百廿苏大，荣光永续 | 熊思东校长在苏州大学纪念建校120周年发展大会上的讲话
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百廿苏大，荣光永续
——熊思东校长在苏州大学纪念建校
120周年发展大会上的讲话
尊敬的各位领导、各位来宾，老师们、同学们、校友们：
大家上午好！东吴传世百廿载，独墅湖畔聚鸿归。今天，是一个值得我们永远铭记的日子，我们共同迎来了苏州大学建校120周年发展大会。在这个属于全体苏大人和所有关心、支持苏大发展的各界朋友的节日里，虽然很多人不能如期来到校园，但透过“云端”，我们依然能心手相牵、山水相连。在此，我代表学校，向全球苏大人致以节日的问候！向各位来宾表示热烈的欢迎！向长期以来关心支持苏大发展的各位领导、各界朋友表示最诚挚的感谢！
千年姑苏城，天赐葑溪，风雅长留，漫谈文章锦绣；
百廿东吴园，阳澄独墅，弦歌不辍，勇立时代潮头。
跨越三个世纪的苏州大学，诞生于民族危难之际，成长于国家振兴之时，见证了中国高等教育的发展历程。波澜壮阔的120年办学史诗，折射出华夏文明的灿烂与沧桑，交织着中华民族的苦难与辉煌，如长江蜿蜒，虽经曲折，却奔腾不息。
120年前，睁眼看世界，东吴初创。在风雨飘摇的清末岁月里，林乐知、孙乐文、曹子实等有识之士创办了中国第一所以现代大学学科体系举办的学府——东吴大学。从此，这所中西合璧的新式学府与国家前途和民族命运紧密相连。
100年前，本土化改革，开启新篇。经历了五四运动的洗礼后，学校迎来了首位华人校长杨永清教授。他力推中国传统文化教育，为我们增添了“养天地正气、法古今完人”的中文校训，让东西方文明在校园里交相辉映。
80年前，南渡北归，栉风沐雨。在抗日战争的烽火中，学校师生辗转迁徙，八年间足迹遍布上海、浙江、安徽、福建、广东、四川、重庆等省市，行之所至，皆为课堂，他们用坚韧不拔的意志保存了大学的精神火种，让东吴文脉薪火相传。
60年前，革故鼎新，勇担重任。新中国成立后，学校服务国家高等教育战略布局，完成了向师范学院的转型，为区域基础教育事业夯实了人才根基。
40年前，战略回归，宏规大启。顺改革开放之天时，乘东南沿海之地利，应社会发展之需求，学校改办为苏州大学，加速向综合性大学回归，全面助力国家经济社会发展。
20年前，同城名校，和合共生。学校完成了与苏州蚕桑专科学校、苏州丝绸工学院和苏州医学院的合并。四校同心同向，集学科之大成，启融合之大势，作为“高校体制改革先行者”的新苏大，迸发出前所未有的活力。
今天，在高等教育千帆竞发、百舸争流的新时代，学校确立了“人民满意、国际认可、世界尊重”的高水平研究型大学的发展愿景，奏响了争创中国特色一流大学的最强音。
时代在变化，历史在演进，但无论是国家危难之时的救亡图存，还是和平建设时期的励精图治，抑或是推动中华民族伟大复兴的使命担当，苏大从未忘却自己的初心，苏大人也从未忘却肩上的责任。任岁月更迭交替，苏大人始终勇立潮头、敢于创新 ，在变与不变中传承着大学精神。
百廿光影流转，苏大人向德而立、涵养正气的自觉从未改变。1919年，东吴学子积极投身五四运动，以全苏学生名义致电北洋政府：“外交失败，宁撤专使，不签丧失国权之约”，为挽救民族危机、振兴中华抗争到底。1946年，向哲濬、倪征日奥(yù)、高文彬等10位东吴师生临危受命参与东京审判，凭借非凡的胆识和超群的智慧，将犯下屡屡罪行的日本战犯绳之以法，维护了民族的尊严与权益，捍卫了人类的良知与正义。在争取国家独立和民族解放的历程中，在新中国建国之后的国家建设中，学校涌现出了贺威圣、丁香、王晓军等23位党员英烈，他们牺牲时平均年龄不到28岁，最小的仅有22岁。英雄的名字铭刻在历史的长空，也永远牢记在苏大人的心中。120年来，这种临危不惧、正气凛然的精神，铭刻在苏大人的骨子里，挺拔着苏大人的脊梁。
百廿光影流转，苏大人向真而求、致知穷理的精神从未改变。被誉为“中国遗传学之父”的谈家桢校友，他毕生追求真理，不屈服于任何非学术压力对遗传学的干扰，为推动中国生命科学迈向世界作出重大贡献。世纪之交，潘汉典、盛振为等一批早年毕业于东吴大学法学院的耄耋老人，怀着对学术的热忱，为《元照英美法词典》编辑呕心沥血，经历九载寒暑，填补了我国法律辞书在此方面的空白，用余生的力量为“一个时代学术高峰”的东吴法学续写了浓墨重彩的一笔。改革开放以来，苏大人秉承学术为魂的传统，接续走好求真求是的新征程，相继建立了我国第一个血栓与止血研究室，研制出我国第一组抗人血小板抗体；自主研发出我国第一颗全磁悬浮人工心脏；多项关键技术达到国际领先水平，应用于“神舟”“神光”“天问”“天巡”等大科学装置；建成丝绸行业唯一的国家工程实验室、放射医学领域唯一的国家重点实验室。120年来，这种潜心为学、精益求精的治学追求，根植在苏大人的灵魂中，塑造着苏大人的品格。
百廿光影流转，苏大人向忧而生、振我家邦的情怀从未改变。1911年，东吴大学师生心系寒门，创办惠寒学校，招收贫寒子弟免费入学。百余年来，一代代苏大人爱心接力，在全国各地建立了26所惠寒学校，惠及数万农村儿童。我们的校友费孝通先生，他一心想为农民找条出路，先后二十七次回到家乡苏州调查，在1936年写下了享誉国际的《江村经济》。费老的英国导师马林诺斯基曾经问他：你的伟大祖国，进退维谷，是西方化还是灭亡？他给出了中国人的回答：不是西方化，也不是灭亡，是“文化自觉”。问答间足见费老赤诚的爱国之情。1977届校友郭试瑜和色登，他们怀着让沙漠变绿洲的梦想，在内蒙古自费从事沙漠治理14年，凭借坚强的毅力与浩瀚无垠的荒漠抗争，造就了五万亩绿洲，为当地牧民带去“绿水青山”，换来“金山银山”。去冬今春，面对新冠肺炎疫情大考，学校附属医院204名医护人员以生命赴使命、以大爱护人民，给出了“最美逆行者”的答案。120年来，这种先忧后乐、甘于奉献的家国情怀，流淌在苏大人的血液里，熔铸着苏大人的精神。
百廿光影流转，苏大人向兴而动、敢为人先的气概从未改变。创校之初，先贤们独树一帜，开现代高等教育之先河，在我国最早开展研究生教育并授予硕士学位、最先开展法学专业教育和最早创办学报。改革开放以来，苏大人以更开放、自信、包容的姿态，大胆“闯”，勇于“创”，从入选我国首批博士学位授予高校，到跻身首批“211工程”建设高校；从入选首批“国家试点学院”和“2011计划”承接高校，到跻身博士生教育综合改革试点高校，在重大教育改革中始终有苏大人奋进的身影；从创办我国第一所境外高校——老挝苏州大学，到创建全球首家红十字国际学院，到创建全球首个全数字化大学——云中苏大，苏大人主动探索链接世界、连接未来的新路。120年来，这种敢为人先、追求卓越的魅力气魄，永葆在苏大人的气质中，涵养着苏大人的风范。
在风云激荡的双甲子岁月里，苏大人向德而立、向真而求、向忧而生、向兴而动，构筑起了“涵养正气、致知穷理、振我家邦、敢为人先”的苏大精神。在群星闪耀的历史长河中，每一位苏大人的名字都值得我们深深铭记，每一代苏大人的故事也都值得我们细细品读。也正是因为他们在各自领域发光发热，熔铸着苏大文化，丰富着苏大精神，苏大的历史才不是凝固的历史，这段历史传承至今，历久弥新，展现出强大的生命力。
今天，苏州大学正处在第三个甲子的新起点上，亦处在实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的新起点上，我们回眸双甲子华诞，深刻感受历史“传承着什么”，深情感怀现在“实现了什么”，深切领悟未来“应该去做什么”。当前，我们正面临世界百年未有之大变局和中华民族伟大复兴战略全局，新技术、新观念、新机遇、新挑战扑面而来，历史与未来、传统与现实、平静与喧嚣、困惑与期待，都在大学里碰撞、交织。当历史的接力棒交到我们这一代人手上，我们应该以什么样的理想与抱负，去迎接新的甲子，去铸就新的辉煌？基于学校历史与现实，基于国家对大学的要求与期许，基于全球高等教育发展态势与未来走向，我们致力于将苏州大学建设成为一所更有格局、更有情怀、更有作为的大学。
未来的苏大，将成为拔尖人才培养的丰沃之地。我们将汇聚最富朝气的年轻学子和最具创新活力的各类人才，提供一流的学习环境和卓越的学习体验，让名师的讲堂、高端的对话、思想的交流随处可见，培养学子们的爱国情怀、社会责任感、创新精神和实践能力，让他们成长为既能适应当下又能引领未来的卓越拔尖人才。在这里，每位学子都将得到智慧启发，获得最佳成长体验。
未来的苏大，将成为科学技术创新的蝶变之地。我们将以习近平总书记在科学家座谈会上提出的“四个面向”为指引，聚高端人才，建重大平台，促协同创新，向科学技术广度和深度进军，实现更多“从 0 到 1”的突破。在这里，任何稚嫩的原始创新、任何微小的发明创造，都将得到悉心呵护。
未来的苏大，将成为思想火花迸发的策源之地。我们将坚定文化自信，秉承科学的批判精神、自由的主体意识、平等的多元理念以及至善的价值追求，碰撞出引领时代潮流的思想观念和智慧火花。在这里，我们将求真理、探规律、立学说，以更有活力的文化成就贡献人类。
未来的苏大，将成为世界文明交流的融会之地。我们将把国际化作为一种基本的生存方式，以更加开放的姿态拥抱世界，积极对接国际标准、参与国际竞争，建立从日常交流、项目合作到全面战略合作的国际合作交流全体系。在这里，我们将促进世界文明互动与交流，推动重大科技和社会治理问题跨国研究，成为一所全球性大学。
未来的苏大，将成为大学形态重塑的引领之地。我们将加快“云中苏大”建设，力争成为高等教育数字化转型领头雁，构建方式更加灵活、资源更加丰富、学习更加便捷的终身学习体系。在这里，我们将再造一个苏大，创立一个标准、引领一种潮流，打造可以感知、永远在线的教育生命体。
各位领导、各位来宾，老师们、同学们、校友们，今天我们回顾建校120年的峥嵘岁月，要特别感谢为学校竭诚奉献的一代代教职员工，他们涵养了苏大精神，培养了苏大的莘莘学子。我们要感谢奋斗在各行各业的校友，他们无论身在何处，都心系母校，用实际行动为母校代言。我们要感谢关心苏大的各界朋友，他们和我们一样热爱苏大，为她提供坚定的支持和无私的帮助。我们还要感谢孕育苏大、滋养苏大的这片热土，历史悠久，底蕴深厚，一省汇集江、河、湖、海，“水蕴江苏”为学校注入澎湃动力；千年名城，融古汇今，吴文化源远流长，“人文姑苏”为学校铺就成长底色。
百廿光影流转，岁月无声留痕。仰望苍穹，“谈家桢星”“陆埮星”“潘君骅星”闪耀夜空，那是苏大儿女凝望祖国大地的深情目光；侧耳聆听，最美校歌再次响起，那是全体苏大人对母校的真情表白。苏大的昨天，已写在中国高等教育史册上；苏大的今天，正在全体苏大人手中创造；苏大的明天，一定会更加美好！
百廿苏大，荣光永续！祝福苏大，祝福苏大人！谢谢大家！
Soochow University: Twelve Decades of Glory and Beyond
Speech at Soochow University’s 120 Anniversary Celebration
Sidong Xiong
President, Soochow University
Good morning!
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this anniversary convocation at this beautiful Dushu Lake campus of ours. we gather here to celebrate the 120th birthday of Soochow University. It is a festive day never to be forgotten for the entire Soochow University community and its patrons of various kinds. Those who are not physically present can join us at the online convocation; we are closely connected though far apart. On behalf of the university, I hereby extend my sincere greetings to ‘Suda’-ers all over the world, my warm welcome to all guests, and my heartfelt thanks to friends from all walks of life who are concerned with and facilitate the university’s development.
Let’s look back in order to look forward. 120 years ago, Soochow University was founded in the twilight years of the Late Qing dynasty. Some intellectuals of vision and ideals, led by Young John Allen, David L. Anderson and Cao Zishi, founded Dongwu Daxue as it was then called, the country’s very first Western-style university. Since then, this inclusive modern university, a beneficiary of the best of two worlds, has been marching along with the country towards modernization.
100 years ago, a new chapter was opened for localization after the May Fourth Movement. The university’s first Chinese president, Professor Yang Yongqing, who promoted the education of traditional Chinese culture, prescribed the Chinese version of the university motto “Unto a full grown man”, facilitating mutually illuminating communication between Chinese and Western cultures.
80 years ago, our faculty and students had to move across the country during the 8-year-long war against Japanese Aggression. Our predecessors strived to have classes wherever they stopped—Shanghai, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Sichuan, Chongqing and other provinces and cities. Their will of steel and perseverance helped to preserve the legacy of the university and pass it down.
60 years ago, a new phase of development was ushered in after the People’s Republic of China was founded. In response to the country’s call for personnel preparation, the university reoriented its commitment to teacher training, thus empowering regional elementary and high education.
40 years ago, following the country’s economic reform and opening-up, the university accelerated its pace towards a comprehensive university renamed Suzhou Daxue as it is now called. Its active role in addressing social needs and boosting economic growth was highly recognized in the local context and beyond.
20 years ago, the university continued its growth by pooling strengths from local institutions. With the merging of Suzhou College of Sericulture, Suzhou Institute of Silk Textile Technology and Suzhou Medical College, the university saw an unprecedented leap as a leader in institutional management reform nationwide.
Today, an active player in the vibrant competition in the country’s globalizing higher education enterprise, the university aims high and try to build itself into a widely recognized and respected research university of international visibility, and to become part of the leading tier of the country’s first-class university program.
As history rolls on, the university has never abandoned its original ambition and responsibility to serve national rejuvenation. We have never lost the courage to be independent and innovative, and to guard the essence of the university despite any situation arising.
Over the changing decades, our commitment to moral integrity and justice has never changed. Our predecessors who engaged themselves in the 1919 May Fourth Movement telegraphed the wavering Beiyang government on behalf of all the students, forcefully proposing against the signing of unequal treaties. Later in the 1946 Tokyo Trial, Xiang Zhejun, Ni Zhengyu, Gao Wenbin and seven other members from the university, with great courage and wisdom, helped to bring the Japanese war criminals to justice and safeguarded the nation’s as well as humanity’s legitimate rights and dignity. Sadly, the bravest of our warriors, 23 Party members including He Weisheng, Ding Xiang, and Wang Xiaojun, sacrificed their lives in fighting wars for national liberation and independence or in their service for national modernization and development. They died at an average age of 28, the youngest being 22, and their heroism and legacy shall be remembered. It is proudly this good faith in moral integrity and justice, already part of our collective consciousness, that raises us up and empowers our forging ahead.
Over the changing decades, our pursuit of knowledge and truth has never changed. Our most distinguished alumni have set inspirational examples in this regard. Tan Jiazhen (C. C. Tan), the father of genetics of China, devoted his entire self to promoting the country’s life sciences, never yielding to non-academic pressures and interferences. Pan Handian, Sheng Zhenwei and some other early graduates from the university’s Department of Law, already in their eighties or nineties then, spent nine years compiling The English-Chinese Dictionary of Anglo-American Law, the first of its kind in history. Their achievement, made possible only by lifetime dedication, is proof to their being a scholarly acme.
Into the Reform and Opening-up era, stunning breakthroughs have been made by the university’s aspiring academics in various fields. These include building the country’s first laboratory for thrombosis and hemostasis, composing the country’s first group of anti-human platelets, and independently developing the country’s first fully magnetically suspended artificial heart. Moreover, internationally competitive technological innovations have been applied in some key national projects, including astronomical and laser devices, e.g., Shenzhou, Shenguang, Tianwen, and Tianxun. Meanwhile, an industry-oriented national laboratory for silk research and a key national laboratory for medical radiology have been established, the only ones of the kind in the country. It is this unyielding devotion to scholarly inquiries and relentless pursuit of perfection, already deep-rooted in our mind, heart, and soul, that shape the personality of the Soochow University community.
Over the changing decades, our universal care for the underprivileged and our patriotism have not changed a bit. Among the early attempts was the building of Huihan (poverty-alleviation) Primary School in 1911, offering free schooling to children of impoverished families. Over a century or so, 26 Huihan schools have been built across the country, benefiting tens of thousands of children in rural areas. Fei Xiaotong, a distinguished alumnus, one of the foremost Chinese social anthropologists, devoted much of his career to helping peasants. He took 27 field study trips to his hometown Suzhou and, subsequently, finished his seminal book Jiangcun Economy in 1936. In one famous anecdote, he was challenged by his British supervisor Malinowski with the hard question: whether China would choose to westernize itself or to perish. He came up with an answer that inspired all: China would neither yield to westernization nor perish, but turn to “cultural consciousness” as a solution. Equally inspiringly, the 1977 alumni Guo Shiyu, with the help from Se Deng, have been conducting research in desert management in Inner Mongolia for 14 years, all at their own expense, and all for their dream of “turning the desert into an oasis”. Their effort created an oasis of 50,000 acres for the local herdsmen, who can sustain their livelihood by working on the land. A more recent example is our fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, in which 204 medical practitioners from the university’s affiliated hospitals risked their own lives in risky areas to save the lives of others. It is this universal care and unwavering patriotism, now built into our genes, molds our spirit.
Over the changing decades, our courage to take initiatives has not changed. Our pioneering efforts include developing the country’s first degree-granting postgraduate program, initiating the training of legal personnel, and launching the first university-based academic journal. The university’s more recent adventures in the Reform and Opening-up era have led to its accredited doctoral programs, an early entry into the “211 Project”, and an active, leading role in some educational reform initiatives including the “National Pilot College” and the “2011 Plan”. We are never afraid of trying out new ideas. We have built the first overseas campus of a mainland-based university, Soochow University in Laos, the world’s first International Academy of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, and the first “cloud-based” university. We keep exploring new ways to be connected to the world and the future. It is such adventurous courage and aspiration, now part of our personality, that nourish our dispositions and demeanor.
In the turbulent years of yore, it is our moral courage, quest of truth, care for the underprivileged, aspiration to the better, and patriotism that defined the legacy and spirit of Soochow University. Those committed to nurturing and enriching this legacy and spirit shall be remembered, honored, and modelled after. It is their commitment to their own fields of inquiries that has made the history of the university, a history of glory and brilliance, one that renews and develops with vitality in this era and beyond.
Today, we are at yet another starting point, one towards the realization of the Chinese dream of rejuvenation. We look back and take stock; we also look ahead to blueprint the future. We feel deeply the profound changes generated by new technologies and new concepts, as we are acutely aware of the challenges and opportunities. The university today is an interesting interaction between history and the future, tradition and modernity, the constant and the changing, the confusing and the promising. When we are to write the history of the university, what should be our mission, and what new glories should we achieve? Proceeding from the fundamental realities of the times, the nation and the university, our mission is to have a university of potency, aspiration, and accountability.
Soochow University shall serve as an incubator for professionals of top caliber. With a most favorable learning environment and excellent learning experience to offer, the university will attract aspiring students and professionals from home and abroad. Easy access to knowledge and dialogues with brilliant intellectuals here will equip students with a vision for the future. This helps to develop patriotic, socially responsible students armed with innovative spirit and practical skills, thus enabling them to become eminent leaders of the present and pace-setters of the future. At Soochow University, every student can have the best possible learning experience.
Soochow University shall serve as a laboratory for science and technology. Following President Xi Jinping’s proposed guideline at the national symposium of scientists, we will build a major platform for innovative collaboration among leading experts. We will spare no effort to facilitate breakthroughs in science and technology; we cherish every original idea, discovery, and invention no matter whether it will pan out.
The university shall serve as a powerhouse for innovative ideas. Now better aware and more confident of our own culture, we value critical thinking, free subject consciousness, equality, pluralism, and the pursuit of moral good in order to enkindle ideas and wisdom that help to shape the times. With open dialogue and communication among active thinkers, we will make contribution in our own way to world civilization with a more dynamic culture of ours.
The university shall serve as a hub for cross-cultural communication. In an internationalizing context, it will develop a more open and inclusive attitude, benchmark our performance against international standards, and vie for excellence with our international peers. It will implement a system of communication through exchange programs, research projects, and strategic cooperation on major scientific issues and social governance, thus rising to become a truly global university.
The university shall be a major pioneer in reshaping universities. With the “cloud-based” university project well under way, we will strive to lead the digitalization of higher education, and to innovate a lifelong learning system that offers more accessible, engaging, and enjoyable learning experiences. We hope our alternative virtual campus will help establish standards for promoting and assessing online education in the country.
Distinguished guests, dear colleagues, students, and alumni, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of Soochow University, we hereby acknowledge the contribution of the previous generations of our faculty and staff because it is them who have helped to mold our legacy and spirit. Our gratitude also goes to our alumni from all walks of life for their loyalty and attachment to alma mater; to all our friends for their constant support; and to this generous land, a land of promise, that nurtures local culture which in turn energizes our development.
Time per se elapses and leaves no trace, but we do and make a huge difference. You can somehow hear our confessions, whispers, and declarations of love for the university. Looking back, we feel proud of the university’s twelve decades of glory, and looking forward, we will surely have a greater Soochow University as we learn from history and make history.
I wish to extend my very best wishes to Soochow University and to all members of the Soochow University community.
Thank you!
苏州大学新媒体中心
整理编辑：杨帆、巫婷婷
百廿苏大，荣光永续↓↓↓