This is a memoir about the author's university life in the Southwest University in China during 1939-1946. The Nobel laureate, Yang Chen-Ning, was in the physics department that time.
The author's university life: - Freedom: You can do what you want in university, and there is no mandatory things such as broadcasting certain ideology. Students can support or refute Chiang Kai-Shek, the president of China at that time. - A point that I also agree with: Talents occur in every era, but the important thing is about the system that support them and let them freely explore. - He thinks happiness comes from the bright future of an individual and society.
Teachers: - Famous people in 西南联大:叶企孙,华罗庚,钱钟书,朱自清,沈从文,闻一多,陈寅恪,钱穆,傅斯年。 - Teachers do not need to follow a certain syllabus, and can voice their own opinions. - Different teachers have their own temper over certain topics, and students are also welcome to debate with the teacher.
Learning history: - The author thinks that the essence of learning history is to distill the philosophy behind. - The author find drawing the political map very helpful for mastering historical knowledge. Professor Pi asked students to draw six political maps throughout a semester.
Other anecdotes: - Physics department: Yang Chen-Ning and Huang Kun discussed the newest paper of Eistein. Yang: "No originality at all." - See the book for many important insights, such as two ways to do philosophy well, one from STEM into philosophy, and the other from philosophy to other humanities subjects.
===== Other readings: Yang Chen-Ning's memoir with Huang Kun - 杨振宁:我的朋友黄昆 我们养成了一个习惯,每夭晚饭后花一二个小时到茶馆饮茶,然后再回学校去。那时校园附近的三条街上有好多茶馆。在一天又一天的饮茶中,我们彼此真正非常了解了。饮茶时,我们讨论夭底下所有的事情,从古代历史到当代政治,从世界上的文化大格局到新近所看的电影里的细节,无所不谈。在所有这些讨论中,我记得黄昆是一位公正的参辩者,从不作弄对方。我还记得他有把争论推向极端的倾向。
The account of history shouldn’t be focused on the verification of all details of past events but almost a philosophical view of the connection between the past, present and the future.
This book offers a personal perspective on how an individual remembers what China was like in the 1900s. It was a period of hardship but Chinese people had hope of a better future.