At the age of 41, she established China's first private university for 30 yuan

She was burned all over her body and bedridden for three years, but refused to be a 'useless person'; She started with 30 yuan and established China's first private undergraduate university, which was called a "miracle in the history of world education" by UNESCO; She bid farewell to her loved ones once and for all, suffering greatly, but for the sake of education, she emerged from the pain and wanted to go higher and further. Qingting "has launched the third issue of the" Love "series, interviewing Hu Dabai, the founder of China's first private undergraduate university, to listen to her tell the story of her passionate and passionate life.

43 years ago, 38 year old Hu Dabai was a teacher in the Chinese Department of Zhengzhou University. In 1981, while on a business trip, Hu Dabai was poisoned by gas and poured a pot of boiling water on her. 37% of the body suffered severe burns, which lasted for 12 days and 12 nights. After that, countless skin grafting surgeries and scars were left all over the body.

Question: Your story seems like a miracle to everyone, circulating online that a pot of boiling water boiled a school.

Hu Dabai: I was burned at the age of 38, lying down for three years, and only 41 years old. Can I just be a useless person? But I became a teacher after graduating from college and never did anything else. Later on, I realized that my face wasn't on fire. If my face were on fire and covered in scars, I wouldn't be able to become a public figure. I later thought about running a school, a self-study exam coaching class. At that time, it was loudly called 'Zhengzhou Higher Education Self study Examination Tutoring Class'. This tutoring class became unacceptable and turned into a university with tens of thousands of students. At that time, the initial capital was only 30 yuan, which was used to buy paper, write advertisements, post advertisements, and the most expensive was printing and listening certificates. The class started on November 2, 1984, when there was continuous heavy snowfall and road congestion.

Problem: It's difficult to attend classes.

Hu Dabai: I am a disabled person, everyone is pushing me with a tricycle. I went to the classroom and set up a small mat on the floor because I couldn't stand. They said, Teacher Hu, it's snowing so heavily that you still dare to come. Didn't you all come? No matter what difficulties and obstacles we encounter, we must break through this hurdle and move forward. At the end of the first semester, the average passing rate of students in the first exam was 87%, which was not a sign of good reputation. In the second semester, more than 2000 students applied. At this point, some people began to feel jealous. In addition, the school leaders also talked to me. Because work-related injuries are 100% salary, and you are still running a school with Zheng Da's salary, there is also a lot of pressure from public opinion, which makes you feel particularly uncomfortable. During the ideological struggle, our school advisor Xu Jie, the deputy commander of the Henan Provincial Military Region, gave me a banner that read 'Dare to be the first in the world', and I became determined. This is Commander Xu's question 'Dare to be the first in the world', which we regard as the core part of our school philosophy and the motto of our school.

How difficult is it to establish a private university? The first thing to face is high operating costs and low social recognition. Infrastructure construction and teaching equipment require finding money for every brick and tile. Teaching staff, enrollment, education quality, and student employment are all great tests of the wisdom and abilities of the organizers.

Hu Dabai: To run a private school, one must become an educator and an economist, because every brick and tile has to be spent. The development of the school must have the ability to generate blood in order to sustain its growth.

Question: Do we mainly rely on some funds now?

Hu Dabai: Half of it depends on funding, and the other half depends on our company. We have school run enterprises, research institutions, horizontal and vertical funding, and some profits from the enterprises to support the school.

Problem: Whether it's tuition fees, funding, or various expenses, they are basically used for teaching. But I know you are particularly frugal in life.

Hu Dabai: I think things are much better now than before, but I am frugal and generous, and I can take it all out. I think that in order for a person to be able to accomplish something, it must be like this. What's the point of enjoying oneself personally, but running a school should be done to the best of one's ability.

From a small tutoring class to the first private ordinary college in New China, and then to the first private ordinary undergraduate in the country, it has consistently ranked first in the comprehensive strength ranking of Chinese private universities and the national applied university ranking for many years. With a pure heart for the education industry, Hu Dabai overcame difficulties and climbed the stairs all the way, but he enjoyed it.

Hu Dabai: After a difficult start, he dared to be the first in the world, broke through the forbidden zone, and later explored hard, constantly innovating and developing. I tried it and found it quite interesting. Our school's distinctive feature is the innovation of talent cultivation mode, which combines undergraduate education with vocational skills training. Our school's graduates are in high demand for employment. According to the ranking of Chinese universities, we are always ranked first among all private universities.

Question: For provinces like Henan where educational resources are relatively scarce and high-quality education is even more scarce, can it be considered a form of assistance and supplement?

Hu Dabai: Due to the large population in Henan, candidates in Henan have to get into the best universities, and their scores are much higher than those in other provinces. The pain here is that there are relatively few high-quality educational resources, and this pain is still in Henan. I also want to turn Huangke University into a world-class university, with a significant proportion of private education in rapidly developing and developed countries, and these are the best schools.

Question: Do you think this situation will happen in China in the future?

Hu Dabai: I think with time, don't worry. Because higher education in the United States, such as Harvard University for over 400 years and Hamburg University in Germany for over 600 years. Our 20th National Congress and the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee aim to build a strong education country. I also think that China's private education, Henan's private education, and our school hope to make certain contributions in striving to become an education powerhouse. The understanding of private schools in society is somewhat biased, we allow it. It has a process, because after all, our school has only 40 years of history.

Question: We also know that you made a promise before that disabled candidates who meet the score line can be admitted.

Hu Dabai: As long as the admission score line is met, we will admit all disabled students, either for free or with reduced fees, in order to provide them with maximum care. Because I know it's too difficult for people with disabilities, and it's even harder without knowledge.

I have been to this school many times, and it has many elements of the Yellow River. It's really similar, like the Yellow River, who could imagine it's just an inconspicuous small well, the beginning of a big river. Just like we can't imagine a woman covered in wounds, scalding 37% of her body, plus 30 yuan, is the beginning of a private university in China.

For 40 years, Hu Dabai's life has been tightly tied to this school. In 2005, her husband Yang Zhongyao, who had supported and fought alongside her throughout her life, passed away due to illness. In 2023, Yang Xuemei, the daughter who also devoted her whole life to Huanghe University of Science and Technology, passed away suddenly due to a heart attack. In the face of repeated storms of fate, this thin and tortured woman stood up strong again and again.

Hu Dabai: Write a diary if you feel unhappy. If you feel uncomfortable, it's okay to relieve it every day. If it doesn't accumulate into a big problem, it's difficult to solve.

Question: Are these all your diaries?

Hu Dabai: There are diaries and work notes. These have been organized. The adjustment issues of several schools, many specific affairs, but being able to calmly respond and actively handle them, are relatively appropriate. My body and mind have been rested and restored, and my mental state is good.

Question: What is this?

Hu Dabai: This is the diary of the body. Look, this is today's' measurement twice '.

Question: This is a physical condition.

Hu Dabai: My family is too careless and I don't have time to tidy up. Let's sit here and talk.

Question: We also saw the news of Principal Yang Xuemei's death through the media in December last year. It can be said that she also devoted her whole life to education.

Hu Dabai: To be honest, the changes you see in the school now are all due to her over the past decade, in fact, more than twenty years. She is indeed exhausted from pursuing perfection. Lao Yang passed away, and later Xue Mei passed away. I couldn't bear it either, but I couldn't afford to collapse in this big school situation. Then I encouraged myself to stay strong and survive.

Question: Have you ever had a particularly vulnerable side?

Hu Dabai: It seems that he didn't notice it, that is, at the memorial service, he may not have been able to control himself at that time, including Lao Yang and Xue Mei, but later he would comfort himself and help himself get rid of his grief. The best commemoration for them is: for the country, for the school, for the education cause; Inherit the responsibility to the family and assist them in fulfilling it.

At the age of 80, she has even planned her life goals for the next ten years. She wants to apply for a master's degree, a doctoral degree, and get closer to a world-class applied science and technology university.

Hu Dabai: Age should not be a barrier to pursuing life. As long as you live one day, you shine one day, right? I admire Tao Xingzhi very much. He was born in 1891 and passed away in 1946 at the age of 55. Holding a heart, without carrying a single blade of grass, he loves the cause of education, like a beam of light. Mr. Fei Xiaotong wrote: Eighty is not big, ninety is not old. So I'm not big yet, am I? I think we should keep breathing and striving. I think without faith, life will go with the flow. Do something while you're young, big or small. Do what you love, do what is good for the country, do what is good for the people. A life full of glory and meaning is not to be wasted.