Construction University of Jiangsu-Anhui Border Region

In the winter of 1944, in order to meet the needs of cadres in all fields in the liberated areas, and to prepare to train various construction talents for the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the Central China Bureau of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Central China Construction University on the basis of the Central China Party School. The school is located in Jiupu, Xuyi County, in the border area of Jiangsu and Anhui. the principal is concurrently appointed by peng kang, head of the propaganda department of the central china bureau.
The university was founded with three departments of civil affairs, finance and economics, literature and art, and a cadre training class; the first enrollment in the spring of 1945, each department enrolled more than 100 students and more than 20 cadre training classes. The treatment of school cadres and teachers and students is provided, and meals, clothes and daily necessities are issued by the school.
In April 1945, the school officially opened. Peng Kang presided over the first opening ceremony of the school. In his speech, he comprehensively expounded the purpose, school spirit and tasks of building a university. He also told teachers and students: We are on the eve of a major counteroffensive. The purpose of setting up this university is to accelerate the training of a group of conscious and educated cadres to play an important role in the party's cause.
After the beginning of the term, the class mainly taught students the situation of the Anti-Japanese War and the party's policies, and invited famous experts and scholars inside and outside the party to teach revolutionary theory and professional knowledge. Peng Kang himself gave lectures on "The Chinese Revolution and the Communist Party of China", "On the Tasks of Anti-imperialist and Anti-feudal Struggle", "On the Road to New Democracy", etc. The teaching method is to take a big class and give a report. After speaking, we will discuss it in groups or classes. Then we will focus on the controversial issues, answer them in a big class, and then discuss them further. Each department and class should discuss and exchange on a certain topic every day, so that students can actively express their views in a free atmosphere. The teachers and students of the whole school carried out the "alternation of class and work", combined theory with practice, and paid attention to the cultivation and training of students' thinking ability and work ability, which soon formed distinct school running characteristics.
In addition to teaching, the school has also arranged a wealth of practical teaching activities, often organizing teachers and students to go deep into villages and towns to investigate and practice, understand social reality, and go deep into the anti-Japanese base areas to participate in labor. Teachers and students live a collectivized and militarized life. Although the conditions are difficult and the discipline is strict, everyone is full of energy and their enthusiasm for learning is particularly high. The vibrant scene of the Central China Construction University has attracted widespread attention. At that time, the American journalist Edward Rolbo had a special interview with Peng Kang. In the report, he said that Huazhong Construction University was "the latest university in the world".
On the occasion of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, the graduation ceremony of the first period of students was held as scheduled. Since then, Huazhong Construction University has enrolled two more students. Soon, the school moved to Qingjiang, using a former normal school as the school site, re-establishment, the principal is still served by Minister Peng Kang. The administrative structure includes the Organization Section, the Academic Affairs Section and the General Affairs Section.
Due to the limitations of school conditions at that time and the urgent need for a large number of cadres in the liberated areas, it was decided to temporarily set up a preparatory department with a study period of three months. This preparatory course has a total of more than 1000 students, divided into 9 teams, each with more than 100 students. The team has a team committee, which is composed of the team director, team leader and instructor. Each team has a party branch, and the party branch secretary is concurrently served by an instructor. The teaching content and teaching methods are basically the same as the previous one.
In March 1946, according to the instructions of the Central China Bureau of the Communist Party of China, more than 400 teachers and students marched north to Linyi to form Linyi Shandong University.

Source: China Organization and Personnel News