More than 400 teachers and students from East China Normal University in Shanghai gathered on Dec 6 for the debut of a play that commemorates its founding principal Meng Xiancheng.

The play, which was performed, written and directed by the university's students, paid tribute to Meng's achievements, contributions and ambitions in aiding the development of the country through education since the university was established in 1951, two years after the founding the People's Republic of China.

Gao Yingyuan, assistant director of the play and a graduate student at the university, said: "Everyone who has participated in the play is aware of the responsibility they have to pass on the perseverance of pursuing high-quality education to the current and future generations of students."

Cheng Yichuan, executive producer of the play and Party secretary of the Meng Xiancheng College of the university, said that the rehearsals and performances of such a play will help the current generation of students better understand the history of the school.

According to the university, Meng's philosophy that normal universities should never lower their standards of teaching has encouraged the school to stick to both cultivating teachers and academic pursuit over the past seven decades, creating a new path for the development of normal universities in the country.