"Beijing in early autumn is exceptionally beautiful. The alleys are not as dusty as usual. The shops that open on the street are vivid and picturesque, and the shouts of vendors and beggars peddling back and forth also sound harmonious. Funeral and family greetings display its sprawling design. Through the clear air, the West Mountain in the distance is full of colors, and the Jingshan Mountain in the near distance is dotted with exquisite pavilions. There is also the huge gate of the Imperial City, the Golden Roof forbidden city. No less than these are the green glazed-roofed Yuwang Mansion, our new medical school and hospital. ”
This passage may be from the 1921 annual report of the Rockefeller Medical Society, written by the Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Rockefeller Foundation. On September 19 of that year, Peking Union Medical College, donated by the Rockefeller Foundation, was officially opened. So far, it has been a hundred years.
1921 Union Medical College South Gate
Embark on a cruise to Asia
Although the building of the Union Medical College was completed in 1919 and the undergraduate and nursing schools of medicine had already opened, the opening ceremony was not officially held until September 1921.
Considering that the elder Rockefeller is 82 years old, crossing the ocean is not a small test for the elderly, so the task of attending this grand opening event was entrusted to the only son, John Davison Rockefeller (Jr.
Rockefeller Jr., 47, had become one of the helmsmen of the Rockefeller family's vast business empire. Rockefeller Jr. had a high enthusiasm and interest in the development of East Asian affairs, as well as the art and culture of China and Japan. Traveling to China to attend the opening ceremony of Concordia also gave him the opportunity to experience the world across the ocean.
Rockefeller father and son
On August 16, Rockefeller Jr. and his party set off from Vancouver on the "Empress of Asia" cruise ship to China. In addition to Rockefeller Jr.'s wife and daughter, he was accompanied by George Edgar Vincent (chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation since 1917), William Henry Welch (dean of the Hopkins University School of Medicine), Théodore Tuffier (a famous French surgeon), R.T. Leiper (professor of hems at the University of London School of Tropical Medicine), and Sir William Smyly (famous gynecologist) and 21 others.
On August 29, Rockefeller Jr. and his party arrived in Yokohama, Japan, stopped for a short time, and then headed to North Korea. On the evening of September 1, a delegation of 14 people arrived in Seoul and stayed for three days. On the morning of September 4, Rockefeller Jr. and his party set off for Shenyang. On the evening of September 6, Rockefeller Jr. and his party arrived in Beijing.
Initially, Rockefeller Jr. and his party originally wanted to go north from Japan to Shanghai and then from the Jinpu Line, but in the end they chose to go from Korea to Shenyang and then from the Beijing-Bong Railway to Beijing.
In Beijing, Rockefeller Jr.'s humility and ease impressed many reporters. During a visit to Union Medical College, a foreign journalist described the little Rockefeller he saw as follows:
He wore neither patent leather shoes nor a wide-brimmed tweed hat, in fact, he wore a dark gray suit with a soft straw hat and looked very comfortable. He was short and thin, his hair was brown but shiny, and looking at him gave the impression that he was mentally sagging. ”
In 1921 Rockefeller Jr. was in front of the South Gate of Union Medical College
A series of events will be held before the opening
On September 15, the opening series of activities of Concordia Medical College officially began until the end of the 22nd, during which the most notable was the academic lectures held every day in the Concordia Auditorium and the surgical observation activities in the hospital, with 280 participants. The keynote speakers of each event were famous physicians and scholars who came to attend the opening ceremony. The entire series of activities can be regarded as a high-end forum in the field of medical research at that time.
Members of the Rockefeller Foundation and medical experts from various countries attended the opening ceremony in 1921
In addition to professional academic activities, Union Medical College is also open to the public. On the 15th alone, thousands of Beijing citizens and expatriates came to Concordia to visit the medical temple that has been operating in Beijing for several years. The palace-like ornate architectural ensemble, as well as the state-of-the-art medical equipment, will amaze visitors. The visit began at 2 p.m. and lasted until the evening, when the hospital's wards, operating theatres, X-ray rooms, outpatient clinics and even kitchens were opened to the public, and music was played in the auditorium to entertain visitors.
During the event, the scenery tour is also indispensable, not to mention that the Union Medical College is located, which is the cultural capital of Beijing. In the commemorative album published in 1922, one can also see the schedule of excursions provided for the participants at that time. The tourist attractions include almost the most prestigious historical sites in and around Beijing, and due to the large number of academic seminars that need to be carried out, the time of the tour is mostly between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
One of the excursions was President Xu Shichang's reception. In fact, on September 15, Xu Shichang was already connected to the event.
On the evening of September 15, at the Presidential Palace, researchers from the Shanghai Municipal Health Education Commission screened some films about medicine and life sciences to Xu Shichang, who was then president, and this was perhaps xu Shichang's first exposure to this fresh form of presentation, and he was deeply impressed by a film called "How life begins". In addition, there are films such as "Cholera That Conquered China", which tells about the anti-cholera campaign in Fuzhou in 1920 and the Fifth Far East Games held in Shanghai. In addition to Xu Shichang and his wife, the staff of the presidential palace, and many children who were invited to the film.
On the afternoon of September 17, Rockefeller Jr. and his party went to Zhongnanhai to attend Xu Shichang's reception for the guests attending the opening ceremony of Union Medical College. According to media reports at the time, more than 490 people were invited to the reception. Guests enter Zhongnanhai from Xinhuamen and then take a boat to Yingtai to admire the isolated island where the Guangxu Emperor was once imprisoned.
In 1921, Xu Shichang and Rockefeller Jr. were the presidents of the Beiyang government
While the other guests toured Yingtai, Xu Shichang met with The Rockefellers and their daughter. Rockefeller Jr. conveyed his father's greetings to Xu Shichang, elder Rockefeller, and Xu Shichang also thanked the Rockefeller family for their generous dedication.
On the same day, Xu Shichang's diary contained: "... At Yanqing Building, American capitalists came to China to build a new hospital of union, and Roquephile and his wife and daughter came to visit him for a while, took pictures of the movie outside the Fuchang Hall, and held a tea party in Huairen Hall. There are hundreds of Chinese and foreign male and female medical scientists and philanthropists. ”
The opening ceremony of the Concordia Auditorium was held
At 4 p.m. on September 19, the official opening ceremony was held at the Concordia Auditorium. Scholars from all over the world dressed in various college robes lined up in the auditorium and between the campuses, and the scene of fish coming out of the ceremony left a deep impression on the people attending the ceremony.
In the annual report of the Rockefeller School of Medicine, the scene of the day is described as follows:
This enchanting autumn, scientists and representatives from Japan, Britain, Java, North Korea, the Philippines, Canada, France, the United States and China's important provinces came together to visit and celebrate the birth of Union Medical College. On September 19, the academic lineup of these famous visitors was even more remarkable. Scientists from the East and the West, dressed in the uniforms of the Western Academy, marched in line. Under the green glazed roof, there are well-equipped laboratories and elderly water wheels, teams of Western medical students, coolies wandering the streets, and often visible beggars. The shouts of the street craftsmen, mixed with marches played by the new organs, slowly enter the beautiful Concorde Auditorium.
In the auditorium, J. Leighton Stuart (D.D.) prayed, followed by George E. Vincent, chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation, who introduced the hospital and medical school on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation. Henry S. Houghton, then dean of Concordia Medical College, accepted on behalf of Concordia Medical College.
Immediately afterward, Yan Huiqing (then Minister of Foreign Affairs) delivered speeches on behalf of President Xu Shichang; Qi Yaoshan (then Minister of Internal Affairs) and Chen Qibang (famous physician, then technical director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs) delivered speeches on behalf of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Ma Linyi (then Vice Minister of Education, Acting Minister of Education) delivered speeches on behalf of the Ministry of Education; And Roger S. Greene and Rockefeller Jr. delivered speeches on behalf of the Chinese Medical Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, respectively. The ceremony was simple and solemn and ended at 5 p.m.
Hu Shi, who represented Peking University at the opening ceremony, wrote in his diary that night:
At three o'clock, he went to The Union Medical School to represent Peking University and participate in the official opening ceremony. The Ceremony is very serious, quite similar to the graduation ceremony of European and American universities. There are about 100 people in daily degree uniforms, most of whom are doctoral uniforms, and the doctoral uniforms of European universities are even more spectacular. Since the beginning of Beijing, there has not been such a solemn ceremony. (Ancient dynasty clothes on the dynasty, I don't know how to see this?) ）
During the ceremony, Yan Huiqing gave a speech on behalf of Xu Shichang, and Shang Yi listened; Qi Yaoshan (internal affairs) and Ma Linyi (education) could not speak. Gu Lin (R. S. Greene spoke on behalf of rockefeller medical society, and finally Rockefeller (J.D. Jr. spoke). Roche's speech was very good, and the speech was probably made for him by someone here.
Earlier, on September 16, Rockefeller Jr. had visited Yan Huiqing, and in Yan Huiqing's eyes, Rockefeller Jr. was a "well-behaved person."
In 1921, all the members of the Union Medical College took a group photo in Ximennei
In her speech at the opening ceremony, Yan Huiqing sighed: "There is no time in our history when there has been such a ceremony that brought together many outstanding visitors, famous scientists, outstanding educators and famous religious leaders from All over Europe, the United States, Japan and China, and gathered in Beijing. As the capital of China, we feel very honored and proud. ”
On the day of the opening ceremony, in a speech that impressed Hu Shi and Yan Huiqing, Rockefeller Jr. recounted his father's dedication to the establishment of Union Medical College, his work over the past seven years, and his hopes for the future.
In Rockefeller Jr.'s view, only Chinese can solve China's medical problems, and as Westerners, all they can do is provide a path. He looked forward to the day when Chinese could take full control of the school and hospital, so that "the best medicine that the West can offer will always be rooted in the soil of China."
After leaving Beijing, Rockefeller Jr. and his party also traveled to Shanghai, Manila, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou. While in Guangzhou, Rockefeller Jr. also met with Sun Yat-sen. At that time, Sun Yat-sen was preparing for the Northern Expedition, and the object of his crusade was Xu Shichang and other Beiyang forces that Rockefeller Jr. had just met. Sun Yat-sen at the time may not have predicted that four years later (1925) he would spend the last days of his life in Xiehe.
In a letter from Mrs. Rockefeller Jr. to her son, she recorded her impressions of Beijing: "We are so busy here that we are so busy entertaining and being entertained that whenever we have time we fall asleep... I found Beijing to be one of the most interesting cities I've ever been to. I love the people here... They were all so friendly and kind. ”