蔣中正先生與對日抗戰期間的高等教育（英譯)二
蔣中正先生與對日抗戰期間的高等教育（英譯)二
Chiang Kai-Shek and the Development of
Higher Education during the Sino-Japanese War
IV. The Government’s Special Care to University and College Students and the Improvement of the Living of Faculty and Administrative Staffs
During the Sino-Japanese War, the youth in the Japanese occupied areas did not want to bear the oppression of the Japanese and the puppet government. So, they fled to the hinterland by groups. They had suffered all kinds of hardships and could hardly continue studies. In February, 1938, the Ministry of Education had established the loan system to deal with this situation. For students of public high schools or above who came from the war areas and had no financial support might apply for certain amount of loan to maintain the living and thereby to continue education. The loan was required to pay back once the person was graduated and became better off in economic situation.
In October, 1938, the scope had been expanded to all students of public high schools or higher levels in the hinterland, and the faculty and the administrative staffs of the war zones. They were allowed to apply for the loan on condition that they had economic difficulty and were unable to maintain their livings.21 In 1943, in accordance with Mr. Chiang’s personal instruction, the Ministry of Education enacted “Regulations for Offering Reliefs to Poor Students and Children of School Teachers and Administrative Staffs”. Later in the year, the Ministry of Education replaced the loan system with other method. All students of public high schools or higher levels and of private colleges or higher levels were provided with government scholarships.22 During eight years of the war, though fighting was everywhere, students with the will of continuing education had been treated by the government with special care. There were channels for getting higher, career-wise. Therefore, talents had been fostered group by group. In the postwar, the reconstruction work had been mostly born by those young people. Students in the hinterland were not short of living necessities so they could dedicate themselves to studies. The hardships of teachers and students in war zones had neither been ignored by the government. In May, 1939, “The Ministry of Education War Zone Educational Directive Committee” was established and had promoted vigorously the education in war zones. In December, 1939, National Military Council set up in Chungking “The Training Committee for Unemployed and Non-school Youth in War Zone”. The committee was in charge of helping the youth who came for help get employed or enter the school. Even for those youth without any technic, some kind of jobs could be arranged for them after receiving training. In 1940, the committee was affiliated with the Ministry of Education and was renamed as “The Ministry of Education War Zone Students Directive Bureau”. Its main responsibility was to provide students with directive to help them continue education. Students of junior college or higher levels could study at schools of equivalent level in the rear zones. The bureau also took over the previous “Northeastern Youth Education Relief Bureau”. “The War Zone Youth Receiving Committee” had set up “The War Zone Teachers Registration Office”, which had some nine hundred teachers registered. They first received some temporary relief money from the office and later had been arranged for jobs by the Ministry of Education.23
In the wartime, living was tough. The government had done its best to improve the living of teachers and administrative staffs of schools of various levels. Personnel of universities and colleges had been treated with special care. In October, 1941, the Ministry of Education began to put into practice the “Regulations for Improving the Living of Teachers and Administrative Staffs in the Extraordinary Period”. Every teacher or staff of any public school could receive equivalent money for twenty-one Chinese liters rice each month. Dependents of teachers and administrative staffs could also receive same amount of money if they could meet the conditions of the regulations.
In 1942, the Ministry of Education was instructed to set apart two million dollars as rewards for teachers of colleges and universities who had served for long period of time. Teachers with service over twenty years were given an annual award of three thousand dollars; those with service over ten years were given an annual reward of one thousand five hundred dollars. In 1943, the ministry added an academic research to teachers of public junior colleges and above. In 1944, the National Government had enacted “The Statute for the Retirement and Consolation of Teachers and Administrative Staffs”. In 1945, the U.S.A. “General Administration of Aids and Reliefs to China” had contributed 265 million Chinese dollars as benefits to Chinese university teachers and staffs. The Ministry of Education had reported to the Executive Yuan to set apart additional thirty-five million dollars and made a total three hundred million dollars as benefits fund for teachers and staffs of public and private colleges and schools of higher levels as well as those research institutes.24 Although university professors had lived a simple life during the war, they were not, nonetheless, short of daily necessities thanks to the government’s special care in many aspects. Therefore, they could make all their efforts to teaching and academic research.
V. The Contribution of Higher Education to the Country and the Society during the Sino-Japanese War
During the war, the government and Mr. Chiang had given higher education special cares. On the other hand, people of higher education had fed back the country and the society with great contribution. There were some important items listed as follows:
1. To take part in wartime activities
At the outbreak of the war, the faculty and administrative staffs of medical junior colleges and higher medical institutes, senior nursing technology schools and obstetrical vocational schools had made up “Medical Educational Rescue Corps” and engaged in wartime rescue activities. The headquarter of the corps was located in Nanking and the teams spread all over the country. Later, owing to the frequent Japanese bombing, teachers and students of universities and colleges in the hinterland had constituted “Air-raid services Teams”. They assisted governmental agencies by participating in those activities of supply, communication, extinguishing the fire, emergency rescue, distributing governmental reliefs, disbanding, consolation and rescuing orphans.
In 1941, military airports were in construction in Szuzhuan and Kiangsi provinces, many college graduates of engineering had been summoned by the Ministry of Military Administration to participate in the work. In 1944, for the purpose of elevating the quality of personnel of military law as well as meeting the wartime special needs, the Ministry of Military Administration also summoned many graduates of law departments. By the time of the outbreak of the Pacific War, the arrival of American and British allied forces needed interpreters. All those had been recruited from graduates and students of universities and colleges. By the final stage of the war, when the government made preparation for counter-fighting, many university and college students volunteered to join the armed forces and engaged in fighting. Thus resulted in the patriotic movement of “One Hundred Thousand Youth; One Hundred Thousand Soldiers”. 25
2. To strengthen cooperation between education and construction
Since the Central Education and Constructive Co-operative Committee was established in 1938, it had promoted earnestly the liaison, communication, and harmony of demand and supply between education and construction. In 1939, the Ministry of Education enacted “Regulations for the Cooperation between Colleges of Sciences and Engineering, and enterprises of Economics and Communication and Military Factories”. The regulations stipulated that universities and colleges should send senior students to practice at factories; factories should assign specialists to help them take part in production.
In 1940, National Northwestern Agricultural College, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics Water Engineering Testing Center, set up “Wukung Water Engineering Laboratory”. In 1942, Chungking University, in cooperation with the Highway General Bureau, set up the “Highway Research Laboratory”. The Ministry of Education also vigorously promoted the technic and educational organizations of agriculture and forestry to proceed with programs of communication and cooperation. In 1943, the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Education convened in Chungking the “Conference of Industrial Construction Programs” and had made a general planning for industrial construction in the future.26 Thanks to the sufficient cooperation of education and construction, the level of construction affairs had been elevated to some extent.
3. To promote social education
In 1938, the Ministry of Education notified schools of various levels to deal with social education. According to the ministry’s stipulations, universities and colleges should deal with, in accordance with the specialty of the school, two or more items of the following matters:
a. Academic seminars
b. Supplementary education
c. Correspondence schools
d. Edition of common readings
e. Agricultural promotion
f. Co-operation direction
g. Legal advisory for people
h. Local self-government guidance
i. Movie and broadcasting technics teaching
j. Teaching technics about prevention of air-raid and poisoning
k. Rescue training
l. Public sanitation direction
m. Local water and civil engineering direction
n. Exhibitions
o. Others.
In 1940, the Central Political Academy established “Guidance Corps for Campus Neighboring People’s Self Governance” to promote the public welfare for campus neighboring people. In 1942, the Ministry of Education Music Committee’s Paisha Music Education Promotion Subcommittee had held “Paisha Ten Thousand People Chorus Concert”. Participants included National Women Normal College, School for University Preparation, National 17th High School and ten some other groups. The number was so large that had impressed the local people very deeply. In the same year, Northeastern University, in celebration of its birthday, sponsored the Northern Szuchuan Games. Every high school in the area had sent representatives to participate in the competition. It had raised greatly the local people’s interests in physical education. In 1943, students of Wuhan University and National Central Technical Junior College had made up the Flying Club in each school which promoted greatly the newly focused games.27
4. To elevate educational and living standards of frontier provinces
In 1938, the Ministry of Education selected one hundred graduates of various national universities, with excellent academic performance, good behavior and also in good physical conditions. The students had been assigned to Szuchuan, Yunnan, Kweichow, Kwangsi, Shensi, Kansu and Ninghsia to work as teachers at local high schools to elevate local education. In 1941, the Ministry of Education sponsored “Service Corps for Frontier Areas”. Fifty university and college students were selected to go to Sungfan and Lifan and other remote places to engage in practical investigation and services for a period of two months. They had many discoveries about local economic, geography, educational and cultural matters. Those discoveries were very useful information for the area’s later improvement.
In 1944, the Ministry of Education had made orders of hanging paintings of nutrition, sanitation and food, amounted to one hundred pieces each category, from Private Yenking University. The paintings had been distributed among educational agencies and schools in frontier areas. Many university graduates were willing to work in frontier areas. Not only could they help frontier people, but also thereby satisfied their curiosity of touching fresh matters. Professors were also very much interested in frontier areas. They took every opportunity to participate in survey and investigation to frontier areas and thereby had many discoveries in local geography, history and underground mineral resources.28
5. To promote people-to-people diplomacy
In 1940, the China Committees of London’s various universities dispatched letters to invite Chinese scholars to visit Great Britain to give lectures on Chinese current situations. Oxford and Cambridge Universities had made up Sino-British Cultural Cooperation Committee respectively, which made suggestion to engage in the program of exchanging a few scholars with China annually. Oxford University intended to dispatch two professors to China in consultation about Sino-British cultural cooperation matters. In 1941, the Ministry of Education sent Professor Hsu Hsien-kung to Burma at the invitation of Rangoon University to give lectures. In the same year, Professor Kuo Jen-yuan was invited to visit Great Britain to consult the British Government about cultural cooperation matters between the two countries. The British Government consent that she would grant several tens research scholarships to Chinese students annually once Chinese outward traffic would be reopened.
In 1942, the British Parliament visited China and gave high compliments to Chinese wartime education. In the same year, the Pacific Association convened in Canada, Chinese representative Mr. Chiang Mon-ling was elected as the Vice Chairman. Also in 1942, the British Cultural Committee had installed in various British universities more than ten scholarships for Chinese students for a research period of two years. In addition, the British Industry Promotion Association offered assistance to thirty-one graduates of engineering to go to England and to practice in factories.
In 1943, the State Department of the United States invited Central University, Southwestern Union University, Chekiang University, Wuhan University, Szuchuan University and Yunnan University to send one professor each school to go to the United States to give lectures. The Ministry of Education had dispatched Professors Tsai Chiao, King Yueh-lin, Chang Chi-yun, Liu Lai-cheng, Hsiao Tso-liang and Fai Hsiao-tung to go to the United States. In the following year, the ministry had sent Professors Mei Yi-peo, Yen Chi-tse, Cheng Tso-hsin, Yuan Tun-li and Lin Tung-chi to the United States at the invitation of the State Department.
In 1943, the Chinese Government and Indian Government had exchanged ten students. In 1944, the British Cultural Committee invited Chinese scholars by letter to go to England to give lectures. The Ministry of Education in cooperation with National Aircraft Commission selected Professors Hu Kang-fu of Chekiang University and Chou Chao-si of Chungking University to England. In the same year, the American Kellogg College made suggestion that the college was willing to cooperate with Wuhan University, by the way of Sino-American scientific cooperation, to build up a laboratory at Losan, Szuchuan. The purchase, transportation and installment of the needed instruments and material would put the U.S. Navy in charge. The American side also trained observing personnel in order to transfer the laboratory to Wuhan University on appropriate time.29 After the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, British and American soldiers had fought side by side with Chinese soldiers. They had deep impression on Mr. Chiang’s able leadership, Chinese soldiers’ bravery and Chinese people’s assiduousness. Thanks to Chinese university professors and students going abroad to give lectures and to study, it strengthened foreigners’ understanding about China. The Westerners’ prejudice against us since the Opium War had disappeared gradually. China could rank as one of four great powers was not only due to her military performance.
VI. Conclusion
Thanks to Mr. Chiang’s setting high value on education and vigorous support, higher education had been well developed in both quality and quantity during the Sino-Japanese War. Look back the emergency of fighting in the wartime as well as the very restricted material and human resources, such a progress in higher education was quite a miracle. In the past few decades, gifted personnel fostering in the wartime had performed superiorly both in the country and abroad. The reconstruction in the postwar had fallen mostly upon them. The spectacular achievements of the Republic of China today had proved vividly Mr. Chiang’s far-sightedness at the time. Today, in celebration of Mr. Chiang’s centenary birthday, I sincerely put down these historical records as a small way to show my admiration for the great man. (translated by 厲威廉)
NOTES
1. “Chapter Tai Testmony”, Chou Book.
2. Wu Cheng-chiu, Educational Development History of Chinese Universities.
3. a. The Autobiography of Chairman Chiang
b. Chiang Ching-kuo, My Father.
c. Chin Hsiao-yi, Our Leader
4. “Education for Saving the Country”, given by Mr. Chiang at the Weekly Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Ceremony at the Summer Training, Lusan on July 5, 1937, President Chiang’s Selected Speeches Series, China Cultural Service.
5. Mr. Chiang Kai-shek’s Annuals, ed., Biography Literature Publisher.
6. Chin Hsiao-yi, ed., “Thoughts of Chinese Education”, the Republic of China’s Vital Historical Materials – the Period of Resistance War against the Japanese, Committee of Party History, Central Committee of Kuomintang.
7. “To Save Our Country Must Put into Practice of the Balanced Education on Literature and Martial Arts as well as on Technology and Morality” by Mr. Chiang at presence the Kuomintang Szuchuan Provincial Weekly Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Ceremony at Chengtu, June 17, 1935, President Chiang’s Selected Speeches Series, China Cultural Services.
8. The Second China Education Annals, p. 512.
9. a. Huang Chueh-ming, “Topics from Wartime School Buildings to Innovation of School system”, Education Magazine, Series 27, No. 11 & 12.
b. Li-Kung-pu, Theory and Practice of the Wartime
Education.
c. Chang Yuan-chi, “Educational Responsibility of Today and
the Future”, Oriental Magazine, Series 34, No. 16 & 17.
10. Lo Chia-len, “The Growth of Central University under Bombing”, Education Magazine, Series 31, No. 7.
11. Cha Liang-chien, “The Southwestern Union University after the Outbreak of the Resistance War”, Education Magazine, Series 31, No. 1.
12. The Second China Education Annals, p. 598.
13. Ibid., p. 602.
14. Hsieh You-wei, “National Chekiang University”, Universities of the Republic of China.
15. Sun Hsiang-che, “Wuhan University after the Outbreak of the Resistance War”, Education Magazine, Series 31, No. 1.
16. The Second China Education Annals, p. 596-780.
17. Ibid., pp 8-11.
18. a. The Second China Education Annals.
b. Universities of the Republic of China.
c. Modern Chinese Educational History Materials.
d. Higher Education during the Period of the Resistance War.
19. The Second China Education Annals.
20. “Educational Report of the Executive Yuan”, the Second Plenary Meeting of the Sixth National Congress of Kuomintang, March 1946, Modern China.
21. a. Modern Chinese Educational History Materials, pp 43-44.
b. The Second China Education Annals, p. 53.
22. a. Modern Chinese Educational History Materials, p. 44.
b. The Second China Education Annals, p. 53.
23. Same as Note 18.
24. Ibid.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid.
28. Ibid.
29. Ibid.
Editor’s note: Typographical errors in the original article were corrected.