19011012, on the ocean-going ship at the bund pier in Shanghai, sirens blared. Li Fuji, who is only 20 years old, and his classmates Zeng Zongjian, Hu Zhenping and Zhao Xingchang are full of ambitions. Facing the sea breeze, they embarked on the journey of studying in Britain. Li Fuji is the first graduate of Nanyang College Intermediate People's Court. Li Fuji's uncle Li Weige went to see him off. He wrote down this special day affectionately in his diary. There is a big piece of luggage-a bicycle-that crossed the ocean with Li Fuji. It was fashionable and rare at that time, and it was also a special gift from Li Weige to his nephew. This bicycle made a great contribution during Li Fuji's study abroad. Not only helped Li Fuji to travel to many places in Britain and continental Europe many times, but also subsidized his pocket money by subletting others.
Nanyang Public School, located in Xujiahui, was founded in 1896 by Sheng Xuanhuai, a famous industrialist in modern times. It was one of the few new institutions of higher learning in China at that time. However, in the beginning, the old school still ruled the whole country, and few students received new education. Therefore, students cannot be guaranteed to set up undergraduate departments directly. Therefore, public schools should be set up from primary and secondary schools (intermediate people's courts and outer courts) and teachers' colleges should be set up to train teachers. It is assumed that middle school graduates can set up an undergraduate department (upper house) after graduation. 1898 In the spring, the first session of the Intermediate People's Court of Nanyang Public School began to enroll students. At that time, there were very few students who met the enrollment requirements, and there were often losses among them. By the next spring, there were only six students left, Li Fuji, who transferred from Changsha, and made up his studies in the first class at this time.
In the archives of 20 13 of jiaotong university, some records of Li Fuji when he was studying in school more than 0/00 years ago are still preserved. According to the records, Li Fuji studied hard at school and got good grades. At the end of the first semester, Sheng Xuanhuai and He Sikun, the president of the public school, personally inspected the grades of students in each class. Li Fuji was praised as "born thick and flawless" and won a reward of 50 cents. 1900-65438+February, Wu Guangjian (1867-1945), the director of the public college, presided over the English test of Class 1 in the Intermediate People's Court, which was divided into dictation (full score: 50) and composition (full score: 100). Li Fuji ranked third with 49 points and 73 points respectively, and won the 2 yuan Prize. After class, Li Fuji attended the collective wisdom meeting organized by Chinese teacher Wu Zhihui and reviewed his lessons in public. 190 1 In July, six middle school students, including Li Fuji, Zeng Zongjian, Hu Zhenping and Zhao Xingchang, graduated as the first graduates of Nanyang Public College.
According to the articles of association of Nanyang Public College, the graduates of the Intermediate People's Court should "go to school". After four years of study, the school will send them abroad to study on the best basis. But in July of that year, Lao Naixuan, the president of the public school, wrote to Sheng Xuanhuai, arguing that there were many funds and insufficient students, and asked for an extension of the upper house. Regarding the way out for the six graduates of the Intermediate People's Court, Lao Naixuan called them "excellent public schools for a while", "ambitious and restless, and regretted not being able to travel abroad every time", and suggested that those with excellent academic performance should be sent to the UK to study, so as to solve the problem of studying after the students of the Intermediate People's Court delayed their schooling.
At that time, it was expensive to send students abroad. Usually each person spends more than 2000 taels of silver a year. If it takes four years, it takes two pieces of silver to train a person. The annual income of Nanyang College is only 65438+ 2 million silver. However, Sheng Xuanhuai believes that students must travel abroad and study specially in order to get a glimpse of the essence of western learning and use its strengths to make up for my shortcomings. So he quickly adopted the suggestion of sending students from the Intermediate People's Court to study abroad, and sent four graduates from the Intermediate People's Court to study in Britain, including Li Fuji, Hu Zhenping, Zeng Zongjian and President Zhao, and designated four students as majors: Li Fuji majored in machinery, Hu Zhenping and Zeng Zongjian majored in politics, and President Zhao majored in business. Wu Guangjian, transferred from the public school, is responsible for the specific affairs of studying abroad. Wu studied in England in his early years and studied in the navy. He is very familiar with the road. He hired an Englishman, Lambert, as the supervisor of studying abroad, who was responsible for contacting the school, managing the funds for studying abroad and supervising the students' academic behavior. Lan is a professor of physics at the Royal Naval Academy in Greenwich, England. Yan Fu, Wu Guangjian, etc. All worked under him.
London is already very cold in autumn and winter. Li Fuji and others landed at the Thames Pier, holding a personal letter from Wu Guangjian, and found the Lambert couple who came to meet them. Mr and Mrs Lambert are very hospitable. They first showed them around London, arrived in Greenwich in the afternoon and rented two rooms to settle down temporarily. A month later, Lan arranged for them to study Chinese at King's College London. Soon after, Li entered FinsburyCollege, majoring in mechanical engineering, and then worked as an intern at the London Institution of Mechanical Engineers for 65,438+0 years, then studied mechanical engineering at the University of London. After graduating in 65,438+0,904, he worked as an intern at Hannier Company in Dover, Dissel. The idea of studying in Germany was influenced by his uncle Li Weige. This year, Li Weige was sent by Sheng Xuanhuai to Europe and America to inspect the new ironmaking law, and they met in England. Li Weige suggested that Li Fuji go to Germany to study natural science after studying engineering in Britain. Because he believes that engineering is based on natural science, only by mastering natural science can we make a difference in applied engineering, and natural science is the deepest in Germany.
At the end of 1904, the four-year study abroad period is approaching, and Li Fuji wrote to Sheng Xuanhuai, asking for an extension of two years to study in Germany. Sheng Xuanhuai, supervisor of Nanyang Public School, agreed to postpone it to June 1907, with annual contribution of 180. After the internship in the machine factory expired, Li Fuji entered the Natural Science Department of the Art Department of Bonn University on May 1906, with the registered name "LiFoKi", which is a Roman letter. After entering the school, Li Fushi studied with the famous physicist and discoverer of helium in the atmosphere (H. Kayser; 1853- 1940) engaged in spectroscopic research. 1907 graduated with a doctorate in physics.
Li Fuji took part in some social activities during his stay in Europe. One story recorded that he had just arrived in England to attend a dance. One weekend, several students took Li Fuji to the school dance, hoping to let him see the world. I realized that he came from the "state of etiquette" and abided by the old saying that men and women should not kiss. Seeing men and women cuddling together, he immediately blushed and was at a loss. A female classmate came up to ask him to dance. His legs went weak and he hid under a table, which made everyone laugh. However, the young man quickly adapted to life in a foreign country, began to make a wide range of friends and was keen on public activities. He is a member of China Association in London and the chairman of China Friendship Association in London. During his stay in continental Europe, he was the honorary chairman of the Paris Buddhist Club and a volunteer of DucTschTsih in China and Europe. Dr. Li Fuji's thesis was completed in 1907 65438+ 10, entitled "Experimental study on Lerner's alkali metal spectrum theory by spectroscope" (spektro Skopischeuntersuchungenueberp. Lenardstherioriedersperren Deralkarmetalle (translated by Li himself into Chinese), the main content is to verify P. Lerner by shooting the flame spectrum of sodium.
Lerner won the 1905 Nobel Prize in Physics for his experimental research on cathode rays. He was a great authority of German physics at that time, and Einstein, who later became a leading scientist in the field of science in the 20th century, also applied to be his assistant in 1903. The theory established by such a master physicist was overthrown by a 25-year-old young man in China, indicating that the first doctor of physics in China made extraordinary efforts and reached the scientific research level at that time.
According to the materials provided by Bonn University to Shanghai Jiaotong University, Li Fuji's dissertation was rated as "idoneum" and his defense was rated as "rite", which was successfully passed. 1907 On March 5th, Li Fuji was awarded a doctorate in advanced physics by Bonn University. Unfortunately, Li Fuji's diploma was unfortunately destroyed by the war of World War II, and his dissertations and test papers have been left in the school archives for 20 13. The General History of China (volume 12) edited by Bai Shouyi, a famous historian, thinks that this paper is probably the earliest physics paper in China. Li Fuji is a person who is very responsible for his family. I was born in a big family. I am the eldest brother, with four younger brothers and five younger sisters. As early as during his stay in Europe, he took his tenth sister Li Ying to study in England. After returning to China, Li Fuji shouldered the burden of supporting his parents and siblings' family life and education expenses, and did not consider getting married until the tenth sister got married. At this time, he is already an over-age youth who is nearly 40 years old.
Li Fu once had a happy family life. 1920, Li Fuji married Xing Shanwen, 27, on the recommendation of Xu Enyuan, a classmate studying in Britain and former president of China Bank. Ms. Xing is the daughter of a wealthy businessman in Nanxun, Huzhou, Zhejiang. She is very handsome and good at managing money. Li Fuji and his new wife spent their honeymoon in Japan and gave birth to a daughter the following year, but she died soon. During his tenure in Pingxiang, Li Fuji was well paid with a monthly salary of 500 yuan, and people enviously called him "500 yuan". 1922, gave birth to the eldest daughter Li Wei (later adopted Nanxun Zhangjia, renamed Zhang Wei, now living in Shanghai). As a new father, Li Fuji was so excited that he called it "the joy of playing with tiles" in his communication with friends from Jiaotong University. Later, three girls and three boys were born, named Xian, He, Pu, Bei, Dai and Huan in turn.
Due to frequent office changes, Li Fuji bought a property in his hometown of Suzhou. The address is in the north of Suzhou Pingmenwai Railway Station. It is a two-story building with gardens and bamboo forests beside it, surrounded by water on three sides, and the environment is very beautiful. Li Fuji's study is very large, with many Chinese and foreign books, materials and photos. Unfortunately, during the Anti-Japanese War, all Li Fuji's industries in Suzhou were destroyed by Japanese bombing.
In the childhood memory of his son Li (that is, Li Pu), his father was not always at home. Occasionally, when he was at home, he took his children to Suzhou to play, ate pear paste sugar and zongzi sugar in Miaoxuan Pavilion, climbed the tiger hill, stayed in the garden to see Luohantang, took a boat to Mudu and taught them to swim in the river.
However, the happy and harmonious family life was completely disrupted by Japan's war of aggression. Li Fuji and his son Li stayed in the rear area of Sichuan. Family members are cut off, life and death are uncertain, living alone and unhappy. Later, he lived with a local woman and gave birth to a son named Gong Li. Most of Li Fuji's children are isolated on the isolated island of Shanghai. My wife stays at home in Suzhou alone. When the Japanese army advanced on Suzhou, she fled to Sichuan and found her husband. A fierce quarrel broke out between the two sides, and family life began to be at odds.
In his later years, Li Fuji was in financial difficulties. A person's salary bears the education and living expenses of many children. In order to delay his retirement, he had to hide his 5-year-old age to continue working. On the eve of his death, he worked as an English teacher in private Asahikawa Middle School. According to his children's memories, he was in a poor mental state in his later years and was silent after work, which was completely different from before. 1September 1947 16, 66-year-old Li Fuji died of illness in Zigong, Sichuan. After he died, there was no money for burial. With the help of his colleagues, he bought a coffin and was carried up the mountain according to local customs. In an era when the country is weak and the people are poor, the last experience of China's first doctor of physics is embarrassing. Li Furen Xing Shanwen returned to Shanghai from Sichuan and died at 1952.