During the Republic of China period, under the influence of Western culture, women got rid of the shackles of feudal thought, and they enjoyed the right to read and participate in social work like men, although male power was still the mainstream of society, but there were also several female university presidents, leaving a colorful chapter in life.
(Old photo of Zeng Baosun)
1. Zeng Baosun, who founded the girls' school.
Zeng Baosun is the eldest granddaughter of Zeng Guofan, and in the Zeng family, Zeng Baosun is very happy.
First of all, her father Zeng Guangjun, like Zeng Guofan, was born into the jinshi, but Zeng Guangjun was not like the style of the feudal society, he was enlightened and reasonable, and when Zeng Baosun was young, he forbade Zeng Baosun's feet to be wrapped in his home, and did not agree to betrothed to her.
Secondly, the grandmother Guo Shi came from a family and was very knowledgeable, and when Guo Shi saw that Zeng Baosun was clever and clever, he was particularly fond of her. When she was learning to speak, he taught her to read and memorize poetry. When she was 4 years old, she was allowed to study at her home school.
Because there are many children in the clan, and the age is different, so the books that everyone learns in the family school are different, and when it comes to reading, they read each book, which is described in her words: "A crow noises the evening wind, and all the students take advantage of the throat." Zhao Qiansun Li Zhou Wu Zheng, Heaven and Earth Xuan Huang Cosmic Hong. After reading the miscellaneous words, the children were recited by hundreds of families. There are more outstanding people in the seat, and they read three lines of the big middle school every day. ”
Unconstrained by the old-fashioned family rules and family laws, Zeng Baosun developed a mischievous personality at a young age.
At that time, there were many books hidden in the family library, but the parents were afraid that the children did not cherish the books, so they were not allowed to enter and exit.
Zeng Baosun took his brother and secretly climbed to the tree next to the library, and from there climbed into the library to read books. There she read a lot of miscellaneous books, and was scolded by Guo several times for sneaking into the library.
When Zeng Baosun grew up, he also got the same right to go out to study like the men in his family. She first studied in Shanghai and then was admitted to the Hangzhou Provincial Women's Normal School.
A year later, she switched to fung senior girls' church school. However, many of the practices of this church school displeased Zeng Baosun. So she set up a newspaper to write about the unfair management of the school, and as a result, this newspaper was seen by the headmistress Ba Luyi.
Ba Luyi did not punish her, but talked to her on his knees, and in the end, the two not only talked about nothing, but Also became one of her most important students.
In 1912, Ba Luyi wanted to return to China to visit his relatives for a year, so he wanted to take Zeng Baosun to study abroad so that she could gain better knowledge.
(Old photo of Yifang Girls' School)
With the consent of Zeng Guangjun and Guo, Zeng Baosun followed Ba Luyi to England. Subsequently, she was admitted to the University of London with honors, specializing in repair, and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of London, becoming the first Bachelor of Science among Chinese women.
Subsequently, Zeng Baosun went to Oxford University and Cambridge University to continue his studies.
In the process of studying, Zeng Baosun realized the backwardness of Chinese women's education, so he had the idea of returning to China to run a girls' school, and specially studied teacher training.
Zeng Baosun's idea of starting a women's school was supported by Ba Luyi, who helped Zeng Baosun raise funds for running the school everywhere, and despite his old age, decided to help Zeng Baosun establish a women's school in China that combines Chinese and Western styles.
At the end of 1917, Zeng Baosun and BayiLu returned to Changsha and began to actively prepare for the running of the school. Her idea was supported by her cousin Zeng Yunong, and after some busy work, a girls' school that was different from others finally opened in September 1918.
Zeng Baosun attaches great importance to the cultivation of women's personality. She advocated democracy and honored students. Therefore, in the dormitory and library management, the individual management system is implemented. Even at the time of the exam, there is no proctor teacher.
When a student has a problem, there has never been an expulsion of a student. She also never reprimands students, and for students who make mistakes, she also talks privately to solve problems.
Although Tsang's girls' school was closed three times during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it was reopened three times through her mediation, and it was not closed until 1949, when she was going to Hong Kong.
Zeng Baosun was unmarried all her life, and she regarded education as her life and made great contributions to the education of women in modern China.
(Old photo of Yang Yinyu)
Second, Yang Yinyu, who runs a school at his own expense.
Yang Yinyu came from a traditional family of scholars. Bound by feudal ideas, she was able to read, thanks to the help of her brother Yang Yinhang.
Soon after Yang Yinyu studied, the family made a marriage contract for her. On the wedding night, Yang Yinyu found that the other party was ugly and stupid, and she could not stand it, and finally tore the other party's face and returned to her mother's house in the early morning of the next day.
Of course, her mother-in-law refused to give up, so she came to pick her up.
Yang Yinyu refused to live or die, and finally after the family learned of the other party's situation, they no longer forced her. This marriage ended in this way.
After that, Yang Yinyu concentrated on his studies, and later passed the official study abroad examination with excellent results and went to the Tokyo Women's Higher Normal School of Physics and Chemistry in Japan to study.
After the establishment of the Republic of China, Yang Yinyu returned to China and first taught biology at the Jiangsu Second Women's Normal School. In 1914, he was hired as the superintendent of the National Women's Normal School in Beijing and the director of the teaching department.
In 1918, she was sent to the United States to continue her studies in pedagogy.
After returning to China, Yang Yinyu was appointed by the Ministry of Education to become the principal of Beijing Women's Normal University.
She was the first of the women to be among the university presidents.
However, at the time of the May Fourth Movement, many female students were keen on political demonstrations.
Yang Yinyu is the principal appointed by the government, and naturally does not want students to oppose the government everywhere when she takes over the school. Therefore, she repeatedly emphasized the school spirit and school rules, and believed that students should study attentively and should not participate in politics.
Because Yang Yinyu did not know how to be flexible and was conservative and stubborn in educational management, the students had a deep prejudice against her, and finally triggered the "Sheep Exorcism (Yang) Movement".
Yang Yinyu, who has a strong personality, cannot tolerate the arrogance of students. With the support of the Ministry of Education, she first attracted clashes between the military and police and students, then closed the canteen and expelled female students.
Her series of actions eventually angered lu xun, Qian Xuan and other influential professors. They criticized Yang Yinyu, and public opinion was even more one-sided against Yang Yinyu.
The Beiyang government had to dismiss Yang Yinyu, which calmed the anger.
In this battle, Yang Yinyu had been defeated and had to return to Suzhou. Although she still loves education, due to her reputation, her teaching in Suzhou is not smooth.
No school would hire her. In order to continue her education, she gave all her savings to rent a private house and open a girls' cram school.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Japanese occupied Suzhou, and they committed adultery and plunder.
Because of Yang Yinyu's fame, the Japanese once wooed her and wanted to ask her to do things. Unwilling to be a traitor, Yang Yinyu rejected the Japanese and continued to open her school.
In order to protect more women, Yang Yinyu also deliberately expanded the school building.
Not only that, Yang Yinyu also repeatedly went to the Japanese to theorize for justice.
This kind of behavior makes the Japanese see her as a thorn in the flesh. So soon, he found a reason and killed her.
(Wu Yifang's old photo)
Third, Wu Yifang, who concentrates on teaching.
Wu Yifang was born into a family of eunuchs, and in her early years, with the support of her uncle, she first studied in Shanghai, and later enrolled in the Suzhou Jinghai Girls' School.
When Wu Yifang was 16 years old, she suffered a great misfortune in her life.
Her father committed suicide by jumping into the river due to false accusations, and her mother, brother and sister also died shortly after the death of her father, and Wu Yifang became an orphan.
Fortunately, she still had her uncle to rely on, so she went to Beijing with her uncle's family.
On the recommendation of her uncle, Wu Yifang enrolled in the Beijing Women's Normal University. After graduation, he stayed on to teach due to his excellent grades.
In 1921, the female principal of Monthorik in the United States gave a speech at Beijing Normal University. Wu Yifang, as a translator, was fluent and accurate in English throughout the process, which was appreciated by the American female principal. Subsequently, under her recommendation, Wu Yifang went to the University of Michigan in the United States to study.
In 1926, the Australian prime minister was invited to speak at the University of Michigan, and in the course of his speech he denounced China. Wu Yifang denounced him as a slander against Chinese, then left the table in anger and wrote an article overnight to refute the Bad Behavior of the Australian Prime Minister.
It was also at this time that Wu Yifang established the belief that education should be the cause. After she obtained a postdoctoral degree in biology, she resolutely returned to China and served as the president of Jinling Women's University.
Wu Yifang attaches great importance to personality education and patriotic education, she believes that a sound personality is the basis for serving the society, so in her teaching, she must have a sense of mission and be prepared to wait for the dispatch of the state at any time.
Wu Yifang believes that students must have strong social adaptability, so on the one hand, she pays attention to students' knowledge education, on the other hand, she also requires them to communicate with each other. In this way, the students who go out of Jinling University can not only adapt to the post quickly, but also often make good achievements in the post. This has made Jinling University students very popular with employers.
Wu Yifang concentrated on teaching and made great achievements in education.
At that time, Song Meiling had invited her to be the minister of education, but she politely refused.
On the eve of liberation, Zhang Zhizhong also invited her to be the minister of education, but Wu Yifang, disgusted by the Kuomintang's deceitful and contentious style of seeking fame and profit, still refused this beautiful job.
Wu Yifang's life is very simple, she has not married in her life, living alone in a 15-square-meter house, wearing simple clothes and eating simple meals. Her income was almost taken by her to help teachers and students who were in difficulty. She spent her life in education, so when she was the principal, people often praised her contribution to education, and said: "Men have Cai Yuanpei, women have Wu Yifang."
(Reference historical materials: "Remembering Wu Yifang", "Photo of a Talented Woman in the Republic of China", "Fangyi Girls' School Past Talk")