One morning at the end of April 2019, Mr. Xu Datong, who had been ill for many days on a cloudy day, was lying on his bed. He talked with his student, Tong Dezhi, the dean of the School of Politics and Administration, about the focus of the next disciplinary construction and the development plan of the college. After saying that he wanted to sing another Peking Opera, he asked his family to help him up and sit in a wheelchair.
"Why is the country free for a long time..." Mr. Dang's powerful voice sounded in the ward, soft light shone through the window, fell on his silver hair and gave a slight light, and his firm eyes and determined face moved everyone present. After that, the seriously ill man was admitted to the intensive care unit, and on June 9, he left us forever. "Why is the country idle for half a day?" became the final reflection of his patriotism.
In China, the name is a very representative and influential symbol, often containing deep feelings or lofty ambitions. There was such a scholar in Tianjin Normal University, just like his name, who devoted his whole life to the field of political science, firmly believed that success would be achieved and gradually moved towards communism. He is Xu Datong.
Mr. Xu's name is meaningful. At first, Mr. Xu's name was not Xu Datong. His name in junior high school was Xu Tong. Mr. Zhang said that the reason why he changed his name was because he had a good friend who was always at the same table in junior high school, Zhang. When they graduated from junior high school together and went to senior high school, Zhang withdrew from school because he could not afford to pay the tuition. At that time, the teacher went to church school, and the believers were free of charge; Non believers, including Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhang, must pay tuition fees. Zhang's family was poor and could not afford to pay, so he dropped out of school. Later, when he learned that his deskmate had gone to the Haihe Wharf to carry a large bag with the adults, he cried. Mr. A's grandpa said to him after knowing this: The ancients said that people in Datong are public, and the world is full of justice. In the future, you can change your name to Datong!
In your mind, this little thing left an indelible mark. It has even influenced the whole life of the teacher, from life path, to career choice, to academic pursuit.
Youth Xu Datong
On the road of life, my husband chose the belief of communism.
Zhang's dropout made him yearn for a fair and just world. Mr. A has found a sharp weapon to safeguard fairness and justice, which is Marxism. He said: "Through the study of Marxism, his consciousness has been constantly improved, and his world outlook and outlook on life have been transformed, so his understanding of the Party has also been greatly improved... Marxism represents the law of development of human society and strives for the liberation of all mankind."
In terms of career choice, Mr. A is engaged in education all his life, and his career is to spread knowledge.
Mr. Liu often said that an individual, a family, a society, a country, without knowledge, there is no future; But knowledge does not fall from the sky. It is the result of learning and education.
Therefore, since he joined the revolution in 1949, he has taught at Renmin University of China and Peking University. In 1978, he returned to his hometown Tianjin and came to Tianjin Normal University. He has always been a teacher.
As the pioneer of the discipline of the history of Western political thought in the new era, Mr. Yu is a famous scholar. But he believes that teaching and educating people is his most important job. His educational philosophy of "teaching knowledge, teaching to do knowledge, and teaching to be a person" has been deeply impressed in the minds of generations of students.
Lecture Notes of Mr. Xu Datong in His Early Years
Teaching knowledge - this is the foundation of teachers. At the age of 90, Mr. A still insists on teaching graduate students. Previously, he taught in person from undergraduates to doctoral students. Later, the body did not allow it. Mr. A still insists on attending and speaking at the annual freshman meeting of the college, and still insists on giving a lecture for undergraduates every year.
Teaching and learning - teachers put learning into practice. He said that political science is a practical science. To study political science, you must be a college student and become an "adult". Over the years, Mr. Zhang has always encouraged students to break through stereotypes and put forward independent opinions with a tolerant mind. Mr. Liu often said that his greatest wish was that his disciples would "surpass him academically".
Teach to be a person - teachers attach importance to moral education. In the eyes of teachers, "virtue" refers not only to personal morality, but also to the improvement of comprehensive quality and personality. Mr. Shi often told his disciples that when he was young, he had a wide range of interests, playing football, writing, learning poetry, especially Beijing Opera. These hobbies benefited him greatly, and even became an important source of character development; Now, people are more and more separated from tradition, which is a pity. For this reason, he often urges students to read more traditional classics, so that they can immerse themselves in the long history of Chinese civilization and educate people with culture.
Mr. Xu Datong lectured
In more specific academic pursuit, Mr. Liu chose the purpose of "studying the West for China".
Childhood experience, let you see the weakness of the motherland yesterday; Since then, the country has become rich and strong, and the people are happy, which has become a matter of great concern. He should make contributions to the country and the people in his own way.
In 1982, entrusted by the Ministry of Education, Mr. Zhang presided over the teacher training class of the History of Western Political Thought at Tianjin Normal University, which trained a large number of teachers for colleges and universities across the country; In 1985, the History of Western Political Thought edited by Mr. Zhang was published, which was the first "History of Western Political Thought" since the founding of New China and included in the textbooks of the Ministry of Education. Since then, he has also edited a series of textbooks on the history of western political thought, led the team to undertake the key national social science projects of the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Five Year Plan, which has greatly promoted the development of China's political science discipline. The "Teaching and Research Section of Political and Ideological History" of Tianjin Normal University, founded by him, has grown from three people at the beginning to dozens of people today, and has successively established doctoral programs and post doctoral mobile stations, becoming the "key town" of western political and ideological history research in China.
Mr. Xu Datong and doctoral students
In the academic world, Mr. Yu is famous for his study of the West. But in fact, he not only always has a strong interest in China, but also put forward the famous idea of "studying the West for China". As early as he worked at Peking University, he led the editor in chief of the first History of Ancient Chinese Political Thought since the founding of the People's Republic of China; In recent years, he returned to the study of the history of Chinese political thought, and made continuous achievements. Finally, he collected and published Lectures on Chinese Traditional Political Culture in 2015. His works, whether studying the West or China, carry out his academic thought of "studying the West for China" and write about China's problems, Chinese style and Chinese style.
"The majestic pass is like iron, and now we are stepping forward from the beginning", which is the motto of Mr. The banner of "from the beginning to the beginning" has also been hanging on your desk, and haunts your mind from time to time. Now, Mr. Liu has left us, but his firm and honest belief in life, educational philosophy, rigorous and realistic spirit of scholarship have become valuable spiritual wealth for teachers. Under your guidance and encouragement, we will continue to move forward on the road of work and study and climb the peak bravely!
(Source: WeChat official account "Tianjin Normal University")
(Editor in charge: Sun Shuang, Ai Wen)
