Ye Shengtao once taught Chinese in a middle school in Chengdu: correcting compositions under a vegetable oil lamp

In the early summer of 1940, the Anti-Japanese War was in a stalemate. The Chengdu Plain in the rear area at that time seemed calm, but people were agitated and unwilling to be slaves to the country. The political climate at that time also seemed to have entered early summer, and young people The movement of students to publicize, encourage and participate in the Anti-Japanese War was in full swing.

At noon one day, Mr. Ye Shengtao, the famous Chinese writer and educator, and his compatriots who fled all the way to the west, finally arrived in Chengdu. They saw the ancient streets shaded by paulownia and recalled the memories of leaving their homeland and wandering all the way. Ye Shengtao frowned at the scene.

Appointed as Chinese Language Teaching and Director of the Liberal Arts Department

Ye Shengtao came to Sichuan this time mainly to serve as editor of Chengdu Kaiming Bookstore. However, when the invitation from the Education Science Museum of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Education arrived In his hands, this educator who loved education, was passionate about education, and was full of education to rejuvenate the country, did not hesitate to accept the invitation, and was warmly invited by Tang Maoru, a doctor from the United States who was the principal of Liewu Middle School at the time, to serve as the Sichuan Provincial Huayang Middle School ( The predecessor of Liewu Middle School) Chinese teaching and director of the liberal arts department.

At that time, Huazhong was the only experimental school with a "six-year consistent system" in the province. Under the auspices of principal Tang Maoru, it was prosperous. A large number of famous teachers gathered here, which could be said to be a gathering of celebrities and elites. .

On November 21, 1940, Ye Shengtao got up at 6:30 in the morning, hired a car with his luggage and went to Chongning to take office. In early winter in Chengdu, there was mist and thin frost like rain. Traveling in the cold air made people shudder. After a while, the cold frost soaked his Tsing Yi cloth shoes and even his eyebrows were wet. After a hard journey, we arrived at school at two o'clock in the afternoon.

Principal Tang Maoru was already waiting at the door, smiling broadly and shaking hands happily. After taking a short rest, Principal Tang accompanied him on a tour of the campus. The school is an ancient temple. Although it is dilapidated, it is surrounded by camphor trees and has a large area. Seeing this, Ye Shengtao sighed sincerely: It is a relief to find this school after being evacuated!

Dressed in green cloth, Ye Shengtao appeared on the small campus and became a special scenery in the school for a while. The simple teaching facilities, the numerous students who were full of enthusiasm for studying and serving the country, the school motto of bravery, honesty and simplicity, and the tradition of patriotic immigration left a deep impression on Ye Shengtao.

After dinner, the school held a teachers' meeting to study various science issues, and Ye Shengtao happily participated. At the meeting, everyone had different opinions and expressed their opinions, which was very lively. Ye Shengtao sighed: Meetings in this school are not as boring as meetings in other places, which shows that the teachers hired by the principal are capable.

Delivered a speech on "Methods for Learning Chinese Language"

As the convener, Ye Shengtao held a discussion with all liberal arts teachers on the curriculum. After lunch on the third day, he strolled to Beijiqiao Tea Shop to drink tea. There was shade from the roof above and gurgling water below. While sipping tea, he read Lu Simian's "General History of China". It was so comfortable! After three o'clock, he returned to school. Discussing the 30th anniversary of the school with colleagues from the Provincial Science, Education and Management Department, I happily wrote the eight seal characters "Continuous self-improvement, its destiny is to be new". In the evening, the graduating students hosted a banquet for the teachers, and the dishes were cooked by the students. At 7 o'clock in the evening, Ye Shengtao gave an exciting speech for half an hour at the student forum on the importance of knowledge and learning methods.

On the day of the school anniversary, Ye Shengtao walked around the campus. All the students in the school were busy cleaning, hanging banners, and setting up tables and chairs. At ten o'clock, celebrities such as Hu Huang and Lu Zihe attended the school anniversary and delivered speeches.

On the second day of the school anniversary, at the invitation of Principal Tang Maoru, Ye Shengtao delivered a wonderful speech entitled "Methods for Learning Chinese Language" to the whole school. Everyone listened attentively and learned a lot. In the evening, he moved a bamboo chair and sat among the students, watching three films including "Songhu Frontline" with the students with great interest.

When discussing discipline issues with Principal Tang and others, Ye Shengtao believed that disciplining students should not be too trivial. There are too many forms. The class teacher is tired of filling out the forms and does not have enough time and energy to actually help the students. The root of the problem It lies in the lack of enthusiasm and understanding among teachers.

Under the vegetable oil lamp, reviewing student compositions word for word

Ye Shengtao is from Jiangsu. Although his Suzhou Mandarin sounds very difficult to speak from Chengdu, he is energetic and high-spirited when he lectures. , coupled with the profound academic foundation, superb teaching skills and strong professionalism, left a deep impression on the teachers and students.

Ye Shengtao recorded his life in Liewu Middle School in his later published book "Me and Sichuan"; "In the morning with Tang (Tang Maoru, then principal - author's note), Tang, Liu, Chen You guys are discussing the issue of school discipline... After dinner, we have a fun party in the school, and our discussion continues... We go to the playground to watch the fun show, the show is "Whistle in the Forest", physical and chemical illusions and black dance. I wrote down Yu's speech yesterday and asked Yu to revise it. The draft was more than 2,000 words long and I corrected it under the lamp. The students couldn't fully understand Yu's accent and his writing skills were poor, so there were many mistakes that made no sense. Two-thirds of the time, he was so tired that he stopped writing and went to bed at ten o'clock. "When Ye Shengtao went to Pengzhou the next day, he took two-thirds of the uncorrected student notes with him and got up early to finish correcting the notes.

From the above words and phrases, one can imagine the situation when Ye Shengtao was reviewing students' compositions word by word under the dim vegetable oil lamp, and then understand the intense work and busy life of Ye Shengtao when he taught at Liewu Middle School. A glimpse of his professionalism.

Ye Shengtao left Chengdu for Chongqing in September 1945. Although he has been a teacher for only a short time, his work attitude has immeasurable power in inspiring the younger generation in education.