Master of the Republic of China: Mei Yiqi (2)

Southwest United General Assembly

Southwest United University is a comprehensive university that was relocated to Kunming after the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in China. On November 1, 1937, the National Changsha Provisional University, which was established by Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University in Changsha, opened in Changsha (this day also became the celebration day of Southwest United University). Due to the bombing of Changsha by Japanese aircraft, in mid-February 1938, Changsha Provisional University moved west to Kunming in three ways. In April 1938, it was renamed National Southwest Union University. In the process of the existence of the Southwest United University, Jiang Menglin and Zhang Boling basically did not live in Kunming for a long time, and most of the time It was Mei Yiqi who carried the Ding alone. Zhang Boling is based in Chongqing and is responsible for negotiating affairs with the government; Jiang Menglin is responsible for external affairs; and Mei Yiqi concentrates on managing the school. In the eight years of Kunming, Mei Yiqi was the actual president of southwest United University.

Mei Yiqi has always insisted that running a school is three main aspects, the first is generalist education, and generalist education is knowledge broadcasting; the second is to teach schools and run schools democratically; the third is to combine teaching and scientific research to improve the quality of teaching through scientific research. Mei is the main leader of the school, and it is important that he must have a good relationship with the local government and the government. With the Chongqing government, because of the relationship with the Ministry of Education, it is necessary to make reports, to report on their duties, and sometimes they are criticized, and there are many times. There are some economic relations with the localities, because there are thousands of people in the Southwest United University, and there must be supplies for life. Mei Yiqi was ordered at the critical juncture of the nation's peril to protect and preserve the "talent chain" of the Chinese nation without interruption. By the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, because democratic ideas were very active, there were many contradictions between the school and the authorities, and they were suppressed. The principal has to do a lot of coordination, to protect the students, to protect the enthusiasm of the students, to protect the safety of the students' lives, but to maintain a relationship with the authorities, because if the school quarrels with the local government, the school will not be able to run.

When prices soared in Kunming, the lives of professors and workers were very tense. The leaders of the school have provided some subsidies to everyone from all aspects. Southwest United University has an engineering college, and the engineering college has some professors and students outside to do some engineering things, have some income, and the government also gives some subsidies. At that time, it was emphasized that everyone was divided equally, and there was a special quota for the leadership of the school. However, Mei Yiqi must be divided equally among everyone, and even in some cases, he said that all those who hold public office are not divided. The Mei family has a very difficult time making ends meet. Mrs. May used to make pastries for sale in baskets herself.

The eight years of the Southwest United University's adherence to the education garden are inseparable from Mei Yiqi's qualifications, character, talents and prestige. No matter at home and abroad, no matter what party it was then, and what kind of doctrine it is now, none of the students of lianhe University sincerely admired President Mei.