Chapter 777 Graduation Ceremony (First update, please subscribe)
July 1st is the graduation day for all Nanhua schools.
From elementary school to university, all students graduate on this day.
The breeze was blowing slowly that day, and the bright sunshine was shining warmly on my body. The graduation ceremony was about to begin, and the invited guests were arriving one after another.
The graduation day in 1875 was a little different for the University of Nanhua - His Majesty the Emperor personally came to the University of Nanhua to preside over the graduation ceremony!
This is unprecedented.
Although Emperor Shengde was the honorary president of Nanhua University, he had never attended the graduation ceremony of Nanhua University in the six years since the founding of the empire. The last time was when he was in Nanhua.
When the news that the Emperor would personally attend the graduation ceremony spread, the entire University of South China was in an uproar. Not to mention the students currently enrolled, even many students who had already graduated returned to the university. They hoped to see His Majesty. Even if it was just a glimpse from afar, it would be a great blessing.
As for Chinese people, the awe and worship of imperial power are engraved in their bones. To be stained by the imperial aura is not only a matter of glorifying the family, but also allows them to brag to their grandchildren when they are old - I, your grandfather, have met the emperor in my time!
As in previous years, the graduation ceremony was held in the school's large stadium - the Nanhua University Stadium, which is not only the largest stadium in the Ming Dynasty, but also the largest stadium in the world. The stadium includes an athletics field, a martial arts field, a basketball court, a swimming pool, a baseball field and a tennis court, a football field, a racecourse, etc. It covers an area of 1,000 acres and costs more than 800,000 yuan. It can accommodate 60,000 spectators at a time. The central building is the athletics field, and all the stands around it can accommodate more than 35,000 spectators. As the largest sports stadium in the world, since the day it was built, this stadium has not only been a place for teachers and students of the Nanhua University to practice sports, but also the home of the Nanhua University football team. Every game is always packed.
On this morning, just after eight o'clock in the morning, the world's largest stadium was already packed with people, waiting for the arrival of Emperor Shengde!
In fact, Emperor Zhu had already arrived, and accompanying him were the crown prince Zhu Youlin and the ministers of various ministries.
Looking at the packed stadium through the glass door, Zhu Youlin asked curiously.
"Father, are they all graduates of Nanhua University?"
“That’s about right!”
Emperor Zhu nodded.
"Principal Zhao, how many students have graduated from Nanhua in recent years?"
Among the first generation of immigrants, Zhao Chunyang was not the most educated. He did not even pass the imperial examination. His father taught him to read at the age of 5. He had finished studying the Five Classics at the age of 8 and began to study eight-part essays at the age of 9. He was immersed in the sea of books at a young age. At the age of 14, he and his father embarked on the road to imperial examinations.
Unfortunately, the father had taken the exam for 15 years and the son had taken it for 4 years, but they were still only a student. The father and son would not give up until they passed the exam to become a scholar!
However, they had no choice but to give up in the end. When the Taiping Army passed through Anqing, his father was killed, Zhao Chunyang was captured and taken into the camp, and then became a member of the Taiping Army. Then the Qing soldiers were sold as pigs and taken to Brazil.
If Emperor Zhu had not conquered the gold mine and saved him, he would have died in the gold mine long ago.
The examiner's comment on his article that year was that "the wording is good, but the structure is not coherent" - that is, the words and sentences in the article are good, but the ideas are not clearly expressed.
Is he born stupid?
No, for a guy who could learn Portuguese by himself in the gold mine, and then learned English and high school mathematics in less than a year after arriving at Nanhua, he is definitely not a stupid person.
When the first batch of overseas students were sent to Nanhua, he was in charge of the management of overseas students in the UK while studying education at the university. It was in 1863 that he wrote to Zhu Xianhai and mentioned the idea of establishing a university.
From 1864 to the present, he has been the real president of Nanhua University as the executive president! He can even be said to be the founder of the university.
"Your Majesty, since the establishment of the University of South China 11 years ago, a total of 11,612 students have graduated, and there are currently 4,967 students enrolled in the university. Today, not only the families of graduates came, but also many students who have graduated for many years. Many of them came with their wives and children, so it seems a bit crowded."
As the principal, Zhao Chunyang has always regarded students as his family, which is why he would not refuse graduated students from bringing their families to attend the graduation ceremony.
"The stadium is so big that it can accommodate everyone."
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly and said.
"We can start now."
More than 10,000 graduates from top universities!
This is definitely a very impressive number for the Ming Dynasty. These people can be said to be the intellectual power of the Ming Dynasty's second industrial revolution.
It is precisely because of their existence that Ming Dynasty's science and technology were able to develop at a rapid pace, allowing Ming Dynasty to maintain its leading advantage in the Second Industrial Revolution.
These people are the confidence that will give the Ming Dynasty the ability to compete internationally in the future!
At nine o'clock in the morning, with the sound of the school's military band, Emperor Zhu and his entourage walked into the central rostrum. When he stood on the throne, the stadium was filled with cheers.
"Long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor, long live the Emperor!"
Amid the cheers, Emperor Zhu simply raised his hand and gestured slightly, and then the cheers died down. At this time, the military band played the national anthem and the cadets of the school's officer reserve corps raised the national flag.
The military and police officers present saluted, and the students and their families placed their right hands on their chests and watched the national flag slowly rising.
With the loud national anthem, the sun and moon flag was raised high, and people sat down again only after it reached the top of the flagpole. In all large-scale activities in the Ming Dynasty, there would be a ceremony of singing the national anthem and raising the national flag, which was a subtle patriotic education.
The stadium was packed with people, and Emperor Zhu sat high up on the stage. In order to maintain order, Nanhua City not only mobilized a large number of police forces, but also a large number of armed gendarmes patrolling back and forth. Just as the ceremony was about to begin, an object flew in the air, and accompanied by people's shouting, everyone looked up at the sky.
A strange-looking "big bird" appeared in everyone's sight in the sky, and a big white bird flew lightly over the gymnasium.
“It’s a plane!”
Emperor Zhu looked at the plane in the sky in surprise.
"No, there's no engine...it's a glider!"
This light glider flew very low and slowly. It was the first time that people saw an airplane from such a close distance, and the crowd couldn't help but feel a stir.
Even though it was just an airplane without any power, it was enough to shock people. People stood up and looked up at the sky, looking at the white "big bird" in the sky.
Zhao Chunyang, who was standing aside, introduced.
"Your Majesty, this is a glider designed by the school's power laboratory. It can already fly for 25 minutes!"
“It can fly for 25 minutes!”
When Emperor Zhu was surprised, a piece of cloth suddenly stretched out from the back of the glider, on which were written a few large characters: "Long live the Ming Dynasty, long live the emperor!"
The moment the banner unfolded in the air, the people in the stadium seemed to understand what was happening and started cheering. For a while, there was a loud cheer, and waves of "Long live" echoed in the stadium.
At this moment, the entire ceremony reached its climax.
(End of this chapter)
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