Chapter 369 Qinling Mountains
Yu Boxun is a contemporary calligrapher, known as the "contemporary grass saint" and the "modern calligraphy saint". His regular script is bold and unrestrained, full of masculine beauty. His cursive script pursues the simplicity of writing, with ingenuity in simplicity, beautiful form, fullness and richness, and endless aftertaste.
Many people wanted to ask him for calligraphy, and therefore many jokes were created.
It is said that when he was in office in Nanjing, people often urinated in the corner of his office, which was very unhygienic, smelly, and unsightly. So he wrote a six-word notice "Do not urinate anywhere" and asked his secretary to post it there.
Because Yu Boxun's handwriting was so beautiful and many people wanted to have it, the notice was taken down after a few days. The person who took down the notice was quite clever. He cut the notice into pieces and put them back together, and it became a motto "Don't be careless with small things", which became a popular saying for a while.
In his early years, Yu Boxun often carried a sling bag with only two seals in it. If someone asked him to write something, he would just pick up the pen and write, or take the seal and stamp it, and he never charged any money. As a result, people from all walks of life came to him for calligraphy. When Yu Boxun wrote for others, he did not consider the position or status of the person, but only considered whether he liked the calligraphy.
Mr. Song's younger brother liked his calligraphy very much, so he bought a precious fan and asked Yu Boxun to write on it. Yu Boxun directly refused, but he wrote a couplet for the waitress at the Dajicheng Tavern in Nanjing Confucius Temple, "A jade pot sells spring, and a thatched cottage enjoys the rain. There are scholars sitting on the table with bamboos on both sides."
Sometimes he would go to the hospital to comfort the wounded soldiers of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. As long as they asked for calligraphy, he would always agree. He would write dozens of pieces a night. Afterwards, some of the wounded soldiers sold their calligraphy to others at high prices, which solved their livelihood problems.
When he came to the northwest for inspection, naturally many gentry wanted to ask him for calligraphy, but Yu Boxun really disliked these people and refused all requests for calligraphy. Now that he heard that Zhang Xingjiu was going to open a school in Xi'an, he immediately relaxed the restrictions and published the news in the newspaper, declaring that as long as anyone was willing to donate money to support education, he would write a calligraphy for him according to the other party's request.
Running a school is a good thing in itself, and now one can get a piece of Yu Boxun's calligraphy. Now, young and old in Xi'an city have gathered outside Yu Boxun's residence to line up to ask for his calligraphy. Yu Boxun did not mind the large number of people, and simply took them to the bottom of the bell tower, where he set up a table, ground ink and moistened the brush, spread out paper, and wrote for each one. No matter how much the donation was, even if it was a dollar, he would not refuse it.
When Zhang Xingjiu took his students to Xi'an to select a site for the school, Yu Boxun stayed under the bell tower and wrote. When Zhang Xingjiu came back after finding a suitable place, Yu Boxun's hands were swollen and he couldn't even eat by himself, so he had to ask others to feed him.
All the hard work was not in vain. He proudly handed several large boxes to Zhang Xingjiu and said, "Teacher, I have accomplished your mission. I have raised 236,538 dollars and 47 cents for the school these days. Now it's all here!"
"Bo Xun has worked hard. I thank you on behalf of all the students in Northwest China!" Seeing his hands and the money, Zhang Xingjiu was deeply moved.
"Hey, this is all for our fellow villagers. If anyone should thank someone, it should be you, teacher! It's just writing a few words, how much effort would it take? On the contrary, it is you, teacher, who came thousands of miles to Shaanxi to run a school. You are the great benefactor of us Northwestern people!" Yu Boxun refused to take any credit.
"By the way, I have been busy writing these days and have not been able to accompany you to investigate the site. I wonder where you have chosen the school site? I think the southwest is quite suitable." Yu Boxun asked. His vision is indeed good. The place he mentioned is the site of Xi'an Jiaotong University.
However, considering the needs of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it is not appropriate to set the school site in the urban area. During the war, Xi'an also suffered long-term bombing. The Japanese army launched 147 air raids on Xi'an, dispatched 1,232 enemy planes, dropped 3,657 bombs, caused 2,719 deaths and 7,972 houses were destroyed. Although the intensity cannot be compared with Chongqing and Wuhan, we still have to guard against it.
So Zhang Xingjiu decided to locate the school outside the city. "I think the place of Fengyukou in Qinling Mountains is good. There are mountains and water, and it is quiet. It is just right for students to study."
This is a ravine about fifty miles away from the bell tower. It is well concealed and can effectively prevent bombing. It is also an important road leading to southern Shaanxi and Sichuan, and is convenient for students from surrounding areas to come and study.
"Why did you choose such a remote place?" Yu Boxun was stunned for a moment, then frowned, "Teacher, you have been in Peking for the past few years. Don't you think the Japanese can still fight to the edge of Xi'an?"
"The Japanese are eyeing us covetously now, and the country is in this situation too. North China is still a vast plain with almost no strategic location to defend. I have to be on guard. Arranging the school in a remote location will not affect the students' studies. If anything happens, it can still be of great use. However, for now I will only tell others that I am following the example of famous European and American universities such as Cambridge and Princeton and arranging the school in a remote location will help students' studies." Considering Yu Boxun's character, Zhang Xingjiu did not hide it from him.
Speaking of the current situation, Yu Boxun also sighed repeatedly, "Teacher, your concerns are indeed reasonable, so let's build the school in Fengyukou temporarily, and move the school to the urban area after the Japanese are driven away in the future."
When the officials from the provincial and municipal governments heard that the school was going to be built in such a remote place, they were very puzzled. Zhang Xingjiu then cited the examples of Cambridge, Oxford, Princeton, as well as some ancient academies on Mount Zhongnan, and finally convinced them.
He immediately arranged for people to go and negotiate with the local people about buying land. When they heard that a university was going to be built right at their doorstep and that Yu Boxun, the pride of Shaanxi people, would be the teacher who ran the school, the landlords who had some money at home simply gave their land to the school, and those people who only had a few acres of land did not say a word either.
Yu Boxun immediately endured the pain in his hands and wrote auspicious calligraphy on the themes of those places, such as "Expert in Farming and Reading" and "Benevolent Family".
As for those people from poor families, Zhang Xingjiu not only bought their land at market price, but also arranged jobs for them. Now they can help with work and earn money, and when the school is built, they can also work as school workers, which will also give them a way to make money.
The accompanying architects quickly designed a school construction plan based on the local conditions. This time, instead of building high-rise buildings as before, they scattered many bungalows in the ravines, which could more effectively enhance concealment and reduce losses caused by bombing.
An auspicious day was chosen to officially start the construction, and then Zhang Xingjiu left some people here to supervise the construction of the school. At the same time, they taught in existing universities in Xi'an to help them improve their teaching level.
He took the rest of the people to Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming and other places to continue preparing for the future.
(End of this chapter)
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