"Well, yes. Sun Yuanqi did not hide it, and immediately told Li Jingfang the purpose of establishing the society and the general plan for the future, "Over the years, I have been to the United States, Japan, and Britain, France, and Germany in Europe, and I have a little understanding of the situation of Chinese students: they first studied in China, as we all know, the level of domestic education is not high, and their understanding of science when they first went abroad was just enlightened. When you go abroad, you have to familiarize yourself with the customs and habits of a foreign country, and you have to learn the language and writing, and when everything is ready, half of your study abroad career has passed. After that, according to his own interests, or according to the instructions of the official faction, he learned a little bit of skin, and then he had to return to China as soon as possible. When I returned to China, I had no way to continue my studies, and when I entered the factory, I could be a technician, and after a few years, I would be out of the picture; When you enter the school, at most, you can fool the students with your own half bottle of water, which leads to the fact that the domestic teaching level is still not up. In this way, the purpose of studying abroad is basically not achieved. ”

"I and all my international students set up the society, which is precisely because of this, and it is necessary for my Chinese students to have a solid knowledge foundation and understand some of the latest international scientific progress before studying abroad; After going abroad, they can integrate into their school as soon as possible and learn knowledge in a purposeful and planned way; After returning to China, you can find a suitable job and carry out further academic research in combination with the actual situation. ”

"The Society's specific work will include: publishing a journal to disseminate science and promote research; (2) translating scientific books to disseminate the latest scientific developments; (3) compiling scientific terminology to ensure barrier-free communication between domestic scholars; (4) Establish research institutes to carry out scientific experiments and provide a platform for researchers to carry out their research; (5) holding scientific presentations and trainings to popularize scientific knowledge; Strengthen communication and contact between scholars to ensure smooth work and study; (7) Entrusted by public authorities to study and solve practical scientific problems encountered by Chinese. ”

"It is inevitable that there will be some constraints in establishing a society in China, and now we need to solve the problem of foreign students first, so we decided to hold an inaugural meeting in London. When the conditions are ripe, we will move the society back to China. ”

Li Jingfang listened to it and praised it quite a lot: "The old man has been in England for nearly a year, and he has seen the scientific and technological prosperity of European countries. Baixi takes the revitalization of China as its own responsibility, takes the purpose of liaising with comrades and working together for the development of Chinese science, and does not worry about the cumbersome expenses, and establishes the society. ”

Immediately, the conversation changed: "But you also know how difficult the country is now, and the meat-eating princes all uphold the principle that it is better to save more than one thing." And since the change of law in the year of Wuxu, the head of the palace is very afraid of all kinds of societies, especially when it hangs overseas, which is even more taboo. It must be known that Sun Yat-sen's traitor is a traitor who is snaring the charm in the name of the society, in a vain attempt to overthrow the society. As the old man's envoy to the United Kingdom, it would be a dereliction of duty if he did not report such a big incident in the city of London; The old man reported it, but if you don't report it, it is easy to be suspicious in the palace. Therefore, it is best for our uncles and nephews to exchange voices first, and then go to their own folds to explain the things here, and also put an end to those pedantic people in China chasing after the wind and making irresponsible remarks. You need to know that three people become tigers."

When Sun Yuanqi heard what Li Jingfang said, he nodded again and again: "What my uncle said is extremely true, but I didn't think of this. ”

Next, the two discussed it carefully. After Li Jingfang's stay, Sun Yuanqi returned to the hotel after dinner. This trip is not without other gains, this cheap uncle gave Cheng Yi two hundred pounds as soon as he made a move, which really made Sun Yuanqi happy.

Early the next morning, Li Fuji and Yu Tongkui were invited to the hotel with several young students to report to Sun Yuanqi on the progress of the society's preparations. Sun Yuan saw that the faces of those people were tight, so he said, "How many of you are waiting for Zemin and Xingshu to be introduced?" Or introduce yourself? ”

"Let's introduce myself" Maybe it's because you've been in Europe for a long time, and you're not as reserved as those students in China.

Then someone volunteered to stand up: "Student He Yujie, whose name is yín alfalfa, is from Ningbo, Zhejiang. 02) entered the Beijing Normal University in the 28th year of Guangxu, and was sent to Europe with Xingshu in the 29th year, and is now studying physics at the University of Manchester. ”

He Yujie? Sun Yuanqi muttered for a long time, and then remembered that on the display board of the history of the physics department of his alma mater, the first one was this Mr. He. He glanced at him deeply: "In this way, Yín and I are both teachers and students, and we are still peers." We're going to have a good talk in the future."

"How dare students get into physics from the beginning of Mr. 's writings, and then you are the principal of me and Xingshu, and now Mr. is even more famous all over the world, and even the physics professors at the University of Manchester have heard that I am your student, and they have a different view of me. Students should ask you for advice. He Yujie didn't dare to hold it up.

"Yín alfalfa, you must have the courage to be a teacher," Sun Yuan laughed, and then asked, "Who should you sit down below?" ”

"I'll do it." A small man about the same age as Sun Yuanqi stood up and said, "Student Li Yin, whose name is Shoufeng, is from Huaxian County, Guangdong, originally studied Western studies in Guangya West School, and was later selected to come to the United Kingdom, and now studies chemistry at the University of London. ……”

Sun Yuanqi listened to everyone's introduction, and had a general idea in his heart: although these people have not been able to cover the four major scientific categories of science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, they have been slightly prepared for major categories such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, and medicine.

Li Fu cleared his throat when he saw that the introduction was finished: "Brother Baixi, then let me report to you the latest progress of the preparations for the meeting?" ”

"There's Brother Lao Zemin."

"Since the telegram was sent out on the 18th, a total of 145 people have signed up to participate in the meeting. Because Germany and Belgium are a little farther away, there should be a lot of people signing up in the next two days. It is estimated that by Christmas Eve, the number of applicants should be about 200, and international students studying science in Europe will basically come, majoring in a wide range of science, engineering, agriculture, medicine and other four categories. Here are the details of the students who have already registered. ”

Sun Yuanqi took the information handed over by Li Fuji and carefully watched the column of majors studied by everyone. Li Fuji continued on the side: "Because there are many participants and it is Christmas, the daily expenses are not too much. In order to save money, after discussing with Xingshu, Yín Alfalfa, Shoufeng and several others, I decided to set the duration of the meeting for two days. Brother Baixi, what do you think? ”

After a moment, Sun Yuanqi shook his head slightly: "Since this is the first meeting, it is best to leave enough time for everyone to discuss, in my opinion, it is better to extend it for one more day." On the first day, the plenary meeting will be held in the morning, and in the afternoon, everyone will choose different societies according to their hobbies and start group meetings. On the second day, there are still group meetings, and each group has to elect the leaders of the society, and finalize the basic constitution and future development direction of the society. On the morning of the third day, the leaders of each society meet, the group members continue to discuss, and in the afternoon, the plenary meeting reads out the constitution and framework of the society, and finally closes. Of course, the specific and detailed arrangements will be discussed later. ”

He Yujie said at this time: "Sir, our institution is named 'Chinese Society for Science and Technology'?" ”

"Oh, you disagree? Let's hear it. ”

"Students think so, looking at the number of international students in our country, there are the least in the Americas, and it is estimated that there are less than 100 students; followed by Europe, probably between three and four hundred people; The largest number is Japan, with at least five or six thousand people. Before He Yujie expressed his opinion, he gave a data.

Sun Yuanqi thought in his heart: There were many Japanese students studying in the late Qing Dynasty, mainly because the Chinese people felt that they were the same as Japan, the same language, and Japan successfully changed the law, defeated the Qing Dynasty and Russia, coupled with Japan's goodwill and malice intertwined yin*, so everyone's goal of studying abroad was Japan; As for Europe, although Britain, France, Germany and other countries are all old capitalist powers, they have long roads, different races, and difficult languages, so there are many fewer international students; And the United States is a freshly baked nouveau riche, rich and uneducated, and despite the good attitude, everyone is still too lazy to go.

Thirty years in the east of the river, thirty years in the west of the river. After the middle of the Republic of China, as the national strength of the United States increased after World War I, the United States gradually became the first destination to go abroad. At that time, most of the university professors had studied in the United States. Taking Nankai University as an example, in 1930 there were 41 teachers in the school, and 31 returned from studying in the United States; Of the 34 professors in 1936, 33 were in the United States. According to relevant statistics, around the 30s, more than 50 students in the United States served as university presidents, accounting for almost 80 percent of all university presidents at that time.

Up to now, the United States is a well-deserved N, Europe is still second, and Japan, as for Japan, it has lost the halo he once had, and sits in the third place aggrievedly, and sometimes it is not even as good as Canada and Australia.

He Yujie continued: "Sir, you raised your arms in London and established the Society, and European and American students naturally looked at the scenery, and no one was convinced. It's just that after Japanese students hear about it, they will inevitably feel angry. If they follow our example and set up their own societies, it will not be beautiful for them to be at odds with each other.

"Therefore, we might as well tentatively name it 'European Branch of the Chinese Society for Science and Technology' and wait for the end of the meeting, and then inform our colleagues in the United States and Japan of the relevant conference charter and meeting results, so that they can set up the Americas branch and the Japan branch respectively. The three of us communicate with each other on a regular basis, but we do not belong to each other. When the constitution is successfully established in China and the party ban is lifted, we will work together to build a formal 'Chinese Society for Science and Technology' in China, which will be under the three branches of Europe, America and Japan. What do you think? ”

Chinese likes to form gangs and factions, and occupy the mountains as kings, and often label them as "× parties" and "×× factions" according to their geographical or life backgrounds. This ethos also exists in academia. During the period of the Republic of China, due to the fact that there were many people who had the experience of studying abroad, there was a difference between those who stayed in the United States, those who stayed in Europe, and those who stayed in Japan, and even the treatment was different. The wages in Europe and the United States are the highest, and those who stay in Japan are often three or four floors lower; As for the turtle professors who have never stayed abroad, they can generally only get a little more than half of the salary of staying in Europe and the United States, so that Liu Bannong, Xiang Da and others are all thirty or forty years old, and they have to go abroad to gild.

And this ethos is also evident in the setting up of research institutes. In 1928, the Academia Sinica was firmly controlled by the European and American factions. Before moving to Taiwan, the two presidents:

Cai Yuanpei is a four-year auditor at the University of Leipzig, Germany;

Zhu Jiahua has a Ph.D. from the University of Berlin in Germany.

The director general of the Academia Sinica is responsible for administrative management, and among the 11 directors general of the 10 directors before and after:

Xingfo Yang, B.A. from Cornell University, M.A. from Harvard University;

Xielin Ding, M.S., University of Birmingham, UK;

Wenjiang Ding, double bachelor's degree from the University of Glasgow, UK;

Jiahua Zhu, Ph.D., University of Berlin, Germany;

Ren Hongjun, B.A. from Cornell University and M.A. from Columbia University;

Fu Sinian, studied at the University of London in the United Kingdom and the University of Berlin in Germany;

Ye Qisun, B.A., University of Chicago, Ph.D., Harvard University;

Shuhua Li, M.A., University of Toulouse, France, Ph.D., University of Paris;

Sa Bendong, B.A., Stanford University, Ph.D., Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts;

Qian Linzhao studied at the University of London.

Among these ten people, all of them have a background in studying in Europe and the United States, and 8 of them have obtained degrees from European and American universities.

Compared with the purity of the Academia Sinica, the Beiping Research Institute established in 1929 is much more mottled, and there are naturally people with European and American study backgrounds, but more of them are infiltrated and entrenched by the Japanese study background and the turtle faction, the former such as Wu Jingheng, Zhou Zuomin, Cui Jingbo, and the latter such as Gu Jiegang and Zhuo Dingmou, etc., have become the self-reserved places of their respective factions.

From this aspect, it really fulfills the sentence: where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Academic circles are no exception.

Sun Yuanqi thought about it, then nodded and agreed: "What Yín said is extremely true. Then do as you say."

Next, under the command of Sun Yuanqi, several people divided the list of participants brought by Li Fuji according to their majors, and the societies of various disciplines became clear at a glance.

There are only two first-level societies in agronomy: the Chinese Agricultural Society and the Chinese Forestry Society; There are only two types of medicine: the Chinese Medical Association and the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association; Relatively speaking, science and engineering are divided into two disciplines because of the large number of students.

Take science as an example, there are nearly ten Chinese Mathematical Society, Chinese Chemical Society, Chinese Physical Society, Chinese Meteorological Society, Chinese Astronomical Society, Chinese Geological Society, Chinese Geographical Society, and Chinese Biological Society.

As for engineering, it is more finely divided, and even at Sun Yuanqi's suggestion, even if there are no students, they have set up an empty shelf of the Chinese Ordnance Engineering Society and the Chinese Nuclear Society.

After the division was completed, everyone began to prepare various speeches and print the conference documents.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle, Christmas is here.