Scholarships Bring Hope to Students

By Lu Shihu

Nanxun, an ancient town in northern Zhejiang, is home to Mr. Gu Qianlin, famous for his lifelong dedication to a private education foundation. Today, the prosperous town has a museum in commemoration of Gus dedication to helping needy students through middle schools and colleges. The museum is witness to Gus endeavors and generosity since 1939 to help education. Founded in May, 1990 and refurbished in May, 2004, the museum has received 18.45 million visitors, including those from US, German, Japan, Swede, Austria, Australia, Singapore and Korea.

Mr. Gu was an industrialist based in Shanghai. After he finally made it in Shanghai, he ran an advertisement in two leading newspapers in Shanghai, seeking students who might need financial aids for further education. The advertisement announced the founding of the Shupin Scholarships for junior and senior middle school students and primary school graduates. And it listed the qualifications: a school referral letter to show the candidates academic excellence, good behavior, and financial difficulty. A scholarship would last for one term only. The student must score an average of 85 points and above in this term before the scholarship could be renewed for the next term. The Shupin Foundation was willing to help students go through middle school education and finish college education this way.

From 1939 to 1949, the foundation issued scholarships 20 times and more than 1,100 students received the financial aids. Those who were later accepted by foreign universities received additional aids to cover the costs of travel and garments.

Of the 1,100 beneficiaries, many grew up to be mainstream personages. Xu Jimin received ten consecutive scholarships that saw him through middle school and medical college. He graduated to be a physician of cardiovascular disease. Since 1993 he has been receiving a monthly subsidy as a state senior professional from the State Council. Wang Jiading, a beneficiary of the second batch of scholarships, went through middle school and college with scholarships from Mr. Gu Qianlin. His three sisters later qualified for scholarships too. They established themselves as senior scientists.

The Gu family went to Hong Kong in1949. They stayed there for two months and decided to come back to Shanghai. Tickets were bought. But the home journey by ship was aborted when KMT planes bombed the estuary of the Huangpu River and blocked the Yangtze River. The temporary stay became a 30-year sojourn. Gu managed to send the last amount of money to the Shanghai office of the Shupin Scholarships. In 1951, he sent money to Shupin scholarship students and helped them through financial difficulties.

In 1982, Mr. Gu Qianlin and his wife were invited to visit Shanghai again. The couple came back for the first time after a hiatus of 33 years. Gu wished to resume Shupin Scholarships. In 1986, three schools in Shanghai were chosen to receive scholarships. In 1987, three schools in Beijing were chosen. In 1989 a school in Huzhou received Shupin scholarships. The number of recipient schools kept growing. Since 1997, there have been altogether 34 middle schools in Shanghai, Beijing and Huzhou that received scholarships. Shanghai Number One Medical University is the only higher education institution where Shupin scholarships are normally issued. But Shupin scholarship recipients from the 34 middle schools are valid for further scholarships if they qualify even though studying in other universities.

In order to keep the scholarships going on for a long time, Mr. Gu Qianlin dictated a will during his attendance at a CPPCC Shanghai conference. The will appointed his second son to manage the Shupin scholarships in the future and promised to assign more funds to the scholarships foundation. In 1995, Mr. Gu Qianlin entrusted 10 million Hong Kong dollars to Shanghai Municipal Government for scholarships in the future. □