President Li Yuanhong
In the early years of the Republic of China, the clouds and waves were strange, the passers-by were hurried, and the founding governor and the two presidents, Li Yuanhong, occupied an important page. However, for a long time, Li Shi was inconclusive and evaluated two poles. Here, just before and behind the scenes of Li Yuanhong's appointment of Cai Yuanpei as president of Peking University, I would like to talk about the attitude of this "warrior" to education and literati in people's minds.
Foreign journalists' "Confucian Generals"
Most of the history books discuss Li Yuanhong and classify him as a warrior. Judging from the large number of Chinese and foreign original materials found in recent years, Li Shi is a literati and scholar with the appearance of a warrior. He studied both Chinese and Western, and his calligraphy works, especially his heavy use of literati and respect for teachers, are commendable.
In 1920, he donated 30,000 silver yuan to establish the first middle school in Huangpi, Hubei Province, the private Qianchuan Middle School. Then, he invested 100,000 yuan to build Jianghan University, and prepared to let the eldest daughter of Columbia University preside. Only because of the turbulence of the times, it was later rebuilt into the Song Qing Gymnasium of Wuhan University. He also eclectically allowed the recruited Talents to be employed according to their talents, and promoted the selection of talents to go abroad, so that the number of students studying in Hubei at that time accounted for about a quarter of the total number of the country.
When Li was the brigade commander (co-commander) of the New Army in Hubei in the Qing dynasty, the army was teaching and singing the military song of Zhang Zhidong to praise the "benevolent government" of the Qing Dynasty. When Pan Kang, an intellectual youth who threw his pen from Rong, he actually revised the lyrics of the lyrics to "The Great Qing Dynasty is deeply benevolent and Thick-ze, and the saints are not different from Shun and Yao" to "The Manchu Qing usurpation has gone through more than ten dynasties, and the succession of the generations is no different from Jin and Liao." This was a major crime of killing the head at that time, but the defendant sent it to Lord Li, and actually killed Ji: not only did he not add to his crime, but he thought that talent was rare and transferred to his side as a clerk. He was gradually promoted to platoon commander and company commander. Next, Pan became the first person in the Revolution of Hubei Team Officer (Company Commander) in the Xinhai Revolution.
Photo of Cai Yuanpei
German and French military observers came to Han to investigate, and Li communicated with him in fluent English, and foreigners praised Li as a "general who knows the soldiers" in front of Zhang Zhidong. British journalist Edwin Dingle interviewed him and wrote: "General Li Yuanhong has the characteristic elegance of Chinese, talking to me in English... He has a deep insight that the average soldier cannot match. (CHINAS REVOLUTION: 1911-1912, translated in Chinese as The Chinese Revolution: 1911-1912, London Edition, 1912)
Li Yuanhong le as Peking University Bole
Cai Yuanpei only heard Li Yuanhong's name after the First Yi of Wuchang. The names of the two of them were united at the end of the Battle of Yiyangxia in Wuchang, the armistice between the north and the south, and the beginning. During this period, the head organ of the Southern People's Army appeared in the "double-package case" of the central military government setting up Hubei and the provisional parliament setting up Shanghai. According to Cai Yuanpei's Diary, on November 28, 1911, Cai Yuanpei returned to Shanghai from Germany at the invitation of Chen Qimei. After the restoration of Nanjing on 2 December, the League and the provincial representatives in Shanghai elected a Grand Marshal to form a provisional government.
A few days after returning to China, the party told Cai Yuanpei that Li Nai was forced to revolt and was making compromises with the Beiyang Army, believing that It was inappropriate for Li Dang to be the Grand Marshal. Therefore, the day before the meeting, Cai found Tang Shouqian, a big leader of the Constitutionalist faction and the governor of the Zhejiang military government, and suggested that Huang Xing be elected as a grand marshal, and Zhang Taiyan, who was present, also agreed. The next day, after Cai Yuanpei nominated Huang Xing, the provincial representatives unanimously approved it, so the post of Grand Marshal was smoothly decided. At this moment, Zhang Taiyan stood up and wept and said that Li Yuanhong was the most difficult figure, and he should not fail him, and should raise Li as a deputy marshal. approved.
At that time, Li Yuanhong, the governor of the central military government on the front line of Wuchang, learned of it and immediately sent a telegram to oppose it. Because as early as the battle of Yangxia set up an altar to worship the general, it had already declared to the world: Li was Liu Bang, and Huang was Xiang Yu. How can we put the cart before the horse now? Later, although Li was renamed grand marshal and Huang Vice-Zhi, Huang Xing already had the right to form a cabinet, and the Wuchang group was excluded. At this time, Li Shi's feelings of loss can be imagined.
However, after Lai became the president, he showed great generosity, breaking the party's stereotype of employing people and proposing to appoint Cai Yuanpei as the governor of Zhejiang Province (unsuccessful), with the intention of forming a "government of the whole people".
On July 12, 1916, Li Yuanhong changed the education director Sun Hongyi to the post of Chief of Internal Affairs, under the command of Fan Yuanlian and the Ministry of Education. At this time, celebrities called for the rectification of Peking University. During Li Yuanpei's tenure as education director, Li first thought of the establishment of China's first Westernized new academic system (known in history as the "Nonzi Decuushi Academic System") and the astonishing change of the Beijing Normal University hall into Peking University. I think Cai Shi deserves a big responsibility.
One day in September of that year, Fan reported to Li that Hu Renyuan, the president of Peking University, could not continue, and Tang Erhe and Ma Xulun suggested that Cai Yuanpei be invited back to take charge. Li Suddenly raised an eyebrow and smiled and said, "Very good, just what I want." Therefore, Fan Yuanlian first called Cai:
"State affairs are gradually leveling, and education should be urgent. At present, the highest school in the capital, Wan Dun Daxian dominates, and the teachers are frugal. People in the sea, salty and deep admiration. I will invite my father-in-law to serve as the president of Peking University with a special telegram, and I will pray for permission and return to China as soon as possible, so as to comfort and look forward to it. (Uncle Gao Ping: The Annals of Cai Yuanpei, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1980 edition, p. 29)
Subsequently, Li followed Cai Yuanpei's reform of Peking University's appointment process: President Li Signed the "Republic of China 55 December 26 Jian Zi No. 792" order: "Cai Yuanpei was appointed president of Peking University." It also came into effect by Prime Minister Duan Qirui and the Minister of Education Fan Yuanlian.
President Li Yuanhong signed cai Yuanpei's order to be president of Peking University
Cai Yuanpei should be recalled to China and arrived in Beijing via Shanghai. He recalled in "My Experience at Peking University":
"When I first arrived in Shanghai, many of my friends advised me not to take up my job, saying that Peking University was too corrupt and went in, and if it could not be rectified, it would hinder its own reputation, which of course was out of the meaning of loving me. But there are also a few who say that since they know that he is corrupt, they should go in and rectify it, that is, they have failed, and they have also done their best; this is also the saying of loving people with virtue. I finally obeyed and said, enter Beijing. (Oriental Magazine, Vol. 31, No. 1, 1 January 1934)
After Cai Yuanpei took office, in the face of difficulties in education funding, Li Shi first started from himself, did not hesitate to reduce the budget of the presidential palace, and reduced his salary, that is, 1.915 million yuan / year stipulated by Yuan Shikai, to 574,650 yuan / year. Squeeze out money to support education.
When Lai and Tsai discussed the issue of women's participation in politics, Lai said that some people opposed it on the grounds that women were not enough. Cai retorted: Only ask whether women should participate in politics, can not ask them whether they are enough, even if they are not enough, you can also use education to make up for the fact that they can not deprive them of their rights (Yao Quanxing: "Cai Yuanpei's Idea of Equality between Men and Women", see "Historical Knowledge", No. 4, 1981). After getting a nod from Li, Peking University began to recruit female auditors.
With the strong support of Li and the assistance of Chen Duxiu and others, Cai carried out a drastic reform of Peking University and composed a modern legend of Peking University.
Cai Yuanpei welcomed Li's reinstatement
Six months after Cai Yuanpei became the president of Peking University, due to the restoration of Zhang Xun, Li Yuanhong went to the field, and Cai also announced his resignation. However, after the restoration farce aborted, Cai returned to Peking University that month.
Five years later, in the summer of 1922, there was a wave of people all over the country demanding that Xu Shichang go to the wilderness and welcome Li Huangpi out of the mountains.
From right, Cai Yuanpei, George Bernard Shaw, and Lu Xun
On May 13 of that year, the proposal entitled "Our Political Propositions", drafted by the well-known scholar Hu Shi and signed by 16 people, including Cai Yuanpei, Li Dazhao, Wang Zhonghui, Luo Wengan, Tang Erhe, and others, was published in the second issue of the weekly "Effort" edited by Hu Shi. The basic requirements for political reform are put forward:
"First, we demand a 'constitutional government'; second, we demand an 'open government'; third, we demand a 'planned politics.'"
In view of the lessons of the first time in power, Li Shi officially issued a telegram and put forward the idea of "laying off troops and abolishing the governor", claiming that the time when the provincial overseers were "dismissed first" was the day he was reinstated.
After Li Dian sent out, even the leaders of the warlords who controlled the situation, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, also expressed their submission. Warlords from all over the world followed suit.
When Cai Yuanpei, then president of Peking University, learned of this, he felt that it was time for the "good government" to regain its legal system. When Hu Shi advised him not to send a telegram urging Li Yuanhong to go to Beijing, Cai still insisted on his own opinion, saying that "the southwest opposed the old parliament, and it seems that it is not impossible for li to negotiate peace with Sun." Therefore, on June 8, he joined hands with 10 people, including Wang Jiaju, Li Jianxun, and Mao Bangwei, to issue a telegram on behalf of the education community to welcome Lai to the north. Message Cloud:
Tianjin Lida President Jun Jian:
The person responsible for the central government, considering the facts, is not public. We must bow down to public opinion and maintain the overall situation. It is a matter of national pulse, and Wan Beg is in Beijing on the same day, and it is difficult to do so, and there is no need to pray. (Republic of China Daily, June 10, 1922)
At 8:00 a.m. on June 11 of that year, Li boarded a special train to Beijing for reinstatement, accompanied by Wang Jiaxiang, Wu Jinglian, and representatives of provinces directly under his direct lineage, from Tianjin to Beijing, arriving in Beijing at 11 a.m. In the afternoon, with the support of staff and celebrities from all walks of life, Lai went to Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai to attend the presidential inauguration ceremony.
After Li Shi rewrote Feng Woman, some enlightened weather appeared in Beijing. Li Yi appointed Cai Yuanpei as the director of education and Li Dazhao as the second seat (World Journal, April 10, 1927). Cai Li did not accept it, so he changed Cai's good friend Tang Erhe to take office. At this time, Cai Yuanpei was more concerned about politics than ever before, and like Celebrities such as Lin Changmin, he knew that Li Yuanhong and his good government were not easy to come by, and he mobilized 86 groups in Beijing to hold a huge national disarmament conference in front of Tiananmen Square on the day of the "Double Tenth Festival" National Day. On that day, he personally assumed the presidency of the General Assembly and also invited President Le Da to deliver a speech agreeing to the reduction of troops on the spot. The bunting flags on the square, the slogans of 50,000 or 60,000 people resounded in the sky.
The "good man cabinet" appointed by Lai did not live up to expectations, and as soon as Tang Erhe became the chief of education, he got a sum of money from Luo Wengan's hand according to Lai's will to alleviate the urgent need. Because the faculty and staff of Peking University at that time had not been paid for five months. Through the mediation of Cai Yuanpei, the Ministry of Education first allocated two months' salary to Peking University. It was as if the "Peking University Faction" had suddenly gained momentum, and Cai Yuanpei, Hu Shi, Ding Wenjiang, and other members of the "Effort Society" seemed to see a glimmer of hope for the re-glory of the falun gong.
Cai Yuanpei hung up the seal and left
Soon, because Luo Wengan was involved in the infighting between Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, Luo Wengan became a victim. As a result, Cai Yuanpei resigned for the sixth time on January 17, 1923.
Luo Wengan was the chief financial officer at the time and used to teach at Peking University. After Luo was arrested in the case of Jinfro, the judicial organs found no evidence to release Luo. Unexpectedly, Peng Yunyi, the chief of education, unexpectedly proposed at the State Council meeting to arrest Luo Zai. Cai Yuanpei, aware of Luo's personality and innocence, in order to protest administrative interference in the administration of justice and not to associate with the Beiyang government, which violated the rule of law, formally submitted his resignation to Li Yuanhong and the Ministry of Education, and publicly issued a resignation statement in the Peking University Journal. He also wrote a "Declaration on Non-Cooperation", which was published in the Shanghai Declaration.
This article originally contains Pei Gaocai's "Li Yuanhong, the Governor of Shouyi Dadu"
On the afternoon of January 19, it is the time for the House of Representatives to vote on the cabinet members. Thousands of students from Peking University and other schools went to the House of Representatives to petition, holding small flags that read, "Expel peng Yunyi, scum of the education world," and holding a large banner in front of the line, with the words "Warning congress." However, when the procession marched to the door of the House of Representatives, Wu Jinglian actually instructed the police to severely beat the bare-handed students, and more than 200 people were injured on the spot. When the student ranks were dispersed, most of the members voted in Favor. It immediately aroused the anger of the national academic community. On January 20, all the faculty and staff of Peking University submitted a letter to President Li Da and issued a declaration imploring peng Yunyi to be removed from his post as director of education and to retain President Cai Yuanpei. On the afternoon of January 24, when senators voted, more than 5,000 students from 42 schools, including Peking University, went to the Senate to petition. Ask the House to veto the House's consent to Peng...
By June 23, Cai and Hu Shi at West Lake in Hangzhou agreed on three drafts, an open letter to the Joint Conference of Faculty and Staff of Beijing Schools, Peking University Faculty and Staff, and peking university student unions, to continue his disarmament with the warlord government. Cai Yuanpei's resignation had a great social repercussion, and due to the strong pressure of public opinion, Peng Yunyi had to step down.
After Cai Yuanpei resigned and went to Tianjin, Li Yuanhong and the State Council sent a telegram to retain him and did not approve it, resulting in Cai's resignation failing. But he no longer came to the school, and Jiang Menglin acted as the school's agent. The Beiyang government has never dismissed Cai Yuanpei from his post.
Note: This article was originally published in "Li Yuanhong, Governor of Shouyi Dadu", 2006 edition of China Literature and History Publishing House, 2011 edition of Hubei Education Publishing House, and 05 edition of China Reading News on September 14, 2011