Chapter 4 punch line

Gu Hongming said: "The spirit of Chinese culture lies in a kind of good people's religion, in which every woman is selflessly and absolutely loyal to her husband. The meaning of loyalty includes helping him to take concubines; every man is selflessly and absolutely loyal to his monarch and king Or emperor, selfless means giving one's ass." Gu Hongming opposed the New Culture Movement.He said: "Ancient prose is a refined language, more beautiful than the spoken language, just as Shakespeare's English is more beautiful than the modern spoken English, and the literature brought by the reformers that makes people moral dwarfs is the real' dead literature'."

Gu Hongming believes that to evaluate a civilization, we must look at "what kind of people, what kind of men and women it can produce".He criticized those missionaries and sinologists who are "known as the authority on Chinese civilization research" for "actually they don't really understand Chinese people and Chinese language".He said that "to understand the real Chinese and Chinese civilization, that person must be deep, broad and simple", because "the three major characteristics of the Chinese character and Chinese civilization are deep, broad and simple", There is also "sensitivity".

Gu Hongming also compared the Chinese with the Americans, British, Germans, and French, highlighting the characteristics of the Chinese.He said that the Americans are broad and simple, but not deep; the British are deep and simple, but not broad; the Germans are broad and deep, but not simple; The British are simple in heart, but possess the agility that these three nations lack; only the Chinese possess these four excellent spiritual qualities in an all-round way.Gu Hongming said that the overall impression left by Chinese people is "gentleness", "that kind of indescribable gentleness".Behind the gentleness of the Chinese people lies their "pure childlike heart" and "adult wisdom".The Chinese "live the life of a child—a life of the heart."

Gu Hongming does not like foreign banks.He said: "A banker is the kind of person who lends you an umbrella on a sunny day and takes it back when it's raining fiercely." This sentence became a famous saying satirizing bankers and was included in "British Proverbs". Gu Hongming sarcastically said: "Mathematics has been improved in the twentieth century. It used to be three times nine, but now it is not. When I borrow foreign money, three three times nine becomes three three times seven; when I repay the foreign loan, three three gets nine." Then it becomes three three and eleven."

Gu Hongming said: "Foreigners will never respect us just because we cut off our braids and put on suits. I am absolutely sure that when we Chinese become Westernized and become foreign devils, Europeans and Americans will only treat us with more contempt. .In fact, Europeans and Americans will have respect for us only when they understand the real Chinese—a people with a civilization quite different from theirs but not inferior to theirs." Gu Hongming satirized sharply: "What is heaven? Heaven is in the most comfortable bungalow on Jing'an Temple Road in Shanghai; who is a fool? A fool is any foreigner who does not make a fortune in Shanghai; what is insulting God? The customs system set by the General Tax Department for China is not perfect!"

Gu Hongming once commented on the two governors of Huguang, Zhang Zhidong and Duanfang: "Zhang Wenxiang has more than enough knowledge but not enough intelligence, so his illness is pride; Duanwu Bridge is more than clever but not enough knowledge, so his illness is floating. There are many hypocrites in the staff of the sect; Wuqiao floats, so many of the staff in the sect are real villains." Gu Hongming despises scholars who "do not work hard, do not distinguish five grains, and hope for public officials".He said: "Today's China does not suffer from too many scholars, but from those who have no real scholars." He even dislikes the "arrogance" and "frivolity" of scholars: "The disease is often arrogance when there is excess knowledge but insufficient intelligence. Insufficient, the disease is often superficial. Arrogance means that one's knowledge will not be improved; If so, you must be a villain!"

At the beginning of the 20th century, Gu Hongming visited Shanghai's Shili Yangchang with foreign friends.Friends saw that there were many brothels along the street, and they were amazed that there were so many prostitutes in Shanghai.Gu explained: "A prostitute is also a destitute (prostitutes are also poor)." Gu Hongming advocated taking concubines. After the death of his Japanese wife Yoshida Rongzi, Gu took in a young and beautiful woman with small feet, Biyunxia (whose body was redeemed from a brothel by Gu).He defended taking concubines: "Many Westerners are talking about how immoral it is for Chinese officials to take concubines. In fact, this is worse than those who drive a car, pick up a woman from the road for entertainment all night, and then push her away in the early morning of the next day." Europeans on the road are much more selfless and moral. Chinese officials who take concubines may be selfish, so Europeans who drive cars are not only selfish, but also cowards.”

Samo Xiongci read books and newspapers for a long time, Gu Hongming said to him: "You read too much, you should reduce the time for reading and increase some meditation and thinking." The Japanese Yasuoka Masatoshi gave his works to Gu Hongming. After asking his age, Gu said: "You can't write books before the age of forty." Satsuma Yuji asked why, and Gu replied: "No matter how great and profound a person is, Before the age of forty, it is impossible to comprehend thoughts worthy of passing on to future generations, and as you grow older, you will often find that there are many places in your writings that make you regret." He also cited many examples.Years later, when Satsuma learned that Yasuoka had been criticized and attacked for his works published when he was young, he felt that what Gu said was extremely true.

Gu Hongming went to teach at Peking University.When Gu walked into the classroom with pigtails, the students roared with laughter.Gu said calmly: "The braids on my head are tangible, but the braids in your hearts are invisible." Hearing this, the students fell silent. At the beginning of September 1915, Gu Hongming spoke at the opening ceremony of Peking University, cursing the government at that time and some new things in society.He said that people who are now officials are all trying to keep their jobs.Their rice bowls are different from ours. Their rice bowls are so big that cars and concubines can be filled in them.He also said that nowadays people don’t know how to make a fuss, and the terms they use are even more unreasonable. For example, let’s say "improvement". People in the past said "conformity" and did not say "improvement". Since you are already "good", you Also "change" what?Do you want to change "good" to "prostitute"?

The two major slogans of the "May 4th" movement were "science" and "democracy".Gu Hongming believes in science, so he never scolds science, but he hates democracy.He once changed the English word "Democracy" of democracy into "Demoncrazy" in an article, "Demon" means "devil" and "crazy" means madness.Therefore, Gu Hongming believes that democracy is "devil" + "crazy".