Special issue commemorating the 80th anniversary of the completion of the Auditorium (5)： the whole story of the construction of the Auditorium

From 1931 to 1934, Henan University spent three years and more than 210,000 yuan to build a palace-style auditorium.

In the process of construction, builders not only fully consider its safety and firmness, but also take into account its applicability and beauty. Members of the Architectural Committee of the Auditorium and accountants are all "unpaid". With hard work and selfless dedication, they left a permanent public building and an eternal spiritual wealth.

Early Henan University Auditorium

In 1912, on the former site of Henan Gongyuan, Henan Preparatory School for Studying in Europe and America was established. At the beginning, most of the school buildings used in the school were old houses in Gongyuan. In 1919, when Li Jingzhai was the principal, the school built Building 6. The building has a large area, so a lecture hall, the so-called auditorium, can accommodate three or four hundred people. Any assembly will be held here.

Building 6 has long been used as a lecture hall.

In March 1923, the pre-school was renamed Zhongzhou University, "the site of the headquarters is near Caomen in the south, the iron tower in the north, the city wall in the east and the Huiji River in the west." With the support of President Zhang Honglie, Li Jingzhai, director of school affairs, made an overall plan for the campus. From pre-school to university, the number of students has gradually increased, and although the lecture hall is crowded, it can barely be used. In August 1925, Li Dazhao gave a speech here entitled "The History of British Imperialism’s Invasion of China".

Zhongzhou University Planning Map

In 1927, Zhongzhou University was renamed as Henan Sun Yat-sen University after it merged with Henan Public Law School and Henan Provincial Agricultural College. As an auditorium, the lecture hall is still an important place for teachers and students to gather. In the winter of 1929, Fu Sinian gave a lecture in the lecture hall, talking about the development of archaeology and the excavation of Yin ruins. However, the number of students has increased to more than 900, and the lecture hall in Building 6 can no longer accommodate them.

It is extremely necessary to build an auditorium for teachers and students to gather, but it is difficult to raise funds for the construction.

As early as August 1922, under the impetus of Feng Yuxiang and Governor Zhang Fengtai, Henan Province formed a system of using deed tax as education funds and using it independently, and set up a special agency to distribute the education funds in the province. However, wars are frequent, the provincial fiscal revenue is uncertain, and the school allocation quota is difficult to guarantee. For example, in 1927, the fabricated budget was 300,000 yuan, and the school actually received 129,700 yuan; In 1928, the fabricated budget was 255,000 yuan, and the actual income was 227,000 yuan.

It is not easy to maintain school expenses, let alone build an auditorium. The school applied to the provincial government for funds to build the auditorium, but failed to do so. In desperation, the school built a shed as an auditorium and meeting place, which was not only unsightly in appearance, but also could not be used often in winter and summer because of the weather.

The school magazine of Henan University published on September 21st, 1933.

In 1930, the Central Plains War broke out. After defeating Feng Yuxiang, Chiang Kai-shek appointed his lineal Liu Zhi as the chairman of Henan Province. In September, Henan Sun Yat-sen University was renamed as the provincial Henan University. When President Zhang Zhonglu announced the five-year development plan to teachers and students, he was still in the school shed. Soon, Zhang Zhonglu announced his resignation. Zhao Xinwu acted as the principal for only two months, and Li Jingzhai, the provincial director of education, served as the principal for only four months. Principals change frequently, and their tenure is not long, so they have no time to take care of the construction of the auditorium.

Time and cost of building the auditorium

In May 1931, the provincial government appointed Xu Xinwu as the principal, and the construction of the auditorium ushered in a turning point.

President Xu Xinwu

Xu Xinwu studied in the United States in his early years and obtained a master’s degree in hydraulic engineering. After taking office, together with Li Jingzhai, he made adjustments and supplements to the campus planning of Heda University, and put forward suggestions for building the auditorium. At the same time, under the planning of President Xu Xinwu and Dean of Science College Zhao Xinwu, the school added a department of civil engineering, which was approved by the provincial government in June.

At that time, the Department of Civil Engineering was affiliated to the Faculty of Science, with Qu Wenlin as the dean. Qu Wenlin graduated from the Department of Civil Engineering of National Beiyang University (now Tianjin University) in 1921, was appointed as a teacher of Henan Institute of Surveying and Mapping of Water Conservancy Engineering, and took a part-time course in the School of Science of Henan University. The establishment of the Department of Civil Engineering not only expanded the disciplines and specialties of the school, but also provided technical support and talent guarantee for the building auditorium.

The construction of the auditorium was supported by teachers and students, and also by the provincial government. Although Liu Zhi was born in the military, he attached great importance to the revitalization of education during his administration in Henan, especially supported the construction of the auditorium. Later, in My Memories, he wrote: "To raise funds, build the auditorium of Henan University, expand and repair the school buildings of primary and secondary schools, and build the magnificent North China Stadium, in order to seek the initial measures for the development of education in Henan and arouse the joint efforts of local people."

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the project, the school hired Zhang Boying (namely zhangfang, then director of the provincial construction department), Li Jingzhai (then director of the provincial education department), Du Xiu monk (namely Joe Doo, then director of the education fund and production management department) and Qu Wenlin to form the Auditorium Construction Committee, among which Li Jingzhai, Du Xiu monk and Qu Wenlin served as the standing Committee members, who were responsible for design, economy and engineering. At the same time, Yan Shaozhang was hired to be responsible for drawing and project management. Yan Shaozhang participated in the topographic survey of North China Stadium, and was then an engineering professor at Henan University. (See "General Report of the 16th North China Games" published by Shanghai Dadong Bookstore in 1932, p. 101.) As for the positions such as accounting and general affairs, some school staff are concurrently employed.

Profile of auditorium

After intense and detailed planning, on November 20, 1931, the auditorium broke ground. On April 10, 1932, the school held a groundbreaking ceremony. The original construction period was one and a half years, but the project lasted until the winter of 1934. Due to weather changes, uneven materials and other reasons, the project has been shut down for 11 months, so the actual construction period is two years. In more than 750 days, the members and part-time staff of the Construction Committee were "not given jobs", which not only ensured the construction progress and project quality, but also saved a lot of expenses.

Before construction, the construction cost budget is about 140,000 yuan, and the equipment cost budget is about 30,000 yuan. With the consent of Liu Zhi, the Finance Department allocated 150,000 yuan for construction and 24,296 yuan for equipment. In addition, Zhongyuan Company donated 10,000 yuan. These payments, together with the interest generated one after another, total 185,143.18 yuan.

The expenditure on the construction of the auditorium consists of two parts: construction cost and equipment cost. The construction cost is more than 190,000 yuan, and it costs 145,998.817 yuan to buy wood, bricks, limestone, steel and miscellaneous parts. The total number of employees is 73,520, including 21,920 carpenters, 22,600 masons, 25,500 coolies and 3,490 handymen, with a total cost of 45,250.573 yuan. The expenses including steel chairs, electric lights, heating and other materials are called equipment expenses. When the auditorium was completed, only steel chairs were installed, and other equipment was not added, including 12,894.8 yuan for steel chairs, 5,827.8 yuan for transportation and 109.22 yuan for travel remittance. After adding up the construction cost and equipment cost, the actual expenditure reached 210,081.21 yuan.

Qu Wenlin made a detailed analysis of the construction time and expenses in the report. In his view, the reinforcement of foundation engineering, the purchase of steel frames from Britain, the change from wooden floors to reinforced concrete floors, the reinforcement of walls with steel bars and concrete, and the extension of construction period are the main reasons for exceeding the original budget.

The auditorium is sturdy and applicable, beautiful and cheap.

The engineering design of the auditorium is based on the safest standard. In order to ensure the safety of buildings, all materials used are assumed to have the largest external force and the smallest resistance. Although the cost of materials has increased, as a permanent public building, the safety and firmness of the auditorium have been greatly improved. For example, when building the foundation, the designer thought that the terrain of the auditorium was similar to that of Building No.7, but when he dug six feet, he found quicksand and serious water seepage. Designers and constructors use concrete as the lower foundation, and then arrange bricks closely, add mortar, and the foundation brick soil is made of lime, and the size is relaxed, and the load per square foot is calculated according to the worst foundation to ensure safety.

For another example, the auditorium was originally planned to use wooden floors, but for the sake of fire safety, all of them were replaced with steel bars and concrete. The south wall of the venue cannot be thickened due to the bearing capacity of the foundation. In order to ensure the safety, a reinforced concrete beam is added, extending from the east end to the west end and along the east wall to the north, with a total length of 160 feet to support the floor pressure, and 8 reinforced concrete columns are added to support the steel beam.

The interior window area of the auditorium accounts for one-fifth of the venue area, so the light is sufficient. The air capacity in the venue is 400,000 cubic feet, with an average of 160 cubic feet per person. The air is very smooth. In addition, the echo in the auditorium is very small, so you can hear it clearly at the end. Upstairs and downstairs, more than 2600 people can sit in the middle space. The podium, 60 feet wide and 40 feet deep, can hold meetings and plays, and can accommodate more than 200 people. In addition, there are 8 rooms upstairs and downstairs, which can be used as lounge, office, storage room and classroom, each holding 60 people. There are walkways around the venue, upstairs and downstairs for easy access.

Overlooking the auditorium

As the main building of the school at that time, the exterior of the auditorium was in the form of palace architecture, with upper plates in the corners, covered tiles and painted colors similar to those of the palace, while the interior was in the form of modern architectural techniques, with a view to being applicable. From all angles, the auditorium is magnificent and magnificent. Considering the construction cost, the auditorium can be regarded as inexpensive. Qu Wenlin said: "The cost of the Auditorium of Nanjing Central University and the Auditorium of Tsinghua University is nearly 200,000. Although the design of materials and materials are different, our auditoriums are quite unique in terms of beautiful area and solid capacity."