Xiushan Hall and the sculpture of Li Chun

Xiushan Hall is the first building in Nankai University named after the donor.

Li Chun (1874-1920), whose courtesy name is Xiushan, was born in Tianjin and graduated from Peiyang Military Academy in Tianjin. In 1917, he served as the military governor of Jiangsu Province and concurrently made inspection tours in the three provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi.

In 1919, Yan Xiu and Zhang Boling went south to lobby local governments to raise funds for setting up a school. When they arrived at Nanjing, Li Chun offered to raise 200,000 yuan for Nankai University. At the same time, he persuaded military and civilian officials in Peiyang Government to donate money for Nankai University. After the establishment of Nankai University, Li Chun sent a message of congratulations on purpose, saying “It is an initiative to set up a private university. Following Nankai University, the patriots will emerge one after another to found universities throughout the country, which, in return, makes the fundamental basis for the flourish of education, the boom of talents, even the prosperity of our country in the future. Untill that time, it will be hard to tell that Chinese universities are not as good as American universities; that Chinese talents are not as intelligent as American talents and that China is not as powerful as the United States.”

In October 1920, Li Chun died of a sudden illness. In the will he left to Li Guishan, his second younger brother, he asked him to donate a quarter of his legacy to Nankai University as a permanent foundation for the school. Another quarter of his inheritance was donated to disaster victims in Hebei Province. On April 1, 1921, Zhao Xingwu, the representative of Li Guishan, met with the representatives of Yan Xiu at Chinese- American Bank of Commerce, Tianjin Branch, including Wu Wenquan, Bian Shucheng (School Director), Zhang Boling (the head of Nankai University), and Hua Wuqing (the head of the Administrative Affairs Department). The donation of Li Chun was handed into the Nankai University Fund face to face, including the public bond of 2.188 million yuan, which was issued in the first year of the Republic of China, and the cash of 48 yuan, totaling approximately 500,000 tael. The money was immediately deposited into the bank with a view to earning an annual interest in the expenditure of school over the years. The School Board publicly promoted Li Chun as the founder of Nankai University. Li Guishan was the fund manager.

The Sculpture of Li Chun

In May 1922, a building was constructed by Nankai University on the new campus of Balitai. By June of the next year, a lecture hall was completed and was called Xiushan Hall. It consisted of two floors and covered an area of 3,079 square meters.

On June 28, the first graduation ceremony of Nankai University was held in Xiushan Hall. Twenty- one graduates, in bachelor's degree dresses that followed the model of American dresses, were welcomed and congratulated by the guests from all walks of life. Zhang Boling and Liang Qichao successively addressed congratulatory speeches and granted diplomas to students. At the same time, the school held a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the statue of Li Chun and the completion ceremony of the new school site. On the same day as the anniversary of the founding of Nankai University in 1924, the opening ceremony of the bronze statue of Li Chun was officially held. At that time, the classrooms of Colleges of Liberal Arts and Business, the library, the assembly hall, and administrative offices of Nankai University were all located in Xiushan Hall, which became the hub of the school. In July 1937, Xiushan Hall was destroyed by the Japanese Army and the statue of Li Chun was also been looted. In 1971, Nankai University rebuilt the ground floor and part of the second floor on the basis of the original site of Xiushan Hall, and it has been used as a kindergarten of Nankai University up to now.