May 4, 1938: Mei Yiqi and a University in Exile

On May 4, 1938, as the Sino-Japanese War scattered families and schools across China, educator Mei Yiqi accepted the heavy task of leading the National Southwest Associated University (Lianda) in Kunming. The institution was an emergency union of three displaced academic communities—Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University—carried south and west like precious seed protected from fire.

Lianda’s life was marked by shortages, bomb threats, and constant uncertainty. Yet the decision to continue teaching was itself an act of courage. In a time when survival could have eclipsed study, Mei and his colleagues insisted that learning, truth, and moral formation still mattered, especially for a wounded nation.

Mei Yiqi (1889–1946)

Mei was known for calm steadiness and a rigorous view of education as more than technical training. He pressed for disciplined character, honest scholarship, and responsibility toward one’s neighbors. Under pressure, his leadership aimed to keep corruption, despair, and cynicism from taking root.

Mei’s approach treated education as a trust from God—something stewarded, not owned. Wisdom was sought not merely for advancement, but for service, restraint, and integrity. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all freely and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

Kunming and the National Southwest Associated University (Lianda)

Kunming, in Yunnan Province, became a refuge at the far edge of China’s battered heartland. There, classrooms were improvised from bamboo and mud; books were scarce; hunger and exhaustion were common. Air raids and the broader terrors of war framed ordinary lectures with the nearness of death.

Even so, the faculty cultivated habits of careful thought and faithful work, urging students to persevere and to prepare for rebuilding. The spirit of the place was not triumphal but steadfast: study as endurance, teaching as sacrifice, and scholarship as moral witness.

Legacy: Heroism, Faith, and Service

Lianda’s heroism was quiet—daily faithfulness under threat. Its story commends work done before God and for others: “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23). Mei’s legacy endures as a call to seek truth, form character, and serve a suffering people with hope that outlasts war.