School Above the Sea: Shanghai Municipal Council Polytechnic Public School

The Shanghai Municipal Council (SMC) Polytechnic, or Gezhi Academy, was founded in 1874, and remarkably, this pioneering institution, with its links to missionaries, reformers, scientists, and revolutionaries, is still going strong. Today, it’s the Shanghai Gezhi High School. In 2005, I was privileged to meet two then-octogenarian alumni, who shared their story and the story of their beloved alma mater.

In a clear, sure voice, Xu Xiyuan begins singing: “Young and light of heart are we, in our school above the sea, all together we are one, all together we are strong.”

At 83, his speaking voice sometimes falters, but as he sings the old Gezhi school song, beaming and waving his hand to a steady beat, it becomes strong again. His vowels are round, his enunciation flawless, as if the years have fallen away, and he is once again 15 years old in that school assembly hall where he first learned this song in 1937.