Chen Yisheng devoted himself to the teaching and research of sociology, especially attached importance to cultural studies, and advocated the establishment of "culturology" in China. He believes that in China, people who want to find a way to save the country from learning from eastern and western cultures have three different opinions: first, they advocate accepting western culture in an all-round way; The second is to advocate the return to China's inherent culture; The third is to advocate compromise. In this regard, he pointed out that there is no way out for the eclectic and retro school. He once went deep into the rural areas of China, made more investigations and studies on boatmen in Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi and overseas Chinese in Southeast Asian countries, and also made more studies on the history of Southeast Asia, overseas Chinese and Xiongnu. Chen Yisheng's works mainly include A Brief History of China Culture, Miao Studies, An Overview of Cultural Studies, Nanyang and China, and The Origin of Sociology.
The Historical Draft of Xiongnu is the posthumous work of Professor Chen. Since studying in Germany, the author has been paying attention to the research progress of Xiongnu history abroad. In the mid-1950s, he took time out of his official duties to write the Historical Draft of Xiongnu, with a total of 800,000 words. In the early 1960s, he made some supplements to the first and second chapters, but failed to sort out and modify the whole draft, that is, he died unfortunately. Based on relevant editions, this book has been revised with reference to the author's manuscript, while retaining the style of the manuscript as much as possible. This person is Chen, a historian, sociologist, ethnologist, educator ... a scholar, and this university is Lingnan University.
Born and raised in Wenchang County, Chen is an authentic Cantonese. However, like most celebrities in Guangdong in modern times, it seems that they have to go through a process of going out of Lingnan-struggling-becoming famous, and Lingnan has become a place for exporting talents. What is different is that Chen finally returned to his hometown and left a permanent footprint on this land.
1947, when the board of directors of Lingnan University frequently invited Chen, Chen, then president of Nankai University and dean of the School of Political Economy, did not immediately agree, even though he had taught at the school twice before. Perhaps he feels that his display in Nankai has just begun, or that the world in Lingnan is too small and education is too backward. Anyway, if Zhang Boling, president of Nankai University, doesn't agree to "lend" (two years), Chen probably won't leave too many memories in Lingnan. This "borrowing" is 16 years.
From 1 August, 948,1became the president of Lingnan University, to 1952, when Xialingnan University was revoked. In two or three years, Lingnan University became the most perfect university in China from the best school in Guangdong (at that time, there were only two universities in Guangdong, and the other was Sun Yat-sen University), and some departments (such as medical schools) had reached the first-class or best in China. Ruokao
Considering that China has been in regime change and turmoil for most of recent years (first the War of Liberation, then the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea), the development of Lingnan University is a miracle.
How did the miracle happen? Not profound: a set of correct school goals, purposes and strategies, a group of first-class talents, and an efficient mechanism. What is a university? Chen's point of view is: "Universities are places for seeking knowledge and researching knowledge", and Lingda aims to become a first-class academic university in China. To this end, when he first preached to the teachers and students of the whole school, he emphasized that academic research should not engage in sectarianism, "pay attention to the spirit of free discussion", and advocated respecting individual freedom of thought, belief, speech and academics. Under the principle of "inclusiveness and freedom of thought" (this was the school-running purpose of Cai Yuanpei when he was in charge of Peking University), Chen invited a large number of well-known scholars, experts and professors at home and abroad: historian Chen Yinque, mathematician Jiang Lifu, linguist Wang Li, archaeologist Tao Baokai, timber and soil engineering expert, surveyor, medical expert, Chen,,,. Some of them are Chen's Nankai colleagues (such as Jiang Lifu), some are his students (such as Duanmu Zheng), some are old acquaintances (such as Chen Yinque, Wang Li and Tao), and some are invited by him when he was in Tianjin (such as a group of experts from medical college). To some extent, Chen's 14 years in Nankai (including 8 years in National Southwest Associated University) laid a good foundation for his work in Lingda. All this naturally comes from Chen's "personal charm": not doing proper business, not being an official, keeping a distance from politics (not joining the Kuomintang). He himself is a scholar who has a thorough understanding of China and the West. He showed "independent spirit and free thought" in academic research and debate. He respects people, is tolerant and sincere.
With people, you need money and a capable management team. The principal responsibility system under the leadership of the board of directors of Lingnan University provides a guarantee for these. Grasping people with one hand and money with the other, Chen once again showed his prestige and ability. His popularity among overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and Southeast Asia enabled him to raise a large number of private donations (which is the advantage of running a school in Lingnan), and the school was able to tide over the financial difficulties smoothly (at this time, CUHK teachers were protesting to the government that they were not paid); An efficient management team was established (a decision-making group composed of five professors, not a vice president), which enabled the school to operate efficiently, while "professors running the school" ensured the academic atmosphere and development of Lingda. This is reminiscent of the National Southwest Associated University.
The favorable weather, geographical location and harmonious people have made Lingnan University and Chen brilliant in the transitional era, but the times only gave him less than four years. Four years, relative to the growth of a university, relative to the cultural generation and accumulation of a region, is how short! 1952 National college departments were adjusted, Lingnan University was abolished, its engineering college was merged into South China University of Technology (now South China University of Technology), agricultural college was merged into South China Agricultural College (now South China Agricultural University), and medical college was merged into Sun Yat-sen Medical College (now Sun Yat-sen Medical University). The Department of Economics and the Department of Law were transferred out. After the transfer, Sun Yat-sen University actually had only liberal arts and science, and a number of professors, such as Wang Li, transferred to Peking University and other institutions. Chen himself became an ordinary professor at Sun Yat-sen University.
Chen's wish to run a first-class university in Lingnan finally became a dream. Later, although Chen served as vice president of Sun Yat-sen University, president of Jinan University (less than two years) and vice president of Nankai University, the world changed, and the presidents of universities at that time were no longer beautiful.
Chen and Lingnan University, which he painstakingly managed, have become history. But looking back at the depths of history, we can still hear distant echoes: Lingnan needs one or several first-class universities, and Lingnan's backwardness is not in the economy, but in education, which was and still is; Lingnan can become a first-class university in China. The prerequisites are: a relaxed environment, a modern education system and a president like Chen.