Chapter 37 best friend

Zhao Yuanren and Hu Shi went to study in the United States in the same year.After Hu Shi abandoned agriculture to study literature, he and Zhao Yuanren took the philosophy course taught by Professor Creeden together, and visited the philosophy teacher Albert together, and the friendship between the two deepened day by day.Due to their outstanding academic performance, the two of them and Hu Mingfu were selected as members of the National Association of Colleges and Universities, which became a good story for a while. After Hu Shi returned to China, he taught at Peking University. He always missed Zhao Yuanren. In March 1919, he wrote to Zhao Yuanren in the United States, inviting him to return to Peking University to teach philosophy. Zhao Yuanren did not accept the invitation.

After Zhao Yuanren returned to China, he met Qian Xuantong, Li Jinxi and others at Hu Shi's home, and they worked together to promote Mandarin.In this regard, Hu Shi was extremely supportive and also helped Zhao and others. Zhao Yuanren and Yang Buwei went to the United States after their marriage and passed through Shanghai. At the right time, Hu Shi was also in Shanghai.At that time, everyone asked Yang Buwei if he wanted to buy some Chinese things and bring them to the United States.Yang was pregnant at the time and didn't want to move at all, but most people thought she was unhappy about leaving the hospital.Only Hu Shi said: "Yunqing, I think you have a special reason, drink some soda or something, maybe your appetite will be better." Yang Buwei complained to Zhao Yuanren: "Why didn't you think of it?" Hu Shi laughed and said: "He is not an expert. , I have experience, if he is an expert, he will be unreliable."

In 1922, Zhao Yuan served as the translator, and the book was named by Hu Shi. Zhao Yuanren once compiled the monosyllabic story "Shi's History of Eating Lions". After reading it, Hu Shi said: "At that time, some people wanted to use pinyin to replace our country's square characters. After I asked Zhao Yuanren to write this story into pinyin, no one would dare to use pinyin Instead of square characters!" In 1930, on the occasion of Hu Shi's 40th birthday, Zhao Yuanren wrote a humorous and joking congratulatory speech for his good friend: "Hu Shi said not to celebrate his birthday, but it happened to be here, and our group of friends who like to make noises are here to make trouble with you again. Yes....I hear you advocate this and that every day, and I think you are a bit right. You advocate material civilization, so we come to eat your noodles; you advocate sorting out the country's heritage, so we all Entered the research institute; you are advocating vernacular Chinese, so we wrote a large piece of it..."

In 1948, Hu Shi returned to China and became the president of Peking University. He wrote to Zhao Yuanren and said: "Why don't you come back? I still hope that Yuanren can teach at Peking University." In 1949, Hu Shi came to the United States. He wrote to Zhao Yuanren, saying that he did not want to live in a foreign country for a long time, and he did not know what to do when he returned. Friends.” Zhao Yuanren urged him to stay in the United States to teach, and even offered to book a house for him and give him books as gifts.Afterwards, Zhao Yuanren collected signatures at the University of California, where he taught, and traveled around to win the opportunity for Hu Shi to give lectures at the University of California for half a year.

During his stay in the United States, Hu Shi was quite downcast. He said to Zhao Yuanren: "I am old and have reached the age of retirement. I have a little savings. I can only live for two or three years in the United States, but I can live for ten years in Taipei or Taichung. There is more than enough." In November 1957, when Zhao Yuanren learned that Taiwan's "Academia Sinica" wanted to hire Hu Shi as the dean, he immediately called Hu Shi and persuaded him to agree. In 1959, Zhao Yuanren and his wife visited Taiwan. Before returning to the United States, Hu Shi held Zhao Yuanren's hand and refused to let go for a long time. He said to Zhao Yuanren: "After retirement, come back to work early and train our country's youth!"

Hu Shi was not happy in Taiwan in his later years. In his letter to Zhao Yuanren, he wrote: "The so-called encirclement and suppression of the "Free China Half-Monthly" incident in the past six months was one of the people who was encircled and suppressed. So I decided to go back. .(At least this is one of the reasons why I have to go back.)...Even what I said in 1952-53, they are still recorded in the account and have not forgotten.” After Hu Shi's death, Zhao Yuanren was extremely sad. He compiled and published the article "Jixi Beiling Phonology" based on Hu Shi's recordings before his death, and compiled and published dozens of private letters written by Hu Shi to him. In the late autumn of 1968, 76-year-old Zhao Yuanren came to Nangang, Taipei, and lingered in front of Hu Shi's tomb for a long time...

After Zhao Yuanren's death, his daughter was surprised to find that the time of his father's death was actually the same day and the same time as his best friend Hu Shi's death time, but there was a difference of twenty years.