In the course of running a university for more than a hundred years, there are such a group of "great men" who insist on fighting and quietly ploughing, "holding a heart to come, without half a grass to go". They are noblein characters like bamboo and orchid, being indifferent to fame and fortune. They worked all the time of their own accord to be ladders and paving stones. They were concentrating on scientific research and bravely climbing the scientific peak. They are fascinated by teaching and havingfruitful peaches and plums. Thus, they areimmortal in a long history.
On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the foundation of Lanzhou University, a special edition of “Cuiying’s Great Men—teacher’s models since the foundation of Lanzhou University” was launched, where models’ stories having the significant contribution to the development of Lanzhou University in past 110 year would be published with an hope of inspiring the teachers and students to bear in mind the educational mission in the new era andmarch forward in the great construction of "double first-class" to create a new chapter in infinite memory, recollection and admiration.
Wang Deji (1909—1968), formerly known as Wang Enzeng, from Cili, Hunan Province, is a geographer, geomorphologist, pioneer of modern and regional geography in China, and the main founder of the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences (Department of Geology and Geography), Lanzhou University.
Wang Deji was admitted to the Department of Geography, Nanjing Central University in 1930. At the end of 1936, he obtained the world-famous Humboldt Scholarship to study in Germany. In 1940, he received his Ph.D. from the Eberhard-Karls-Universitaet Tuebingen. After returning to China, Wang was employed by the Chinese Geography Research Institute in Beibei, Sichuan Province. In the comprehensive geographical investigation organized by director Huang Guofan, Wang served as the expedition leader of the Hanzhong Basin, and traversed 6 counties between Qinling and Bashan Mountain for 8 months. Then he wrote the book "Geographic Survey Report of Hanzhong Basin", which was regarded by geographer Xu Jinzhi as a rare regional geographical work.
In 1946, the Nanjing government set up the National Lanzhou University. Wang Deji was appointed as a professor at Lanzhou University, serving as the first director of the Department of Geography. At the beginning of the establishment of the department, he and Feng Shengwu were the only two teachers. In the case of the extreme lack of personnel, books andinstruments, he did his best and went around to hire teachers and purchase instruments, so that the Department of Geography gradually reached the conditions for running. After the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, Wang continued to serve as the director of the department and actively cooperated with the university to carry out departmental adjustment, teaching reform and discipline construction. In 1956, the Ministry of Higher Education determined four departments of Lanzhou University as the associate doctoral training institutes, and the Department of Geography was one of them. In this year, Wang began as a graduate tutor.
In the 20 years of his northwestern experience, he devoted himself to the production and construction services. The Department of Geography had become more and more famous and had trained a large number of specialized talents for the country. As the only postgraduate student of Wang, Academician Li Jijun was deeply influenced by Wang and believed that his achievements should be attributed to Wang.
In 1957, Wang Deji was misclassified as a rightist and waspersecuted to death in the "Cultural Revolution". In May 1986, the Lanzhou University Party Committee held a memorial service torehabilitate him and restore his reputation. In the 90th anniversary of Lanzhou Univerity, Li Jijun and Zhang Linyuan edited and published "Wang Deji's papers and commemorative articles", which demonstrated his achievements in Geography.
