民元北大校长严复去职内幕

Inside Story of the Leaving of Yan Fu, Peking University Principal, in the First Year of the Republic of China

民元北大校长严复被迫去职, 主要由两股力量促成:一为教育部的反严者, 特别是次长董鸿伟。参事蒋维乔等;一为北大学生中的少数激进革命分子, 以理科化学门的彭佛会为代表。严复在处理北大事务过程中与教育部之问产生的尖锐矛质和冲突, 是后者决心将其更换的主要原因;同时他吸食鸦片。作风散漫的毛病, 也为新派人物所不能容忍;而他公然违背国务院通令和教育部照会。接受总统府顾问官兼职,则使其落炳于教育部, 成为后者发难的契机。但由于严复得到衷世凯和绝大多数教职员、学生支持, 教育部反严者采取了非正常手段, 利用在报社服务。曾经造谣攻击过严复的彭佛会,制造了严复在前门车站“携烟被拘”的谣言,使严复吸食鸡片的隐私由一个小范围而曝光于天下, 从而饱受攻击与非议, 不得不去职。对北大而言, 严复被迫去职不但是教育与学术上的失败,而且引发了学生同此后几任校长及教育部之间持续不断的冲突。

Yan Fu, then Peking University Principal, was forced to leave due to forces from two aspects: one is those who went against him in the Ministry of Education, especially vice minister Dong Hongyi and advisor Jiang Weiqiao; the other is radical revolutionaries among Peking University students, represented by Peng Fogong from Chemistry Department. While handling affairs of Peking University, Yan Fu had sharp conflicts with the Ministry of Education, which finally decided to substitute him. Besides, he took opium and was always undisciplined, which was also unbearable for innovators. He also violated order of State Council and note from Ministry of Education to accept working as advisor of Presidential Palace, which became an excuse for Ministry of Education to kick him out. However, as Yan Fu won the support of Yuan Shih-kai and most teachers and students, those going against Yan used unusual means, that is, making use of Peng Fogong, who served in the newspaper office and produced rumors to attack Yan, making a rumor saying that Yan was arrested for carrying opium, so that Yan's privacy was exposed to the world and made him hard reproached and he had to leave the post of principal. Yan Fu forced to leave was not just a failure in education and study for Peking University, but leading to continuing conflicts between students and the following principals and the Ministry of Education.