Chapter 62 temperament

In the spring of 1914, Wu Mi and Tang Yongtong, who were studying at Tsinghua University, discussed together how to choose an individual life when the country fell.Tang Yongtong asked: "When the country falls, what will happen to our generation?" Wu Mi replied: "At the top, I will kill myself and become benevolent, and die vigorously for righteousness. At the bottom, I will shave my hair and become a monk, escape in Buddhism or in the mountains, and live this life with poetry and Zen. Tang Yongtong said that after the fall of the country, as a scholar, you don't have to die, because there are two things you can choose.From a small point of view, it is to imitate the courage of ordinary people, resist with force, and try to recover.From a general point of view, we should give full play to the inner spiritual power of scholars, devote ourselves to learning, and use our country's five thousand years of spiritual civilization to create a very powerful new religion or new theory with great courage, so that China will be in the world. Although it is dead in form, the basic spirit and soul of the Chinese nation are immortal and exist in the universe forever.This will be the great fortune after the misfortune of the Chinese nation.Through this discussion, Wu Mi deeply felt that his self-cultivation was not enough.This discussion is also one of the reasons why Wu Mi developed the habit of self-reflection and self-analysis in the future.

The young Wu Mi felt that he had not achieved much in knowledge and virtue on the road of life. Therefore, he felt the importance of duty and responsibility, and he had stricter requirements on himself.Facing the society at that time that valued selfishness and neglected public affairs, and despised moral values, after reading the "Buddha's Infinite Life Sutra", he said that he "sincerely can sacrifice himself for the benefit of the masses, then he will go forward without hesitation."He even thought that he had found the principle of "cultivating a profound and lofty personality" in the Buddhist scriptures.

Wu Mi sympathized with Mao Yanwen's background and experiences.After Mao Yanwen escaped from marriage, Mao's father asked her to pay 3,000 yuan in debt before allowing her to marry independently.So Mao Yanwen's cousin Zhu Junyi raised huge sums of money from his classmates from Tsinghua University and fellow students from Zhejiang in various schools in Beijing. Wu Mi donated 50 yuan alone, which was the person who pledged the most donations in the "Fundraising Booklet". 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 once said: Except for academic and love issues, I don't want to talk about it. Wu Mi insisted on cleaning the blackboard by himself in class. Once he couldn't find the blackboard eraser, he wiped the blackboard with his sleeve.He believes: "A moral person should always think of how to give convenience to others without causing trouble to others." Feng Youlan said: "One of the major contributions of Yu Seng (Wu Mi) in his life was to be in charge of preparing for the establishment of the Tsinghua Academy of Chinese Studies, and he invited four people, Wang, Liang, Chen, and Zhao, to Tsinghua as tutors. He could have been the dean himself. Yes, but only recognized as 'Executive Secretary'. This kind of situation is rare, very rare!"

When Wu Mi was studying at Tsinghua International Preparatory School, she became friends with her classmate Wu Fangji.The two were both expelled during a student uprising.Afterwards, the principal announced that anyone who wrote a letter of repentance could resume their student status and study in the United States after graduation.Wu Mi wrote a letter of repentance, graduated smoothly, and went abroad for further studies as scheduled, with a bright future; but because Wu Fangji refused to repent, she returned to her hometown to become a teacher, and her life was poor.Every time Wu Mi thought about this, she felt ashamed of her friend.Wu Fangji died young, and Wu Mi has been taking care of Wu Fangji's family for decades.

When Tsinghua National Academy was established, Wu Mi personally went to Wang Guowei's home to invite Wang Guowei.Before coming to the door, Wu Mi made a special investigation and research on Wang's life, thoughts, and habits.After arriving at Wang Guowei's residence, after Wu Mi entered, without saying a word, he knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Wang Xingsan, then got up and sat down, and slowly mentioned the matter of employment.Wang Guowei was deeply moved by Wu Mi's move, and because of Hu Shi's previous work, he immediately agreed to teach at Tsinghua University. "Wu Mi's Diary" records: "Mr. Wang told the person after the fact that he thought that the person who came would be a young man in a suit and leather shoes, shaking hands and sitting opposite him. He knew the difference, so he decided to hire him."

On October 22, 1925, shortly after Wu Mi took office as the director of the Tsinghua Academy of Chinese Studies, he was invited to give a lecture called "Literary Research Method" for Tsinghua's general science students.After the speech, Zhang Pengchun launched an attack on the spot and made fun of Wu Mi.At that time, Wu Mi felt that he was "empty, vain, and unprepared, so he felt ashamed. Zhang Zhong's closing words were quite sarcastic. Mi was deeply sad. Yuan Mi was close to handling affairs, so it was no good for reading and composition. Learning day by day Scarcity is really a great worry. Even if there is no external stimulation, you must work hard to learn. Encourage it. Don’t forget the pain of this day.”

After Wang Guowei sank into Kunming Lake, Wu Mi swore in front of Wang Ling: "I dare to swear to the spirit of Mr. Wang. If he can't carry out his ambitions, he will be persecuted and persecuted by the enemies of Chinese culture, morality and ethics." If there is no one who is perfect, he must follow the example of Mr. Wang, and die calmly, but Mr. Wang has learned from it.” For decades, Wu Mi has always followed this spirit. Wu Mi has a gentleman's demeanor.Thieves stole his suits, so he wore old-fashioned robes and jackets instead.When he walked, he always proudly raised his chest, held a cane, insisted on walking a straight and narrow path, and never took a shortcut across the lawn.I make an appointment with a friend to meet at three o'clock in the afternoon, and he will always arrive before two fifty, but out of a sense of etiquette, he will wait until three o'clock to knock on his friend's door.

On the eve of the Anti-Japanese War, Tsinghua University played the siren instead because the whole school could not hear the bell. For this reason, Wu Mi wrote to the president: "The sound is repeated, and the sound is terrible." After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Wu Mi wrote in his diary: "The country has undergone great changes, and I am weak and unable to cheer up. I cannot be Wen Tianxiang and Gu Tinglin, and I am also powerless to be Wumei Village. Gai Cai's ambition has been completely wiped out. Hey! This is the most sad and incurable thing for me.” The July 7th Incident once again induced his long-lost “killing complex”—war destruction, destruction of jade and stone...But there is suicide, there is no other way.Wu Mi and Chen Yinke discussed the situation and wrote poems to express their resentment. "Northern Capital has lost its good mountains and rivers, and there are many tears every year."

Wu Mi is willing to help others. He said: "Mi is just willing to help others. He has no other purpose, and he does not expect others to reciprocate." Si Yan is sincere. In the 1930s, one of Wu Mi's students was going to study in the United States, but the fee was insufficient. Wu Mi generously donated 300 yuan to help him make the trip, and repeatedly stated that he would not have to pay it back. Wu Mi is frugal and self-disciplined in life, does not smoke or drink, and usually eats a simple meal.Most of his lecture notes and decades of diaries are written on the cigarette packs he picked up. A mosquito net was used from 1938 until it was retired after the "Cultural Revolution", and it was used for nearly 40 years. In 1943, Wu Mi left Kunming. The blanket he used was given by a friend when he was studying in the United States in his early years. The long gray cloth shirt he wore was faded and white, and was extremely worn. I sewed it up for him.

In 1944, when Wu Mi was about to leave Kunming, several graduate students saw him off, and the hospitable Wu Mi took his disciples to the streets and restaurants.Wu Mi wanted to order the menu, compared the menu hanging on the wall, wrote the name of the dish and the unit price on the menu, one stroke at a time, neatly, carefully calculated the total, counted the money, and the money in his pocket If the number matches and does not exceed, then it is handed over to the waiter to cook. Shen Youding and Wu Mi lived in the same room when they were in Southwest Associated University.Wu Mi didn't like Shen Youding, thinking he was unhygienic and selfish.Seeing Wu Mi and other roommates working hard, Shen murmured to himself: "It's such a good night, you can chat as much as you want, and each of you can keep your head down. Why did you come here?" Wu Mi heard this and reprimanded: "You like to chat, why don't you go to another room?" Go find yourself a date. Otherwise, you will go to bed early, so don't disturb others here." Shen Youding could only remain silent.Wu Mi also stipulated the dormitory's work and rest discipline, and turned off the lights at ten o'clock, so as not to exceed the time and disturb others' sleep. Wu Mi is a gentleman who takes care of ladies very meticulously.On the road, when cars and horses came galloping, he would quickly block them with his cane, let the lady walk in the street, and stand upright by himself, standing still on the side of the road.Wait for the carriages and horses to pass by before continuing to walk.Many people praise it for its medieval chivalry. Wu Mi called the roll call, and when she clicked on the name "Jin Lishu", she couldn't help saying, "What a beautiful name." The whole class burst into laughter. Wu Mi once acted as a gunman for a female student, signed the name of the female student on the article she translated, and recommended it for publication. After the news that Wu Mi wanted to divorce his first wife, Chen Xinyi, came out, the friends around him strongly opposed it.Chen Yinke believes that the relationship between Wu Mi and Mao Yanwen is blind and irrational, and he should strictly abide by morality and rein in the precipice.Tang Yongtong also advised Wu Mi to think twice.Zhou Guangwu believed that if Wu Mi divorced and remarried, "the new women will be ridiculed by people; bosom friends such as Tang, Liu, Lu, and Wu will all be disappointed and break off friendship."Seeing that Wu Mi was suffering emotionally, Pu Jiangqing kindly helped Wu Mi find a solution, suggesting that Wu Mi and Mao Yanwen go to the United States one after another. They can be friends or live together in the United States, and send monthly living expenses to Chen Xinyi.Wu Mi denied all these suggestions, and believed: "If Mi's career and aspirations are sacrificed for love, this love will be worthless. Mi has his own career and ambition in China, and he cannot leave without authorization. This is compared with divorce. Then the damage caused by the divorce will be relatively small." After careful consideration, Wu Mi finally chose to divorce, and the "Divorce Statement" was published in "Ta Kung Pao" and "News". After the "June 1st" tragedy in 1947, Wu Mi, who had never been involved in politics, was very indignant about it.He sternly condemned the atrocities committed by the Kuomintang against students; when he heard that among the teachers and students arrested were professors and students from the Department of Foreign Languages ​​of Wuhan University, he immediately approached Sun Weiru, his fellow from Shaanxi and the person in charge of Xingyuan in Wuhan, and others to reason and demand Unconditionally release the arrested teachers and students.Due to the pressure of strong public opinion at home and abroad, as well as the efforts of Wu Mi and others, the Wuhan authorities finally released all the arrested teachers and students.After being arrested and released from prison, Miao Langshan, a professor of the Department of Foreign Languages, decided to go to Hong Kong. Wu Mi immediately helped him buy a plane ticket, risked the danger of white terror, and personally sent him to the airport, and waited at the airport until he knew that Miao had arrived at his destination safely. , before returning to Mount Luojia. Wu Mi's busiest day at Southwest Normal University was the day when she was paid. For no other reason, she was busy sending money to relatives, friends and students to support them.Every time I finish the remittance, I don’t have much left, and sometimes I don’t have enough, so I borrow money from my neighbor Qian Taiqi and leave an IOU: “I borrowed 40 yuan from Mr. Qian Taiqi today. I paid it off last month.” After the Cultural Revolution began, Wu Mi, 72, was ordered to kneel down at a school-wide criticism meeting for two hours.After the denunciation meeting, colleague Liu Zhaoji quietly asked him if he was in good health, "He said kneeling is better than standing." During the Cultural Revolution, Wu Mi took the risk of "stealing books".During the Cultural Revolution, Wu Mi's books were confiscated. By chance, Wu Mi saw his confiscated books in the "reform through labor team", and Wu Mi decided to steal his books back. On September 27, 1967, Wu Mi successfully retrieved a diary from 1914. On the morning of October 7, he took back his 1951 diary and three graduation diplomas (in English), and in the afternoon he took back a volume of "Youmei Classmates".Two days later, he "stealed books" again and was almost discovered, but fortunately, he escaped danger.He recorded in his diary that night: "In the morning, Mi took back a copy of "Wu Mi's Poetry Collection" from the reading room of the Chinese Department as a gift to Ling Daoxin. Mi was still hanging on his chest under his clothes, but when writing big-character posters in public, Mi leaned over Leaning to the left, "Poetry Collection" suddenly fell to the ground. Fortunately, no one noticed." On November 2, December 7, 25, and 27, Wu Mi "stealed" some books back.Wu Mi not only took the risk of "stealing" the books, but also gave the books back to his colleagues to read, and even "gifted" or asked someone to "bring them over" to "rightists" Ling Daoxin and Cao Mufan who were still in the "reform through labor team" for reading. After the campaign of "criticizing Lin and Confucianism" started, Wu Mi resolutely refused to criticize Confucius.He said, "Without Confucius, China would still be in chaos" and "I would rather beheaded than criticize Confucius."As a result, he was labeled an "active counter-revolutionary". Wu Mi’s diary on December 7, 1967 recorded an incident: “The office of the department received a package of books sent by registered mail from Zou, sealed layer by layer, and Jun He opened it with a knife (very laborious) on behalf of Mi. The package It is not the English translation of "Quotations" but "Selected Works of Mao Zedong", four volumes (small book, horizontal layout) printed in Beijing on plastic film with bronzing red cover. Xin Jun is willing to buy it, and he will pay Mi the book price of two yuan, clear. The book contains Zou and Hongxun's report on December 3, and a "Chairman Mao Memorial Medal, the best in the family" for Mi to wear— — Mi Xiang didn’t wear it, and kept it in the seal box.” “After returning to the house, Mi Yizu and his wife didn’t understand Mi’s temperament and thoughts at all, so they asked for ways to please Mi, which only increased Mi’s melancholy, so they were very angry... "Zou" refers to Wu Hanzou, the daughter of Wu Fangji, an old friend of Wu Mi, and "Hongxun" refers to Yang Hongxun, the husband of Wu Hanzou.Wu Mi asked them to buy the English translation of "Quotations from Chairman Mao", just to continue studying English in such a situation, but the two did not understand Wu Mi's real thoughts, so they bought the Chinese version of "Selected Works of Mao Zedong" for him. He also sent Chairman Mao's commemorative medal, "The Depression of Tuzengmi".