A social network linked by Liren University

Recently, in the stack of books at home, I found an "illegal publication" without a book number and publisher - the 2011 and 2012 Liren University self-selected collections, titled "University in the World". The contents of the book include the teaching records of several teachers in Liren University, the memoirs of students, and two or three media reports.

The title of the book should be selected from the report of the same name published by Fang Kecheng in "Southern Weekend", and Fang Kecheng's name was chosen by He, I guess there is a little influence from the so-called Gorky autobiography trilogy. After all, even when I was in middle school, the trilogy was still a knowledge point that needed to be recited and tested. Even if no one actually reads it.

I learned about Liren University because of Fang Kecheng's report. At that time, I should have been in the second or third year of high school, but I didn't know there was a newspaper like "Southern Weekend", and I read more books like "Reader" subscribed to at home. Li Yingqiang said in the book that because the report was widely reprinted by magazines such as "Reader", more people knew about Liren University. Well, I am one of them.

But what's interesting is that I didn't know Fang Kecheng because of this report, but because of the platform of political opinions. So when I found out about the connection between Fang Kecheng and Liren University, I was a little surprised, but also very interesting. This connection also intersects with my own early experience, which makes me want to tell it to outsiders. Fang Kecheng himself taught at Liren University back then, so he didn't know if it was a temporary initiative of Liren University or if he had been invited before. When I read the report, a reporter from the media and a reporter from Southern Weekend were in class, and smiled softly.

I am a relatively late self-enlightenment person. Reading this book for the first time a few years later, I still envy the lineup of mentors at the time, as well as the things the students did and the people they visited in 2012. At the same time, I also felt that at that time, if I wanted to go to the same university with these classmates, I am afraid I would be too ashamed. Even today, I have not read any of the best-selling books by some of the well-known public intellectuals in it.

But in the same way, my understanding of these people's images is not through Realan University at all, but through various channels after college life. So when I see many people's names appearing together in the Liren University book, I naturally have that "very interesting" idea again.

This "meeting" seems to have a sense of fate, or in the words of some critics, all the people invited by Liren University are liberal intellectuals, and naturally it will attract more people with the same or similar positions. If it is simply a circle theory, it seems that it is not impossible, but from my own experience, there will be another feeling.

In the group photo at the end of the book, I seem to recognize a friend I only met in graduate school. I remember when my friend introduced him, he did mention that he attended Liren University, but I can't remember exactly which class. During my first formal internship, I also met a friend who attended Realan University. She later worked as a volunteer for a long time in the rural library restructured by Realan Library. A Chinese classmate in my university dormitory seems to have also attended Liren University in 2013.

In terms of scale, the annual enrollment of more than 100 students in Realen University is really like a drop of water in the ocean. However, at different stages of my studies, I met Lida students from various colleges and universities. This kind of fate may be a little too strange.

As for the reason, interpersonal connection may be a big part of it. But I don't want to analyze the reasons here. What I want to say is that even though Realan University has disappeared in time, even though the figures directly related to it are in the national population, they can even be ignored. But some of its ideas and spirits, like a dandelion, have spread to the boundaries it never imagined with this connection.