Chapter 52 Tamaki

On November 20, 1919, Liu Shipei died of tuberculosis in Beijing at the age of thirty-six.Before he died, he sent someone to call Huang Kan to the sickbed, "find a manuscript in the pillow box with great difficulty and hand it to Huang (Kan)", and said: "This is the book I have studied all my life. The secret book of phonology I got is given to you today as a parting memorial, I hope you will inherit it and pass it on to future generations." Liu Shipei and his wife He Zhen once had a daughter, who unfortunately died young, desolate under his knees, and extremely depressed after his death.Chen Duxiu delivered a eulogy at the funeral, summing up the merits and demerits of Liu Shipei's life, and all the teachers and students present sighed.Chen Duxiu finally quoted Kang Youwei's poem to mourn Liu Shipei: "I have traveled all the winding paths and dangerous bridges, and I still sing when I come out."

It is said that Liu Shipei's posthumous manuscript was stored in Huang Kan's place; it is also said that Liu's posthumous manuscript was handed over to Liu Wendian by He Zhen.After Liu Shipei's death, Nan Guixin, Qian Xuantong and others collected and compiled his main works into "Mr. Liu Shenshu's Posthumous Letter". "Mr. Liu Shenshu's Suicide Notes" did not include the posthumous manuscripts that Liu Shipei handed over to Huang Kan.By 1928, Huang Kan still admitted that he had Liu's manuscript in his possession, but by the end of 1934, he was "at a loss."Some researchers believe that this time may be related to the theft of Huang Kan's collection of books. After the "January 28th" incident, Huang Kan moved, packed eight truckloads of books hastily, and transported them to Caishiji for temporary storage. Unexpectedly, they were stolen by local residents and sold as waste paper.Some scholars speculate that Liu Shipei's manuscript may have been stolen as well.If so, it is a great pity for the academic world.