The founding history of Beijing Institute of Light Industry

Zhu Kang (the first president of Beijing Institute of Light Industry)

My letter of appointment was signed by Premier Zhou Enlai, but unfortunately it was torn up by the rebels during the "Cultural Revolution".

Premier Zhou said that the children are growing, and 11 yuan a month for food is not enough. Let us increase it to 15 yuan. In 1956, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out at a meeting held by the Central Committee on the issue of intellectuals that technological revolution, cultural revolution, and the eradication of stupidity and ignorance are not possible without intellectuals, and it is not possible to rely on old men alone. China should have a large number of intellectuals. . In February of the same year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued an instruction requiring party committees at all levels to take effective measures to cultivate new forces on a large scale and expand the team of intellectuals. It also proposed that within 12 years, my country's backward science and technology should be brought close to the world's advanced level. In 1957, the first five-year plan was overfulfilled. At the beginning of 1958, Chairman Mao proposed to shift the focus of the party and the country to technological revolution and socialist construction.

In the nationwide craze for marching into science, colleges and universities have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. At that time, our country did not have any colleges and universities affiliated with light industry, and light industry education was extremely incompatible with the rapidly developing light industry situation. In view of this, in May 1958, the State Council approved the establishment of Beijing Institute of Light Industry and appointed me as its president and Party secretary. My letter of appointment was signed by Premier Zhou Enlai, but unfortunately it was torn up by the rebels during the Cultural Revolution.

When talking about the establishment of Beijing Institute of Light Industry, we cannot but mention the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The Eighth National Congress of our Party was indeed a very successful meeting. The meeting confirmed the shift in the focus of the party's work and proposed that the main task of the people across the country is to concentrate on developing social productivity, realize national industrialization, and gradually meet the people's growing material and cultural needs. It should be said that without the Eighth National Congress, there would be no establishment of Beijing Institute of Light Industry. Unfortunately, the Eighth National Congress's line has not been consistently implemented. In July 1954, I was transferred from my position as deputy mayor of Tangshan City to the position of Director of the Infrastructure Department of the Ministry of Light Industry. By 1958, I successively served as Director of the Infrastructure Department of the Ministry of Light Industry, Director of the Design Department, Director of the Food Bureau and Designer of Food Industry Fats Dean of the hospital. One day in May 1958, Deputy Minister Xia Zhixu, who was in charge of personnel, asked his secretary to call me and said: "Director Zhu, come here."

Xia Zhixu is the daughter of the revolutionary mother, Empress Xia. The wife of martyr Zhao Shiyan, we all respectfully call her eldest sister. I pushed the door open and said, "Sister, is there something wrong?"

Minister Xia said, "Let's transfer." I was the director of the Food Bureau of the Ministry of Light Industry at the time, in charge of the country's tobacco, alcohol and sugar. I said: "I have been transferred four or five times in the past three or four years since I came to the ministry. You have to let me get familiar with it!"

Minister Xia said without hesitation: "It's decided, you go ahead. He served as party committee secretary and dean of the Institute of Light Industry. ”

At that time, job transfers were so simple, and everyone had to obey organizational decisions unconditionally. I swallowed and said, "Now that I've decided, let's go!"

The Preparatory Office of Light Industry College was established in July. The Preparatory Office gathered a group of elite soldiers from the Ministry of Light Industry: Ding Lizhi, Director of the Education Department, was appointed as Deputy Secretary and Vice President of the Party Committee, and Huang Ji, Deputy Director of the General Office, was appointed as a member of the Party Committee. Soon Liu Yaping, Director of the Cadre Department, also came to the college. Later, comrades from the Infrastructure Department, the Design Institute and the Preparatory Office of Tianjin Papermaking College joined in. The Preparatory Office is really strong and powerful. Beijing Institute of Light Industry is located on Fucheng Road, Haidian District. This place was originally the Central Handicraft Cadre School. Later, the school was cancelled, and the Light Industry College used the remaining school buildings of the school for reconstruction and expansion. The speed of the school's construction seems to be like a myth. It only took 4 months from the State Council's official approval of the school's establishment to the start of the college's classes. On September 18, 1958, Beijing Institute of Light Industry held its opening ceremony, and classes officially began on September 22. I don’t think there’s any secret. It’s just to trust people, care about people, understand people, and respect people. It means respecting knowledge and talents.

At the time when I was ordered to establish the Beijing Institute of Light Industry, the minister of the Ministry of Light Industry was Li Zhuchen. Minister Li is a big entrepreneur and well-known democrat in Tianjin. In the 1950s, the central government ministers of the Republic of China were served by democrats. Li Zhuchen was not the first person. Huang Yanpei, the first minister of the Ministry of Light Industry and Vice Premier of the State Council, was also a well-known democrat. The Ministry of Light Industry attaches great importance to the construction of the college. Ministers personally participate in the opening ceremony, graduation ceremony, and the school's commemorative activities.

In order to run the college well, Minister Li Zhuchen also gave me a policy to select people from all over the country. With Shang Fang Baojian, we first worked hard to form a team of teachers. Soon, our college gathered a group of senior scholars, professors and engineering technology experts who are famous at home and abroad. For example, Du Chunyan, director of the Leather Research Institute of the Ministry of Light Industry and first-class engineer, Lai Qifang, director of the Silicate Research Institute and first-class engineer, Jin Peisong, executive director of the Chinese Society of Microbiology, chemical engineering expert Cheng Mingzhi, papermaking expert Cao Guangrui, second-level professor Xiao Lianbo, and ceramics expert You Enpu, light industrial machinery expert Zeng Guangshou, leather analysis and leather structure expert Pan Jinsheng... formed a team of teachers with high professional quality.

Most of the students at that time were high school students recruited through the national unified examination, and about 20% were selected from provincial and municipal (cadre) accelerated middle schools. The latter group of people all have revolutionary work practices, are politically strong, and are good at learning. Their enrollment has played a very good role in promoting the school to establish a good school spirit of selflessness for the public, hard work, unity and progress, respect for teachers and eagerness to learn.

At that time, students’ birth certificates were still relatively strict in admissions. Especially for overseas Chinese and candidates with overseas connections, many colleges did not dare to ask for them. I'm not afraid of that. I said, "The fact that children come back from overseas to go to school shows that they are very patriotic! How can there be so many spies? No one wants me!" Others said I was brave. However, among this group of students, there are indeed many talents that can be developed, and some have achieved considerable achievements. I remember one afternoon, the branch secretary of a department came to me with a stack of student files: "Comrade Zhu Kang, there is a candidate with complicated social relations. Do you think I can take it?" I am the dean, admissions. I have the final say on any difficult questions. I asked: "In addition to complicated social relationships, what other problems does this student have?" He said: "This student is doing well and has good academic performance." I said: "That's it." I didn't expect this at the time. The student later became the deputy minister of our Ministry of Light Industry.

The two deans of Beijing Light Industry Design Institute, the dean and secretary of Dalian Institute of Light Industry, the leader of Baoding Film Factory, the director of Mudanjiang Paper Mill... are all students of Beijing Institute of Light Industry. I was on a business trip a few years ago, and I could meet students from the past in any province or city I went to. Sometimes there would be more than a dozen of them together at night. One year, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference organized us to go to Hefei to conduct an investigation. We were in a meeting and saw someone outside the window looking in. I didn't pay attention. After dinner, seven or eight students came, mostly factory directors and chief engineers. Not long after the establishment of the Beijing Institute of Light Industry, it faced three difficult years. Food is rationed, with only half a catty of pork and cooking oil per person per month. In order to ensure the normal progress of teaching work and for the health of students, the party committee of the hospital has held many meetings and tried every means to ensure that students are well fed. First of all, we stipulate that the school leaders are not allowed to use students' grain and oil; secondly, we do it ourselves, raise pigs and vegetables, and also raise a lot of dairy cows to ensure that students can eat a bowl of braised pork every week. Students in other schools buy their own meals, but we don't. Students pay food stamps and eat whatever they want. There is no limit to the staple food, allowing students to eat with open stomachs. At first, the food was consumed very quickly, and the comrades in charge of food were very anxious because they were afraid of not having enough food. I said, "I'm not afraid. There's oil and water in my stomach, and I won't be able to eat it anymore if I ask him to." Sure enough, the food consumption decreased after a week. During difficult times, none of the thousands of teachers and students in our college suffered from edema. It is still a favorite story among the students of that generation.

What I can’t forget is that we originally set the monthly meal standard for students at 11 yuan. When Premier Zhou found out about it, he said that the children are growing and 11 yuan a month is not enough. Let us increase it to 11 yuan. 15 yuan. The Prime Minister is so busy, but he still manages things so carefully.

I remember that Peng Zhen and Liu Ren, who were leaders of Beijing at the time, were very concerned about the school. At that time, the Beijing Municipal Party Committee established the University Science Department, which was in charge of the work of universities. Ministers Wu Zimu and Song Shuo were very tight on their work. They often brought secretaries and deans of various institutions to the Six Nations Hotel to study and convey the spirit of the central government. At that time, Beijing Institute of Light Industry implemented dual leadership. The Ministry of Light Industry was in charge of personnel and finance; the Department of Science of Beijing University was in charge of teaching and political and ideological work. The University Science Department also has five or six inspectors who go to the school every three days without us reporting to the top.

"Tide of the Times" (Issue 11, 2002)