so much that he signed up for a physical education teacher, but he was too small to be selected. Unconvinced, he mixed into the preliminary venue, the teacher reluctantly agreed to let him try it, the result was a big hit, won the Hankou Division (Wuhan City) men's 100 meters and 400 meters freestyle championships, and later won two silver medals in the men's freestyle in the provincial competition.

"In order to achieve something in the future, you must first practice your body." Yuan Longping told the young students.

■ The original intention is still the same

Inherit the spiritual dream of academicians

No matter where he went, Yuan Longping always remembered The Erudite Middle School in his heart. In order to promote the culture of erudition, Yuan Longping set up the "Yuan Longping Scholarship" in his alma mater in 1995 to encourage the students of Guangdong University to work hard. For more than 20 years, nearly a thousand erudite students have been awarded the "Yuan Longping Scholarship", and they have diversified in the fields of arts, science, sports and art.

Hu Bin, principal of Wuhan No. 4 Middle School, told reporters that an old man and a seed have achieved a legend of practicing the original intention and mission with a lifetime. Teachers and students often wonder: What is the "spiritual seed" left by Elder Yuan to the people of Wuhan Four Middle School? He said that the "Yuan Longping Special Award" is the first award set up by the school this year. Different from the past, this award is not only for students with outstanding academic performance, but also for students who have played an active leading role in other areas, encouraging students to follow in the footsteps of Yuan Lao, uphold Yuan Lao's legacy, conform to the tide of education reform in the new era, and do five educations and all-round development of the new era.

■ Diligent and erudite

Reform and development of innovative ways to educate people

"Peach and plum fragrance, reputation all over the world", "advocating science, advocating personality" "inherit the characteristics of science, carry forward the advantages of English, maintain sports traditions, and create a national famous school", in the history museum of Wuhan No. 4 Middle School, you can see Yuan Longping has repeatedly written inscriptions for his alma mater, giving simple encouragement to the education of his alma mater. In 2019, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the school, Yuan Longping wrote an inscription for his alma mater for the last time: "Diligence and simplicity, erudition, personality development, both before the first, and create brilliance again." ”

In addition to Academician Yuan Longping, Wuhan No. 4 Middle School has also trained a number of scientists, diplomats, politicians, and famous scholars, including Lin Huabao, chief designer of China's retrievable satellite and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Sun Bigan, a famous diplomat and "China's special envoy to the Middle East," Yang Xiandong, former vice minister of agriculture, Pu Shouchang, former executive vice minister of foreign affairs, and General Chen Changgui, commander-in-chief of Shenzhou spacecraft measurement and control.

With rich cultural accumulation and unremitting exploration by generations, Wuhan No. 4 Middle School has gradually formed the school philosophy of open innovation and personality development, and the excellent school spirit of fraternity and dedication to learning and inspiration, and constantly innovates ways to educate people.

The school constructs a diversified school-based curriculum system from the fields of traditional culture and national spirit, ecological civilization and social practice, mental health and subject development, Western culture and international exchanges, popular science knowledge and discipline competitions, artistic aesthetics and leisure and fitness, etc., to guide students to develop in an all-round way and develop personality. Chen Junyu, the winner of the 2018 Yuan Longping Scholarship, likes to do physical and chemical experiments by himself, often soaks in the laboratory, wins awards in national physical and chemical competitions for many times, and is currently guaranteed by Tsinghua University to study as a graduate student. In the 2019 Chinese Football Association Indoor Football International Championship, in the match between the Chinese team and the Danish team, Deng Tao, Li Zhiheng and Shen Siming, alumni from Wuhan No. 4 Middle School, played at the same time to beat the European team Danish team. This year, Li Zhiheng and Shen Siming were once again selected for the futsal national (men's) football team.

(Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 13)

Source: Yangtze River Daily