"Return to a new line does not need to be translated, return as it is, all other Chinese must be translated into English: Chinese students studying in the United States: The first batch of government-sponsored students from China

Author: Qian Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: On January 5, 1847, following Reverend Brown, Yong Hong, Huang Kuan, and Huang Sheng embarked on the "Huntress" tea clipper ship operated by the American Olyphant Brothers Company. This was a typical commercial route of the sailing ship era:“”，the ship departed from Hong Kong, passed the Cape of Good Hope, entered the Atlantic, and sailed toward the east coast of the United States. The ninety-eight days at sea amidst storms marked the beginning of Yong Hong's eight-year study abroad. On St. Helena Island in the Atlantic—the place where Napoleon was once imprisoned—Yong Hong broke a willow branch before Napoleon's tomb. Eight years later, when Yong Hong graduated from Yale University, the slender willow he had planted in the United States had grown into a towering tree with countless hanging branches. Yong Hong was like that willow branch. He arrived at Monson Academy in Monson, Massachusetts, which was then one of the most renowned preparatory schools in the United States. There, he diligently studied Latin, Greek, and British literature. Under the personal tutelage of the headmaster Charles Hammond, a master of British literature, he read many classic works by British authors. Hammond opposed training students to be "walking encyclopedias" or "spiritual parrots," so he placed particular emphasis on cultivating students' "excellent character." Yong Hong naturally integrated into the life of New England, which was deeply influenced by Protestantism. At that time, the standard of living in the United States was not high. Poor students could easily earn enough money to pay for tuition by working a little. Earning just $1.25 a week was sufficient to cover expenses such as food, lodging, and fuel; tasks like chopping firewood, starting fires, and burning charcoal were the students' own responsibility. Yong Hong "enjoyed doing this," believing it was a good way to toughen his body. His residence was half a mile from the school, and he had to make the round trip three times a day. Even in winter, when the snow was three feet deep, he had to walk. Yong Hong was just as enthusiastic about this, and the long-term exercise gave the eighteen-year-old boy a huge appetite. In the autumn of 1848, Huang Sheng, one of the companions, returned to China due to illness. Another classmate, Huang Kuan, entered the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland after graduating from Monson Academy. Yong Hong had also been offered financial aid to attend the University of Edinburgh, but he was more drawn to the alma mater of his headmaster, Reverend Brown, and Yale. He came to a crossroads in life: according to the tradition of Monson Academy, a certain number of scholarships were available to support poor students for university education; however, students receiving financial aid had to fill out an application form and pledge to become missionaries upon graduation. Yong Hong knew there was no hope—"Although I am poor, I cannot be without freedom," he recalled in his autobiography, The Westward Flow of Learning. Preaching was indeed good, but it was not the only way to benefit China.