The new museum for the history of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) was inaugurated at the Wenbo Building on the Minhang Campus in the morning on April 8th 2021, as SJTU celebrates its 125th anniversary.
The inauguration was attended by Deputy Director-General of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Director-General of the Shanghai Municipal Spiritual Civilization Office Pan Min, Deputy Director-General of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee Cai Zhong, grandson of SJTU’s founder (Sheng Xuanhuai) Sheng Yufeng, wife of the grandson of the first President of Nanyang Mission College (which SJTU was used to be called) (He Sikun) Ling Shuping, grandson of former President of SJTU (Zhang Yuanji) Zhang Renfeng, great-grandson of former President of SJTU (Tang Wenzhi) Tang Deming, the descendant of former President of SJTU (Li Zhaohuan) Jiang Jianhua, son of former President of SJTU (Peng Kang) Peng Cheng, daughter of one of the contributors to China’s “Two Bombs One Satellite” project who entered SJTU in 1937 (Yang Jiachi) Yang Xi, son of China’s highway pioneer (Zhao Zukang) Zhao Guotong, the couple as donors to the SJTU History Research Fund who entered SJTU in 1978 Liu Gongting and Feng Ying, Chairman of FengHe Fund Management who entered SJTU in 1985 Wu Jiong and his wife, Co-President and Chief Operating Officer of Ctrip Sun Jie and her husband, Wu Jiong’s parents, SJTU Professors Wu Xilong and Yu Zhebin (couple), Chairman of the Archives Work Association of Universities under Direct Jurisdiction of China’s Ministry of Education and Curator of the Archives of Tsinghua University and Tsinghua University History Museum Fan Baolong, senior collector Zhan Hongge, Curator of the Archives of the East China Normal University Tang Tao, and Curator of the Archives of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (SUFE) and SUFE History Museum Yu Shihong, as well as current SJTU leadership including the Secretary of the CPC Committee of SJTU Yang Zhenbin and President of SJTU Lin Zhongqin and former SJTU leadership including Weng Shilie, Wang Zongguang, Ma Dexiu, Xie Shengwu, Jiang Sixian and Zhang Jie.
Yang Zhenbin, Lin Zhongqin, Weng Shilie, Wang Zongguang, Ma Dexiu, Xie Shengwu, Jiang Sixian, Zhang Jie, Pan Min and Cai Zhong inaugurated the museum. The inauguration was facilitated by Vice President of SJTU Zhang Ansheng.
Head of the archives management center of SJTU introduced the construction of the new museum. Located on the third floor of the Wenbo Building, the new museum has an area of 2,350㎡ for exhibition that extends for approximately 500 meters. It provides four sections of exhibition, namely SJTU’s history at a glance, outstanding alumni of SJTU, SJTU today and SJTU’s culture, offering a panoramic view of its cultural traditions, outcomes and social contributions over the past 100 years and more. The exhibits include around 460 pieces of archives, cultural relics and precious literature, 1,200-odd photos and 20-odd videos, many of which are made to the public for the first time.
In the development of SJTU’s archives and construction of its history museum, many of the key figures in running SJTU and the descendants of its outstanding alumni have generously donated important cultural relics, archives and literature as the witness to the history of SJTU that have helped broaden the scope of study in its history and make the exhibition more appealing. Wen Shilie, Wang Zongguang, Ma Dexiu, Xie Shengwu, Jiang Sixian and Zhang Jie conferred commemorative trophies for the donations to SJTU’s history museum on Sheng Yufeng, Ling Shuping, Zhang Renfeng, Tang Deming, Jiang Jianhua, Peng Cheng and Zhao Guotong.
For many years, every leadership of SJTU has not only placed great importance on its history study and the construction of its history museum, but donated collected books, archives, manuscripts, photos and precious credentials. Some of SJTU’s leaders, in particular, have set an example by making several donations that have added to a rich body of STJU’s historical materials and archives of its key milestones. Yang Zhenbin and Lin Zhongqin conferred on the former SJTU leadership commemorative trophies for the donations.
In his concluding remarks, Yang Zhenbin said that SJTU was born with the pursuit of strength, prospered with reform and flourished with talents, and that it has shared the destiny with the Chinese nation ever since its establishment. SJTU’s history museum and Wenbo venues, he said, have to be the archives, transformer and amplifier of “cultural confidence” and the leading force in studying and communicating the spirit of universities. He stressed the need to follow SJTU’s development strategy of leading with culture, summarize and study the history of SJTU, assume the responsibility and mission of upholding morality and nurturing students, serve the society, and enable the museum to play an important role in promoting talent development and contribute to China’s efforts to build a culturally strong country.
