走进耶鲁大学 第40期:詹天佑

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铁路之父詹天佑

Jeme Tien Yow, known as the Father of China's Railway, was born in Nam-hoiprefecture, Guangdong province. In 1872, twelve-years-old Jeme was sent to the United States for education. After studying at a primary school in New Haven¹, he then entered a secondary school there，and in 1878，Jeme was admitted to Yale University. Jeme's major was Civil Engineering, with an emphasis on railroad construction. Jeme received his bachelor's degree in 1881， and then he was called back by the Imperial Qing government.

被誉为"中国铁路之父"的詹天佑生于广东省南海县。1872年，12岁的他被送往美国求学。在纽黑文的小学和中学学习后，1878年，詹天佑被耶鲁大学录取，修读于土木工程系，主攻铁路建设。他于1881年取得学士学位，同年，清政府撤回所有留学生。

Life was not good for the students recalled to China. The Qing government officials found behaviors of the foreign educated students unorthodox，they also had no plan to put their acquired knowledge to good use. Most of the recalled students were simply sent to the newly formed Imperial Navy to be re-trained as seamen². Jeme was sent to Fuchow in Fujian Province. A few years later, in 1884，the Imperial Navy in Fuchow was destroyed during the brief war with France. Jeme survived the war, and in 1888，he finally found his way to become a railroad engineer. Viceroy Li Hongzhang in Peking was constructing a railroad that would link Tientsin to the coal mines in Tangshan. A British engineer Claude W. Kinder was hired as the chief engineer of the railroad. Through connections with his old schoolmates working in Peking, Jeme joined Kinder as an intern³ engineer. Jeme was soon promoted to full engineer, and later district engineer.

被召回的学生生活得并不好。清政府官员发现这些受到外国教育的学生行为不符合传统，并没打算好好利用他们学得的知识。被召回的大部分学生被直接送往新成立的水师当作海员重新训练。詹天佑被派送到福建的福州水师。几年后的1884年，福建水师在与法国的短暂交锋中被摧毁。詹天佑在战争中幸存，1888年，他终于成为了一名铁路工程师。李鸿章当时正在建设连接天津与唐山煤矿的铁路。一位名叫克劳德W·金德的英国丁程师被聘为铁路总工程师。詹天佑与在北京工作的老同学取得联系，作为实习工程师加人了金德的队伍。他很快被提升为工程师，然后是地区工程师。

In 1902, Yuan Shikai decided⁴ to build a special line for Empress Dowager Cixi to visit the Royal ancestors' tomb. Kinder was the original candidate for the chief engineer position, however the French were unhappy that a British was assigned to the position. Eventually, Jeme got the assignment as the chief engineer of the 37km stub line. Jeme managed to construct the railroad within budget and a very tight schedule. The Empress was pleased and permission was given to construct more railroads in China.

1902年，袁世凯决定为慈禧太后建一条铁路线，以方便她祭祖。金德是最初的总工程师候选人，但是，法国人对于英国人接任这个职位不满意。最终，詹天佑被任命为这条37公里铁路线的总工程师。 他成功地在预算内以及在非常紧迫的时间里完成了任务。慈禧太后很高兴，准许在中国兴建更多的铁路。

In 1905, the Imperial Qing government decided to build a railroad that would link the capital of Peking to the important trade city of Kalgan to the north. Now that this railway would be of strategic importance to the Imperial government, a decision was made that the railway would be built without foreign assistance. Capital would come from the government, and no foreign engineers were to be hired. Jeme was appointed as chief engineer of the railway. At the beginning, some people were skeptical⁵ that the Qing government would be able to construct the railroad in the rugged⁶ Swallow Mountain north of Peking all by itself. But Jeme showed that he is an able engineer. He completed the work two years ahead of schedule and under budget.

1905年，清政府决定兴建连接首都北京和北部重要贸易城市张家口的京张铁路由于这条铁路具有重要的战略价值，因此清政府决定要全部由中国人自行修建，不用外国资金，也不雇用外国人。詹天佑被任命为总工程师。一开始，一些人质疑清政府有没有能力在高低起伏的燕山山脉间建造这条铁路。但是詹天佑证明了他作为工程师的能力，施工时间比原定缩短了两年，建造成本也比预算少。

Jeme was also responsible for setting many railroad standards that are still in force in China today. He was also the founding member of the China Institute of Engineers. Jeme was awarded an honorary doctorate⁷ degree by the University of Hong Kong in 1916. For his contributions to railroad engineering in China, Jeme was often called the Father of China's Railroad. Jeme died in 1919 at the age of 58 and was buried at the Qinglongqiao railway station. A museum was also established nearby to commemorate⁸ the works of Jeme Tien Yow.

詹天佑还厘定了许多现在中国仍在使用的铁路工程标准，同时也是"中华工程师学会"的创始人之一。1916年，香港大学授予詹天佑荣誉博士学位。由于他对中国铁路工程的巨大贡献，詹天佑被称为"中国铁路之父"。他于1919年病逝，享年58岁， 葬于京张铁路青龙桥火车站附近。为了缅怀詹天佑，后来人们又在附近建造了詹天佑纪念馆。

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