Chapter 170 Old Confucianism

Chiang Kai-shek's elegiac couplet to Hu Shi, "a model of old morality in new culture, a teacher of new ideas in old ethics", indeed captured the most sensitive and hidden uniqueness of Hu Shi's personality.Hu Shi, who pioneered the vernacular literary revolution, gave the outside world a strong impression of overall Westernization and became a representative figure of modern rationality, tolerance, warmth, and wisdom, but culturally, he always recognized the responsibility and role of traditional Chinese intellectuals, and even Loyalty to national and cultural identity. Hu Shi said: "The biggest feature of Eastern civilization is contentment. The biggest feature of modern Western civilization is dissatisfaction." He compared: "On the one hand, there is peace, life, poverty, optimism, non-competition, and people suffer; on the other hand, restlessness. Divide, don't be poor, don't want to suffer, work hard, and continue to improve the existing situation."

In 1925, Hu Shi wrote an article on "reading", pointing out that "fine" and "bo" are the two elements of reading.He compiled this view into two slogans: "In order to learn, it must be like a pyramid, and it must be broad and high." The author of the last forty chapters that Hu Shi first verified was not Cao Xueqin. In Ji Xianlin's "Taiwan Tour Essays Standing in front of Mr. Hu Shizhi's Tomb", he talked about Hu Shi's "nerd" attitude: Once a review meeting was held in the Beijing Library. There is an important meeting and he has to leave early.The meeting left the topic while it was still open. Someone suddenly talked about "Shui Jing Zhu", and Mr. Shizhi immediately became energetic, beaming with joy and eloquent.He didn't leave the meeting until the end of the meeting, and he was so excited that he seemed to be lighting up the night to fight. He had long forgotten that "important meeting" to Java.

Hu Shi admired Wang Anshi very much, and believed that "his political thought mainly replaces 'doing nothing' with 'doing something'".Wang Anshi's poem, "Don't be afraid of floating clouds to cover your eyes, and be at the highest level by yourself", is Hu Shi's favorite poem to give to others. Hu Shi had great admiration for Qi Baishi, and once co-edited a "Chronology of Qi Baishi" with Li Jinxi and Deng Guangming. Hu Shi is a relatively old-fashioned literati, who pays attention to studying and becoming an official.Because of his mother's sternness, Hu Shi was a mature young man and was dubbed "Mr. Mi".It is said that once, when Hu Shi was tossing copper coins with his friends, an old farmer was very surprised and said, "Mr. Mi, do you also play this?"

Hu Shi lived a life of unruly life in Shanghai in his early years.On a rainy evening, Hu Shi got drunk and got into a fight with the police on his way home, and was arrested and imprisoned overnight.The next day, when Hu Shi looked at his bruised face in the mirror, he remembered Li Bai's famous line "I am born to be useful", and began to regret it.Afterwards, with the help of his friends, Hu Shi studied hard behind closed doors, and finally won the Gengzi Indemnity Scholarship to study in the United States. Once, when Hu Shi was passing through Qingdao, he met Liang Shiqiu and had a drink with his friends.When Hu Shi saw them drinking heavily, he hurriedly took out a gold ring with the word "Jie" engraved on it and put it on his hand, expressing his refusal to fight.

Hu Shi was the pioneer of the vernacular movement and the new poetry movement. He made a valuable attempt for this, and named his collection of poems "Trying Collection".However, his new poems tend to stick to the rhythm of old-style poems, especially the rhyme, and most of them follow the rhyme of ancient Chinese.For example, the first poem "Confucius" in "Experimental Collection": "Knowing that it is impossible, do it, and don't know that old age is coming. If you recognize this real Confucius, you can discard all one." "To" and "Abolish "It is universal in rhyme, but it does not rhyme at all in modern Chinese.

In the early years, "New Youth" published articles by Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu, all of which were shocking to the world. Several of the articles advocated "destroying the Confucian family shop with one hand", and advocated "non-filial piety", thinking that honoring parents is a heinous crime.Ordinary people can't tell which one was written by Chen Duxiu and which one was written by Hu Shi.Therefore, many people's initial impression was that Hu Shizhi's treatment of his parents must belong to the category of non-filial piety.But Hu Shi was extremely filial.His father died young, so he received his father's warmth for a short time, but when he returned to Taiwan at the age of 63, he not only published and sorted out his father's legacy, but also erected a very grand monument for his father.In the forty lines he wrote, he repeatedly mentioned his mother's love for him, and the "eight years of education in his hometown" was completely cultivated by his mother.

Hu Shi's marriage was also arranged by his mother.He was engaged to Jiang Dongxiu since childhood.Cheng Tianfang wrote in an article: "His behavior is completely in line with Chinese ethics. He is very filial to his mother. The marriage between him and his wife, Ms. Jiang Dongxiu, was completely determined by the parents. Before the marriage, the two did not see each other. But he respected and loved his wife all his life and remained unchanged until he was old. Mr. President Wan Shizhi said: "A model of old morality in the new culture, a teacher of new ideas in the old ethics." It is very appropriate." Hu Shi also said " The Chinese old-fashioned marriage is a famous saying that "get married first and then fall in love".

Hu Shi had two sons under his knees. The eldest son Hu Zuwang was named after Hu's mother Feng Shundi, which meant to honor the ancestors.The second son, Hu Sidu, means "missing Dewey", which not only expresses his respect for his teacher Dewey, but also expresses his firm belief in liberalism throughout his life. The Sinology under Pelliot's administration stood in front of Chinese scholars like a mountain, and the masters at that time, such as Chen Yuan and Chen Yinke, were a little anxious.Chen Yuan once said to Hu Shi: "Is the orthodoxy of Sinology in Beijing at this time? Or is it in Paris?" The two sighed at each other, hoping that they might be in Beijing ten years later!

During the Anti-Japanese War, Hu Shi served as the ambassador to the United States, and his two sons went to the United States to study successively. The tuition fee for one year was more than 2,000 US dollars.Hu Shi felt quite pressured. While writing manuscripts to earn manuscript fees, he gave speeches everywhere, "preparing some US dollars for his son."After Kong Xiangxi knew about it, he immediately remitted 3,000 US dollars to Hu Shi, and Hu Shi returned the coefficient. At the end of 1948, Hu Shi left Peiping in a hurry, taking only his wife and not his youngest son, Hu Sidu. There is a saying that no one was found temporarily; another theory is that Hu Sidu was unwilling to go south with his parents. Said: "I did not do anything harmful to the Communist Party, they will not do anything to me." Another saying came from his later secretary Hu Songping, Hu Shi and his wife got on the plane, people asked why there were only two of them, Hu Shi replied: "The notice only said to pick me up, but it didn't say that I could bring my children." The bookish Hu Shi moved all the celebrities and scholars on board.