Scholars recall Wu Yuzhang

From the very beginning of Renmin University, Elder Wu stressed the need to build Renmin University into a "strong position for studying and propagating Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought" and demanded that students "should become experts armed with Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought and master the latest scientific achievements." Elder Wu attaches great importance to implementing the principle of linking theory with practice in teaching. He said: To study Marxism-Leninism is not only to memorize a number of words and phrases from the works of Ma, En, Lenin, and Sri Lanka, but to study Marxist-Leninist theory with purpose and integrate Marxist-Leninist theory with the actual movement of the Chinese revolution. "The most important thing is to be able to grasp the positions, viewpoints, and methods of Marxism-Leninism to discover problems, raise problems, analyze problems, and solve problems."

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Wu Laozhi is rigorous in his studies. He demanded the formulation of a rigorous teaching plan, presided over the formulation of some necessary and reasonable rules and regulations, and demanded that the plans and systems be observed once decided. He paid close attention to checking the implementation of the plan, paying particular attention to the preparations for the start of school. Every year before the start of the school, he always asked us to go to various places to walk and see, including whether the lights in the classrooms and dormitories were bright enough, and whether the desks, chairs, benches were clean, and he had to check and ask. So, despite the myriad of school tasks, they can all be carried out in an orderly manner, just as a complex machine can function properly.

——Cheng Fangwu "Remembering Wu Yuzhang"

Elder Wu has always advocated hard work and thrift in running schools. He often said that when he was in the Liberated Areas, the cave dwellings were used as dormitories, and the woods were used as classrooms, but although the conditions are better now, we should not forget the past. At the same time, he is very concerned about the lives of teachers, students and employees, personally going to the canteen to check the quality of food, asking medical staff to visit the dormitories of teachers and staff, personally or sending people to comfort the sick number, and economically helping comrades in difficulty. When an old professor was ill, he sent his secretary to comfort him and sent a subsidy of 100 yuan, and the professor was very moved. As for himself, he is very frugal, and he really cares about others more than he cares about himself.

——Guo Yingqiu, "Wu Lao and Chinese University"

In the autumn of 1940, it was decided to hold a new script winter school on a trial basis in Yan'an City and Yan'an County. Start by training teachers. At that time, more than 70 students were transferred from Shaanxi North Public School and held a training class for teachers of new language winter studies, and Elder Wu personally gave lectures. Shaanxi Gong was a school for training anti-Japanese cadres, and the organization transferred them to run the new script winter school, although it was strange, but the enthusiasm was very high, and the study was hard, and Elder Wu was very excited. He gave courses to the training class on the origin of old Chinese characters, the formulation and historical development of new Latinized scripts, the common knowledge of Chinese phonology, and the pronunciation methods of new characters (this pronunciation method lecture notes were later published with woodcut illustrations and lead printing). At that time, the training class was set up in a row of simple earthen cave dwellings on the southern outskirts of Yan'an, and Elder Wu lived in Yangjialing, a northern suburb, and gave lectures four or five days a week, riding a donkey from the northern suburbs to the southern suburbs. The training course lasted more than a month and a half and was over. Although Elder Wu was not very healthy, he kept going to the end. Elder Wu's spirit of loyalty to the party's educational cause, hard work in lecturing, and tireless teaching of others deeply touched all the trainees.

——Li Mian, "A Very Meaningful Experiment in Writing Reform in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region:Remembering Comrade Wu Yuzhang"

As soon as our first semester exams ended, Elder Wu asked the students to use the winter vacation to go to other places to conduct investigations on the promotion of Mandarin and character reform. To this end, Elder Wu personally went to the classroom to teach. Holding a piece of paper with pinyin letters written on it, he stood on the podium, holding a teaching whip, teaching his classmates to read letter by letter. What is the vowel, what is the vowel, and even the tone symbol and the sound insulation symbol are clearly stated. Sometimes when the pronunciation is asked, the students who are examined cannot read correctly, which causes laughter in the hall, and Elder Wu can't help but laugh.

Before leaving, Elder Wu personally drew up an outline for the investigation and instructed: "You must learn from Chairman Mao's style of seeking truth from facts, go among the masses, grasp first-hand materials, and understand the real reality." Reflecting the voice of the masses is the basic skill of journalists. Only by being down-to-earth can we be journalists with a good reputation. ”

——Qi Zhiwen, "Elder Wu among the students"

Guangming Daily (2021.05.24 11th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily