Today, 106 years ago, on May 9, 1919 (April 10, 1919 in the lunar calendar), Cai Yuanpei resigned as the president of Peking University seven times?. After the arrested students of Beijing Normal University returned to school, they were warmly welcomed. On the morning of May 7, 1919, 32 students arrested on May 4, 1919 were all released on bail by all parties. At this time, the education sector became the main target of attack. Under various pressures, on the morning of May 9th, Cai Yuanpei, president of Peking University, left Beijing without saying goodbye. Before leaving, Cai Yuanpei left a notice: "I'm tired! 'The people are working hard, so they can take a short break'. I want to take a short break! The post of president of Peking University has officially resigned; Since May 9th, all other related schools and assemblies have been divorced. I hereby declare that those who know me will forgive them." On the same day, after learning the news, Peking University students convened a representative meeting and decided to write to Fu Zengxiang, the chief education officer, demanding that "never resign". At 8 o'clock in the evening, the faculty and staff of Peking University held a plenary meeting and made a resolution that "if Cai doesn't stay, he will resign unanimously". Eight representatives, including Li Dazhao, Ma Xulun and Ma Yinchu, were elected to the Ministry of Education and asked the government to retain Cai Yuanpei. Historical comment: He has made great contributions to the development of China's new culture and education and the establishment of China's bourgeois * system, and can be called "a leading academic figure and a model in the world". Why did Cai Yuanpei resign as president of Peking University seven times in ten years? For a long time, there are only about two uncontroversial historical figures on both sides of the Taiwan Straits: one is Sun Yat-sen and the other is Cai Yuanpei. When Cai Yuanpei died in Hong Kong in 1940, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party unanimously spoke highly of it. The Kuomintang's "Central Daily News" promoted him as "admired by thousands of people, senior and master's degree"; The Communist Party's Xinhua Daily called him "a leading academic figure and a model in the world". When Cai Yuanpei is mentioned, the world will think of an important role he played: President Peking University. The reason why Peking University has become the university that Chinese people yearn for actually began with Cai Yuanpei, who shaped the spirit of Peking University. It is not an exaggeration to call him "the father of Peking University". Why is Cai Yuanpei unanimously respected by all parties in the ruling and opposition parties? Of course, it is because of his moral knowledge: First, he has studied both Chinese and Western studies, and his learning background is special; Second, it has made special contributions to revolution and education; Third, personal moral character is noble and impeccable. "Knowing advance and knowing retreat": Cai Yuanpei, who resigned from the post of president of Peking University seven times, is a real academic leading figure, and he is well-deserved to be admired by the whole world. Lu Xun always respects this fellow villager. From the age of 51 as the president of Peking University to his final resignation at the age of 61, Cai Yuanpei was in office for 10 years, but actually he was in school for less than 5 years. During this period, he resigned as the president of Peking University seven times. Let's take a look at this resignation form first: I resigned as president of Peking University for the first time on July 3, 1917; Resigned as president of Peking University for the second time on May 21, 1918; Resigned as president of Peking University for the third time on May 8, 1919; Resigned as president of Peking University for the fourth time on December 31, 1919; Resigned as president of Peking University for the fifth time on October 19, 1922; Resigned as president of Peking University for the sixth time on January 17, 1923; Resigned as president of Peking University for the seventh time on July 8, 1926. Seven resignations, each for its own reasons. The first resignation was because Zhang Xun supported Xuantong's abolished emperor and restored him. He left Beijing and went to Tianjin, offering to resign as president of Peking University. But the restoration farce was finished after only 12 days. He returned to Peking University on the 23rd of that month. The second resignation was because Peking University students wanted to petition the Beiyang government against a military agreement between China and Japan. He failed to persuade him and asked to resign on the same day. The third resignation was during the May 4th Movement, when *, a student, went to Tiananmen Square, and the Beiyang government arrested many Peking University students. He ran to demand his release. As soon as the students were released on May 7th, he publicly electrified and resigned. In fact, he also resigned to express his lack of cooperation with the Beiyang government. As a result, because the government repeatedly retained him, including President Xu Shichang, he failed to resign. The fourth resignation was on December 31, 1919. All Beijing faculty members stopped their posts because they didn't trust the Ministry of Education. Of course, he had to resign as the principal. The reason for the fifth resignation is a bit exceptional, because Peking University students have a trend of handout notes, and they are dissatisfied with the charges of handout notes and make trouble. He was angry and even said to the students, "I learned from pistol bombs. If you have guns and bombs, you might as well take them out against me." Jiang Menglin remembers that he also said, "I will duel with you". This trend was solved by Hu Shi's mediation. The sixth resignation was because Luo Wengan, who once taught at Peking University and was the chief finance minister at that time, was wrongly arrested. Originally, the judicial organs found no evidence to release Luo. Unexpectedly, Peng Yunyi, the director of education, actually proposed to arrest Luo Zai at the meeting of the State Council. He knew Luo's personality and innocence. In order to protest against administrative interference in the judiciary and not to collude with the corrupt and shameless Beiyang government, he resigned to the President and the Ministry of Education, publicly published a resignation statement in Peking University Journal, and wrote an article on the Declaration of Non-Cooperation and published it in Shanghai Shenbao. Until June 23rd of this year, under the big poplar tree of "Pinghu Qiuyue" by the West Lake in Hangzhou, he had to agree on three manuscripts with Hu Shi, namely, open letters to the joint meeting of faculty and staff of Beijing schools, faculty and staff of Peking University and student union of Peking University, to continue his non-cooperation with the warlord government. His resignation had a great social response and strong public opinion, so Peng Yunyi stepped down. President Li Yuanhong came forward to retain him. He failed to resign, but he stopped coming to school and was represented by Jiang Menglin. Strangely, the Beiyang government has never dismissed him. On June 28th, 1926, that is, three and a half years later, he returned from Europe and offered to resign for the seventh time, but he was still not allowed, but he did not return to Peking University. Coupled with the earnest retention of Peking University teachers and students and nine schools in Beijing, they didn't resign. It was not until July 1927 that warlord Zhang Zuolin cancelled Peking University and changed it to Beijing Normal University that his name as president was cancelled. Since December, 1916, in the past 10 years, the president of Beiyang government has changed five times, one temporary ruler, two regents, and the cabinet prime minister has changed 30 times. Cai Yuanpei has always been the president of Peking University. Why did he resign as president of Peking University again and again? In addition to the specific reasons mentioned above, there is another answer in his own article "Declaration of Non-Cooperation". At the beginning, he quoted the Book of Changes, saying, "The villain knows it and then doesn't know how to retreat". He is not a villain, but a gentleman, so he knows how to "retreat". He remembered that in the spring of 1919, the North China European and American Alumni Association held a meeting in Tsinghua. Someone said, which government department can live away from overseas students now? If all overseas students resign, can the government afford it? He proposed that intellectuals should know how to advance and retreat before the dark and bad situation, and sometimes retreating is more important than not advancing, so he put forward the word "non-cooperation". In order to show his non-cooperation, he resigned again and again, on the one hand, to safeguard his self-esteem in the form of retirement, and on the other hand, to protest and demonstrate. Chen Duxiu, a former liberal arts dean of Peking University who has embarked on another road, disapproves of Mr. Cai's uncooperativism and thinks it is a negative expression. Hu Shi's view is the opposite, and thinks that non-cooperation is also positive. This article is excerpted from The Backbone and Confidence of Literati, edited by Wang Jiasheng and published by World Knowledge Publishing House