Tsinghua’s school building fund is not boxer indemnity, and Shanda University is not

To say that Tsinghua University was built with donations from the United States, and that the source of the donations came from the return of the Boxer Indemnity paid by the Qing Dynasty by the United States, is a lie that is still circulating today. The sad thing is that after this lie was tried hard by Chinese public intellectuals, not only Tsinghua University was funded by the United States, but also Shanxi University, and many other universities. The United States has become an angel to save China.

Li Ao gave a speech at Tsinghua University before his death. Tsinghua people who have heard that speech should know part of the historical truth. You can watch a clip of Li Ao's speech first.

Video from Tencent Video

Li Ao told a true story during his speech at Tsinghua University. After the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, when the Qing Dynasty and other countries calculated the amount of compensation, the United States falsely reported the compensation by 2.5 times. After Liang Cheng, the Chinese Minister to the United States, exposed the fact that the United States had falsely reported the amount of compensation during negotiations with the United States, the then US Secretary of State Hay John was very embarrassed. In order to protect the face of the U.S. government, Liang Cheng proposed a clever solution: the Qing government would pay the indemnity according to the amount proposed by the U.S. government, but the U.S. should return the false claim to the Qing government after receiving the money. In this way, the face of the U.S. government can be taken into account, and part of the extra money can be recovered. Therefore, the source of funding for Tsinghua University at the beginning of its establishment was not the refund of the boxer indemnity, but the part of the money blackmailed by the United States in the name of the boxer indemnity.

Li Ao's speech was relatively short and could not fully restore the complicated historical truth. Let me sort it out for you.

01 Chinese study in the United States did not begin with Tsinghua’s preparatory class for studying in the United States

Many people think that Chinese study abroad in the United States started with the Tsinghua Preparatory Class for Studying in the United States (the original name was "Youmei Study Hall"), but this is not the case.

China has had students studying in the United States since at least 1846. At that time, the American missionary Pastor Brown took three Chinese children Rong Hong, Huang Kuan, and Huang Sheng from Hong Kong to study in the United States. Among them, the famous Rong Hong was the "father of Chinese study abroad" who later started the study abroad program of the Qing Dynasty.

In 1868, Yung Wing, who graduated from Yale University and returned to China, proposed to the Qing government to send overseas students. In 1870, Zeng Guofan supported him. In 1871, the Qing government established the "Children Studying Abroad Bureau" to officially send overseas students. Yung Wing is the second person in charge of the "Children's Overseas Education Bureau", equivalent to the deputy director, responsible for the specific handling of government-sponsored study abroad affairs.

By 1881, the Qing Dynasty had sent a total of 120 students abroad at public expense. Among them is Liang Cheng, who was sent by the government to study in the United States in 1875.

02 When it was discovered that the United States had falsely reported the amount of reparations, the Qing Dynasty had already paid reparations for 8 years

After Liang Cheng completed his studies and returned to China, he served as the Minister to the United States with the rank of third rank from 1903 to 1908.

During his tenure as minister, Liang Cheng privately learned from individual U.S. government officials that the U.S. government had falsely reported the amount of compensation in the Boxer Indemnity. This prompted Liang Cheng to start consulting a large number of materials on the US government's military expenditures and related losses during the invasion of Beijing by the Eight-Power Allied Forces. After verification, Liang Cheng discovered that the U.S. government had falsely reported war expenditures by as much as 2.5 times, so he lodged a representation with the U.S. government, using facts and figures to prove to the U.S. government the truth of the U.S. falsely reported compensation.

The then U.S. Secretary of State Hay John could not deny the facts and figures, so he reported the situation to the then U.S. President Roosevelt Sr. At the same time, Liang Cheng also disclosed the facts and figures to the US media. Under the double pressure of the Chinese government and the US domestic media, the US government finally agreed to refund the false compensation.

The 450 million taels of Boxer indemnity paid by the Qing Dynasty was an annual payment of principal and interest, which was paid off in 39 years. Among them, the part belonging to the United States accounted for 7.32%, about 30 million taels of silver, equivalent to about 24.44 million U.S. dollars at the time. After verified by Liang Cheng, the actual military expenditure and loss of the United States during the Eight-Nation Allied Forces was only 11.655 million US dollars. That year, the U.S. government overclaimed 12.785 million U.S. dollars.

At this time, eight years have passed since the implementation of the Boxer Indemnity, and the Qing Dynasty has paid the war indemnity for eight years according to the amount falsely reported by the US government.

03 The actual refund conditions and refund amount that Liang Cheng fought for

The result of Liang Cheng's negotiation with the US government is:

1. The U.S. government only agrees to refund part of the annual overpayment starting from 1909, and the payment that has been made in the previous 8 years will not be refunded.

2. The returned money cannot be paid directly to the Qing government, but must be deposited in a bank in the United States for use by the U.S. government.

3. The refunded money is only used for education, and a school can be established to send foreign students to the United States. A fund can be set up to continue to support the school and its American students in the future.

In the specific refund agreement, it is also stipulated that the number of Chinese students studying in the United States should not be less than 100 per year for the first four years, and no less than 50 per year starting from the fifth year.

In 1908, the amount of refund signed by President Roosevelt was 10.785 million US dollars. Of the 12.785 million US dollars that should be refunded, the US government found various reasons to deduct 2 million US dollars.

According to the Boxer Indemnity Agreement, the Qing government pays the United States a certain amount every year, and the excess false report is transferred to American banks in proportion, and then used to build Tsinghua University’s preparatory classes for studying in the United States.

The reason why such a refund agreement can be reached is because Professor James, then president of the University of Illinois, wrote a letter to President Roosevelt, in which he stated the significance of using refunds to run a university: "Which country Whichever country is able to educate this generation of Chinese youth will reap the greatest rewards in spiritual and commercial impact from the effort expended in this regard."

Of course President Roosevelt could understand what President James meant, and we can understand it today, too, right?

04 How much Boxer indemnity did the United States actually get, and how much money was refunded?

The well-known people once said that the United States not only refunded part of the Boxer indemnity, but also was the first country to terminate the indemnity early. Is the truth really like this?

Boxer indemnity began to pay indemnities in October 1901 and was completed in 39 years. It took until October 1939 to complete the indemnity. In fact, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the government of the Republic of China continued to pay compensation. It was not until January 15, 1939 that the National Government announced the end of the Boxer Indemnity, that is, the last year of indemnity was not paid to all countries. This can be regarded as a symbolic early termination of compensation, and countries have basically accepted this symbolic operation.

The U.S. government also received almost all Boxer Indemnity (38 years of indemnity) from China, about $23.81 million.

Although the U.S. government agreed to start the refund in 1909, the actual construction of the Tsinghua Preparatory School for Studying in the United States began in 1911, and it was delayed for another two years.

According to the refund agreement reached between China and the United States in 1908, the United States should refund 10.785 million US dollars. How much did you actually get back?

Subtracting the part already paid in the first 8 years, minus the two years dragging on from 1909 to 1911, and subtracting the part of the national government’s unpaid indemnity in the last year, the U.S. government has obtained a total of 38 years of Boxer indemnity from China, about 2381 10,000 U.S. dollars, and refunded 28 years of false reports, totaling about 7.74 million U.S. dollars.

In fact, not all of the $7.74 million was used for the construction of Tsinghua University. Due to the limited construction period and progress, not all the refunds are spent every year, and the remaining part is deposited in the Bank of America as the "Tsinghua Fund". After 1949, the money in the "Tsinghua Fund" was mainly used to fund Tsinghua University in Taiwan, and has nothing to do with Tsinghua University in Beijing.

05 Refunds aren't just for the U.S.

The United States was the first to refund the boxer indemnity, which is of course wrong. Because what the United States returned was not the due war reparations, but falsely reported war reparations. Leaving aside the injustice of wars of aggression, if compensation for defeat is reasonable, then the victorious country falsely reported war losses to obtain compensation is blackmail, and the refund of blackmail money is essentially the return of ill-gotten gains.

If the United States really returns the war indemnity, it will undoubtedly serve as a model for the eight victorious countries, and other countries are embarrassed not to follow, at least they have to express it, right? The fact is that after the United States returned the money, no other country responded.

In the true sense, the first to return the boxer indemnity was the Soviet Union. After the outbreak of the October Revolution in 1917, the Soviet government was the first to propose the abolition of all unequal treaties with foreign countries, including the unpaid part of the boxer indemnity. Since the world was in the middle of World War I at that time, and China was in chaos, this matter was not really put on the agenda. It was not until May 1924 that China and the Soviet Union signed the "Sino-Soviet Agreement" that it was formally agreed that the Soviet Union would return all Boxer indemnities from that year onwards for China's education. But please note that the refund here means that China’s Boxer indemnity must be paid as usual, and the other party will refund it after payment.

In the same year, France and Japan also began to conclude similar agreements with China, agreeing to use boxer indemnity to pay China's foreign debts or use it to build education, railways, telecommunications, and charity. For example, France used Boxer indemnity to build Sino-French University (now Beijing) Polytechnic University), etc. Belgium in 1925, the Netherlands in 1926, and Italy in 1933 followed suit with similar measures. But please note that all countries do not refuse to pay compensation, but use the compensation for various undertakings in China, and it is not the Chinese government that has the final say on how to spend the money, but the creditors.

06 Whose indemnity was built for Shanxi University?

Public intellectuals have been preaching that the United States used Boxer indemnities to build not only Tsinghua University, but also Shanxi University, and many other schools. This is simply full of lies, nonsense, and nonsense.

The American refund agreement was reached in 1908, and it was only implemented in 1911, and Shanxi University was established in 1902. Are the public intellectuals playing time travel?

The Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded because of the Boxer Rebellion. After the defeat of the Qing Dynasty, British missionary Timothy Lee was entrusted by the British government to handle the Shanxi religious case, and drafted the so-called "Regulations on Handling the Shanxi Religious Case by Li Fuxiang", which was a plan for punishing the Shanxi Boxers specifically for Li Hongzhang.

Article 3 of this regulation for handling teaching plans clearly states: "A total of 500,000 taels of silver will be fined in the whole province, and 50,000 taels of silver will be handed over every year for a period of ten years. To enlighten the knowledge of Jin people, set up a school to teach useful learning, so that officials, gentry and common people can learn and no longer be deceived. Choose one person who is knowledgeable in the West to take charge of the matter." In the seventh article, Timothy Li also emphasized : "After the conclusion of this meeting, all those who were the leaders of the rebellion in the past will have a list on file. If they do not repent, and then make things difficult for the people, they must be punished strictly according to the law." Li Hongzhang agreed with this charter. Then ordered the Shanxi provincial government to follow this approach.

The British Timothy Lee's regulations for handling teaching plans clearly stated that "a total of 500,000 taels of silver will be fined for the whole province." The whole province here of course refers to Shanxi Province. The 500,000 taels of construction funds for Shanxi University is obviously an additional compensation other than the boxer indemnity agreed in the "Xin Chou Treaty", which is not included in the 450 million taels of boxer indemnity. Ten thousand taels of silver.

This fine does not belong to the boxer indemnity, nor has anything to do with the United States. The public intellectuals have fabricated history to the point of heinousness, especially shameless.

What is even more amazing is that I read the article "Timothy Lee: The Founder of Shanxi University" in the "Shanxi University History" column on the official website of Shanxi University. , 50,000 taels per year, for a period of 10 years, to establish a Western-style university in Taiyuan. When this proposal was affirmed by Li Hongzhang, Timothy Li excitedly devoted himself to the preparations for the establishment of the school.”

It only mentions "taking 500,000 taels of silver from the indemnity", but does not mention where the 500,000 taels of silver was taken from the indemnity, which is indeed incredible. As one of the oldest universities in China, it is true that we must pay attention to our own history of running a school, but we must not be perfunctory about our own history, and we must not ignore the reality that public intellectuals deliberately fabricated history. How can the hall of the university be irresponsible for clarifying the truth of history?

I have no relationship with Shanxi University, and I have no intention of deliberate praise or criticism of it. Of course, it does not rule out that I lack a deeper understanding of the historical details of Shanxi University, so the possibility of my own mistakes cannot be ruled out. Therefore, I hope that Shanxi University can conduct research on this matter and make a responsible clarification of the historical truth related to itself.

清华建校资金不是庚子赔款，山大更不是

说清华大学是美国捐款兴建的，捐款来源是美国退还大清支付的庚子赔款，这是一个至今仍在流传的谎言。可悲的是，这个谎言在经过中国公知们拼命演绎后，不只清华是美国资建的，山西大学也是，还有其他许多大学都是，美国已俨然成了拯救中国的天使。

李敖生前在清华大学有一次演讲，听过那次演讲的清华人应该知道部分历史真相。大家可先看看李敖的演讲片段。

视频来自腾讯视频

李敖在清华演讲时讲了一个真实的故事。当年八国联军侵华后，大清与各国计算赔款数额时，美国虚报了2.5倍的赔款。中国驻美国公使梁诚在与美国磋商时揭穿美国虚报赔款数额的事实后，时任美国国务卿海.约翰很难堪。梁诚为顾全美国政府脸面，提出了一个聪明的解决办法：清政府就按美国政府提出的数额支付赔款，但美国收到款项后应将虚报部分退还给清政府。这样既顾全美国政府的脸面，又能收回多要的部分款项。所以，清华大学建校之初的经费来源并非庚子赔款的退款，而是美国借庚子赔款名义多讹诈的那部分款项。

李敖的演讲比较简短，并不能完整还原那段复杂的历史真相。我来帮大家梳理一下。

中国人留美并非始自清华留美预备班

许多人以为中国人赴美留学是从清华留美预备班（原始名称是“游美肄业馆”）开始的，其实不然。

中国至少在1846年开始就有了赴美留学生。当年美国传教士勃朗牧师从香港带走三名中国孩子容闳、黄宽、黄胜赴美留学，其中大名鼎鼎的容闳就是后来开启大清公派留学事宜的“中国留学之父”。

1868年，从耶鲁大学毕业回国的容闳向清政府建议公派留学生，1870年得到曾国藩支持。1871年大清政府成立“幼童出洋肄业局”，正式对外公派留学生。容闳是“幼童出洋肄业局”的第二负责人，相当于副局长，负责公派留学事务的具体操办。

至1881年，大清共对外派出公费留学生120人。这其中就有1875年公派留美的梁诚。

梁诚像

发现美国虚报赔款数额时大清已经支付了8年赔款

梁诚学成回国后，于1903-1908年期间以三品衔出任驻美国公使。

在任公使期间，梁诚私下从个别美国政府官员口中得知美国政府在庚子赔款中虚报了赔偿数额。这促使梁诚开始查阅大量八国联军入侵北京时期美国政府军事支出和相关损失的资料。经过查实，梁诚发现美国政府虚报战争支出数额高达2.5倍，于是向美国政府提出交涉，用事实和数据向美国政府证明了美国虚报赔款数额的真相。

时任美国国务卿海.约翰面对事实和数据无法抵赖，于是向时任美国总统老罗斯福反映情况。与此同时，梁诚还向美国媒体披露了事实和数据，在中国政府和美国国内媒体的双重压力下，美国政府最终同意退还虚报的赔款。

大清支付4.5亿两庚子赔款是按年度支付本金和利息的，分39年还清。其中属于美国的部分占7.32%，约3千万两白银，折合当时的美元约2444万美元。经梁诚查实后美国在八国联军期间实际军事支出和损失只有为1165.5万美元。当年美国政府超额索赔1278.5万美元。

此时，离庚子赔款实施已经过去了8年，大清已经按美国政府虚报的数额支付了8年的战争赔款。

梁诚争取的实际退款条件和退款数额

梁诚同美国政府交涉的结果是：

1. 美国政府只同意从1909年开始退还每年多支付的部分款项，此前8年已经支付的不再退还。

2. 退还的款项不能直接支付给清政府，必须存到美国的银行，由美国政府支配使用。

3. 退还款项只用于教育事业，可以办一所学校专门为美国输送留学生。办学没有使用完的款项，可成立一个基金，在未来继续资助这所学校及其美留学生。

在具体的退款协议中，还约定了中国赴美留学生规模，头四年每年不低于100人，第五年开始每年不少于50人。

1908年经老罗斯福总统签字同意的退款数额为1078.5万美元。应退的1278.5万美元中，美国政府找各种理由扣除了200万美元。

清政府按庚子赔款的协议每年支付美国多少，多出的虚报部分按比例转存到美国的银行，然后用于建设清华留美预备班。

之所以能达成这样的退款协议，是因为时任美国伊里诺大学校长詹姆士教授给老罗斯福总统写了一封信，信中陈述了利用退款办大学的重大意义：“哪一个国家能够做到教育这一代中国青年人，哪一个国家就能由于这方面所支付的努力，而在精神和商业上的影响取回最大的收获。”

詹姆士校长表达的是什么意思，罗斯福总统当然能看懂，今天的我们也能看懂对吧？

美国实际得到多少庚子赔款，又退了多少钱

公知们曾说美国不仅退还庚子部分赔款，还是第一个提前终止赔款的国家。事实真是这样吗？

庚子赔款从1901年10月开始支付赔款，分39年完成，要一直赔偿到1939年10月才能全部完成。事实上，大清灭亡后，民国政府一直接着赔款。一直到1939年1月15日，国民政府才宣布庚子赔款结束，也就是只差了最后一年的赔款没有支付各国。这也算是象征性提前终止了赔款，各国也基本都接受了这种象征性的操作。

美国政府也从中国获得了几乎全部庚子赔款（38年的赔款）约2381万美元。

尽管美国政府同意于1909年开始退款，但真正用于建设清华留美预备学堂是从1911年才开始的，这中间又拖了两年。

按中美双方于1908年达成的退款协议，美国应退1078.5万美元。实际退了多少呢？

减去头8年已经支付的部分，减去1909-1911拖掉了两年，再减去最后1年国民政府未支付赔款的部分，美国政府总共从中国获得了38年的庚子赔款约2381万美元，退还了其中28年的虚报部分，总额约774万美元。

事实上，这774万美元并没有全部用于清华大学的建设。由于建设周期和进度所限，每年并没有花掉全部退款，剩余部分被存入了美国银行，用作“清华基金”。1949年以后，“清华基金”里的钱主要用于资助台湾清华大学，与北京清华大学已经没有关系了。

退款的不只是美国

美国是第一个退还庚子赔款的，这话当然不对。因为美国退还的并非应得的战争赔款，而是虚报的战争赔款。先不说侵略战争的不义，如果说战败赔款也算是合理的话，那么战胜国虚报战争损失以获得赔款就是讹诈，退还讹诈款项在本质上属于归还不义之财。

如果美国真的是退还战争赔款，毫无疑问会在八个战胜国中起到示范作用，其他国家也不好意思不跟随，至少得有所表示对吧？事实是，美国退还款项后，其他国家无一响应。

真正意义上第一个退还庚子赔款的是苏联。1917年十月革命爆发后，苏联政府第一个提出废除对外一切不平等条约，包括庚子赔款中尚未支付的部分。由于当时的世界正处在第一次世界大战之中，中国国内也一片混乱，此事并未真正提上日程。直到1924年5月，中苏签订《中苏协定》才正式约定自当年起苏联退还全部庚子赔款，用于中国教育事业。但请注意，这里的退款是指，中国的庚子赔款要照常支付，支付之后对方才退还。

同年，法国、日本也开始与中国订立相似协议，同意用庚子赔款支付中国的对外债务或用于兴建教育、铁路、电信以及慈善事业，比如法国用庚子赔款建设了中法大学（今北京理工大学）等。1925年比利时，1926年荷兰，1933年意大利也相续采取类似办法。但请注意，所有国家都不是不要赔款，而是将赔款用于中国的各项事业，而且这些钱怎么花，不是中国政府说了算，而是债主们说了算。

山西大学是谁的赔款建的

公知们一直宣扬说美国利用庚子赔款不仅建了清华大学，还建了山西大学，还建了其他许多学校。这简直就是满嘴谎言，胡说八道，睁眼瞎话。

美国退款是1908年才达成协议，1911年才开始实施，而山西大学建设于1902年，难道公知们是在玩时间穿越吗？

八国联军入侵是因为义和团运动。大清战败后，英国传教士李提摩太受英国政府委托办理山西教案，起草了所谓《上李傅相办理山西教案章程》，就是专门给李鸿章写了一个惩办山西义和团教众的方案。

在这份办理教案章程中第三条明确提出：“共罚全省银五十万两，每年交出银五万两，以十年为止。但此罚款不归西人，亦不归教民，专为开导晋人知识，设立学堂，教导有用之学，使官绅庶子学习，不再受迷惑。选中西有学问者各一人总管其事。” 在第七条中，李提摩太还强调：“经此次议结之后，凡以前作乱首从之人，皆有名单存案，若不悔过，再行难为教民，必当按律严办不赦。”李鸿章对这一章程表示赞同，遂责成山西省府照此办法。

英国人李提摩太的办理教案章程中明确写着“共罚全省银五十万两”，这里的全省当然是指山西省。山西大学建设经费50万两分明是《辛丑条约》约定的庚子赔款之外的额外赔款，不在4.5亿两庚子赔款之内，是英国人专门为惩罚山西全省人民而专罚的50万两白银。

这笔罚款，既不属于庚子赔款，更与美国无关。公知们编造历史简直到了令人发指的地步，无耻之尤。

更令人惊叹的是，我在山西大学官网“山大往事”栏目中看到了《李提摩太：山西大学堂的创始人》的文章，文中写道：“从赔款中拿出50万两白银，每年5万两，以10年为期，用来在太原建立一所西式大学。当这个建议获得李鸿章的肯定后，李提摩太便兴奋地投入到建校的筹办工作中。”

这里只提到“从赔款中拿出50万两白银”，却不讲从哪里的赔款中拿出50万两白银，的确令人匪夷所思。作为中国最古老的大学之一，固然要重视自己的办学历史，但总不能对自己的历史敷衍了事，不能面对公知们蓄意编造历史的现实于不顾。大学之殿堂，又如何能对澄清历史真相不负责任呢？

我与山西大学没有什么渊源，不存在对其蓄意褒贬的用心。当然，也不排除我对山西大学的历史细节缺乏更深入的了解，因之不能排除自己出错的可能。所以，希望山西大学能就此事进行研究，对与自己相关的历史真相作出负责任的澄清。