Training the Heavens

Chapter 298 School starts

The first task is to assist Ma Xiangbo in the preparations for Aurora University, ensure the smooth opening of this private institution, and cultivate more useful talents as soon as possible to contribute to the resurgence of China.

The second is the Nobel Prize in Physics. The award committee will announce the first list of winners in October this year. In the past, this honor was exclusively won by German physicist Roentgen, who discovered X-rays. Now Zhang Xingjiu also has the opportunity to compete for it, and he will definitely try his best.

By April, Zhang Xingjiu had compiled three textbooks. All three were comprehensive physics textbooks, covering a lot of basic physics knowledge. The first volume was equivalent to the junior high school level in later generations, the second volume was equivalent to the high school level, and the third volume was slightly deeper, equivalent to the level of "University Physics".

Some textbooks will be compiled later, but they will not be comprehensive textbooks. Instead, they will be divided into categories such as mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, general physics experiments, etc. At the same time, some mathematics textbooks will also be written, such as "Advanced Mathematics", "Linear Algebra", "Statistics", etc.

Mathematics is a tool that all modern sciences must master. Without a certain mathematical foundation, physics cannot be studied well. Einstein was criticized for his poor mathematical foundation, but it also depends on who said that. That was Hilbert, the mathematical leader in the early 20th century, and Minkowski, the genius mathematician. How can ordinary scholars compare with them?

Because he had a lot of things to do, Zhang Xingjiu moved to Shanghai with his wife and children after the New Year. He also bought a house near Xujiahui. Just like when they were in Paris, they lived in one room and rented the other to like-minded people. At the same time, he could also communicate with many natural science enthusiasts in Shanghai and promote everyone's common growth.

Sometimes he would go with Ma Xiangbo to visit prominent figures in society, hoping that they could also contribute to running the school.

By April, hundreds of students had come to the organizing office to register, and fundraising and project construction had made good progress. Ma Xiangbo felt that the goal of opening school in September seemed within reach.

So they published the examination schedule of Aurora College in the newspaper, and then wrote letters to these students, asking them to take the examination in May. If their results were particularly good, they could enter Aurora College to take university courses.

If you do not meet the university admission standards but have shown some potential, you can still enter the preparatory class of Aurora College. Once you pass the preparatory class exam in the future, you can also enter Aurora College.

There is just one thing. The age requirement for the preparatory class is lower than that of Aurora College. If you are a little older, you can only go back to study on your own and then take the exam next year. After all, age has a relatively large impact on learning. The older you are, the more limited the prospects for training.

When students from Shanghai and surrounding areas such as Zhejiang and Jiangsu heard the news, they immediately rushed to Shanghai to inquire, and then simply settled down in Shanghai. They bought textbooks from Aurora College and studied them carefully in order to achieve good results in the exam and eventually get admitted.

Students who lived farther away also hurriedly packed their bags and headed for Shanghai. Ma Xiangbo gave them more than a month to travel, so most of the students who had registered were still able to catch up.

If the route is too far or you are delayed on the way for other reasons and miss the exam, don't worry. Aurora College will hold several more supplementary exams, and they and students who failed the exam before can sign up.

On exam day, two or three hundred candidates gathered at the entrance of Gezhi Academy, awaiting the start of the exam. Since Aurora College hadn't yet been completed, Ma Xiangbo borrowed classrooms from Gezhi Academy for the exam. The exam was divided into several days. The first and second days were devoted to the liberal arts, focusing on fundamental liberal arts knowledge. In their first year of university, they would take general education courses to lay a solid foundation. In their sophomore year, they would be divided into classes and select subjects. Based on their grades and personal preferences, they would be assigned to majors such as law, philosophy, literature, and education. Once they accumulated enough credits and passed their thesis defense, they would receive their degrees.

The third and fourth days had science exams, and the questions were changed to basic science knowledge. After entering university, like the students in the liberal arts college, I first learned foreign languages ​​and basic professional knowledge, and then chose my major in my sophomore year.

Due to a tradition that has lasted for thousands of years, the number of students preparing to apply for the College of Arts is obviously more than that for the College of Science. On the first day, there were two or three hundred students taking the exam, but on the third day, the number dropped to more than one hundred. Moreover, many of them had taken the College of Arts entrance examination. They were afraid that the competition would be too fierce and they would not be able to get admission, so they simply took one more exam.

Since I'm already here, it won't take much effort to take the exam for two more days. Maybe I'll pass it by accident.

Zhang Xingjiu corrects test papers with other teachers. He is mainly responsible for correcting subjects such as mathematics and physics. The grading standard is based on a percentage system, and the number of points a question is worth is clearly written. Teachers only need to assign points according to the standard answers.

Then add up the scores of these students in each subject to get a total score. As long as the total score passes the line, there is a chance of being admitted.

Why is it a possibility, not a guarantee? Because the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science have minimum scores in certain key subjects. For example, if you want to apply to the Faculty of Arts, you must at least meet the writing standards, right? If you can't even do that, what's the point of studying?
If you want to apply to the School of Science, you must at least have a certain foundation in mathematics. If you get zero points in mathematics, there is not much point in getting in.

Soon, Aurora University announced the first batch of admissions list. In this list, Zhang Xingjiu saw several familiar names.

First of all, there is Ma Junwu, a famous educator in the Republic of China. He later became the first Chinese in modern times to obtain a doctorate in engineering from Germany. He also served as Minister of Education in the Republic of China and was the founder and first president of Daxia University (now East China Normal University) and Guangxi University.

He was admitted to the Faculty of Arts with a relatively high score, and he would probably apply for the education major when the class division came in his sophomore year. Zhang Xingjiu wanted him to come to the Faculty of Science. Since he was able to obtain a doctorate in engineering from the University of Berlin, it showed that he had considerable talent in science and engineering, and perhaps he could be cultivated.

Then there was the fifteen-year-old genius Hu Dunfu, a famous educator and mathematician in the Republic of China. He went to study abroad at Cornell University. After returning to China, he worked in many prestigious universities such as Tsinghua University, Beiyang University, Jiaotong University, Fudan University, and also founded Datong University.

Zhang Xingjiu was very happy to see this name. If he could learn his mathematical knowledge, the Chinese mathematics community would have successors.

But just when he was happy, a group of people in Europe were in distress.

(End of this chapter)