Before Cai Yuanpei became the president of Peking University, though Peking University "inherited the orthodoxy of imperial college and established the ancestral home of the university", it was the continuation of the highest institution of learning in ancient China in modern times, but there was nothing new, that is, it did not have its own national flag, which made it extremely inconvenient for students and faculty to enter and leave. In the second year after Cai Yuanpei took office, that is, 19 17, he asked Lu Xun to design the emblem of Peking University.
Compared with Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi, Lu Xun of 19 17 is in two different states. He works in the Ministry of Education every day, and after work, he hides in the cloth bookstore of Shaoxing Hall to copy ancient monuments. This year, Lu Xun's diary recorded a lot of things such as buying old rubbings, buying portraits of China and collecting ancient mirrors. Lu Xun, a semi-hermit, often feels lonely and depressed. He said that he "has seen the Revolution of 1911, the Second Revolution, Yuan Shikai and zhang xun restoration, and it seems that he is suspicious. So I am disappointed and frustrated. " However, this does not mean that Lu Xun is sinking, and his heart is burning with the flame of yearning for democracy and science. After accepting the entrustment of Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun began to design the emblem of Peking University, and on August 7, he wrote to Mr. Cai to propose the emblem.
The emblem of Peking University designed by Lu Xun is a traditional tile-shaped image of China, and its concise outline gives people a sense of modernity. The two seal characters of "Peking University" are arranged up and down. The word "North" in the upper part is two figures standing back to back, and the word "Big" in the lower part is a figure standing in front, just like a person carrying two people, which constitutes the image of "three people together" and gives people the imagination that "Peking University people shoulder the heavy responsibility of enlightening the people". Badge is composed in the format of Chinese seal, with rounded strokes, even and reasonable strokes, uniform arrangement, smooth and regular lines, compact overall modeling structure, lively and powerful, rich in meaning, concise and clear, revealing a strong bookish and literati atmosphere. At the same time, the word "Peking University" also has the symbolic meaning of "backbone". Lu Xun used the word "Peking University" as the image backbone, hoping that Peking University graduates would become the backbone of national democracy and progress.
The emblem of Peking University designed by Lu Xun was jokingly called "the emblem of crying face" by Liu Bannong, but it was adopted by Peking University after Lu Xun gave it to Cai Yuanpei and lasted until 1949. It was abandoned for a long time due to historical reasons and was reused in the 1980s.
It can be seen from Lu Xun's diary that Lu Xun had several important correspondence with Cai Yuanpei before and after designing the emblem of Peking University. Unfortunately, it has been lost now, and it is impossible to find out the original intention and details of Lu Xun's design of the emblem of Peking University. However, the interaction between Cai Yuanpei and Lu Xun can fully prove why Cai Yuanpei asked Lu Xun to design the school logo instead of other art professionals.
Cai Yuanpei and Lu Xun are fellow villagers in Shaoxing, and the former is older than the latter 13 years old. In a sense, Cai Yuanpei, a bachelor of imperial academy, is Lu Xun's teacher and Bole, and Cai Yuanpei, the chief education officer or principal of Peking University, is Lu Xun's superior. 19 12, Cai Yuanpei was highly recommended by Sun Yat-sen as the chief education officer of the Republic of China and began to recruit talents. Cai Yuanpei said to Xu Shoushang, who recommended Lu Xun, "I have admired his name for a long time and am planning to extend my letter. Now I will ask Mr. Wang to write and urge me to come to Beijing as soon as possible. " After Lu Xun entered the Ministry of Education from Shaoxing, they met and made friends. In his letters to Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun always starts with "Mr. He" respectfully, ends with "For this reason, please report your peace" and matches the words "Be careful when you are in Zhou Shuren at night" without any carelessness. Lu Xun was appointed as the head of the first section of the Department of Education and Social Education of the Ministry of Education, in charge of science, art galleries, museums, libraries, concerts, performing arts and other affairs. Although Lu Xun's initial feeling of working there was "sitting around all day and being extremely bored", with the support of Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun began a very important 14 civil service career in his life, and Lu Xun touched the texture of life. It can be said that without the support of Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun's life may have to be rewritten. Lu Xun, a junior, has the responsibility and obligation to serve Cai Yuanpei, no matter from administrative subordination or worldly wisdom.
Cai Yuanpei asked Lu Xun to design the school emblem, which is a trust and recognition of his artistic skills and aesthetic ideas. Although Lu Xun didn't specialize in art all his life, he loved art since childhood and had a good artistic accomplishment. For example, he used "Gong Ming Paper" to describe Xiu Xiang's novels. Lu Xun is the standard-bearer of modern art, and the left-wing woodcut movement he led is not out of date even in the western landscape of the same period, and many spirits and qualities are out of date today. Lu Xun attached great importance to art education. 19 13 years, during his tenure in the Ministry of Education, he published a paper "Opinions on Planning and Spreading Cloth Art", which showed a profound understanding of the origin of aesthetics, and advocated that art should be "spread to the world, so that it can communicate with the eyes and ears of China people, thus conveying the true meaning of art, arousing the aesthetic feeling of China people, and celebrating the birth of Hebei artists". These thoughts of Lu Xun intersect with those of Cai Yuanpei and are closely related to Cai. Cai Yuanpei attached importance to aesthetic education all his life and advocated "replacing religion with aesthetic education". When preparing for the summer lecture in Beijing, he assigned Professor Lu Xun "On Art", and Lu Xun accepted the task gladly. After Cai Yuanpei was forced to resign, the new general manager actually deleted "aesthetic education" and replaced it with moral education. Lu Xun was extremely disgusted: "I heard that the temporary education meeting actually deleted aesthetic education." What a poor dolphin dog! " Mr. Huang Shang thinks that Lu Xun's hard work in the art garden and his combat essays in Free Talk are "almost the same two-peak combat works", which is absolutely true. It is precisely because of Mr. Lu Xun's superb artistic skills and the similarities between Cai Yuanpei and Lu Xun in aesthetic education that Cai did not hesitate to entrust the important task of designing the school emblem to Mr. Lu Xun.
The emblem of Peking University designed by Lu Xun highlights the concept of "people-oriented", which is the expression of advanced intellectuals holding high the banner of democracy and science on the eve of the May 4th Movement, affirming and promoting people's value, dignity, personality and creative spirit. This ideological trend fluid, which has a far-reaching influence on later generations, has been reflected in Lu Xun's graphic design. It interprets the past, present and future of Peking University in an atmospheric and concise form and has become a classic in the history of modern logos. "Peking University is the highest institution of learning, including courtesy and people." "No matter what kind of school, it makes sense to stick to its words, but it has not yet reached the fate of natural elimination. Even if they are contrary to each other, they are allowed to develop freely. " (Cai Yuanpei) Lu Xun, who was still in a dormant state at that time, designed the school emblem of Peking University with the expectation of Peking University and the eager expectation of transforming the old society, which reflected the trend of the times on the eve of the May Fourth Movement.
1925, 27 years after Peking University was founded, Lu Xun wrote a short article "My View of Peking University", which was published in the inaugural issue of 1925+02, from which we can see his attitude towards Peking University: "Peking University will always be the pioneer of the new reform movement, and it is necessary to make China better and better. Although I was stabbed in the back and carried a lot of rumors; Professors and students have also changed a little year by year, but the upward spirit is still consistent and not necessarily relaxed. " "Peking University often struggles with dark forces, even if it is just itself." And firmly believe that "Peking University is still alive and growing. Anyone who is alive and growing always has a promising future. " Lu Xun's words about Peking University can almost be regarded as a textual annotation on the emblem of Peking University.