1.Bronze statues of Dr. Sun Yat-sen presented by his Japanese friend

On January 13, 1931, Umeya Shokichi, an old friend of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, sent two bronze statues of Sun Yat-sen to Guangdong, one to the National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU) and the other to Cuiheng Village, the hometown of Dr. Sun Yat-sen.

Photo: Umeya Shokichi and the bronze statues of Dr. Sun Yat-sen

2.Reorganization of the board of directors

On June 11, 1931, the Central Executive Committee and the Central Supervisory Committee resolved at an extraordinary meeting that Hu Hanmin, Gu Yingfen, Dai Jitao, Sun Ke, Chen Mingshu, Hsu Chung-ching, Wang Zhaoming, Zou Lu and Li Wenfan were to be appointed as directors of the board of NSYSU, and Sun Ke as the chairman of the board.

Photo: Summary of the Records of the Board of Directors and Directors of Buildings of National Sun Yat-sen University published in 1932

3.   Xu Chongqing was inaugurated as the President of NSYSU for the first time

On June 15, 1931, Xu Chongqing was inaugurated as the President of NSYSU.

Photo: Xu Chongqing

4.Reorganization and establishment of the College of Science and Engineering

In March 1931, NSYSU established the College of Engineering and added two departments: Chemical Engineering and Civil Engineering. In September 1931, the College of Engineering was merged with the College of Science and renamed the College of Science and Engineering.c

Photo: Classrooms of the College of Science and Engineering

5.Establishment of the Department of Sociology

In September 1931, the Department of Sociology was established in the College of Arts of NSYSU. Professors Zhou Gucheng, He Sijing, Fu Shanglin, Hu Tiqian, Xu Dishan, Deng Chumin and Xiao Junying held positions in the department successively.

6.Congress for anti-Japanese national salvation

After the “September 18 Incident”, NSYSU organized the congress for anti-Japanese national salvation, formed the national salvation volunteer army, and received students from universities such as Northeastern University and Feng Yong University to study at NSYSU temporarily. On October 10 of the same year, the “Yonghan Road Massacre” occurred, and the congress angrily accused the Kuomintang police of massacring patriots and suppressing the counter-Japanese movement. It organized a general meeting attended by people from all walks of life to petition the Kuomintang authorities to punish the murderers.ccc

Photo: New World Store, where the “Yonghan Road Massacre” took place on  October 10, 1931ccc

7.Bureau of Economic Research 

In 1931, the College of Law of NSYSU set up the Bureau of Economic Research, with Huang Yinpu as its director. After its establishment, it first investigated the economic landscape of Guangzhou, and compared, counted, and analyzed the economic data collected. By 1934, the bureau had already published “The Banking Industry in Guangzhou”, “The History of Tobacco and Wine Taxes of Kwangtung”, “The Pawnbroking Industry in Kwangtung”, “A Study of Working Families in Guangzhou”, and “A History of Bank Notes in Guangdong Province”, among other  informative documents.