On the occasion of the 130th anniversary of SWJTU, a school history monograph, Century of Linguistic Rhymes: Highlights of Foreign Language Education at Southwest Jiaotong University, compiled by Li Chengjian and Zheng Boren of the English Department, has been officially published by Southwest Jiaotong University Press. The book systematically outlines the over-100-year development of foreign language education at the university and fills the gap in systematic historical materials of the school’s foreign language disciplines. It stands as a landmark achievement of the School’s Soul-forging initiative and a significant cultural tribute dedicated to the university’s 130th founding anniversary.
Delving into Historical Records to Trace Origins, Shouldering the Mission of Forging the Disciplinary Soul
Foreign language education at SWJTU originated from Shanhaiguan Beiyang Imperial Chinese Railway College founded in 1896. For more than a century, it has advanced with the university’s ethos of “Persevering in Self-improvement for the Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation; Fortifying Oneself to Ceaseless Activity”. For a long time, systematic and complete historical documents of the development of the foreign language discipline have remained fragmented. To fully preserve the characteristic of engineering-oriented foreign language education and inherit the spiritual heritage of the School of Foreign Languages, the Party Committee of the School launched the Soul-forging Initiative for tracing the history of foreign language disciplines in 2022. Meanwhile, it conducted an online column Highlights of School History and set up special research projects on collecting the school and disciplinary history. Under the leadership of Professor Li Chengjian, with Teacher Zheng Boren contributing to historical data collection, manuscript revision and framework design, faculty and students of the School conducted extensive field visits, consulted archived university historical documents, and sorted out old textbooks and teaching files. After years of work, they completed historical data collation, manuscript writing and full-book compilation.
Clear Two-Volume Structure, Distinctive Traits of Engineering-Oriented Foreign Language Education
The book collects twenty thematic essays arranged in two volumes to form a complete narrative framework, fully demonstrating the disciplinary characteristics of SWJTU’s foreign language education: rooted in engineering and integrating Chinese and Western cultures.
Volume One, Mentors & Bridges, centers on trailblazers of foreign language education over the past century, foreign instructors, overseas returnee scholars and professional translators. It vividly records stories of generations of foreign language educators dedicated to teaching and building bridges for China-West communication, recreating the journey of talent cultivation and cultural inheritance within the School.
Volume Two, Engineering & Discourse, draws on original university archives, classic textbooks and frontline teaching practices. It systematically outlines the evolution of multi-lingual curricula including English, German, Russian and Japanese over more than a century, thoroughly explores the advancement of foreign language teaching amid an engineering development, and clearly presents the school’s educational ethos of “Supporting the Building of a Powerful Transportation Nation and Integrating Foreign Languages with Engineering Disciplines”.
During compilation, the two editors focused on organizing historical materials covering the evolution of English major teaching across different eras, deeds of distinguished English faculty, and reforms of engineering English teaching. This reinforces the main thread of English disciplinary development throughout the book, and comprehensively shows the full transformation of the English major, from railway foreign language teaching in the university’s early days to the cultivation of interdisciplinary foreign language talents in the new era.
Passing Down the Cultural Legacy, Fueling Long-Term Disciplinary Development
Century of Linguistic Rhymes: Highlights of Foreign Language Education at Southwest Jiaotong University stands as a core achievement of the university’s cultural development themed on “Cultural Lineage, Historical Roots and Spiritual Core”, and a written embodiment of the School motto “Integrating the Past and Present, Connecting China with the World”. It boasts profound historical documentation value and educational value. The book provides precious teaching materials for the School, especially the English Department, to conduct disciplinary history education, curriculum-based ideological and political education, and freshman orientation programs. It guides faculty and students to understand the original aspiration and responsibility of SWJTU foreign language educators, inherit the rigorous academic and educational spirit of predecessors, and advance the construction of English majors rooted in the university’s strengths in engineering disciplines. Drawing lessons from history and leveraging the century-long experience in foreign language education, the School will keep cultivating interdisciplinary foreign language talents with patriotism, global vision and solid professional competence. In pursuit of its vision of “Transportation Connects the World”, foreign language disciplines will keep serving as a communication bridge and cultural envoy.
