Chapter 11 Qian Mu: A generation of Confucianism, the last master

Qian Mu (1895-1990), a modern Chinese historian, a master of Chinese studies, and the queen of Wusu King Qian Liu, the ancestor of Wuyue Kingdom.The word Binsi, pen name Gongsha, Liang Yin, Yu Wang, and Guyun, the late Sushu old man, Qifangqiaoren, and the studio name Sushutang and Sushulou.He has successively served as a professor at Yanjing, Beijing, Tsinghua, Sichuan, Qilu, Southwest Associated University and other universities. In 1960, Yale University awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities to the contemporary Confucian Qian Mu. They commented: "You are a representative and guardian of an ancient culture. You brought the wisdom of the East out of the cage to enrich the free world." However, it is such a person who is called the last great Confucian of the contemporary era, but he has no diploma, not even graduated from middle school, and is completely self-taught.

Qian Mu often learns from the ancients' scholarship and conduct when studying, and reflects on himself in time.Once reading Zeng Guofan's family letter, he once said that he would read every book carefully from beginning to end.From then on, Qian Mu demanded that every book must be read carefully without missing a single word, and that he would change another book after reading it.He summed up an effective experience from the ancients, and practiced it personally, stipulating that he should read the classics in the morning, read history in the evening, and read idle books in the middle, so as to fully improve the efficiency of reading.Qian Mu was always in poor health when he was a child, and fell ill every autumn. His grandfather and father both died young. He was always worried about his health. Once he read a Japanese book about the importance of hygiene for a healthy and long life, he alerted himself. Have a constant daily life, insist on sitting quietly, walking, and keeping a diary, so as to urge yourself.In his later years, he attributed the secret of his longevity to a regular life.

Beginning in 1912, within ten and a half years, Qian Mu taught in four schools, completed his first academic work "Lunyu Wenjie" while studying, and published articles in newspapers and periodicals one after another, gradually emerging.Qian Jibo, who was a professor at St. John's University in Shanghai at the time, read an article by Qian Mu and greatly appreciated it. In 1923, under the recommendation of Qian Jibo, Qian Mu transferred to his part-time Wuxi Provincial Third Normal School to teach, and the two formed a deep friendship since then.Qian Mu never forgot his friendship with Qian Jibo. In his later years, he recalled: "There are more than a hundred colleagues, and the most respectful person is the most respected person. Ziquan is the most respected person. The friendship in life, the diligence in learning, and the kindness to others are also the first choice for Ziquan."

After ten years of facing the wall, Qian Mu finally found his own way of academic study, specializing in Confucianism and history, claiming that "the most powerful person is like Song and Ming Confucians". ("Summary of Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming Dynasties Preface") There are deep social reasons why Qian Mu chose traditional Chinese culture as his research object.At that time, Chinese people, including a considerable number of intellectuals, lacked confidence in Chinese history and culture, and even advocated a complete negation of Confucian culture.Qian Mu has a completely different view on this. "When I was young, in the former Qing Dynasty, I heard someone say, 'It is unreasonable for China not to perish.' In my young heart, I couldn't help but feel a sense of resistance. "This kind of rebellious heart became the driving force for his later study, "Could it be because of the encouragement of national disasters and the guidance of patriotism." And began to write his masterpiece "The Years of the Pre-Qin Philosophers".By chance, Meng Wentong, a famous scholar, read his article and came to visit him. He opened the manuscript of "Xinian" and was attracted. He couldn't wait to read it on the car back to Nanjing. Since Qianjia, there have been few horses."

Qian Mu was famous for his self-study. After ten years of hard study in rural education, he explored a set of unique research methods and approaches.He believes that the essence of Chinese traditional culture lies in Confucianism. , "Mencius" is not only the orthodoxy of Confucianism, but also the crystallization of traditional Chinese culture. Although Qian Mu was self-taught, he never believed in authority.At that time, Kang Youwei's views in "Xinxue Apocryphal Classics" were popular in the academic circles, and Gu Jiegang was also a supporter of Kang.Qian Mu was very suspicious of this. He did not give up his opinion just because Gu Jiegang was kind to him. Instead, he wrote the Chronicle of Liu Xiangxin's Father and Son against all opinions, and proved Kang Youwei's point of view wrong with facts.Gu Jiegang didn't mind this, not only published this article in "Journal of Yenching", but also recommended him to teach in Yenching.Qian Mu said, "Such kind of mind is appreciated by Yu Te." Historical research has made epoch-making contributions, and its views have gradually been generally accepted by the academic community. "The history of Confucian classics and the general theory of Confucian classics in all universities in Peking were originally taught by Kang Shuo, and they were suspended after autumn, setting a precedent for the history of university teaching." (Luo Yijun)

Qian Mu later came to teach at Peking University, and Hu Shi played a key role, but Qian Mu did not agree with him academically because of this. Many of his views were inconsistent with Hu Shi. Hu Shi believed that Confucius was earlier than Laozi, but he believed that Laozi was earlier than Confucius.The students knew that their academic views were inconsistent, and deliberately questioned Hu Shi's views. He also made no secret of it, and often criticized Hu Shi in class.According to the memories of his students, he often said in public: "This point, Mr. Hu's research is wrong again!" and pointed out where he was wrong.At that time, Hu Shi's reputation was growing day by day, and Qian Mu was the only one at Peking University who dared to criticize him in this way.

Once, the business wanted to ask Hu Shi to edit a middle school Chinese textbook. Hu Shi believed that Qian Mu had many years of teaching experience in middle schools, and hoped that he would cooperate with him in the editor.It is the dream of many people to be able to edit a book with Hu Shi, but Qian Mu politely declined, thinking that the two have very different views on Chinese literature, and it is inappropriate to compile a book together. It is best to each edit a book for readers to compare.Hu Shi didn't expect him to refuse, so he walked away in anger, and the two gradually drifted away from then on.

In 1930, "The Chronicle of Liu Xiangxin's Father and Son" was published, which opened up a new way of using history to govern the classics. Hu Shi praised: "Qian Pu is a great work, with good insights and styles." Quick thing". In 1935, after years of hard work, the 300,000-word book "The Years of the Pre-Qin Philosophers" was published.Even Chen Yinke, a master of Chinese studies who has never been admired by others, thinks that this book "has a lot of experience and can be admired".It is said that there was a saying in the circle at that time that the preface of this book alone was enough "for any graduate student of history at Peking University or Tsinghua University to read carefully for two days", and any ten lines of text in it could be "called the world's most famous book". Any well-known Sinology expert puts on and takes off his glasses, takes them off and puts them on again, and marvels at his profound knowledge and praises his precision."

Qian Mu pays attention to a broad vision in his scholarship, starting from the big picture, and progressing from broad to refined. "Start from the big picture first, and you can circle your mind with knowledge and interest, so that you can be lively and not narrow." He realized from his ten years of hard study that seeking quick success and finding shortcuts is a taboo in learning, and scholars should "accumulate thick and thin".It is believed that "Chinese culture is mainly about masters rather than masters, and Chinese academia is more expensive than experts." (Li Jiaju's "Reminiscences of the Past of Qian Bin's Fourth Teacher") Although he is an expert in history, he has read extensively. When he found a good book in the hands of his students, he borrowed it to read. When he was at Southwest Associated University in the 1940s, Qian Mu saw a copy of Kropotkin's "My Autobiography" by Li Yan, a student, and was also very interested. Based on this, he wrote an article "Taoism and Anarchism", which caused a lot of criticism after publication. great interest to readers.He advocated reading more books, thinking hard, and understanding by analogy. He believed that Chinese scholarship is different from that of the West. Western culture is divided into categories and is not related to each other, while Chinese culture is divided into different categories.The four collections of classics and history are the four approaches to scholarship. After getting started, they learn by analogy and finally merge into one.It is believed that "reading should be carefully distinguished from the fine and the rough", and "reading should be the author behind the book".And you must have a humble attitude, and you must first have a respectful heart for any author, so that you can get something.

"Call the soul for the motherland all my life", this is a sentence in the elegiac couplet written by Yu Yingshi, Qian Mu's most proud disciple, when he died. When Qian Mu was engaged in rural education in his early years, he determined to study Chinese culture in order to arouse the confidence and national self-esteem of Chinese people in traditional culture. He was engaged in the study of traditional culture with the spirit of "the road is long and the road is long, and I will search up and down." of.It can be said that he is taking a path of scholarship that actively helps the world.He claimed to have studied hard for ten years, "is it because of the encouragement of the national crisis and the guidance of patriotism".In "History and Culture Essays", he said that the purpose of his studies back then was "to make some just calls for the self-consciousness and self-improvement of our nation".His whole life runs through this red thread.

After the "September 18th" Incident, the Chinese people's anti-Japanese enthusiasm was soaring, and the Nanjing government required colleges and universities across the country to take the general history of China as a compulsory course.Inspired by their patriotic enthusiasm, the professors of Peking University decided to compile a general history of China to awaken the national consciousness of the Chinese people.Considering the large amount of general history, it is proposed to invite 15 professors to give lectures together.Qian Mu believes that it is difficult for each person to talk through the middle of a section, and each person's research is different, which is prone to conflicts, so it is better for one person to talk from the beginning to the end.Everyone thought it was reasonable and advocated that he and Chen Yinke should give lectures together, which would be relatively easy. He recommended himself, thinking that he was fully competent by himself, and finally let him give the lecture on the general history of China alone.This course started in 1933 and was taught at Peking University for four years. Later, due to the Japanese occupation of North China, Peking University moved south, and it was taught at Southwest Associated University for another four years before it was finished. He taught it for a total of eight years. A course of influence. When teaching the general history of China, the Japanese invaded China aggressively. Qian Mu often combined history and reality in class to inspire patriotism among students, and every class was full of seats.Not long after moving to Southwest Associated University at that time, everyone was depressed because of the current situation. During the history class, Qian Mu often contacted Chinese history and said with confidence that unity and light are the mainstream of Chinese history, and division and darkness are temporary. Against the current of Chinese history, victory will surely come, which greatly encourages teachers and students. At that time, it was the most difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War. His colleague Chen Mengjia suggested that he write an "Outline of National History" based on the lecture notes to inspire the national spirit.Scholars have only pens to serve the country. Qian Mu immediately accepted the suggestion and decided to write a new "Outline of National History" to do his part for the whole people's war of resistance.He locked himself in Yanquan Temple in Yiliang County, 70 kilometers away from Kunming, and worked hard every day. It took him a year to roughly complete the manuscript, which was published in 1940. "National History Outline Introduction" pointed out, "Only by referring to the past can we know the present, and only by having a true understanding of reality can we make real improvements to the present." It is necessary to make the citizens have a deep understanding of the past history of the country.” “The most important task of this new general history is to let the people know clearly what our ancestors think about the country, especially before disseminating the true state of the country’s history to the people. The responsibility that the nation has fulfilled, and the thought of it spontaneously arises, and the sincerity of cherishing and protecting it." This is his real motivation and purpose for writing this book.After its publication, the book was very popular and became the most common history textbook in universities, and it was also a typical example of his scholar serving the country. Qian Mu is not exactly a professor hiding in an ivory tower. In 1935, Japan plotted "North China Autonomy". In October, feeling patriotism and national righteousness, Qian Mu, Yao Congwu, Gu Jiegang, Qian Xuantong, Hu Shi, Meng Sen and more than 100 university professors launched an anti-Japanese activity, jointly Oppose Japan's interference in internal affairs, and urge the Kuomintang government to make an early plan to resist Japan.In view of Qian Mu's anti-Japanese attitude and academic influence, in the autumn of 1942, Chiang Kai-shek summoned Qian Mu twice in Chengdu and invited him to lecture on Chinese history and Neo-Confucianism in Chongqing.As a scholar, Qian Mu has always maintained an independent spirit of intellectuals to those in power. Once Jiang saw a speech by Qian Mu in the newspaper and appreciated it very much. He called and wrote to ask him to meet him. Taiyuan excused himself.Later, when we met, he even persuaded Chiang face-to-face to retire after the victory of the War of Resistance for the benefit of all the people of the country.These all showed Qian Mu's bookish spirit. In October 1944, at the request of relevant departments, Qian Mu wrote a special article "Precedents of Youth Joining the Army in Chinese History", calling on young people to join the army, which had a positive impact on young students. Qian Mu has a consistent understanding of the country and traditional culture. Even in his later years, he still advocates that the country should be unified. In February 1986, at the age of 92, he published the article "Looking at the Current Situation in Bingyin's New Year", arguing that "peaceful reunification is the way out for the country" and that "historical tradition and national character of cultural spirit are the foundation of China's reunification."It shows the wisdom of its historians. Of course, as a historian and scholar, Qian Mu's understanding of history also has its limitations.After the Xi’an Incident, the people of the country were very concerned. During the class, the students also asked Qian Mu to talk about his views on this matter. Qian Mu said: “What Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng did is wrong.” (Zhao Jiemin’s "Peking University Professor Silhouette") His position is still on the side of the Kuomintang. Although he studies history, he lacks an objective understanding of this major historical event.So the students joked that Qian Mu was a spiritualist. In the mid-autumn of 1989, Qian Mu participated in the 40th anniversary celebration of New Asia College. When discussing with students, he still believed that "to save the world, China must be saved, and Confucianism must be used to save China", which more or less reflected his historical views. In 1930, Qian Mu was recruited to teach at Yenching University, and the following year he was formally recruited to be a professor at Peking University, and since then he has officially stepped onto the university podium. Although Qian Mu is small in stature, he is very confident and has piercing eyes.Although usually unsmiling, he is very humorous and talkative when he speaks.There were very few professors wearing robes at Peking University at that time. Chen Yinke was a firm robe advocate. Qian Mu admired Chen Yinke's knowledge very much. When he saw Chen Yinke wearing a robe, he also changed to a robe. He maintained this habit for a long time. Qian Mu is not only good at writing, but also good at teaching.At Peking University, Qian Mu mainly taught courses such as ancient Chinese history, the academic history of China in the past three hundred years, general history of China, and the history of China's political system. Each class lasted two hours.Qian Mu usually enters the classroom on time and speaks right away, without talking nonsense and without rest in between.Due to the strong memorization of extensive knowledge, he often quotes extensively in class, combines history with reality, borrows the past to satirize the present, and emerges from time to time with new ideas. He soon became famous and more and more people attended the lectures.It is probably because he has been teaching in his hometown for too long, and he never changes his local accent, and he never loses his Wuxi accent in class. At first, students are not used to listening to him, but his lectures are so wonderful that no one is willing to leave. After a long time, everyone will become familiar with him. , but feel very flavorful.He himself never thought there was anything wrong with Wuxi dialect. When he gave a speech at New Asia University in the 1950s, Hong Kong students reported that they could not hear clearly. Someone asked him if he wanted to provide a translation, which meant that it should be translated into English. He asked back very unhappy. , Do you want to translate it into English? How can Chinese people not understand Chinese? Qian Mu's most popular course is General History of China, which he has taught for eight years.The general history of China class is taught twice a week, each class is two hours.It is usually arranged from 1 to 3 in the afternoon, when the students are usually the most tired, but he can teach the boring history class vividly and charmingly, making it the most attractive class. Apart from Peking University students, other college students also admire him. Come and listen.When there were too many people, we had to change from small classrooms to large classrooms. "Each class has nearly 300 people, and it is full of sitting and standing." ("Miscellaneous Memories of Teachers and Friends") Some people listened to it for four years.Among them, a student surnamed Zhang has been listening to Southwest Associated University from Peking University for a total of six years, which shows how attractive it is.Qian Mu was also rated as one of the most famous professors at Peking University by students. Some people mentioned him and Hu Shi together, and they were called "Northern Hu (Shi) and Nanqian (Mu)". Peking University's academic atmosphere is free, students can choose to listen to it at will, and professors' opinions are often contradictory, and everyone debates freely.Qian Mu insisted on his own opinion and never concealed his views.Once when he was giving a lecture on ancient history, someone told him that the son of Qian Xuantong, a famous Peking University professor who advocated doubting ancient times, was in the class, and asked him to pay attention to his lectures so as not to cause trouble. Ancient, there will be nothing to say."At that time, there were three professors at Peking University who were very famous among the students. They were called "Three Friends of Suihan". Wang Yang is free and unrestrained, and they are all great scholars." (Li Yu, "I used to play in the past, but today I am in pain") Qian Mu does things in his own way.When he first arrived at Yanda University, he had very strict requirements for students, and he was very stingy in assigning students test papers. Scores above 85 were rare, and usually only 80 points were awarded. Most of them were below 80 points. In a class, there were always a few below 60 points. of.He originally thought that those few students could pass the make-up exam, but Yanda stipulated that if they failed once, they would be expelled. Make-up exams were not allowed, and there were no exceptions.Hearing that several students were about to drop out of school because of the low grades he gave, he immediately went to the school authorities, explained the reasons, and demanded a re-grading of the test papers. I got the test papers and asked those students to stay.After that, the score will be much more generous after marking the papers. Influenced by American culture, Yanda issued notices in English mostly.Once Qian Mu received a utility bill payment notice, which was all in English.At that time, utility bills had to be paid on a monthly basis. Because his English was not good, he was very angry when he received the notice in English, so he simply refused to pay. At the end of the year, someone from the school asked him if he had received the notice, and he said he had.The person who came asked again: Why not pay the fee on a monthly basis?Qian Mu replied angrily: I am a Chinese teacher, so I don’t need to know English, so why do I issue notices in English in Chinese schools?The other party was dumbfounded for a moment. There is another thing that can also reflect Qian Mu's character.Hu Shi always admired Qian very much. When someone asked him about the pre-Qin scholars, Hu Shi asked them to find Qian Mu, saying that you should not contact me. Qian Mu is an expert in this field, so you should consult him.Seeing that Hu Shi admired Qian Mu so much, everyone looked at Qian Mu differently.Once Hu Shi fell ill, many people rushed to visit him first and took the opportunity to make friends, but Qian Mu remained indifferent.After the friend found out, he blamed Qian Mu greatly, thinking that he was too ruthless and failed Hu Shi's good intentions towards him.Qian Mu said disapprovingly, these are two different things, how can they be confused?If he helped me and said good things about me, I would go to see him, how would I behave in the future?Qian Mu's character can be seen from this. Among the professors of Peking University, Qian Mu is not only good in knowledge, but also good in character, and is well-known among teachers and students.He is usually unsmiling, immerses himself in his studies, and cherishes time like gold, but he is by no means a sour teacher, but a person with a great interest in life and a good understanding of life.He has two hobbies in his life, one is Kunqu Opera and the other is traveling.He fell in love with Kunqu opera under the influence of his teacher when he was in Changzhou middle school. He said that "I am fond of Kunqu opera, and I am fond of Ping opera, and also good at local operas from various places, such as Henan Bangzi, Suzhou Tanhuang, Shaoxing opera, Fengyang flower drum, and Dagushu".Because of his love for Kunqu Opera, he fell in love with flute and enjoyed it all his life.The eldest brother loves the sheng and the pipa, and he likes the flute. When he was teaching in the countryside, the two brothers often played together after school, which became a great joy in their early years. Qian Mu especially admired Zhu Zi's way of life of "going out to enjoy the beauty of mountains and rivers, and staying in to enjoy the joy of building" and practiced it consciously.For his study and research, he chose places with quiet environment and excellent scenery as much as possible.When he first arrived at Peking University, he stayed at the house of his friend Tang Yongtong.The Tang family is located by the South Pond, close to the Ancestral Temple, surrounded by ancient cypress lawns, "the scenery is quiet and beautiful".Yanquan Temple in Yiliang County, where I lived when I wrote the "Outline of National History" in Southwestern Union, has beautiful mountains and rivers, and it is even a fairyland on earth.Later, I borrowed Suzhou Couple Garden to read my library, which is surrounded by water on three sides, "there is the beauty of the pool and forest, quiet and refreshing".The Wai Shuangxi Su Shulou in Taipei where he lived in his later years, next to the mountain and Mianxi, is a famous scenic spot in Taiwan.The benevolent enjoy mountains, the wise enjoy water.These words could not be more suitable to describe Qian Mu.When Qian Mu is not studying, he always visits places of interest wherever he goes.In the few years at Peking University, he traveled almost every year. "I have been in Peking University for seven years, and I have traveled many times."Almost throughout Shandong, Shanxi, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei and other surrounding areas.Even under the difficult conditions of the Southwest Associated University, his interest in traveling remained undiminished. He swam to many places that the locals had never been to.When teaching at Zhejiang University in Zunyi, it happened that student Li Yan also came to teach, so he took him to travel around Zunyi's mountains and rivers. Li Yan was exhausted, but he was still in high spirits.Li Xun originally thought that a person like the teacher must be immersed in reading all day long, and he didn't want him to go out for a long time, so he sighed: "Unexpectedly, my husband's love of traveling is even worse than my generation. Today I know another side of Mr.'s life." Surprised by him. , Qian Mu has his own explanation: "When reading, you should focus on books, and when traveling in mountains and rivers, you should focus on mountains and rivers. When you are happy, you have no distractions...Reading and traveling in mountains, you must work hard." This is Qian Mu. Qian Mu's personal life is not as smooth as his studies. He has married three times in his life, which can be said to be full of flavors.Before that, Qian Mu had a fiancée.In Houzhai Town, ten miles away from Qian's house, there is a famous village doctor surnamed Shen, who admires the scholarly family Qian's family very much, and offered to betroth his daughter to Qian Mu.During the summer vacation of that year in Nanjing Zhongying Middle School, Qian Mu suddenly contracted typhoid fever. His condition was very critical, and his family was helpless.When Shen Weng heard that his son-in-law was seriously ill, he hurriedly said to other patients, "I must go to my son-in-law's house first."After many times of careful diagnosis and treatment, Qian Mu was pulled back from the death line.Unfortunately, however, the fiancée died early due to illness, and the marriage came to an end. In the autumn of 1917, under the auspices of his eldest brother, Qian Mu got married for the first time.After marriage, the couple lived in an old house on the east side of Sushutang. In 1928, at the turn of summer and autumn, his wife and newborn baby died of illness one after another. The eldest brother returned home to take care of the funeral. Due to exhaustion and sadness, the old stomach disease recurred and died. "In two months, I suffered three funerals in a row." Qian Mu's pain can be imagined.Once "heartbroken, almost uninterested".The elder brother has the deepest relationship with him, and his name Mu was chosen by the elder brother.The eldest brother was only 40 years old when he died, leaving behind his wife, two sons and two daughters.The eldest son was 16 years old and followed Qian Mu in the first year of high school in Suzhou Middle School. He became the famous scientist Qian Weichang, who was also named by Qian Mu.When Qian Mu passed away, Qian Weichang's elegiac couplet said: "The parents who gave birth to me, and the virtuous uncle who gave birth to me, recount the old things from the beginning, and I am deeply grateful; from the public to the teacher, to the elders at home, the present is gone, and I remember the legacy. So sad." After the death of his first wife, his friend Jin Songcen tried to help him everywhere.Jin Songcen was the first drafter of a book, highly respected, and Qian Mu's most admired senior and close friend. He was Qian Mu's matchmaker twice.It was his niece who was introduced to him for the first time, who was known as the school flower of Soochow University. The two had exchanged several letters.Jin Songcen recommended Qian Mu to one of his female disciples, and the female disciple wrote back: "Mr. Qian's zodiac sign is a sheep, and he is a tiger. A sheep is in the mouth of a tiger, so it is not suitable for marriage." I was very grateful, so when I got married for the second time, I still asked him to be the introducer, which was considered to have fulfilled his dream of a matchmaker. In the spring of 1929, Qian Mu married Zhang Yiguan in Suzhou.Zhang Yiguan is also a man of culture and once served as the principal of a primary school.In the second year after marriage, Qian Mu went to teach at Yanda University alone, and took his wife to Peking for reunion after his job at Peking University was stable.In an emergency in North China, Qian Mu moved south with Peking University alone. In the summer of 1939, when Qian Mu returned to Suzhou to serve his mother, Zhang Yiguan returned to Suzhou with his children from Peiping to reunite.A year later, Qian Mu returned to school alone, and has since traveled around the rear of the country.He is a well-known person who only cared about his studies and disregarded his family. He devoted himself to his studies and spent less time with his family.Qian Mu and his step-wife had three sons and a daughter. In 1949, he went to Hong Kong alone, and never returned to the mainland. In Qian Mu's life, it was his third wife Hu Meiqi who helped him the most and stayed with him for a long time.Hu is his student in Xinya, and their marriage can be regarded as a teacher-student relationship. Hu Meiqi is from Jiangxi, and his father was the secretary-general of Jiangxi Provincial Chairman Xiong Shihui.On the eve of liberation, Hu Meiqi moved to Hong Kong with her family after graduating from Xiamen University to study at New Asia College.After only being a student of Qian Mu for one year, he moved to Taiwan with his family. The marriage of the two is legendary. In the winter of 1951, Qian Mu went to Taiwan to raise donations for New Asia. He was invited to give a lecture in the Shocking Hall of Tamkang University. Just after the speech was over, the roof of the newly built auditorium suddenly collapsed. A piece of cement happened to fall on Qian Mu’s head. His head was bleeding badly, and he passed out on the spot. He was in a coma for two or three days in the hospital before waking up.At that time, Hu Meiqi was working in Taichung Normal Library. Because of his teacher-student relationship with Qian, he came to attend the library every afternoon after work, and left after dinner. On Sundays, he accompanied him for a walk in the park.With the deepening of mutual understanding, the two gradually develop feelings. After graduating from Normal University in 1954, Hu Meiqi returned to Hong Kong, and the two met often.Once, Hu Meiqi's stomach disease recurred and could not be cured for a long time. In order to take care of her, Qian Mu proposed to her, and Hu Meiqi agreed. On January 30, 1956, the two held a simple wedding at the Rehabilitation Club in Argyle Street, Kowloon.The wedding room was a two-bedroom apartment rented in a slum in Diamond Hill, Kowloon.Although the conditions were poor, Qian Mu was very happy and wrote a couplet himself: "The strong grass does not go away for the wind, and the phoenix comes to the eucalyptus."