North Campus Lectures and Others

Author: Jiang Menglin et al
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The lectures covered a very broad range of topics, including politics and economics, culture and education, social life, and the vast universe, from all corners of the world to ancient and modern times, leaving no stone unturned. Moreover, they were all the latest sparks of thought, academic perspectives, and dynamic information in various fields and disciplines. In those days, the lectures were not only an experimental field for social exploration and innovation but also a hub for the exchange of ideas and culture, a forum for the evolution and debate of social thought, and, to some extent, a record of the journey of Chinese academia toward independence and modernization. Academic lectures have a long history in the history of Peking University and are a unique and distinctive feature of the campus. In the 1930s and 1940s, large auditoriums that could accommodate thousands of people were often packed to the brim, with people standing shoulder to shoulder in the corridors. When prominent figures like Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, and Rabindranath Tagore visited, the grand scenes were even more spectacular, often moved many scholars and young students deeply. They not only enriched the spiritual soil of the campus but also gave this ancient campus more vitality.