Campus Map of Peking University

In celebration of the Homecoming Day for Peking University's alumni, and the 118th university's anniversary, today's featured postcard was a private swap from China, showing a hand-painted campus map of Peking University (北京大学) on a shaped card. Found in 1898, it is a major Chinese research university located near the Summer Palace in Beijing.

The university moved to the current site in 1952, the former campus of Yenching University, It was the site of royal imperial gardens in the Qing Dynasty. On the map, you can see many historical structures such as the West Gate, beautiful natural landscape such as the Weiming Lake, as well as the academic buildings such as the library.

Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia

Outgoing postcard US-3372299 to Taiwan shows an aerial view of Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I), a state-supported military college in Lexington, Virginia. Allegheny Mountains in the distance, V.M.I is famous as a military and engineering school, frequently referred to as "the West Point of the South."

In keeping with its founding principles as the oldest state-sponsored military institution in the United States, V.M.I enrolls only military cadets and awards 18 baccalaureate degrees exclusively in 14 majors in Applied Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer & Information Sciences, Economics & Business, Electrical & Computer Engineering, English, History, International Studies & Political Science, Mechanical Engineering, Modern Languages & Cultures, Physics, and Psychology. V.M.I offers cadets strict military discipline combined with a spartan, physically and academically demanding environment.

Photo by Herbert Lanks.

Nott Memorial at Union College

Postcard US-1651769 from the state of New York shows the Nott Memorial, an elaborate 16-sided stone-masonry building which serves as both architectural and physical centerpiece of Union College in Schenectady, New York. Dedicated to Eliphalet Nott, president of Union for a remarkable sixty-two years (1804-1866), the 110-foot or 34-meter high by 89-foot or 27-meter wide structure was recognized as a National Historic Landmark on June 24, 1986. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 1972.

Peking University Library, Beijing, China

Outgoing postcard US-3368775 to Ohio shows the Peking University Library at the Peking University's main campus in Beijing, China. Its predecessor, the Imperial University library, was founded in 1902. Peking University, along its library, moved from downtown to the former Yenching University campus during the university re-grouping in 1952. The main building opened in 1975 at the center of the campus. A new building, shown on the postcard, was added in 1998. It holds 5.3 million books, among of which are 1.5 million ancient books and 170,000 rare books and special collections.

Peking University, a major research university and the first modern national university in China that was founded as the "Imperial University of Peking" in 1898, celebrates its 117th anniversary and the Homecoming Day on May 4th, 2015.

Go Buckeyes

Unfazed by freezing weather, 45,000 Ohio State University football fans celebrated the Buckeyes' national championship at Ohio Stadium yesterday.

The event honored the Buckeyes’ victory in the inaugural College Football Playoff (CFP), a postseason tournament in American college football for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), which started in the 2014–2015 season.  Using a 13-member committee to select and seed the participating teams, CFP is different from the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) used by FBS from 1998 to 2013. BCS used computer rankings and coach polls that sometimes, e.g. in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, caused controversy.

Never give up. Ohio State Buckeyes was only 16th in the first CFP rankings. However, they managed to bulldozed Wisconsin Badgers 59-0, which allowed them to bypass Texas Christian University (TCU) Horned Frogs and Baylor Bears for a final playoff spot. Then they went ahead to beat the odds by overcoming a 21-6 deficit and upsetting Alabama Crimson Tide with a 42-35 win. In the showdown with No. 2 ranking Oregon Ducks on January 12, 2015 at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX, the Buckeyes won decisively 42-20, despite Heisman-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota scored early during their first drive.

It is the first national title since 2002 for the Buckeyes. Previously, they did have three BCS championships under their belt. It is also the third national title for coach Urban Meyer who won BCS championships twice when he was the head coach for Florida Gators.

Postcard US-1844593 to the Netherlands shows a map of The Oval at the Ohio State University campus. However, North is on the right side, and West is on top of the postcard. Ohio Stadium, northwest to The Oval, would be on the upper right of the postcard.

4 ∞

Postcard NL-2693844 from the Netherlands shows the main building Academiegebouw of the University of Groningen. Located in the City of Groningen and founded in 1614, it is not only one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands but also one of the largest. The university is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year with a festive program RUG400 from May 15 to June 15, 2014, under the theme "For Infinity" (4 ∞).

In Memory of Chinese Linguist Ji Xianlin

Professor Ji Xianlin (季羡林), born August 6, 1911, was a Chinese Indologist, linguist, paleographer, historian, and writer. He passed away in Beijing five years ago on July 11, 2009.

The postcard shows the campus of Peking University where Professor Ji founded the Department of Eastern Languages soon after his return from oversea in 1946. He became dean of the department and held a long career as one of greatest scholars in China in the field of Eastern studies, specialized in ancient Indian languages and culture. In 1978, Prof. Ji became vice president of Peking University and director of the Chinese Academy of Science's Research Institute on South Asia.

Coincidentally, another Chinese scholar was lost in the same day. Philosopher Ren Jiyu (任继愈), born April 15, 1916, was a scholar in religious studies and historian, and the Honorary Director of the National Library of China. He passed away in Beijing on July 11, 2009 at the age of 93.

In September 2004, Professor Ji Xianlin and Ren Jiyu, along with three other prominent scholars, jointly issued the 2004 Cultural Declaration at the 2004 Cultural Summit Forum in Beijing, The Declaration emphasizes the necessity of coexistence of a diverse-culture, and promotes equal rights for cultural exchanges, under the background of accelerating globalization.

Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota

Postcard US-2550963 from Missouri shows a beautiful night view of the back of Old Main, The Link, and the Dewitt Wallace Library at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota. It reminds me that this is the time of the year when college students pulling all nighter before the final exams. However, unfortunately, it is also the time when some unprepared students would try anything to desperately avoid, or even just postpone for a hours, the final exams.

Harvard University had a bomb threat on Monday, December 16, 2013 that turned out to be a hoax, made by a student in an attempt to avoid a final exam. I remember that when I was in graduate school at the University of Florida, there were several occasions as well when students called-in bombs anonymously to dodge finals. In my impression, it never worked and the exams were not canceled. But that was a pre-911 era. Now the time has changed and the authority took it seriously. A 20-year old student was soon identified and charged with making bomb threats. So, the message is: study and read your books, don't even think about those tricks that will never work. A proverb in Chinese "躲得过初一，躲不过十五" means that it will happen sooner or later. Why not just face the music, and don't try to get yourself in trouble that could land you in prison for up to five years.

The Tower at University of Texas, Austin

This postcard shows the main building at the center of the University of Texas at Austin campus in Downtown Austin, Texas on September 16, 2010. I was traveling from Dallas, Texas to Las Vegas, Nevada that day on my Jetblue All-You-Can-Jet (AYCJ) pass. However, since JetBlue did not have flights to or from Dallas, I took a bus to Austin in the morning for an afternoon flight to Long Beach, California, then onto Las Vegas. I had a few hours around noon, so I took a quick tour at University of Texas at Austin, and had lunch in a Thai restaurant near the campus.

The Main Building is known as "The Tower" since it has a 94 m or 307 ft tall clock tower, designed by architect Paul Philippe Cret and completed in 1937. It is the most recognizable landmark of the University and the city Austin. 

In a massacre on August 1, 1966, architectural engineering student Charles Joseph Whitman, opened fire from the observation deck of the tower of the Main Building, killing 16 Austin residents and wounding many more. He was shot to death by police at the end of 96-minute stand-off.