In 1917, Tao Xingzhi took a group photo at Columbia University, with Tao Xingzhi on the right in the front row and Hu Shi on the right.
Tao Xingzhi's original name was Tao Wenjun. For a while, he admired the "unity of knowledge and action", he said: "Knowledge is the beginning of action, and action is the completion of knowledge", emphasizing that understanding and action should be consistent. Changed its name to "Tao Zhixing".
Later, he felt that the "unity of knowledge and action" was incomplete. He wrote a poem "Three Generations": "Action is Lao Tzu, knowledge is the son, and creation is the grandson." I felt that "action is the beginning of knowledge, and knowledge is the completion of action", so I changed "knowledge and action" to "practice knowledge".
Once, Tao Xingzhi gave a lecture at Wuhan University. He took out a large rooster from the box, took out another handful of rice and put it on the table, then pressed the rooster's head and forced it to eat rice.
But the big rooster only crows and doesn't eat. I broke open the rooster's mouth and stuffed the rice into the chicken's mouth, but the big rooster still refused to eat.
Mr. Tao easily opened his hand, put the chicken on the table, took a few steps back, and the big rooster began to eat rice.
At this time, Mr. Tao began to speak: I think that education is like feeding chickens. If a student is forced to learn Xi and imbues him with knowledge, the student is reluctant to learn. Even if you learn, you can't eat it.
But if you let the students learn the Xi freely and give full play to the students' subjective initiative, the effect will be much better!
Tao Xingzhi said: The position of a teacher is to "teach thousands of teachings and teach people to seek truth";The student's job is to "learn from thousands of things, learn to be a real person".
Tao Xingzhi. 
Tao Xingzhi and the children.
Tao Xingzhi: "Mr. should not specialize in teaching, his responsibility is to teach people to be people;."The student should not focus on studying, his responsibility is to learn Xi way of life. —Xingzhi Epistles
Cai Yuanpei was president of Peking University from 1917 to 1927.
In his first speech at Peking University, Cai Yuanpei made it clear at the beginning: "University scholars are also those who study advanced knowledge", and explained that "university students should take academic research as their vocation, and should not use universities as a ladder for promotion and wealth."
In June 1917, the first graduation group photo of the Department of Chinese Philosophy of Peking University.
In the summer of 1917, the first graduation group photo of the English Department of Liberal Arts of Peking University.
In June 1918, the second graduation group photo of the Department of Liberal Arts and Philosophy of Peking University.
In the front row, from left, Kang Baozhong, Cui Shi, Chen Yinghuang, Ma Xulun, Cai Yuanpei, Chen Duxiu, Liang Shuming, Chen Hanzhang;The fourth from the left in the middle row, Feng Youlan, and the seventh from the left, Hu Mingsheng;Back row, second from left, Huang Wenbi, and fifth from left.
Group photo of the fourth graduation of Peking University's Liberal Arts and Chinese Literature Gate.
Front row from left: Zhu Xizu, Qian Xuantong
Cai Yuanpei, Chen Duxiu, Huang Kan.
From left: Jiang Menglin, Cai Yuanpei, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao. Cai Yuanpei and Jiang Menglin have a teacher-student friendship, and both have served as presidents of Peking University.
In 1908, Cai Yuanpei was studying abroad.
As a graduate of Nankai Middle School, Mei Yiqi maintained a lifelong teacher-student friendship with the principal Zhang Boling. Mei Yiqi first joined Tsinghua University to teach, and returned to Tianjin to meet Zhang Boling in the summer after teaching for half a year, saying that he had little interest in teaching and wanted to change jobs.
Zhang Boling said: "You only teach for half a year and you don't want to do it, how do you know that you are not interested?"Young people should be patient and go back to teaching!Mei Yiqi followed the teacher's teachings and returned to Tsinghua to teach, continuing her relationship with Tsinghua I.
Since its establishment in 1911, Tsinghua University has gone through more than 20 presidents. Before Mei Yiqi took over as president, the average tenure of each president was less than two years, three or five years long, one or two years shorter, or even a few months.
Mei Yiqi served as the president of Tsinghua University from 1931 until he left Tsinghua Park in 1948, and went to the United States in 1950 to manage Tsinghua's Geng Yuan**, serving Tsinghua University for 47 years.
Mei Yiqi's relics, the only surviving diary and ledger. Mei Yiqi's poverty is undoubtedly the ultimate among all presidents in the history of Tsinghua University, and even rare in the history of universities in the world.
In 1935, Mei Yiqi (sixth from left) and his family, together with Feng Youlan (first from left), Dean of Tsinghua University, Gu Yuxiu (fifth from left), Dean of Engineering, Pan Guangdan (seventh from left), and their families visited Miaofeng Mountain. The second from the left is Mrs. Mei Han Yonghua, the third from the left is Mrs. Feng Youlan, the fourth from the left is Mrs. Gu Yuxiu, the left is Feng Zhongliao, the son of Feng Youlan, and the right is Mei Zuyan, the son of Mei Yiqi.
In 1941, on the outskirts of Kunming, Mei Yiqi took a group photo with colleagues from the five major research institutes of Tsinghua University.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Mei Yiqi (middle) took a group photo with the core team of Tsinghua University.
Shi Jiayang, Pan Guangdan, Chen Daisun, Wu Youxun,
Feng Youlan, Ye Qisun and others (from left to right).
In 1947, on the anniversary of Tsinghua University, Mei Yiqi took a group photo with Hu Shi, then president of Peking University, Zha Liangzhao, former director of Southwest Associated University, and Huang Yusheng, former secretary general of Nankai University.
Mei Yiqi. Photographed in 1930.
In 1917, Hu Shi became a professor at Peking University.
After that, he successively served as the director of the Institute of Philosophy of Peking University
Dean of the English Professors' Association, Dean of Peking University, Dean of Literature of Peking University, President of Peking University.
In September 1924, the Institute of Chinese Studies of Peking University took a group photo.
Front row, from left: Dong Zuobin, Chen Yuan, Zhu Xizu, Jiang Menglin, Huang Wenbi;Second row, from left: Sun Fuyuan, Gu Jiegang, Ma Heng, Shen Jishi, Hu Mingsheng;The second from the left in the third row is Hu Shi.
After Hu Shi became a professor at Peking University, the phrase "my friend Hu Shizhi" became a mantra for many people. Lin Yutang, Zhou Ruchang, Li Ao, Shen Congwen, Ji Xianlin and others have all been funded by Hu Shi.
Hu Shi lectured at Peking University and advocated the use of vernacular, while Professor Huang Kanjiao advocated the use of classical Chinese.
Hu Shi said: Two days ago, a friend of mine in the Ministry of Education invited me to do something. I didn't want to go into politics and decided not to. I would like to ask Mr. Huang Kan to help me write a message of refusal in classical Chinese, and I will write a copy in vernacular
Professor Huang Kan thought for a while and said: I am not knowledgeable, I am afraid that it is difficult to be competent, and I am unbearable.
Hu Shi said that Professor Huang just used 12 words, which is very concise. None of you here is less than 12 words. Seeing that no one answered, Hu Shi said: I wrote a message in the vernacular—I can't do it, thank you."
After hearing this, Professor Huang Kan stood up and accused: "Vulgar, vulgar, your message is neither literary nor polite, and it can't express the meaning of my message at all, it is simply insulting."
Hu Shi replied with a smile: I don't think so. can't do it, which contains the meaning of being shallow and incompetent. And the thank you I used expressed my gratitude to my friends for bothering to recommend me, which also implied rejection.
Then Hu Shi said: It can be seen that whether the language is refined or not does not lie in the difference between vernacular and classical Chinese. It's about choosing the right words.
Front row from left: 1 Shen Jianshi, 2 Chen Wanli, 3 Ma Yuzao, 4 Jin Xilong, 5 Gu Mengyu, 6 Ma Heng, 7 Ye Han, 8 Chen Hanzhang, 9 Zhu Xizu, 10 Shan Bu'an, 11 Hu Shi, 12 Shen Yinmo. Second row from left: 7 Qian Xuantong, 8 Lin Yutang, 9 Rong Geng. Three rows from right: 4 Gu Jiegang, 6 Huang Wenbi.
When he became the president of Peking University, Hu Shi delivered a speech at the opening ceremony: "I hope that professors and students can do their best to make the greatest contribution to academic thought and culture, and make Peking University a decent university."I hope that students can 'study independently', and not take other people's thoughts as thoughts and other people's beliefs as beliefs." ”
Another important thing that Hu Shi said is to be a person who is not confused by others.
Hu Shi said: "Free research is the consistent style of Peking University. 'Freedom' is given to teachers and students by the school. 'Independence' is for creation. Hu Shi also quoted Lu Zuqian's famous saying in the Southern Song Dynasty that "good is not easy to understand, and reason is not easy to detect", and warned Peking University students to think independently and not blindly follow.
Hu Shi: If you want to look at the civilization of a country, you only need to examine three things: first, how they treat children;secondly, how they treat women;Third, look at how they use their leisure time.
In 1957, Hu Shi made a will in New York, donating 102 boxes of books and documents to Peking University. The main part of Hu Shi's collection is now in the library of Peking University.
Hu shi. Speaking of these rare gentlemen, we have to mention Columbia University.
Columbia University has not only produced three presidents of Peking University: Jiang Menglin, Hu Shi, and Ma Yinchu;There are also educators Tao Xingzhi, essayists Liang Shiqiu, Xu Zhimo, Jin Yuelin, Feng Youlan, Wen Yiduo, Pan Guangdan, Wu Wenzao, Gu Weijun, Jiang Tinghuang, Song Ziwen and others.
Among them, the Chinese students of Columbia University educator John Dewey include Tao Xingzhi, Hu Shi, Feng Youlan, Guo Bingwen, Zhang Boling, Jiang Menglin and many other famous modern cultural scholars.
The clouds and mountains are firm, the rivers are turbulent, the wind of the gentleman, the mountains are high and the waters are long.