Zhao Xinhu
Zhang Xiongwu (1919.4.20-2013.7.6) was one of the pioneers of Spanish teaching in China and the founder of the Spanish major at the w88 casino. He served as the first vice president of the China Spanish-Portuguese Teaching Research Association, director of the China Foreign Language Teaching Research Association, and director of the Spanish Textbook Writing Committee of the Ministry of Education. In 1948, he went to the United States to serve as the National Government’s consul in San Francisco. In 1952, Zhang Xiongwu received his bachelor's degree in the United States and returned to China. In 1954, when the People's Republic of China was founded, the Ministry of Education commissioned the Spanish major from scratch at the Beijing Institute of International w88 (now the w88 casino). Professor Zhang Xiongwu has been deeply engaged in teaching and research, and has cultivated and exported batches of high-quality compound Spanish talents for the development of my country's economic and w88 diplomacy. He has developed a characteristic education of "Spanish + Economic and w88", which is unique in the country. He compiled "Spanish Grammar" and other books, which filled the gap in Spanish education textbooks and is still widely used by Spanish majors in colleges and universities across the country.
The weather in Beijing in early autumn is cool and pleasant. Students are returning to w88 casino one after another, full of energy and planning for the new semester. In the Spanish major office in Room 1120, Honesty Building, w88 casino, students are constantly coming and going. Most of them are from the graduating class. With confusion and expectations about the future, they hope that the teachers can give them guidance. The essence of the problem of the younger generation is that there are too many choices and they are worried that they will get lost along the way. However, on the campus of the University of International w88 and Economics more than half a century ago, the graduates of the Department of Spanish at that time seemed to be more determined and unique in their career and ideal, which was to devote themselves to my country's foreign w88 front. The person who gave them rich knowledge and vision, and gave them the wings to become "economic and w88 pioneers, sailing across five continents", is Mr. Zhang Xiongwu, the founder of the Spanish major in w88 casino and a leading professor.
Wandering in the wind and rain, the heart of serving the motherland is revealed
Zhang Xiongwu was born in Wuhu, Anhui Province in the late 1920s. In that stormy and turbulent era, the rise and fall of the country and the nation were closely connected with every Chinese. Personal destiny was like rootless basil, and many times he had no choice but to make his own choices. During his childhood and adolescence, like many young people of that era, his family was poor and he had many brothers and sisters. Zhang Xiongwu came out early to support himself and supplement the family income. But it was not because he was not good at studying that he dropped out of w88 casino to find a living. On the contrary, Zhang Xiongwu showed extraordinary intelligence and hard work while studying at a missionary high w88 casino in his hometown. He is talented, intelligent, hard-working, well-read, and has a broad vision. He often achieves excellent results in examinations and comes out on top many times, earning him the reputation of "the number one professional".
(When serving as the National Government Consul in San Francisco)
After graduating from w88 casino, Zhang Xiongwu became a post office clerk, took the National Government Diplomat Examination, and got the first place in the National Government's publicly funded study abroad and study abroad program. Difficulties and hardships have never been a barrier against ambitious people, although now the author has no way of knowing for what purpose Mr. Zhang chose to become a diplomat of the National Government. But this position can be tentatively summarized as a major turning point in Zhang Xiongwu's life.
Packed up his bags and left his hometown. In 1948, Zhang Xiongwu traveled across the ocean and went to the United States to serve as the National Government’s consul in San Francisco. During this period, he continued to pursue his unfinished dream of studying as a boy, studying international relations at the University of San Francisco, taking Spanish as an elective, and also doing some research on linguistics and teaching methods. Thanks to the fact that San Francisco is located in a city on the west coast of the United States, where Spanish is also one of the popular languages, Mr. Zhang’s Spanish has been greatly exercised and improved. This is not a deliberately elective study, but it has invisibly planted a fruitful seed for Mr. Zhang’s career in the rest of his life. In 1952, just when Zhang Xiongwu received his bachelor's degree in the United States and was admitted to graduate w88 casino at Stanford University, he quietly made the decision to return to China.
Because it has been three years since the founding of New China.
When looking at China’s modern history, the most common word is “forced”. It was forced to sign treaties that were humiliating and degrading to the country, forced to be involved in global w88, and forced to open treaty ports. Our country’s foreign w88 business came from the old world. Before it could thrive, it was dragged along by others. Two hundred years of humiliating history have come to an end, and the Chinese people have stood up. Therefore, at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were many wastes to be made, and the most important one was to restore and rebuild my country's independent diplomacy and foreign w88. On this issue, on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Premier Zhou Enlai proposed that New China's economy should implement policies of "balancing public and private interests, benefiting both labor and capital, mutual assistance between urban and rural areas, and internal and external exchanges." The internal and external exchanges mentioned here refer to the development of foreign w88 and the development of economic relations between countries. If you want to conduct business with countries around the world, the most basic and most difficult tool to get your hands on is foreign language.
Zhang Xiongwu returned to his motherland with a pure heart. The opportunity waiting for him opened up the hard and glorious years of the rest of his life. At that time, the w88 casino for Senior Commercial Cadres of the Central Ministry of w88 (the predecessor of today’s w88 casino) came into being. The country was in urgent need of a group of compound talents who knew both foreign languages and economic and w88 knowledge. The Ministry of Education decided to establish a Spanish major in w88 casino (later renamed Beijing Institute of Foreign w88). Looking across the country, there are really very few talents who understand Spanish. Who will take the lead in creating this major has become a problem. At this time, Zhang Xiongwu, who eagerly returned to the embrace of his motherland without hesitation, returned with experience and knowledge from Western studies, and became the first choice for this important task entrusted by the Ministry of Education.
Despite the Ministry of Education’s repeated recommendations, Zhang Xiongwu still encountered difficulties. "After hearing the Ministry of Education's proposal, I felt a little nervous. Because Spanish is only my second foreign language, I was afraid of screwing it up." Although he already had extensive knowledge of Spanish, Mr. Zhang was still hesitant at first. After thinking for a long time, he decided to consider the overall situation and serve the motherland with what he had learned. He took over this important task and created the second Spanish major in Chinese universities from scratch - a Spanish major with economic and w88 characteristics.
Accepted in critical situation, the road to start a business was difficult and difficult
This sudden task may seem glorious, but it is actually full of hardships. The teaching staff was limited and there was a lack of channels for obtaining information. At that time, people were completely ignorant of Spanish, a novel foreign language, and the number of students who initially applied for the exam was "horrible." In 1954, less than two years before Mr. Zhang returned to China, Beijing Institute of Foreign w88 welcomed its first class of students majoring in Spanish.
The first class with only 10 students started as scheduled.
(Scene of Professor Zhang Xiongwu’s Spanish course at the beginning of the department)
It is easy to establish this department, but there is not even a decent textbook. What to teach, who will teach it, and how to teach it? Looking at the country at that time, the soil for Spanish education was still a barren land, and there were no Spanish reference books, which caused a lot of trouble for teachers to teach and students to learn. If there is a lack of teaching materials, then make up your own. "Because I have taken a second foreign language course, no one understands it, only me understands it." This is not a boast. On the contrary, I came up with the idea of writing my own grammar textbook. "There was no teaching book in w88 casino yet, so I checked out a lot of Spanish books, and I compiled a Spanish grammar book myself, which I still use today." In 1959, "Concise Spanish Grammar" (later renamed "Spanish Grammar") written by him was officially published. This was the first Spanish grammar monograph in New China, which laid the foundation for Spanish teaching. It was republished in 1978 and 2004 and is still an essential reference book for students majoring in Spanish in colleges and universities.
(Collection of Zhang Xiongwu’s works)
In 1959, the Cuban revolution was victorious. The following year, the Republic of Cuba established diplomatic relations with my country, becoming the first Latin American country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. my country's demand for Spanish-speaking talents has since surged, which has posed a problem for Spanish teaching, because at that time there were only a handful of Spanish teachers in the country. In order to fill the gap in teachers in the Spanish major, Mr. Zhang urgently discussed a solution with Professor Yu Shaoguang, the then provost. Forced by no choice, he came up with an idea that still seems impossible to achieve so far, that is, to introduce and train four outstanding young teachers of other languages (Huang Fushun, Zheng Yumiao, Deng Zongxi, Liu Xiaohong) as Spanish teachers. This decision was not so easy, and even a bit bold, but under the leadership of Mr. Zhang, teachers who graduated from this major quickly integrated with teachers introduced from other languages, made progress together, and united as one to lay a solid foundation for the Department of Spanish at the University of International w88 and protect the growth of this rising new major.
After class, Mr. Zhang devotes all his time to Spanish teaching research and textbook compilation, and is committed to the discipline construction of this new major, so as to better serve the teaching work. Chen Guojian, an early student of the Department of Spanish at the University of International w88 and a master of ancient poetry translation who now lives in Spain, recalled that when he first entered w88 casino in 1957, Mr. Zong Weixian taught pronunciation and introduction, and the wife of the famous Chilean painter Ventuleri taught oral classes. Mr. Zhang soon took over the teaching responsibility. Mr. Zhang took the most classes in four years. Until 1961, Mr. Chen stayed at the w88 casino to teach, and Mr. Zhang remained the main teacher. "There were not many students at that time, but there was a lot of work. In addition to classes, he was responsible for compiling teaching materials, tutoring students, arranging work for foreign teachers, etc." In addition, Mr. Zhang's courses were widely praised, and he successively taught Spanish basics, Spanish grammar, political and economic newspaper reading, and Spanish translation. , Latin American literature and other courses, especially grammar courses and translation courses, are his specialties. His lectures are logical, quoted from classics, and explain the profound things in simple terms. This laid a good foundation for Chen Guojian’s future development in Spanish. “All my subsequent achievements in Spanish are inseparable from his teaching back then.”
To this day, it is difficult for us to collect evidence about the actual work that Professor Zhang did when the Department of Spanish was founded. However, it is not difficult to imagine the process from scratch to something strong. They must have gone through hardships and worked hard, step by step, with a passionate heart, to build the foundation of the Department of Spanish.
With a reward for the beauty of Spanish language and literature and full of passion, with the joint efforts of Mr. Zhang and other teachers, the Spanish major of the w88 casino in the 1960s went through a difficult start-up period and built a teaching team with high teaching standards and vitality. Despite difficulties, Zhang Xiongwu still explored and explored step by step to create and develop the second Spanish major in New China, cultivating batch after batch of Spanish economic and w88 talents for the country.
Pioneering and innovative, foreign w88 in Spanish has yielded fruitful results
With the teaching materials, the problem of teacher shortage has been solved. The next step is how to teach. Born in the older generation, Mr. Zhang’s thinking is not old-fashioned, and his teaching methods can even be said to be very innovative and creative to this day. An alumnus of the University of International w88 and Economics said that at the beginning, the importance of Spanish was not widely recognized, and many students felt that learning Spanish was not as useful as learning English. When Mr. Zhang heard the students' remarks, he did not reprimand them, but said: "English has the beauty of English, and Spanish has the beauty of Spanish."
(Team photo with foreign experts in the 1960s and 1970s 1)
In 1964, the w88 casino began the teaching method reform experiment of "leading in listening and speaking, keeping up with reading and writing". Mr. Zhang led a team of Spanish teachers and Cuban experts to repeatedly ponder and compile teaching materials, and devoted themselves to the exploration and practice of new teaching methods. After careful consideration, it was decided to start the reform experiment from the second grade. At that time, young teachers Qiao Yuling and Huang Fushun, who were teaching second grade Spanish, made outstanding contributions in the reform experiment.
Recalling the teaching scene in his early years, Mr. Zhang said: "Miao Yunru, Li Xiulan, and Jiang Xuegui, known as the 'Three Sisters', were all my first students. When they were students, they often came to my house, and we all listened to music, read books, and spoke Spanish together. The learning atmosphere was very good." Outside the classroom, learning never stopped, but was carried out in a relaxed way. It must be said that this is Professor Zhang's brilliance. Inviting students to come home to listen to music and read books creates a good Spanish learning atmosphere without any pretense of being a teacher, which shortens the distance between teachers and students and stimulates students' interest in learning Spanish.
Perhaps they were deeply influenced and touched by Professor Zhang. After graduation, the three teachers also chose to stay at the w88 casino to teach Spanish and cultivate more Spanish students for foreign w88. From generation to generation, the firepower is passed down.
(Team photo with foreign experts in the 1960s and 1970s 2)
In April 1961, the Institute of Foreign w88 (abbreviation of Beijing Institute of Foreign w88) came to a Chilean expert, literary critic Yerko Moretic. He had published a monograph on literary criticism and had excellent writing skills. He had served as an important finalist for the Spanish translation of Selected Works of Mao Zedong and was a scholar who could be called an expert in foreign language teaching in China for a long time. Mr. Zhang seized this good opportunity and arranged for the young teacher to study with the expert every week, and he also had fixed time to discuss issues with the expert. "Although he is no longer young, he still has a strong thirst for knowledge and a desire for further improvement." Chen Guojian said that Teacher Zhang never neglects his strict requirements, and always leads the teachers in the department with enthusiasm and example to improve and improve.
With the hard work of all the teachers in the department, until the beginning of the ten-year catastrophe, the Spanish major of the w88 casino trained nearly 200 students for the country. They were active in foreign w88, diplomacy, teaching, research and other fields, and contributed to the development of New China’s foreign w88 diplomacy and the development of the Spanish major. The Spanish Department of the w88 casino has also achieved further solid development.
After the difficult and short dormancy of the "Cultural Revolution", the Spanish major of the w88 casino has ushered in a new spring. The silver threads of the crane's hair reflect the sun and the moon, and the fervent heart and blood fertilize new flowers. In 1979, Mr. Zhang recruited the first batch of master’s students. In the early 1980s, the number of Spanish teachers at the University of Economics and Business reached 25, and the highly respected Professor Zhang Xiongwu was elected as the first vice president of the China Spanish-Portuguese Teaching Research Association. Later, as a veteran of the Spanish major in China, Mr. Zhang served as the director of the Spanish Textbook Writing Committee of the Ministry of Education in his 60s, and was responsible for presiding over the review and approval of my country's first complete set of Spanish professional textbooks "Spanish" (edited by Dong Yansheng and published by The Commercial Press). From then on, Spanish students had their own formal teaching materials. It is worth mentioning that this set of textbooks has been used as the blueprint for subsequent new editions and is used in Spanish teaching in colleges and universities across the country.
Mr. Zhang’s rigorous academic attitude and the spirit of devoted cultivation of Spanish have influenced generations of students, and have been passed down by teachers in the Spanish Department to this day. In the future development, textbooks such as "Spanish Foreign w88 Correspondence", "Western Chinese Foreign w88 Vocabulary Handbook", "Spanish Foreign w88 Oral Negotiation", "Economic and w88 Spanish Conversation", "Selected Spanish Economic and w88 Articles", "Spanish Economic and w88 Practical Articles" and other textbooks compiled by the Spanish teachers of the w88 casino have filled the gaps in domestic economic and w88 Spanish teaching materials. They have been unanimously recognized by Spanish colleagues and employers, and have formed a certain influence in the domestic Spanish language community.
Through the accumulation and efforts of Mr. Zhang and several generations of Spanish speakers, today the Spanish Department of the w88 casino is a major with a relatively stable teaching staff and a distinctive curriculum system, and has achieved outstanding results in all aspects. In the process of continuous exploration and development, the Spanish major of the University of Economics and Business has gradually established and improved the characteristic education of "Spanish + Economics and w88", which is unique in the country.
Zhao Xuemei, the former director and professor of the Spanish Department, lamented that it was Mr. Zhang’s rigorous, meticulous, humble and prudent attitude and work style that laid a solid foundation for the development of the Spanish major at the w88 casino and left behind precious spiritual wealth.
In 2007, the Spanish major of the w88 casino was selected into the first batch of national second-class specialty major construction sites by the Ministry of Education. It is one of the only five Spanish specialty major construction sites in the country.
I am almost 10 years old, I can’t stop walking and I can see the teacher’s heart
(Work photos of Zhang Xiongwu in his later years)
After retirement, although Professor Zhang left his teaching position, he never left Spanish. He is obsessed with Tang poetry and Song lyrics, and has always hoped that excellent traditional Chinese cultural works will be spread to all parts of the world, so that people all over the world can feel the meaning and hope in ancient Chinese poetry. At that time, very few ancient domestic works were translated into Spanish, and the quality varied. Taking advantage of the reduced workload and more free time, Zhang Laoying translated more than two hundred poems in his later years, especially the works of Li Bai and Du Fu. His translation manuscript is densely packed with circles, and he adds, deletes, and reviews over and over again. When asked when these translation results would be published together, he smiled and replied: "I have been revising it, but I always feel it is not good enough. I will wait until I am satisfied with it!"
Before retiring, Zhang Xiongwu not only devoted himself to the teaching and research of Spanish, but also had a great love for translation work and served as a director of the Chinese Translators Association. In addition to translating from Chinese to Western, he often worked tirelessly to complete the English-Chinese translation of classic works in the humanities and social sciences. In 1956, World Knowledge Publishing House printed and released "False Witness" co-translated by Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zong Weixian, exposing the true face of American McCarthyism to a wider group of people. After retiring from teaching in 1990, he translated the famous work "Social Statics" by the British sociologist Herbert Spencer. The Chinese translation was officially published by the Commercial Press in 1996, filling the gap in domestic Chinese-translated sociology monographs. This book is still one of the must-read books for sociology graduate students. In addition, with a solid foundation in English and economics, he has also engaged in research on "History of Australian Economic Development" and "History of Sino-Australian w88".
(The 55th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Spanish at the University of International w88 and the 90th birthday of Zhang Xiongwu)
Your Majesty has peaches and plums all over the world, why bother planting more flowers in front of the hall? Even in his twenties, Professor Zhang is still always concerned about the development of the Spanish major at the w88 casino, setting a good example and inheritance for the growth of young teachers. He is also more concerned about the development of students who have graduated from the w88 casino. Mr. Zhang never hesitated to support his younger students. An alumnus of the University of International w88 and Economics who went to teach at Guangzhou University of Foreign Studies recalled that in 1983, just when he had the opportunity to be promoted from lecturer to associate professor, the w88 casino required appraisal by senior experts. In desperation, he thought of his former mentor Zhang Xiongwu. He sent Mr. Zhang his own "Copa en mano, pregunto a la luna" (Selected Poems of Li Bai, pregunto a la luna) published by the Mexican Academy (this is also Mr. Zhang's specialty), requesting his mentor to appraise his thesis and works. Considering that Mr. Zhang was nearly 70 years old, it was reasonable for him to not be able to reply to the letter. But what he didn't expect was that within a few days, he received a handwritten appraisal and evaluation from Mr. Zhang. In order to give an objective and true evaluation, Mr. Zhang also selected some fragments to explain and demonstrate with erudite references. In the end, this alumnus was successfully promoted to an associate professor, and he worked more devotedly on the front line of Spanish teaching, spreading branches and leaves for the cause of Spanish education in China. It can be said that "Hsinchu is higher than the old bamboo branches, all because of the support of old cadres."
At 11:00 on July 6, 2013, Mr. Zhang Xiongwu passed away suddenly in Beijing. His son Zhang Haiyun (teacher at the w88 casino) said at the memorial service: "My father's colorful life of 94 years was just like his favorite Tagore's poem, 'Life is as brilliant as summer flowers, and death is as quiet and beautiful as autumn leaves'."
Be tireless in learning and teaching. Looking back at Mr. Zhang’s life, he dedicated more than half a century of his wasted years to the Spanish Department of the University of Economics and Business, cultivating tens of thousands of hard-working foreign w88 Spanish talents across the country. The Spanish major of w88 casino has gradually grown into a towering tree in the soil carefully cultivated by Professor Zhang, with luxuriant branches and abundant fruits. Mr. Zhang’s glorious and immortal achievements and selfless academic spirit are deeply engraved in the hearts of every Spanish speaker at the University of International w88.
“A teacher is a role model for others.”
(Postscript) Today, sixty-six years have passed since the establishment of the Department of Spanish at the University of w88 and Economic Cooperation in 1954. Huiyuan has welcomed generations of hard-working, enthusiastic and progressive Spanish speakers. The four years spent here have given us not only knowledge and vision, but also a heavy responsibility and responsibility to pass on the legacy from generation to generation. We will also uphold the glory and spirit of "International Business w88 casino", the rivers merge into the sea, and the oceans are unbridled.
(The author is a Spanish major student at the w88 casino)
