浙江紹興大禹陵景區(qū)，矗立著一座16米高的大禹青銅雕像。如今，坐落在景區(qū)入口處的聲名遠播的紹興越秀外國語學院，也將矗立起一座與大禹雕像默默相對的豐碑：泰戈爾在中國的唯一門生、浙江紹興“越秀”首任校長魏風江的一座塑像。

20年前尚在“越秀”授課、如今已經(jīng)年逾八旬的王鐵安與筆者談起“越秀”老校長魏風江時，臉上漾起敬佩的神色：“他是大文豪泰戈爾在中國的唯一門生，也是我們‘越秀’的首任校長!”

筆者早在中學時代就對泰戈爾懷有莫大的敬意，記得從80年代初，曾用微薄的津貼多次買過泰翁的詩集和格言集；觀看過根據(jù)他的同名詩篇改編的電影《兩畝地》，電影中那枝葉茂密的芒果林、能歌善舞的印度姑娘至今還在眼前晃動。

泰戈爾早年在被英國統(tǒng)治者追捕中選擇了教育救國之路，20世紀初毅然創(chuàng)辦了生汀尼克坦學校。校址選擇在廣闊的荒原上，學校旁有幾十棵參天的古榕樹，當時社會不安定，常有匪徒隱匿在樹林中，但泰戈爾臨危不俱，泰然處之。這里因泰戈爾父親曾只身在三棵古榕樹下搭起一個茅舍開始農(nóng)耕生息、坐禪說教，因而取名為生汀尼克坦，意為“和平之鄉(xiāng)”。

第一次世界大戰(zhàn)以后，泰戈爾的英譯本《吉檀迦梨》出版，他把所得的諾貝爾文學獎金1萬英鎊巨款作為基金，并在羅曼·羅蘭、羅素、蕭伯納、愛因斯坦等名流和歐美各國人民的支援下，泰戈爾一直為之追求的這所“國際大學”終于1921年宣告成立。

辦學之后，泰翁曾三次踏上中國的土地，他對中國人民及所創(chuàng)造的中華文明無比厚愛。第二次來中國，泰翁到上海就下榻在徐志摩家中，爾后在往美國、日本講學的歸途中，又來到徐志摩家中。1931年他第3次來訪，宋慶齡接待了泰戈爾，送給他一套無錫產(chǎn)的泥塑京劇臉譜。泰戈爾感動地說，他與中國結下了不解之緣。

泰翁的中國老友蔡元培，對詩人溝通中印文化的交流合作大加贊賞，不久便組織成立“中印學會”并出任會長，還決定在國際大學設立中國學院，任命譚云山教授為院長，提出選派中國學生入學研究印度歷史文學。譚云山院長在考慮選派中國學生時，當即想到了曾在上虞春暉中學和上海立達學園勤奮苦讀力求上進的魏風江。經(jīng)譚云山推薦、蔡元培批準，魏風江于1933年12月應選前往，成為國際大學中的第一個中國學生。

如今的越秀外國語學院師生，每當在學院圖書館里翻閱到自己所在學院前身的首任校長有關資料時，心中充滿自豪。

魏風江1912年出生在浙江蕭山，當年他父親在紹興草藐橋和上大路開紙店、錫箔莊，他在紹興一中讀書。魏風江高中畢業(yè)后赴上海進入由匡互生創(chuàng)辦的立達學園。越鄉(xiāng)的優(yōu)秀人文傳統(tǒng)，鑄就了這位越地少年高尚的情操、勤奮好學的品格，他獲得了全校師生的一致稱贊。直到那天他只身赴國際大學中國學院求學之時，蔡元培還連連稱贊“有志，有志；難得，難得?！辈①洝爸钦卟换?，仁者不憂，勇者不懼!”的一幅題詞給他。

魏風江到印度國際大學后，泰戈爾親自接見了他。泰戈爾親切地對他說：“中印兩國人民的文化交流已有數(shù)千年的歷史，這個關系的連續(xù)發(fā)展是我們這代人的責任。你是第一只從你們祖國飛來的幼燕，歡迎你筑巢在生汀尼克坦(Santiniketan)，同我們一起生活和學習吧。”從此，魏風江開始在泰戈爾、甘地身邊學習印度歷史、文學，并親身參加印度獨立運動，還結識了包括后來成為印度總理的尼赫魯和巴基斯坦國父達真納等印度朋友和國際友人。

刻苦勤勉加上謙虛熱情，魏風江因此博得了老師泰戈爾和同學的信任和鐘愛。生汀尼克坦是進步思想的傳播地，印度獨立運動的領袖人物常到這里作報告，使魏風江有機會結識了尼赫魯?shù)泉毩⑦\動的領袖人物，當時印度前總理英迪拉·甘地還是魏風江的同班同學，兩人友情很深厚，其時魏風江還赴圣雄甘地的住處與平民同習功課半年。直至“七七”事變、抗日戰(zhàn)爭爆發(fā)，魏風江才辭別恩師毅然回國抗日。

魏風江在投身于國內的抗日斗爭后，被時任浙江紹興稽山中學校長邵鴻書的愛國熱忱所深深感動：邵鴻書是國民黨元老、和平老人邵力子的內侄，1910年出生于紹興，早年畢業(yè)于中山大學，27歲那年為大學教授，曾與陳翰笙、薛暮橋等人組織中國農(nóng)村經(jīng)濟研究會，研究傳播馬列主義，宣傳抗日。1941年日寇攻陷紹興，時任稽山中學校長的邵鴻書帶領師生突圍退居到武義縣深山之中的明王寺破廟里繼續(xù)上課，師生睡地鋪、點油燈、吃粗糧，大有臥薪嘗膽、生聚教訓之意。魏風江聞稽山之風投奔前往，深受邵老歡迎。

新中國成立后邵鴻書仍然一直從教，直到1975年在紹興一中退休。他精通英、俄、日三國語言，學生不計其數(shù)。不過，當改革開放的春風在魯迅故鄉(xiāng)吹拂的時候，身為市政協(xié)常委、市民盟副主委的邵老仍然壯心不已，由民盟出面在他的積極籌備努力下，經(jīng)批準辦起了一座外國語學校。他手里拿著批文興奮得在老同事中奔走相告。那天傍晚邵老趁著月色，首先找到了在職工夜校教日語的比自己整整小15歲的王鐵安要他一起辦學。

次日招生簡章一出，報名的人在校門口排起了長隊，沒幾天登記的就有500多人，“越秀外國語學?！苯K于開學了。

開學之后，邵老又興沖沖地乘火車來到省城杭州，跨進了在抗日斗爭中結下深厚友誼的魏風江的家。多年不見，魏風江對這位滿頭白發(fā)、雙眼炯炯有神的知交突然到來不竟喜出望外。然而當他得知邵鴻書要請他出任“越秀”首任校長的意圖后，竟遲疑起來。當然，魏風江最后還是被老友的精神所感動，他提著行李，隨老友坐火車回到了久別的故鄉(xiāng)紹興。

第二天，魏風江正式以校長身份站在了“越秀”的講臺上。他說：“今天鴻書兄又陪著我給學生上第一節(jié)課!記得30多年前在明王寺破廟里上的第一節(jié)課，也是鴻書兄陪著的……”

魏風江在明王寺破廟里上的第一課，教材就是泰翁的一首詩，此時此刻，他給“越秀”上的第一課也以這詩作為教材。邵老望著講臺上的摯友，頻頻點頭說好。種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆。第二屆辦學條件改善了，外國語學校擴大到9個班，他的辦學精神也感動了中外友人，一批日本學者專門設立了中日友好邵氏基金。

“越秀”的春夏秋冬充滿陽光和溫情。在這里，課余的魏風江先后構思和創(chuàng)作了《我的老師泰戈爾》《甘地傳》《印度的建筑藝術》《印度的宗教》等多部著作，尤其是《我的老師泰戈爾》，被一家雜志一篇篇連續(xù)登載。以后“越秀”深得上級和社會支持，征地新建校舍，到上個世紀末被正式批準升格為獨立的民辦中等專業(yè)學校，面向全省招生。

1987年和1997年，魏老先生曾兩次應邀訪問印度，受到極高的禮遇。第一次訪印回來他在家中辟建了“詩人泰戈爾紀念室”，墻上貼滿了他與泰翁在一起的林林總總的圖片，這間紀念室成了魏老生命中的最愛。前年已經(jīng)92歲高齡的魏老，居住在杭州城內坐在發(fā)亮的藤椅上還靜靜地關注著中印關系的發(fā)展。去年，魏老帶著祥和的笑容，安靜地閉上了眼睛，他的生命在春光正好的西子湖畔畫上了句號。印度總理瓦杰帕伊發(fā)唁電悼念他，越秀外國語學院師生專程赴杭悼念。

Poet's Chinese Disciple Served as School President

Story and Photographs by Jiang Xinfu

A 16-meter-tall bronze statue of Yu the Great towers in the Yu Mausoleum. The statue is a landmark of the tourist attraction in Shaoxing， Zhejiang Province. Located near the entrance to the mausoleum is the Yuexiu Foreign Languages Institute， a well known language studies institution. On the campus a statue will soon be set up in memory of Wei Fengjiang， first president of the foreign languages institute.Wei Fengjiang was the only Chinese pupil of Rabindranath Tagore， an Indian poet and Nobel Prize laureate for his great poems.

Tagore won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. With the money， the poet expanded his school at Santiniketan into an international one. During Tagore's third trip to China in March 1931， Cai Yuanpei， a prominent 20th century educator who contributed greatly to introducing the western education system into the ancient country， proposed to have Chinese students study at Santiniketan. Wei Fengjiang was handpicked and recommended. In December 1933， Wei became the first Chinese student studying at the international school at Santiniketan. Tagore met with Wei upon his arrival and talked enthusiastically with the new student about the age-old cultural exchanges between India and China.

Diligent， modest， and warm-hearted， Wei soon became popular at the school. As Santiniketan teemed with progressive thoughts， it attracted many leaders of the Indian independence movement. Indira Gandhi was Wei's classmate. Wei came to get acquainted with Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) who later became Indian Prime Minister， and Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)， founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Wei also participated in activities for India.

Wei came back to the homeland when the nationwide Resistance War against Japanese Invaders (1937-1945) broke out in China. Japanese troops captured Shaoxing in 1941. Shao Shuhong， director of Jishan Middle School in Shaoxing， led teachers and students to retreat to a mountainous area in central Zhejiang and kept the school going. Wei joined Shao there.

Shao retired in 1975 as a teacher in Shaoxing. He was excited when the policy of the reform and opening up to the outside world was introduced a few years later. A linguist versed in English， Russian and Japanese， Shao lobbied the government to set up a language school in Shaoxing. The government approved the initiative. More than 500 people enrolled in the first few days after the school advertised in local news media.

After the school began to function， Shao came to Hangzhou by train to visit Wei Fengjiang. Wei hesitated when he learned that Shao came to ask him to be president of the school. But finally Wei was convinced by Shao and went back with him.

Conducting his first class at the middle school led by Shao during the war， Wei taught a poem by Tagore. More than 30 years later， Wei again taught the same poem as his first lesson at the new school， also started by Shao. Both times Shao sat in the back of the classroom to keep his company.

The school expanded and its influence spread. While working at the school， Wei wrote many books on India including My Tutor Tagore， which was later serialized in a magazine. As supported by the government and general public， the school flourished and moved to a new campus. At the turning of the century， the school was officially approved as an independent private vocational school which enrolls students from all over the province.

In 1987 and 1997， Wei visited India at the invitation of the Indian government. He received the Indian government's red-carpet reception in India. Back from his first revisit to India， Wei set up a memorial room at his home in Hangzhou and displayed a lot of photos featuring Tagore with him. Wei died in Hangzhou on March 5th， 2004 at age 93.The Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee sent a message of condolence. Students and faculty of the language institute came all the way from Shaoxing to Hangzhou to express their condolence.

(Translated by David)