Mei Yiqi Is the eternal principal of Tsinghua University

On December 3, 1931, Mei Yiqi was appointed as the president of Tsinghua University from the United States, and he was called "a gentleman and a reticent" by the people of the time with his unique charm. In the short six years that Mei Yiqi served as the president of Tsinghua University, Tsinghua created a "golden age" that attracted worldwide attention. In the minds of Tsinghua alumni all over the world, mentioning Mei Yiqi means Tsinghua, and mentioning Tsinghua means Mei Yiqi. As one of the most prestigious and successful educators, Mei Yiqi is known as the "father of Tsinghua" and the "eternal principal" of Tsinghua, and none of the subsequent tsinghua principals can match it. Mei Yiqi's educational thinking also matured in the storms and rains during this period.

Mei Yiqi's lifelong pursuit of unswerving educational thinking is mainly, "The key to a university is to have a professor with an academic specialty and a prominent name." This idea had already sprouted in many years of interaction with Liang Qichao, Wang Guowei, Chen Yinke, and others, and was later enriched and perfected in his educational practice. For example, Mei Yiqi said, "A university person is also a master." The reason why a university is a university is that there are no good professors. Mencius said, "The so-called homeland is not only said to have trees, but also to have the words of the world." The purpose of running a university is to study academics and cultivate talents. Use talent, avoid the waste of talent, maintain the good school spirit of "self-improvement, virtue and goods", and never forget the responsibility of saving the country.

Mei Yiqi "is a very realistic person, although he is not engaged in practical politics, but he has a clear understanding of the trend in politics." He "always maintained a quiet attitude" and "not much but to the point" on various occasions. From this, the political vision and open-mindedness of this "taciturn gentleman" in the face of great right and wrong are highlighted. In the face of the "12.9" student tide in 1935, Mei Yiqi, as the principal, warned the students at the scene of the student movement: "Young people must have correct judgment and consideration in doing things, blind obedience is pathetic, and it is impossible to take on great responsibilities by relying on the courage of flesh and blood." The students at the scene were calmed by Mei Yiqi's majesty and hard as iron posture, showing his firmness and courage, and his immediate decision in the midst of danger. At that time, the students in the student movement included Yao Keguang (Yilin), Jiang Nanxiang and others.