Joys Of The Teaching Career

       I was a teacher for only ten years. In 1926, on my return to China after finishing studies in the United States, I began to teach at my alma mater Yenching University, Peiping, as a lecturer in Chinese. The deans and teachers of the Department of Chinese then were mostly my former teachers. Other faculties and departments also had no lack of my former teachers. I may well say that practically all the teaching staff of the University were my seniors. Therefore, at a faculty meeting, I always chose a seat at an unobservable corner of the room. Everybody jokingly called me “faculty baby”. I was then on the right side of 26.
       It was, however, a different story when I was with my students. They and I were good friends. When I taught freshman Chinese as a required course, I used a textbook of classical prose. The freshmen were mostly young boys and girls aged between 17 and 20.  Looking down from the rostrum, I was delighted by a multitude of rosy-faced naive young students smiling and staring curiously at me — the little teacher. Their smiles were by no means unfamiliar to me, being similar to those I often saw on the faces of my younger brothers and younger female cousins. Often, when I opened the roll-call book and asked them each to give their own names, I corrected their accents one by one. Thus, between laughter and chat, we came to know each other better and were soon on friendly terms. 
       In recalling my past career as a teacher, I always think fondly of the intimate friendship between the students and me. In those days, teachers and students all lived on campus, which greatly facilitated our after-school contact. We often went boating on the Weiming Lake, or had discussions about various things on the marble boat by the island in the middle of the Lake, or had heart-to-heart private talks about, for instance, job selections or marriage. At this moment the images of quite a few couples, such as Zheng Linzhuang and Wu Ruiwu, Lin Yaohua and Rao Yusu, etc. suddenly appear in my mind’s eye. I attended some of their wedding ceremonies in my capacity as a go-between. Sometimes, preparatory to making a match, I had the parents of both parties meet each other at a dinner I gave. All that took place over half a century ago, and now, alas, more than half of them have gone to another world before me. I feel very had about it indeed.
       It’s time for me to stop writing now. I’ve not been talking solely about “students respecting teachers” or “teachers cherishing students” because, to my mind, teachers and students should be friends with mutual respect and love.

       我(wǒ)(wǒ)隻在母校燕京大(dà)學國文系當過十年的教師。那時系裏的主任和教師大(dà)半是我(wǒ)(wǒ)的老師。全校的教師都是我(wǒ)(wǒ)的師輩！因此在開(kāi)教授會的時候，我(wǒ)(wǒ)總是挑個極邊極角的座位，惶恐地縮在一(yī)旁。大(dà)家都笑着稱我(wǒ)(wǒ)爲Faulty Baby（教授會的嬰兒）。那一(yī)學期我(wǒ)(wǒ)還不滿二十六歲。
       在學生(shēng)群中(zhōng)就大(dà)不一(yī)樣了。他們是我(wǒ)(wǒ)的好朋友。從講台上望去(qù)，一(yī)個個紅撲撲的稚氣未退的臉，嬉笑地好奇地望着我(wǒ)(wǒ)這個“小(xiǎo)先生(shēng)”。這些笑容對我(wǒ)(wǒ)并不陌生(shēng)，和我(wǒ)(wǒ)的弟(dì)弟(dì)們和表妹們的笑容一(yī)模一(yī)樣。打開(kāi)點名簿請他們自己報名，我(wǒ)(wǒ)又(yòu)逐一(yī)糾正了他們的口音，笑語紛纭之中(zhōng)，我(wǒ)(wǒ)們一(yī)下(xià)子就很熟悉很親熱了！
       回憶起那幾年的教學生(shēng)涯，最使我(wǒ)(wǒ)眷戀的是：學生(shēng)們和我(wǒ)(wǒ)成了知(zhī)心朋友。那時教師和男女學生(shēng)都住在校内，課外(wài)的接觸十分(fēn)頻(pín)繁。我(wǒ)(wǒ)們常常在未名湖上劃船，在水中(zhōng)央的島邊石舫上開(kāi)種種的讨論會，或者作個别談話(huà)。這時我(wǒ)(wǒ)眼前忽然湧現出好幾對美滿的夫妻，如鄭林莊和吳瑞梧，林耀華和饒毓蘇，等等。說起來是半個世紀以前的事了。他們中(zhōng)有過半數的人已先我(wǒ)(wǒ)而進入另一(yī)個世界，寫到這裏，我(wǒ)(wǒ)心裏有說不出的一(yī)種滋味！
       我(wǒ)(wǒ)應該停筆了，我(wǒ)(wǒ)說的既不是“尊師”也不是“愛生(shēng)”，我(wǒ)(wǒ)隻覺得“師”和“生(shēng)”應當是互相尊重互相親愛的朋友。