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At the age of six I went first to a girls’ school to do my basic education. There were two female teachers, one named Shou, the other Gu, who were both very patient. I remember one of my fellow students was a girl named Xu, who came from a wealthy family and was very well mannered. She later became a nun and entered the Congregation of the Presentation of Our Lady to the Temple. She says that she never forgot me. In the second year I transferred to a boys’ school. I remember only two teachers, named Zhu and Hu. Because we went to mass every day I had to eat my breakfast and lunch at the church. Another student named Ni Linxiang, who lived at Dongjiadu and attended the elementary school at the old Catholic church because of the influence of his great-uncle Rev. Simon Ni who was the pastor of that parish, also took his breakfast and lunch at the church. My deskmate was the grandson of Mr. Du Zishan, who was responsible for renting out the diocesan properties in the Old City. Later on Ni Linxiang and I entered St. Ignatius College at the same time, graduated in the same year (1932) and went together to the minor and major seminaries. Later on he contracted tuberculosis and died an early death. His niece Ni Yao married a cousin of mine named Wu Zuxiang, with whom I have remained in touch. On the subject of life at elementary school I have few memories, apart from Teacher Zhu who used to walk about while we were studying calligraphy and grab our writing brushes from behind. If he could take them from us, he happily taught us a lesson. On the rare occasions when he could not remove the brush, he would praise us for holding it firmly. I also remember writing my essays with some precocity, always beginning with phrases such as “Into this world a human being was born” that had rather an adult tone. I also remember on one occasion my brother and I made a plan to play hooky on the way to school. We at once returned home and told my mother 3 Going to School 20 The Memoirs of Jin Luxian that the school had closed temporarily and my mother believed us. Who could have expected that after dinner Teacher Zhu would come to our home, worried that we two brothers had been prevented from going to school by some accident or illness? As soon as he arrived my mother knew that we had skipped school and had lied about it. Once my parents had seen the teacher to the door, my father became angry and told us to kneel on the floor. He picked up the badminton racquet, threatening to beat me. He said that I was the elder brother so I must have led my younger brother astray. Fortunately my mother used words to dissuade him. Naturally we never tried to skip school again. At the age of ten my father sent me to board at the elementary school of St. Ignatius College. This school was very strict. After the beginning of term there was no vacation and we could not go home. I still remember that after I had been enrolled for about a month my mother came to see me. She went to the headmaster, a foreigner named Rev. Yves Henry. The headmaster called me to his office and said that my mother had come to collect me to attend my grandfather ’s 70th birthday and that he permitted me to go. Later on my mother told me: “That was very first time I saw a foreigner with such a long beard. I was very scared of him.” My mother also told me: “Today I told a lie for the first time. It was because I missed you, wanted to see you, couldn’t manage without you and wanted to bring you home for a couple of days. So I told him that your grandfather was celebrating his 70th birthday, which is in fact an untruth. This is the first time I have told a lie in my life.” Young children are not very aware, so I was of course happy just to get some time at home. Now that I think about it, I realise that my mother truly loved me. She was a very good person. She never told lies; but on this occasion, for my sake...

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