Chapter 173 speak

Hu Shi said: History is a little girl who can be dressed up by others. Hu Shi often said: Lions and tigers are always solitary, only foxes and dogs are in groups. Hu Shi said: If you have something to say, you can say it, and if you say it, you can write it. Hu Shi said: "There are ghosts in Mahjong." He also said: It is not a good novel, because there is no PLOT (a story with a beginning and an end) in the book. Li Yuanhong once awarded a medal to Hu Shi.Hu Shi posted a notice in the newspaper: "On April 5th, "Yishi Bao" published a large number of newly awarded medals, including: 'Hu Shi awarded third-class medals and honors', if this Hu Shi is me, or Please the government take it back."

In mid-September 1920, Hu Shi delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of Peking University. When talking about the New Culture Movement and communism, he said: "I swore I would quit, and I don't want you Peking University students to join." Regarding literary improvement, Hu Shi was not confident enough at the beginning. He wrote to Chen Duxiu and said: "The right and wrong of this matter cannot be determined overnight, nor can it be determined by one or two people. I hope that people in the country can calmly work together with our generation Study this issue. The discussion is familiar, and right and wrong are self-evident. We have set up the banner of revolution, and although we cannot back down, we never dare to take what we advocate as inevitable and not allow others to correct it.” Chen Duxiu replied unceremoniously: "The voice of improving literature has already risen in the middle school of the country, and half of them are in favor of and against. Contempt to accommodate dissent and free discussion are the principles of academic development. When it comes to improving Chinese literature, we should use vernacular as the orthodox theory of literature. Right and wrong are very clear, and others must not be allowed to correct them. What is the reason? If our country’s culture has reached the point where the classical Chinese is consistent, then it is not a matter of course for the national language to express the meaning. What doubts still need to be discussed? ?”

But many years later, in the face of the fruitful achievements of the literary revolution, the performance of the two is different.Chen Duxiu said: "It is often said that the situation of the vernacular was created by Hu Shizhi and Chen Duxiu. In fact, this is our unforeseen reputation. China has recently developed industries and concentrated population, and the vernacular came into existence entirely in response to this need. If Shizhi and others had advocated vernacular writing 30 years ago, it would have been refuted with just one article by Zhang Xingyan (Shizhao). At this time, who would listen to Zhang Xingyan’s grand arguments?” Hu Shi did his part Said: "If there were no Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu and others, the use of vernacular to carry out literary creation would have to be delayed by at least 20 or 30 years."

On October 20, 1948, at the invitation of Zhu Kezhen, the president of Zhejiang University, Hu Yi gave a speech on "Liberalism" in the Zhejiang University Gymnasium.This was Hu Shi's last speech on the mainland.Hu Shi did not leave a transcript of this speech, but Zhu Kezhen recorded the general content in his diary: Hu Shi "stated that liberalism is an inherent product of China, using "Lu Shi Chunqiu" as evidence, and quoted Wang Anshi's vernacular poems. The masters Yangming, Lizhou, and Shunshui all advocate liberalism. They describe the liberalism of Wang Chong (Zhong Ren) of the Eastern Han Dynasty. But they think that Chinese liberalism lacks political freedom and the spirit of tolerance, so freedom will not be achieved in the end. And the people have no way to be liberated."

On the afternoon of March 27, 1949, Hu Shi gave a speech "The Tradition of Freedom in Chinese Culture". Hu Shi once again said that freedom is not an imported product. Mencius is called a liberal, thinking that Wang Chong's "Lunheng" opened up the tradition of free criticism since the imperial age, and he read the spirit of liberalism in Fan Zhen, Han Yu, and Wang Yangming.He even interpreted Confucius's "education without discrimination" and the imperial examination system as "educational equality".He said: "If one day we all lose our freedom, then everyone will really feel that freedom is not a luxury, but a necessity."

On February 15, 1949, Hu Shi met with his old classmate Zhu Kezhen in Shanghai. During the conversation, Hu Shi expressed his views on the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The liberation of Beijing is not a blessing. He will soon go to the United States, or he will go to Taiwan for a while.”