However, in the history of Harvard, there is such a China that is ignored by most people. In the famous Yanjing Library of Harvard University, a large picture of him hangs on the wall. This is a middle-aged man dressed by Qing officials, wearing a flower feather on his head, official clothes and greasy boots, and a pair of wise eyes on his thin face. 137 years ago, he came to the United States thousands of miles away, founded Chinese education at Harvard University, taught a group of blond Harvard students to speak Chinese and read China's poems, and wrote his name-Ge Kunhua in the history of cultural exchange between China and the United States.
The first person to eat crab
Ge Kunhua, a native of Xiuning County, Anhui Province, is gifted. Passed the provincial examination and public examination successively, from scholar to juren. He worked as an adjutant to Huang Kaibang, a general of Taiping Army in the Qing government for five or six years, and then worked as a translator and Chinese teacher in the British Consulate in Ningbo for fifteen years. At that time, his living conditions should be above average. Why did such a well-fed scholar move his family to America without friends? There is neither a book as a companion nor a friend to enjoy a good time. What is the reason?
Going to Harvard is the opportunity and fate of the times.
/kloc-In the second half of the 9th century, with the frequent exchanges between China and the United States, the demand for Americans to learn Chinese became more and more prominent. The American consul in China, Fu De, was deeply touched by this, so he wrote to Charles W Eliot, then president of Harvard University, and proposed to raise a sum of money to hire a teacher from China to give lectures in Chinese in order to meet the needs of American business and missionary work in China. The purpose is to train some young people by learning Chinese, to provide conditions for their future development in China, and to increase their participation in universities. Eliot, the president of Harvard University, was very much in favor of this proposal, so he entrusted the matter to Alejandro Delfino, an American who worked in Ningbo tax department at that time.
Alejandro Delfino was not very keen on this matter, because when he was studying Chinese, he usually came to China and invited his teacher to the United States, which was a bit of the opposite, so he directly recommended his Chinese teacher to Harvard, so Ge Kunhua happened to be the first candidate. Of course, Ge Kunhua is open-minded, knowledgeable, sincere and enthusiastic. These qualities are highly respected by westerners, and he is also qualified to be a teacher in the United States.
How did Ge Kunhua consider being recommended to Harvard by Dewey? Going to Harvard is helpless and full of longing. We learned from Du's letter that Ge Kunhua went to the United States "because the government threatened to punish him and suspected that he was the author of some unfriendly remarks published by a Shanghai publishing house criticizing the behavior of officials". In the declaration, Ge Kunhua did make some "inappropriate remarks". At the same time, Ge Kunhua has a welcome and open attitude towards western learning. In addition, his translation work has exposed him to a large number of foreigners, so he should also have some yearning for going to the United States, not all because of the threat from the government.
Straighten your hometown.
In the fifth year of Guangxu (namely 1 August 879), Ge Kunhua arrived at Harvard University at the end of August that year with his wife, five children, 1 servant,1translator and a large number of China books, and set foot on this unknown land, never looking back.
Ge Kunhua officially started classes on1October 22nd after he arrived at Harvard, 1879+65438. Ge Kunhua opened a museum as a disciple at Harvard, but the students are not limited to our school. Any scholar who is interested in learning about China, or who wants to engage in diplomacy, customs, business and missionary work can take his courses as long as he pays. At Harvard, Ge Kunhua's teaching is famous for its rich content, full preparation and superb skills, and is well received by students and colleagues. It is worth mentioning that the open-minded Ge Kunhua also has a very traditional side. During his teaching at Harvard in the United States, he always insisted on wearing the official uniform of the Qing Dynasty in China, demanding that students respect teachers and pay attention to morality.