The alumni of the Class of 1998, Department for Intensive Instruction in Sciences, Kuang Yaming Honors School, held a reunion in Nanjing. They reviewed their old days together with the school’s party secretary Qiao Weihong and two student supervisors back from those days, Chen GuangmanGuangxia and Liu Qingguo. The event was organized by the alumni who stayed on to work inat the schooluniversity.
Memories flew back to spring 1998. Kuang Yaming Honors School, or School of Intensive Instruction in Sciences and Arts as it was called then, was dedicated to training innovative students talented in basic research. At that time, there were 50 students at the Department for Intensive Instruction in Sciences. They were selected from the 80 students recommended by the key highsenior schools all over the Jiangsu Province through an examination two months before the National College Entrance Examination (or Gaokao). They became classmates with dreams and expectations for a better future. Four years of university life was filled up with different courses and practical activities. Here are some alumni’s recollections:
“In the first two years of our undergraduate program, we already felt the pressure as college students. In the third year, we had a deeper understanding of the saying ‘no pain, no gain.’ Quantum Mechanics, electrodynamics, solid-state physics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, the four courses we thought extremely challenging then, were even dwarfed by particle physics and general relativity. We basically spent the whole week before each exam in the overnight classroom, accompanied only by books and a bottle of hot water. Food was a shot of stimulant for us in the anxiety of preparing for exams. When we were hungry, we would go to Hankou Road to grab some food, like gaijiaofan, hot and sour fish, stewed chicken, fried cold noodles and so on. Memories about Hankou Road were always related to the smell.
“At that time, every day was very full. Except for eating and sleeping, studying was our top priority. Most of us had to prepare for the GRE and TOEFL so we always had a fast pace of life.
“Because of this, we missed the beautiful campus scenery, such as the London planes on both sides of the main road, the square department buildings and the North Building with the vicissitudes it had witnessed. We also missed a lot of time for recreation. Looking back, I can't help but feel regretregretful.
“Of course, we also had the so -called privileges. We could borrow ten books with our library cards while other students could only borrow four books. We also had our own computer classrooms, and 70% of us would have graduate program recommendations. A sense of ‘superiority’ accompanied us from Pukou Campus to Gulou Campus. In the fourth year, we still worked hard in the lab doing experiments when others were looking for jobs. At that time, finding a job sounded irrelevant to us.
“The four-year undergraduate program was boring yet full. Only weourselves could understand all kinds of bitterness and happiness during those four years. Although it seemed that all of us just focused on our own study, the seed of friendship sprouted and blossomed in each of us.
“How time flew! The day of graduation finally arrived. At the night of the graduation party, we got drunk, we cried, and we even passed out. The girls who had not talked much with you over the past four years also came to shake hands with you and hugged you. Many boys got so drunk that they forgot the way back to their dormitory. We did not want to wake up because we knew we had to say goodbye to each other.
“The genius who had worked hard received top universities’ offers and went abroad for further study. Their only worry was to choose between Harvard, Stanford and UC Berkeley—a worry most others did not have. Many of us chose to continue our studies and complete our doctorate either at home or abroad. Of course, some of us directly joined the construction of our motherland.
“As time flies by, we have been struggling for many years in different fields and industries, and we have made great achievements. Some of us have become masters and academic leaders that the Department for Intensive Instruction in Sciences wanted us to be; some have become professors to pass on their knowledge; some are engaged in academic research in research institutions; some have changed their careers to finance and other industries; some have set up their own companies and completed Series A financing; some have become civil servants with great achievements; some are doing their best to fulfill their duties. No matter what we are doing, we are all always proud of being members of Nanjing University, always proud of being members of the department, and proud of all the big names among us.
“Twenty years later, when we meet again, although we will no longer be young, our miens will still be the same. Although we will have had put on weight, we will still be young and energetic in heart. Compared with old days, we will just have become mature and wise rather than frivolous. We will still tell our stories together to our heart’s content, listenedlisten to other’sothers’ stories carefully and feel them. The ups and downs, the bitterness and happiness, we shared them together and took them together. Some of our classmates have become colleagues; some have become business partners; some classmates’ children have become classmates again. The connections between us are amazing and wonderful. Yesterday, we were in different places, but today we are together. Our eyes are fill with tears when we are making toasts, and love is becoming more intense.
“Unfortunately, the time to get together is always so short. We said goodbye to each other with regret and reluctance, said ‘take care,’ and looked forward to the next gathering.”
(Written by Wei Xu, photos by Ma Haibo; both are alumni of Class of 1998, Department for Intensive Instruction in Sciences, Kuang Yaming Honors School)
April 25, 2019
