Chapter 187 passed away

On February 22, 1962, Wu Jianxiong flew to Taiwan from the United States to visit Hu Shi, and attended the academician meeting on the 24th.At this meeting of academicians, Hu Shi, with an optimistic spirit, talked a lot about living on this isolated island for more than ten years, even though he lived in isolation, under the difficult situation of knowledge and material, he finally made something.Then he went on to say proudly that he had taught two physicists and was very proud. As soon as Hu Shi's talk was over, Li Ji, the vice president, disagreed and contradicted Hu Shi's optimistic attitude.He said that after 50 years of advocacy, scientific thinking still has not taken root in China.Hu Shi was obviously stimulated by Li Ji's pessimistic discourse, so he said:

"Mr. Li Ji is too pessimistic. ... The development of science must start from the very beginning, starting from the most basic, and never dare to catch up. What I said last year for 25 minutes caused a 'encirclement and suppression', don't go Whatever it is, it's a small matter, a small matter. I have been scolded for 40 years, and I have never been angry, and I welcome it, because it represents freedom of speech and freedom of thought in a free China." So, this scene soon appeared: Hu Shi shook hands with some people with a smile on his face, walked to the middle of the venue and was about to turn around to speak, when suddenly his face turned pale, he swayed and fell backwards, the back of his head hit the edge of the table first, Then fell to the ground.The doctor injected him with three shots of cardiotonic agents one after another, but to no avail.The standard-bearer of the New Culture Movement, the liberal leader who advocated for China's scientific democracy and worked hard all his life, Hu Shi, who has been famous in the world for more than 40 years, died of a heart attack at the age of 72.

Hu Shi's death in Taiwan undoubtedly became a sensational blockbuster news, and all kinds of poems and essays mourning Hu Shi filled Taiwan's newspapers and periodicals.The Taiwan government organized a funeral committee, with Chen Cheng as the chairman; Zhang Qun, Wang Yunwu, Zhu Jiahua, Jiang Menglin, Wang Shijie, and Huang Jilu as the vice-chairmen; Yu Youren and Jiang Jingguo as members.The Taiwan authorities also took the opportunity to do some anti-communist propaganda, and absurdly "concluded" Hu Shi's thought as a firm opposition to communist philosophy.At this time, the remarks of the "reverse Hu faction" also disappeared, and Hu Shi received great honor.

Hu Shi left a will in English a few years ago, and asked Mao Zishui and Yang Liansheng to be the executors of the will: he was cremated after death, and the ashes were handled by the funeral friends; he was willing to donate all the 102 boxes of books left in Peiping to Peking University; All manuscripts, papers, and stored books are all donated to National Taiwan University; if individuals have any inheritance to their sons Zuwang and Sidu brothers, if they go first by themselves, they will be shared equally with their grandchildren... But when counting Hu Shi’s property in Taiwan, except for his Except for books, manuscripts, and documents, all deposits are only $135, which is embarrassing.

Hu Shi's mourning hall is located in the Jile Funeral Home in Taipei City. His body is placed in a special coffin made of fir wood. He is dressed in a blue robe, black mandarin jacket, and cloth shoes. The body is covered with the Peking University flag.Chiang Kai-shek went to mourn in person on March 1, and wrote an elegiac couplet to hang in the center of the mourning hall: "A model of old morality in new culture; a teacher of new ideas in old ethics." There is an endless stream of citizens going to the mourning hall to pay their respects, and the funeral parlor has been full of people in the past few days.Hu Shi’s funeral committee received more than 800 elegiac couplets and elegiac curtains from people from all walks of life, among which were: “The Communist Party scolded it, and the people of the country also scolded it. There is no place for me, it’s so painful!”

On March 1, Chen Cheng led all members of the Funeral Committee to hold a public memorial service. More than 30,000 people participated, ranging from KMT party and government officials to housewives. On October 15, Hu Shi's body was buried in Jiuzhuang Cemetery in Nangang, Taipei.When Qiling went to the funeral, there were countless people on both sides of the road from Taipei City to Nangang who voluntarily came to attend the funeral.After the hearse drove to Songshan, the residents along the way burned incense at every household and offered sacrifices on every road until Nangang, and the sound of firecrackers continued all the way.

It was the coldest day since the beginning of autumn, and it was drizzling. Hu Shi’s coffin was covered with the flag of Peking University. More than 10,000 people accompanied the coffin for the funeral, sending away this man who radiated wisdom and warmth in modern Chinese history scholar.On this day, 300,000 people in Taiwan spontaneously attended his funeral. Hu Shi was buried on the hillside opposite the gate of the "Academia Sinica" in Nangang.On the door of his tomb is engraved with the four characters "De Xue Ju Long" written by Chiang Kai-shek.On the high slope on the right, there is a memorial pavilion built by the Peking University Alumni Association; on the left, there is a bronze bust built by the Chinese Public Alumni Association.Hu Shi's epitaph was written by Mao Zishui and written by Mr. Wang Zhuangwei, a famous epitaph and stone master. Its content is:

"This is the tomb of Mr. Hu Shi, who was born in the 21st year of the Republic of China and died in the 51st year of the Republic of China. This man who worked so hard for academic and cultural progress, freedom of thought and speech, national honor, and human happiness to the point of death, now rests here! We believe that the body will eventually disappear, and the mausoleum will change, but the light given to the world by the philosopher in the tomb will last forever! "