郑晓沧与国立浙江大学

从1929年8月应邀到国立浙江大学任教，至1950年10月国立浙江大学改名为浙江大学，整整21年间，郑晓沧为国立浙江大学的建设和发展做出了不可磨灭的贡献。他辅助校长竺可桢办学，创建国立浙江大学教育学系并先后任教育学系主任、国立浙江大学教务长、代理校长、师范学院院长、龙泉分校主任、研究院院长等职。在抗日战争时期最艰苦的岁月里，他与学校不离不弃、休戚与共，为学校的发展贡献了自己的聪明才智。而郑晓沧在其教育实践中体现出来的教育思想，以及他为人处世中表现出来的敦厚谦和、尽职尽责、勤奋好学、积极乐观的情操和境界，不仅是浙江大学，也是我国高等教育界的一份宝贵的精神财富。

Zheng Xiaocang and National Chekiang University

During the 21 years between Zheng Xiaocang’s arrival at National Chekiang University and its renaming as Zhejiang University, Zheng made indelible contributions to the development of National Chekiang University. In 1929, Zheng Xiaocang became a professor of National Chekiang University, when he founded the Department of Education. He invited many remarkable scholars such as Meng Xiancheng, Yu Ziyi, Zhuang Zexuan, Shen Youqian, Huang Yi, etc. to teach at the department and he also set up a nursery school with Huang. During the December 9th Movement to Resist Japan and Save the Nation, students at National Chekiang University took an active part to support the protest movement, while their patriotic movement was suppressed by the former president Guo Renyuan, which triggered off a student protest against Guo. Then provost Zheng did his utmost to keep the school affairs in operation and actively contacted the related parties to settle the problem, which prevented the situation from getting worse. Meanwhile, Zheng acted the role of president during the period between Guo’s resignation and Chu Coching’s inauguration. In 1936, Chu Coching took over as the president of National Chekiang University and Zheng, who was arguably a key member of the university’s leading group, did his best to assist Chu in running the university. When Chu first arrived at the university, Zheng helped Chu get familiar with the university affairs. In 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out, the university had to move inland for safety. On the tough move from Hangzhou to Jiande in Zhejiang Province, then to Taihe and Ji’an in Jiangxi Province, then to Yishan in Guangxi Province and finally to Zunyi in Guizhou Province, Zheng assisted President Chu in organizing students’ trek and fulfilling the university’s mission of teaching and research despite the hardship. In 1938, Normal School, National Chekiang University was founded on its way westward to Yishan, and Zheng served as the first dean. In 1939, Zheng went to the east of Zhejiang to prepare for the establishment of the university’s branch on the orders of Chu and later he became Director of Longquan Branch, National Chekiang University. Zheng’s educational thoughts were put into practice and Longquan Branch became a favorite university for the youth in the southeastern provinces in China. In 1943, Zheng returned to the main campus in Zunyi and served as the dean of the graduate school. During his period as dean, Zheng promoted the university’s research progress and was committed to young researchers’ development. In 1946, National Chekiang University moved back to Hangzhou after the war. Zheng continued to work at the university and during President Chu’s oversea visits, he was deputed to act as the president at the critical moment when the university needed him. As a university in exile, National Chekiang University miraculously went all the way through difficulties and adversities in wartime conditions and grew from a local university to one of the leading universities in China during the eight years of the war. It was honored as “Oriental Cambridge” by the famous British scholar Joseph Needham. In this painstaking process, Zheng’s contributions were irreplaceable. The educational thought Zheng reflected in his educational practice as well as the qualities of modesty, warmness, diligence and optimism the revered educator showed left valuable spiritual wealth for Zhejiang University and higher education in China.