IV A Good Teacher and Helpful Friend, Whose Memory is to be Cherished

Fr. Teilhard was humble, sincere, kindly, enthusiastic. Now let us listen to the personal statements of his colleagues and students.

"But among all the foreign scientists, Teilhard de Chardin was the one who had the most harmonious relations with the Chinese scientists. He never gave himself the airs of a 'foreign grandee', but always as a friend of the Chinese citizens got on well with Yang Zhongjian and Pei Wenzhong who were then still very young. According to what Prof. Yang Zhongjian told the writer of this article before his death, Teilhard in scholarly matters always treated him and Pei Wenzhong on equal terms. Although at the time Teilhard was a scientist with an international name, he still gave me the impression of being unassuming and easy to approach."

"Regarding Teilhard's Intimate and unreserved friendship with Chinese scientists, there is a detailed account in Yang Zhongjian's The North-East in Cross-section (1931)…On four expeditions he always travelled with Teilhard; as a man he was sincere and kindly, penetrating in his observation of nature, careful in his scholarly research, as well as his great and rich erudition, so that one could not only get much help in knowledge but also be deeply changed for the better morally. To travel with him was really a pleasure and would make one forget the hardships of the dusty roads."

"In this book Yang Zhongjian again several times refers to how he and Teilhard shared sorrows and joys while travelling in different provinces of the North-West and different place in the North-East and gives moving examples of brotherly affection. When they were making geological observations within the borders of Shanxi Province on 2nd September 1929, Yang Zhongjian got the 'flu and had a high fever; because of eating something dirty, he got an acute infection. But Teilhard was not afraid of being infected and stayed by his side night and day to nurse him..."

"Yang Zhongjian was returning to Beijing ahead of time by making a detour through the Soviet Union and before departing went to take leave of Teilhard. He wrote: On the morning of the 10th I went again to Teilhard, since I was about to leave, but neither of us wanted to part from the other…to separate and go made one unhappy… Through the friendship of Yang Zhongjian and Teilhard one could also see the lofty character of Teilhard, this wanderer in a strange land, his will set on the scientific exploration of nature."

"In midsummer 1980 the famous archeologist Prof. Jia Lanpo led a team of researchers in geology and palaeobotany; despite the steamy summer heat and travel-stained, they arrived at Shuidong stream, within the borders of Lingwu in Ningxia Province (thirty Chinese miles to the south of Hengcheng). Mr. Jia stopped in front of a broken-down house, thinking of an unforgettable visitor from the history of science. In that 'cottage of Zhang San' there had lived the world-famous scholar of the science of vertebrates, the friend of the Chinese people, Teilhard de Chardin. The visitors with a spirit of reverence cherished the memory of that French scholar who had probed into nature in China for a long period and made important contributions." (ibid.)

That Fr. Teilhard should thus receive the respect, veneration and affection of his colleagues and students was because of his spirit of strong perseverance and disregard of suffering and his noble character of humility, deference, humanity and sincerity. This proves that his accomplishments were developing continuously. And the source, motive and protection of all this was because he had a religious faith, he was a priest, he was a Jesuit. He drew all his strength from his religious faith, from Christ.