Chapter 59 to learn

During his ten years of studying in the United States, Wu Mi conducted in-depth research on 19th-century English literature, especially the works of romantic poets. He worked hard and wrote many works on this topic. In 1921, Wu Mi received a master's degree in literature from Harvard University. He was a firm supporter of Irving Babbitt's "new humanism". In 1922, Wu Mi, who was teaching at Southeast University, together with Mei Guangdi and Liu Yizheng founded the magazine "Xueheng", with Wu Mi as the editor-in-chief. The purpose of "Xueheng" is: "Discuss academics, elucidate the truth, prosper the quintessence of the country, and melt new knowledge." In 1928, "Xueheng" was changed to a bimonthly magazine, and it was discontinued in 1933, with a total of 79 issues. In the later period of "Xueheng", Wu Mi was basically in charge of it alone.Wu Mi once claimed: "It is not false to say that '"Xueheng" magazine has become Mi's personal career."

Wu Mi wrote "China's New and Old", "On the New Culture Movement" and other papers, adopting classicism, criticizing new poetry, and advocating the maintenance of the due value of Chinese cultural heritage.Wu Mi also regarded herself as the Babbitt of China. Wu Mi recalled the conversation with Mei Guangdi: "Mei Jun shed tears generously, saying that my Chinese culture is precious, the sages and Confucians of the past dynasties have profound thoughts, the advantages of China's old customs and old systems are what Hu Shi and others said today. It is hateful to do it. In the past, the Wu members boasted that 'I can overturn Chu', and Shen Baoxu said: 'I will restore it'. Our generation today should only be the Shen Baoxu of Chinese culture, and so on." This time During the conversation, Wu Mi was very moved, and quoted Zhuge Liang's "Teacher's Table" "Dedicate yourself to death, and then die", expressing his determination to defend traditional culture to the death.

Wu Mi opposed the vernacular. When he met Hu Shi at a banquet, Hu Shi joked, "You Xueheng school, what new conspiracy do you have?" Wu Mi immediately replied in classical Chinese: "I want to kill Hu Shi'er!" Once when Wu Mi was in class, when talking about classical Chinese, he waved the pointer and said angrily: "As long as Wu Mi lives, wenyanwen will never die!" (As long as Wu Mi lives, classical Chinese will never die!) Wu Mi was very disapproving of the New Culture Movement and the May 4th Movement. Whenever he mentioned the New Culture Movement in his diary, there were only insults, saying that the New Literature was "chaotic country literature" and "bandit literature" (December 30, 1919) , saying that vernacular literature is "reversing the trend, causing poison and causing chaos" (February 12, 1920), saying that "vernacular literature", "Ibsen" and "liberation" are "monsters and snake gods" and "dung scabs".

In 1926, after Wu Mi returned to China, he went to Southeast University as a professor of the Department of Foreign Languages, teaching courses such as Western literature and world literature history, and often compared the four major traditions of Greek and Roman culture, Christian culture, Indian Buddhist studies, and Chinese Confucianism. . Wu Mi was the first person to introduce the concept of "comparative literature" to China, and pioneered the study of comparative literature. Therefore, Wu Mi is regarded as a pioneer in the study of Chinese and Western comparative literature.

Wu Mi's favorite Chinese poets are Du Fu, Li Shangyin and Wu Meicun, and Western poets are Byron, Arnold and Rossetti. In 1936, Ji Yunxiu, a foreign language student, translated the foreign novel "Infatuated Love" for her graduation thesis. Wu Mi commented on the article as follows: "In this play, Christine falls in love with a poor girl and a disciple. The protagonist Christine is infatuated with love, Mizi is full of vanity, and Theodore and Fritz are both playboys, but Theodore is more rational and calm than Fritz. The scenes in this play are tense and interesting. The translation can express the mood of the play, and the dialogue Fluent." Wu Mi's comments were written in small script with a brush, elegant and neat, with the square seal of "Wu Mi" in Zhu Wen.This year, Shi Shuyi, a student of the Department of Foreign Languages, translated the foreign novel "The Wife of Dennis Hagarty". Wu Mi also carefully reviewed it with a Chinese ink brush.

Wu Mi's academic attitude is rigorous and conscientious. Most of his writing is block script and small characters, which are neat and neat, and are often circled and revised with a red pen. Wu Mi has an amazing memory. He blurted out many important events in the history of literature, even the dates of the writer's birth and death without any mistakes.It is said that Wu Mi can not only recite many masterpieces of Western literature in multiple languages, but can even recite the entire play of Shakespeare. Wu Mi often listened to other professors' lectures, and was serious.Liu Wendian was in class, and Wu Mi sat in the back row and listened carefully.When Liu Wendian talked about his pride, he asked Wu Mi: "Brother Yuseng, what do you think?" Wu Mi stood up respectfully and replied: "It's a good idea, it's a good idea."

In August 1942, the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government hired Wu Mi as a professor of the Department of English Literature. At the same time, Chen Yinke (history) and Tang Yongtong (philosophy) who were also known as the "Three Masters of Harvard" were awarded the honor of "Ministerial Professor". .Later, Wu Mi was hired as a review member of the Academic Review Committee of the Ministry of Education. In the Foreign Languages ​​Department of Southwest Associated University, Wu Mi mainly taught courses such as history of world literature, history of European literature, history of ancient Greek and Roman literature, new humanism, literature and life, translation, and comparison of Chinese and Western poetry.The courses Wu Mi taught to graduate students included: Shelley Studies, Western Literary Criticism, Comparative Literature, etc.