When you think of Yenching University, you immediately think of educator John Leighton Stuart. As for Wu Leichuan, the university’s first Chinese president, many people don’t know about him.
Wu Leichuan, known as L. C. Wu in the West, was born in 1870. His real name was Wu Zhenchun. Wu was bright and fond of studying when he was young. At the age of 17, he passed the imperial examination at the county level in the Qing Dynasty. At the age of 28, he became a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations and became editor of the Imperial Academy of Qing Dynasty. Wu Leichuan, however, happened to catch the Hundred Days’ Reform in 1898. This influential and groundbreaking reform deeply influenced the young Wu Leichuan, allowing him to broaden his horizon and become a scholar well versed in Chinese and Western culture.
In 1905, the Qing Dynasty abolished the imperial examinations and set up schools all over the country. As a member of the Imperial Academy, Wu Leichuan served as the supervisor of Zhejiang Advanced College (the predecessor of Zhejiang University), and contributed to the modernization of the school. Because of his excellent performance in running the school, he served as the mayor of Hangzhou for a short time after the Revolution of 1911.
After the founding of the Republic of China, Wu Leichuan’s thoughts changed greatly. He was baptized in 1915 and became a Christian. Because he had a strong foundation in studies of Chinese ancient civilization and had his own understanding of the Christian faith, he did not fully accept the teachings of western missionaries. Instead, he actively promoted the cause of Sinicization of Christianity in the Chinese cultural background.
At that time, China was enduring impoverishment and long-standing debility, and many people with lofty ideals were looking for ways to save the country. Under the influence of the social Gospel, Christian salvation for the nation became one of the prominent doctrines of the church at that time. Wu Leichuan had the goal of “improving their own practice, managing the family, governing the country, and pacifying the people of the world” held by the traditional Confucian scholars, and he soon accepted this trend of thought and integrated it with the Sinicization of Christianity. Wu’s book Christianity and Chinese Culture reflects his thoughts on the Sinicization of Christianity and the theory of national salvation. Although the book is controversial and even “immoral” in the eyes of conservative Christians, it is a valuable chapter in the history of Chinese theology. In addition, he devoted himself to the dialogue between Mencius’s thought and Christian faith, and his book Mo-tse and Jesus is a masterpiece.
In 1922, Wu entered Yenching University to teach Chinese. He became vice principal of the school in 1926. At that time, he was a famous teacher at Yenching University. He, Liu Tingfang and Zhao Zichen, two ancestors of the Chinese church, became the Three Masters of Yenching University.
At that time, the movement to reclaim the right to education was surging. In order to meet the needs of the times, many missionary schools transferred the management of the church from missionaries to Chinese believers. Mr Wu once pointed out the advantages of having a Chinese headmaster: “You can approach the authorities by speaking Chinese. When the authorities criticize you, foreigners do not need to feel embarrassed. The church should be open-minded and choose the right people as principals. In the absence of suitable candidates, the provisional organizing committee may preside over the affairs of the university, with the Chinese chairman and, of course, foreigners as committee members to participate in its deliberations and decisions.”
Stuart was also supportive of China’s efforts to reclaim the right to education.
In 1929, Wu became the first Chinese president of Yenching University. He formulated the school motto of “freedom through truth and service” and advocated the school spirit of democracy, unity, and upwardness. He hired many famous scholars of the time. Famous cultural figures such as Qian Xuantong, Zhou Zuoren, Shen Yinmo, Zheng Zhenduo, Xu Dishan, and Xie Bingxin had all become teachers of Yenching University. Although Lu Xun, Hu Shi, Wen Yiduo, and Zhu Ziqing were not teachers of Yenching University, they were also invited by Wu Leichuan to give lectures there.
Under the auspices of Wu Leichuan, Yenching University prospered in teaching and became the leading church-based university in China at that time.
In 1941 the war in the Pacific broke out and Yenching University lost its neutral role, and Stuart Leighton was put into a concentration camp by the Japanese. To use Wu Leichuan’s influence, the Japanese wanted him to work for them. But Wu Leichuan sternly refused. Wu Leichuan then shut himself up at home and soon died?? rested in grief and indignation.
Extended Reading: Diary of Wu Leichuan
This diary was written by L. C. Wu, the famous educator and president of Yenching University. It describes his academic life, work, and life at Yenching University for more than ten years. The diary covers a wide range of content, including notes and comments on philosophy, lectures, and preface & postscript about culture, as well as his daily exchanges with teachers and friends. Scholars such as Feng Youlan, Jiang Menglin, Guo Shaoyu, Xu Dishan, and Hong Ye often appear in the diary. This diary has important reference value for understanding Wu Leichuan’s life and thoughts, the history of Yenching University, and the educational ideas of universities of the Republic of China.
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
提起燕京大学，大家马上就会想到教育家司徒雷登。而对于燕大首位华人校长吴雷川，知道的人恐怕就不多了。
吴雷川生于1870年，本名吴震春。吴从小敏而好学，17岁考中秀才，28那年进士及第，并成为清朝翰林院编修。而吴雷川考中进士那年，正好赶上戊戌变法。这场中西激荡、以新代旧的变革深深影响了年轻的吴雷川，让他得以开阔眼界，成为学贯中西的学者。
1905年，清朝废除科举，在各地兴办学堂。作为翰林的吴雷川只好出任浙江高等学堂（浙江大学前身）的监督，为学校走向现代化做出了贡献。因着办学的优异表现，在辛亥革命后，短暂出任为杭州市长。
民国建立后，吴雷川思想发生了巨大改变，他于1915年接受了洗礼，成为基督徒。由于有着深厚的国学功底，对于基督信仰有自己的理解。他没有完全接受西方传教士的教义，而是从文化底色出发，积极推动基督教中国化事业。
当时中国积贫积弱，不少仁人志士都在寻找救国之道。在社会福音的影响下，基督教救国论成为当时教会的显学之一。吴雷川有着传统儒者“修齐治平”的情怀，很快就接受了这种思潮，将其与基督教中国化融合在一起。他所著的《基督教与中国文化》一书，体现了他对于基督教的中国化与救国论的思考。虽然此书在保守派基督徒看来充满争议，甚至“大逆不道”，但不失为中国神学史上值得参考的篇章。此外，他还致力于墨子思想与基督信仰的对话，所著的《墨翟与耶稣》一书，就是一部力作。
1922年，吴雷川进入燕京大学执教，从事国文教学。1926年成为学校的副校长。当时吴雷川是燕大著名的教师，他与刘廷芳、赵紫宸两位中国教会的先贤，并成为燕大三师。
当时收回教育权运动风起云涌，不少教会学校为了适应时代需要，教会的管理权由传教士转到了中国信徒手上。吴雷川曾指出中国人做校长的好处：“可使用中国语文向政府当局接洽，遇有政府当局指摘，外国人无须因此受窘。教会理应宽大为怀，选择适当人才充当校长；如一时缺乏适当人选，不妨暂行组织委员会主持校务，以中国人任委员会主席，外国人当然可任委员，参与讨论及决定。”
而司徒雷登也对中国收回教育权表示了支持。
1929年，吴雷川成为燕京大学首位华人校长。他制定了“因真理，得自由，以服务”的校训，倡导民主、团结、向上的校风。他聘请了不少当时的著名学者。像钱玄同、周作人、沈尹默、郑振铎、许地山、谢冰心等文化名流，都成为燕大的教师，而鲁迅、胡适、闻一多、朱自清等人虽然不在燕大任教，但也受吴雷川所邀，来此开课。
燕京大学在吴雷川的主持下，教学水平蒸蒸日上，成为当时中国教会大学的翘楚。
1941年，太平洋战争爆发，燕京大学失去了孤岛的作用，司徒雷登被日本人关进了集中营。而日伪也想利用吴雷川的影响力出任伪职。但遭到了吴雷川的严正拒绝。吴雷川于是闭门不出，不久在悲愤中安息。
延伸阅读：《吴雷川日记》
本日记为著名教育家、燕京大学校长吴雷川的晚年日记，记述了其在燕大十余年间的学术、工作与生活。日记内容包罗万象，有关于哲学的札记与心得，关于文化的讲演与题跋，还记录了其与师友的往来日常，如冯友兰、蒋梦麟、郭绍虞、许地山、洪业等学人的身影时常显现于日记之中。此日记对于了解吴雷川的生平与思想、燕京大学校史和民国大学教育思想，均有重要参考价值。
燕京大学首任华人校长吴雷川
When you think of Yenching University, you immediately think of educator John Leighton Stuart. As for Wu Leichuan, the university’s first Chinese president, many people don’t know about him.
Wu Leichuan, known as L. C. Wu in the West, was born in 1870. His real name was Wu Zhenchun. Wu was bright and fond of studying when he was young. At the age of 17, he passed the imperial examination at the county level in the Qing Dynasty. At the age of 28, he became a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations and became editor of the Imperial Academy of Qing Dynasty. Wu Leichuan, however, happened to catch the Hundred Days’ Reform in 1898. This influential and groundbreaking reform deeply influenced the young Wu Leichuan, allowing him to broaden his horizon and become a scholar well versed in Chinese and Western culture.
In 1905, the Qing Dynasty abolished the imperial examinations and set up schools all over the country. As a member of the Imperial Academy, Wu Leichuan served as the supervisor of Zhejiang Advanced College (the predecessor of Zhejiang University), and contributed to the modernization of the school. Because of his excellent performance in running the school, he served as the mayor of Hangzhou for a short time after the Revolution of 1911.
After the founding of the Republic of China, Wu Leichuan’s thoughts changed greatly. He was baptized in 1915 and became a Christian. Because he had a strong foundation in studies of Chinese ancient civilization and had his own understanding of the Christian faith, he did not fully accept the teachings of western missionaries. Instead, he actively promoted the cause of Sinicization of Christianity in the Chinese cultural background.
At that time, China was enduring impoverishment and long-standing debility, and many people with lofty ideals were looking for ways to save the country. Under the influence of the social Gospel, Christian salvation for the nation became one of the prominent doctrines of the church at that time. Wu Leichuan had the goal of “improving their own practice, managing the family, governing the country, and pacifying the people of the world” held by the traditional Confucian scholars, and he soon accepted this trend of thought and integrated it with the Sinicization of Christianity. Wu’s book Christianity and Chinese Culture reflects his thoughts on the Sinicization of Christianity and the theory of national salvation. Although the book is controversial and even “immoral” in the eyes of conservative Christians, it is a valuable chapter in the history of Chinese theology. In addition, he devoted himself to the dialogue between Mencius’s thought and Christian faith, and his book Mo-tse and Jesus is a masterpiece.
In 1922, Wu entered Yenching University to teach Chinese. He became vice principal of the school in 1926. At that time, he was a famous teacher at Yenching University. He, Liu Tingfang and Zhao Zichen, two ancestors of the Chinese church, became the Three Masters of Yenching University.
At that time, the movement to reclaim the right to education was surging. In order to meet the needs of the times, many missionary schools transferred the management of the church from missionaries to Chinese believers. Mr Wu once pointed out the advantages of having a Chinese headmaster: “You can approach the authorities by speaking Chinese. When the authorities criticize you, foreigners do not need to feel embarrassed. The church should be open-minded and choose the right people as principals. In the absence of suitable candidates, the provisional organizing committee may preside over the affairs of the university, with the Chinese chairman and, of course, foreigners as committee members to participate in its deliberations and decisions.”
Stuart was also supportive of China’s efforts to reclaim the right to education.
In 1929, Wu became the first Chinese president of Yenching University. He formulated the school motto of “freedom through truth and service” and advocated the school spirit of democracy, unity, and upwardness. He hired many famous scholars of the time. Famous cultural figures such as Qian Xuantong, Zhou Zuoren, Shen Yinmo, Zheng Zhenduo, Xu Dishan, and Xie Bingxin had all become teachers of Yenching University. Although Lu Xun, Hu Shi, Wen Yiduo, and Zhu Ziqing were not teachers of Yenching University, they were also invited by Wu Leichuan to give lectures there.
Under the auspices of Wu Leichuan, Yenching University prospered in teaching and became the leading church-based university in China at that time.
In 1941 the war in the Pacific broke out and Yenching University lost its neutral role, and Stuart Leighton was put into a concentration camp by the Japanese. To use Wu Leichuan’s influence, the Japanese wanted him to work for them. But Wu Leichuan sternly refused. Wu Leichuan then shut himself up at home and soon died?? rested in grief and indignation.
Extended Reading: Diary of Wu Leichuan
This diary was written by L. C. Wu, the famous educator and president of Yenching University. It describes his academic life, work, and life at Yenching University for more than ten years. The diary covers a wide range of content, including notes and comments on philosophy, lectures, and preface & postscript about culture, as well as his daily exchanges with teachers and friends. Scholars such as Feng Youlan, Jiang Menglin, Guo Shaoyu, Xu Dishan, and Hong Ye often appear in the diary. This diary has important reference value for understanding Wu Leichuan’s life and thoughts, the history of Yenching University, and the educational ideas of universities of the Republic of China.
(The article is originally published by Gospel Times.)
- Translated by Nicolas Cao
L. C. Wu, the First Chinese President of Yenching University
