Chapter 17 Jiang Menglin: Opening up the Road to Modern Universities

Jiang Menglin (1886-1964), a famous educator in modern China. Born in 1886 (the 12th year of Guangxu), he studied in a private school when he was young. He entered Shaoxing Chinese and Western School at the age of 12 and began to learn foreign languages ​​and scientific knowledge.Later, he took the imperial examination in his hometown and became a scholar. In August 1908, he went to study in the United States.Entered the University of California in February of the following year, first studied agriculture, then transferred to education, and graduated from the University of California in 1912.Then he went to Columbia University Graduate School in New York to study philosophy and education under the tutelage of John Dewey. In March 1917, Jiang Menglin returned to China after receiving a doctorate in philosophy and education. At the beginning of 1919, Jiang Menglin was hired as a professor in the Department of Education of Peking University.From 1919 to 1945, Jiang Menglin worked at Peking University for more than 20 years. Died in Taipei in 1964.

During the "June 3rd" movement in which the working class became the main force in the later period of the "May 4th" movement, Jiang Menglin, together with like-minded Hu Shi and Tang Erhe (the then president of the medical school), did their best to support Peking University's retention of President Cai (the government of the Republic of China wanted Dismiss him) campaign to encourage Cai Yuanpei to return to Beijing to resume his post as president of Peking University.Under strong pressure, the president of the Republic of China government, Xu Shichang, had to sign a presidential decree expressing "wanting Cai".Cai Yuanpei said that as long as the government of the Republic of China promised not to punish the students, they could return to school.But the government of the Republic of China immediately broke its promise and did not change its policy of suppressing the student movement.Therefore, Cai Yuanpei sent a telegram to the government of the Republic of China to refuse to return to school.The student movement became increasingly violent.Under the strong pressure of "wanting Cai", the government of the Republic of China had to change course. The State Council and the Ministry of Education of the government of the Republic of China called Cai Yuanpei successively, asking him to return to Peking University to take charge of school affairs.But before Cai Yuanpei left Peking University, he vowed that he would never return to Peking University, and he must be given a chance to maneuver.After mediation by all parties, Tang Erhe proposed a compromise plan, that is, before Cai Yuanpei returned to Peking University, Jiang Menglin, Cai Yuanpei's favorite disciple when he was working in Shaoxing Chinese and Western School, would temporarily represent Peking University.Under such circumstances, Jiang Menglin began his nearly 20-year relationship with Peking University.Jiang Menglin was only 33 years old at the time.

When the parties agreed that Jiang Menglin would act as the president of Peking University, Jiang Menglin accepted it after careful consideration. Therefore, he put forward two opinions and asked Cai Yuanpei to agree: one is to represent Mr. Cai personally, not the president of Peking University; Mr. Cai's superintendent.Although Jiang Menglin was only 33 years old at the time, he was quite a gentleman.Cai Yuanpei agreed with both of Jiang Menglin's two points, and also told Jiang Menglin: "A few days ago, representatives from all walks of life came to Hangzhou (Cai Yuanpei went south between Shanghai and Hangzhou after leaving Peking University). After Beijing, you can thank all walks of life on my behalf, explaining that I have the determination to return to Peking University, and I am willing to continue to take full responsibility for the responsibility of the university.” Afterwards, Jiang Menglin set off for Beijing, and bid farewell to Cai Yuanpei before leaving, Cai Yuanpei also expressed his earnestness to He said: "From now on, we must take great responsibility to make the university the center of national culture and set up a plan for thousands of years." Jiang Menglin nodded in agreement.

Jiang Menglin's trip to Peking University was a major turning point in his life. In this way, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China government approved Cai Yuanpei's request and agreed that Jiang Menglin would act as the president of Peking University.Jiang Menglin is a newcomer, why can he gain a foothold in Peking University?What's more, when he agreed to everyone's persuasion to represent Peking University, not all the teachers welcomed him.At that time, the views of sects and regions still existed.Jiang Menglin was mentally prepared for this, and his mind had never been overheated or swollen.At the staff meeting held after the welcome meeting for all students, Jiang Menglin said modestly: "I was just sent by Mr. Cai to seal the seal. Please preside over everything." He said so, and it is not easy for opponents to criticize anything .As a result, the resolution to hire him as a professor and head of general affairs was passed at the school council.It seems that Jiang Menglin has been recognized at Peking University without any surprises, but the tricky things are yet to come.On the one hand, some of the students detained by the police department have not been released; on the other hand, there are still people in the Congress coveting the post of president of Peking University.Facing the disturbance inside and outside the school, especially the bureaucratic politicians of the Republic of China government and the old forces, Jiang Menglin said in "The Book of Songs·Beifeng·Xiongpheasant" that "if you don't ask for it, why don't you cherish it" (meaning "don't go With the help of Hu Shi, Tang Erhe, Ma Xulun and a group of friends, he ran around and struggled, and finally all the detainees were released unconditionally. After the end, the new semester successfully recruited 400 new students.Jiang Menglin finally gained a firm foothold in Peking University.

The storm has passed, the sun has returned, and a new semester has begun.Under the repeated urging of all parties, Cai Yuanpei arrived at the school on September 20, 2010. Jiang Menglin handed in a satisfactory answer to his teacher Cai Yuanpei.Cai Yuanpei served as the president of Peking University for ten and a half years, but actually worked at the school for only five and a half years.Whenever Cai Yuanpei was not at the school, whether he went to Europe and the United States for inspection, or resigned due to government corruption, Jiang Menglin, the chief of affairs, always acted as the school's representative.In addition to serving as the acting president three times, Jiang Menglin, as the chief of general affairs, devoted his energy to assisting Cai Yuanpei in the system reform of Peking University for a long time, and became Cai Yuanpei's right-hand man in governing Peking University.Under the leadership of Cai Yuanpei, Jiang Menglin, Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu and others worked together to bring Peking University onto the track of a modern university.

In the history of China's New Culture Movement, Peking University is a term that cannot be erased, and it is of course inseparable from Cai Yuanpei.However, if there were no Jiang Menglin, Hu Shi, Fu Sinian and others, I am afraid that Peking University would be much inferior in the history of Chinese education.However, Fu Sinian once criticized Cai Yuanpei and Hu Shi's level of handling, saying that it is really not flattering.But he thought that his ability to handle affairs surpassed that of Hu Shi, and Jiang Menglin's ability to handle affairs surpassed that of Cai Yuanpei.Once Fu Sinian said to Hu Shi: "In terms of ability to handle affairs, you are inferior to me, and in terms of knowledge, I am inferior to you. I am your dog; Jiang Menglin is inferior to Mr. Cai Zimin in knowledge, but his ability to handle affairs is worse than Mr. Cai. A dog." Later, Jiang Menglin also said that he was a "dog" of Mr. Cai, "Mr. Cai is a 'gong man' of Peking University, and I am a dog of Mr. Cai." It's just that Jiang Menglin is a "gong dog".This is indeed the case. In the minds of many people, Jiang Menglin is the most capable person among the liberals at Peking University.Cai Yuanpei also agreed with this statement. At Peking University, the development of the school and the establishment of departments were all planned by Mr. Jiang Menglin.

Because of Fu Sinian and Jiang Menglin's talk and reconciliation, Jiang Menglin was dubbed the principal of "gong dog". Speaking of "gong dog", there is an allusion.It is said that after Liu Bang became the emperor, he made great contributions to the heroes. Those who were born recklessly and had no culture, but were born and died in the shadow of swords and swords, fought south and north with their heads in their hands, and made great achievements for Liu Bang. The number one hero is a literati——Xiao He who assisted Liu Bang in the rear!This time the frying pan was blown, and the crowd was excited.Why did Xiao He rank as the number one hero?Liu Bang said some insightful words to the founding generals under him. He said: "Hound dogs only have the function of chasing and catching wild animals, but hunters can command hunting dogs. You are just hunting dogs (gong dogs) who have made meritorious deeds in catching and killing wild animals. Only Xiao He can be called a hunter (gong man)." This is the origin of the term "gong dog" mentioned by Jiang Menglin.

In December 1930, acting president Jiang Menglin took over as president of Peking University.After Jiang Menglin inspected the school, he immediately put forward the school-running policy of "professors study, students study, staff manage affairs, and the principal manages the school".According to this policy, Peking University promulgated the "National Peking University Organization Outline", which stipulates that the mission of Peking University is to "research advanced academics, cultivate professional talents, and cultivate a sound character."Rebuild the three colleges of liberal arts, science and law, implement the college system, each with a dean.The dean is appointed by the president from among the professors.The original council was changed to a school council, with the same composition and powers as the original council, and experts could be invited to attend if necessary. Therefore, the school council is actually a faculty council.The original administrative meeting and academic affairs meeting are still retained, and their functions and powers remain unchanged.Promote the credit system, require graduates to write papers and award degrees, and pursue the formalization of higher education.After Jiang Menglin took over as the president of Peking University, he still implemented the management model he had formulated when he assisted Cai Yuanpei, but only highlighted his American-style "sixteen-character" management policy and principles.

The quality of teaching in a school depends on the quality of the teaching staff in addition to management.On the one hand, Jiang Menglin invited the lost professors back, and on the other hand, he recruited a large number of foreign students to teach in the school to enrich the teaching staff.He said to Hu Shi, dean of the Faculty of Arts, Zhou Binglin, dean of the Faculty of Science, and Liu Shuqi, dean of the Faculty of Law: "I will fire the old people, and you will do it when you recruit new people." Jiang Menglin inherited Cai Yuanpei's eclectic tradition of employing people , Selecting teachers only looks at academic contributions.For example, Qian Mu did not have a high degree of education, but his level of Chinese studies was very high. Jiang Menglin invited him to Peking University as a professor without hesitation.Just like when Cai Yuanpei extended his invitation to Liang Shuming.Under Jiang Menglin's sincere treatment of people, Peking University gathered a large number of experts and professors with academic expertise and professional expertise in the 1930s. Peking University became a place where talents gathered, which guaranteed the overall teaching level of Peking University.

In order to promote the sound development of teaching and scientific research, Jiang Menglin insisted on the tradition of "inclusive of grand ceremonies, enlisting all scholars, freedom of thought, and inclusiveness" formed when Cai Yuanpei was in charge of Peking University.Under the policy of "magnanimity and tolerance", the tradition of liberalism has been carried on.He declared to his colleagues in the school: "We should continue to work hard on the word 'tolerance'. 'The prime minister's belly is easy to punt', and the school's 'belly' needs to fly an airship."

With his profound knowledge and shrewdness, Jiang Menglin overcame many difficulties during those difficult years, carefully grasped the rudder of Peking University, and tried his best to steer the boat of hope through the turbulent waves smoothly. The teaching and scientific research level of Peking University has been steadily improved, reaching the highest peak in the history of Peking University, and it was the first of the eight national universities in Peking at that time.Before the Anti-Japanese War, Peking University had already become a world-class university.In this regard, Jiang Menglin said very modestly: "I have worked in Peking University for more than 20 years and presided over the school administration for 17 years, but I know how to abide by President Cai's wishes and maintain the atmosphere of academic freedom." He also said: " Since I arrived at Peking University, I have always been fully supported by Shizhi and Meng Zhen, and only now can Peking University develop.” In Jiang Menglin's educational philosophy, young students should generally not get involved in real politics, which is a matter for adults, and the fundamental goal of young students is to train themselves to become useful talents with knowledge and ability, so that they can be driven by the state .Only when the real politics are terrible and adults are too irresponsible, young students use their enthusiasm to come out to wake up the people and show the world that they should return to the classroom after achieving this goal. In any case, they should not waste their studies and give up their own Responsibility, since the bad country will dry up in the future. As for the responsibilities of adults, Jiang Menglin never dared to give up during those years when he was the president of Peking University, and charged forward as a leader of the cultural circles in Peking, so that he attracted the attention of the Japanese military and listed him as a black man who should be arrested. list. On the afternoon of November 29, 1935, the Japanese military police came directly to the president's office of Peking University and "invited" Jiang Menglin to the headquarters of the Japanese Garrison to "explain" his opposition to Japan.Jiang Menglin adhered to the ancient motto of "never escape in trouble", and promised to go within an hour. When Jiang Menglin told his family about this, some friends advised him not to go to the Japanese military camp, but to hear that the Japanese came to Peking University to arrest him.But do they dare?However, after careful consideration, Jiang Menglin still decided to go alone and arrive at the Japanese headquarters in Dongjiaomin Lane before dark. Jiang Menglin went alone, obviously beyond the expectations of the Japanese army.The Colonel of the Japanese Army said: "Our commander invites you to come here, and I hope to know why you want to carry out large-scale anti-Japanese propaganda?" He handed Jiang Menglin a cigarette while talking. "What did you say? I'm carrying out anti-Japanese propaganda? It's absolutely nothing!" Jiang Menglin answered while taking the cigarettes from the Japanese. "So, did you sign that manifesto against the Autonomy Movement?" "Yes. I signed it. It is our internal affairs in China and has nothing to do with the anti-Japanese movement." "Have you ever written a book attacking Japan?" "Get this book out and show it to me!" "So, are you a friend of Japan?" "This is not necessarily true. I am a friend of the Japanese people, but I am also an enemy of Japanese militarism, just as I am an enemy of Chinese militarism." "Uh, you know, the Kwantung Army has a little misunderstanding about this matter. Would you like to go to Dalian to talk to General Itagaki?" At this time the phone rang, and after answering the phone, the Colonel turned to Jiang Menglin and said, "I have given you A special car is prepared. Would you like to go to Dalian tonight?" "I will not go." "Don't be afraid. The Japanese military police are going to accompany you, they can protect you." Hearing this, Jiang Menglin said seriously: "I'm not afraid. If I was really afraid, I wouldn't come here alone. If you want to force me to go, then please do it - I'm already under your control Yes. However, I advise you not to force me. If people all over the world, including Tokyo, know that the Japanese army has kidnapped the president of Peking University, then you will become a laughing stock.” The Japanese Colonel's expression immediately changed when he heard these words, as if Jiang Menglin suddenly became a thorny problem. "Don't be afraid!" he said absently. "Are you afraid? No, no. The Chinese sages said that we will never escape from disaster. I believe you must know this sentence. You believe in Bushido. Bushido will never harm a powerless person." Jiang Menglin spoke to the Japanese calmly, smoking a cigarette. The phone rang again, and the Japanese Colonel turned around again and said to Jiang Menglin: "Okay. President Jiang, the commander wants me to thank you for coming this time. You may be willing to go to Dalian another day—you can go anytime you want. Thank you .goodbye." Regarding this matter, Luo Jialun later commented that Jiang Menglin was Guo Ziyi's second, and he was very heroic. When the July 7th Incident broke out, Jiang Menglin was in the south and went to Lushan to participate in a talk meeting held by Chiang Kai-shek, offering advice and suggestions for the all-round war of resistance. At the end of July, Peking fell, and Peking University became a Japanese military camp.According to the instructions of the Nationalist Government, universities in Pingjin, which had been occupied one after another, moved inward one after another. Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University formed a joint university, first established in Changsha, and then moved to Kunming. The Southwest Associated University was established by three famous universities. Jiang Menglin, President of Tsinghua University Mei Yiqi, and President of Nankai Zhang Boling were the three members of the Standing Committee. The rare seeds of reading have written the most glorious page in the history of modern Chinese education. Since the three schools of Southwest Associated University are prestigious schools with different traditions, strengths and styles of study, Jiang Menglin should be in the leading position in terms of the history of the school and the qualifications of the principal.However, for the sake of the unity of the three schools and the overall interests of the Chinese nation, he firmly advocated that there should be no headmaster, and that the standing committee should be responsible for co-chairing school affairs.A collegial system is implemented for major policies, and Mei Yiqi is recommended as the chairman to actually preside over all the daily administrative affairs of the school, while Jiang Menglin is mainly responsible for external affairs, and basically does not care about internal affairs of the school.Jiang Menglin often said in this regard: At the United Nations University, I just take care of it. In 1936, Jiang Menglin, then president of Peking University, married Ms. Tao Zenggu, held a wedding in Beiping, and invited Hu Shi as a witness.However, Hu Shi's wife, Jiang Dongxiu, disapproved of Hu Shi's witnessing the marriage between Jiang Menglin and Tao Zenggu because Jiang Menglin abandoned her original partner, and closed the door to prevent him from going out.It turned out that Jiang Menglin divorced his ex-wife in order to marry Tao Zenggu. In Jiang Dongxiu's view, Jiang Menglin was morally ashamed.Hu Shi had no choice but to "escape" by jumping out of the window, which was a beautiful thing. The biggest pressure on Jiang Tao's marriage is not that Jiang Menglin divorced his original wife, but that the Tao Zenggu he married was the widow of his close friend and colleague Gao Renshan.Gao Renshan successively taught at Peking University and Beijing Normal University, and founded the Department of Education at Peking University. In 1928, Gao Renshan was killed by the Feng faction warlords in Tianqiao Execution Ground.After Gao Renshan's death, Jiang Menglin took good care of his wife Tao Zenggu.Although Jiang Menglin made the king have a wife, Tao Zenggu's situation made him sympathetic. After long-term care and getting along with each other, the relationship gradually changed. The two fell in love with each other.At the wedding, Jiang Menglin thanked the guests and said: "I love and respect Gao Renshan the most in my life, so I am willing to continue his volunteering to engage in education. Because I love Gao, I love the people he loved more, and I love her even more. , Only in this way can I be worthy of my deceased friend." In 1958, Jiang Menglin's wife Tao Zenggu died of illness in Taiwan.When Tao Zenggu was bedridden, a cousin of Tao Zenggu often went to take care of the patients.Ms. Tao once said to her: "Meng Lin (Jiang Menglin) is in good health, and he is too emotional. After I die, he will definitely not be able to bear it; moreover, I can't bear him to suffer long-term loneliness; therefore, I hope you can help him find a suitable partner to accompany him..." Due to Ms. Tao's instructions before her death, Jiang Menglin's remarriage has become a "responsibility" that the wife never forgets. After his wife passed away, Jiang Menglin was very lonely, so he accepted the arrangement of his wife's cousin.According to reports, this lady began to matchmaking for Jiang Menglin a year after Ms. Tao's death, but none of them moved him.It wasn't until 1960 at a banquet at the Yuanshan Hotel that he met Xu Xianle through the matchmaker's introduction, and the situation was different. When Xu Xianle met Jiang Menglin, although he was over half a hundred years old, his charm still existed.It can be said that Jiang Menglin fell in love with Xu Xianle at first sight, but at the beginning, Xu Xianle felt that Jiang Menglin was too old and might not have the right personality.But Jiang Menglin asked the matchmaker to greet her and express his meaning: He thinks that Ms. Xu's family background is very good, and she has both good looks and good looks. Everything is too ideal.Jiang Menglin wrote in his first love letter to Ms. Xu: "Among some of the ladies I have met, you are the one who makes my heart move the most..." After knowing each other for three or four months, Jiang Menglin was already very attached to Xu Xianle. We broke up, once there was an awkward dispute over something, and the two of them hadn't seen each other for several days, Jiang Menglin couldn't sleep or eat, so he wrote a erotic poem in lower and medium letters on a one-foot-banner Japanese painting gold-edged crepe water-coloured paper gift.The two loves must be prepared, so soon they talked about marriage with each other. Among their relatives and friends, there are two factions of "approving" and "against", but among the teachers and friends of the Peking University Alumni Association, almost all disapprove, even Hu Shi is also opposed.At that time, Hu Shi was hospitalized due to illness and while he was still recuperating his body, he wrote a long letter to his friend Jiang Menglin. In the letter, Hu Shi expressed his opinion, babbling, saying that Xu Xianle loves money, and she asks you for 20 Wan, even though you gave 80,000, it is best to rein in the precipice.He also persuaded him with his 50-year friendship and the identity of the witness of Jiang and Tao's marriage, and asked him to have a serious talk with Chen Cheng (Chen Cheng was also an opponent at the time).According to the book "Mr. Hu Shizhi's Conversations in Later Years", Chen Cheng once told Jiang Menglin: "My wife received a call from Mrs. Jiang, the first lady Song Meiling, and she firmly opposed you marrying this Miss Xu. My wife I also object, and I have to tell you. If you must marry her, then we will not be able to meet in the future, at least, we will not be able to meet your wife." When Hu Shi handed the letter to Jiang Menglin, Jiang Menglin directly asked him whether he supported or opposed it. When Hu Shi said he opposed it, Jiang Menglin told him directly: "Then I won't read it." Then he tore up Hu Shi's letter and threw it in the wastebasket , Secretary Jiang Menglin picked it up and put it together carefully, and then restored it to its original shape and preserved it. Regardless of opposition from all parties, Jiang Menglin insisted on remarrying Xu Xianle.He wrote a long letter to Chen Cheng in July, in addition to explaining his reasons for "immediate marriage", he also tried his best to defend Xu Xianle. Due to the large number of people who opposed it, it was inconvenient for Jiang Menglin to hold a public wedding, but instead adopted a family-style secret wedding, so it was held on July 18, 1961 at Chen Neng's home on Linyi Street, Taipei City.Chen Neng's wife is Xu Xianle's niece.The wedding was extremely simple, lawyer Duan Mukai witnessed the marriage, Zheng Manqing and Ju Haoran acted as introducers for both parties, and both parties used their seals on the marriage certificate, and the wedding was considered complete.Jiang Menglin was 75 years old at the time, and Xu Xianle was 54 years old.Due to the haste of the wedding, many people have no time to prepare gifts. The next day, various newspapers rushed to report. Jiang Menglin said in an interview with a certain newspaper: "In order to live a healthy life, reason, emotion, and will must be properly balanced. If one is missing, the balance will be lost. If Er, then Whether it is for study or work, its motivation is weakened. Since the death of Ms. Tao Zenggu, my feelings have no sustenance, so I have to find someone to maintain the spirit of my years of struggle. I believe that Ms. Xu is the right person for me The object.” The newspaper also quoted Xu Xianle’s words of “feeling Jiang Menglin’s affectionate style, and being intoxicated by the spiritual talent of this old educator”, they “hope that the bride, Ms. The doctor enjoys the 'joy' of the family, and the small twists and turns in the past will become happy memories." A few days after Jiang and Xu got married (July 26), Jiang Menglin made a special trip to visit Hu Shi, and Hu Shi also congratulated him.Jiang Menglin told Hu Shi that his newlywed wife was very nice, and he would bring her to visit Hu Shi every few days. He also said to Hu Shi, "People say she likes my money, but in fact she has more money than mine." After the two were married for more than a year, their marriage was on the red light. In December 1962, Jiang Menglin accidentally slipped and broke a bone and was admitted to the hospital.Taking advantage of Jiang's illness and being hospitalized, Xu Xianle quietly returned Jiang's property to her own name... When Jiang found out, in a rage, he wrote a letter to divorce him.Of course, Ms. Xu refused, and wrote an article publicly, saying that their love still exists, but Mr. Jiang was bewitched by others and became confused for a while.From then on, Jiang Menglin avoided seeing each other, and used his lawyers to fight pen and lawsuits.Jiang Menglin's indictment stated that Xu Xianle was "good-looking, sinister, abused her daughter, gathered demand, hated the old and the poor, yelled and insulted, and suffered abuse" and could not live together.He also confirmed Hu Shi's doubts for the first time, saying that Xu Xianle kept asking him about his personal property during the honeymoon, and even made notes; his insurance beneficiary and American property were also registered as the beneficiary of Xu Xianle; Xu Xianle's rapid transfer of property and other practices are unacceptable.He also said that Xu Xianle often made a lot of fuss and made noises, forbade him to mourn his deceased wife, and asked his daughter to move away; The dormitory problem and the quarrel with the staff at the Rural Restoration Conference made him feel ashamed.All these made him decide to file for divorce and claim back his deposit of 530,000 yuan.Facing Jiang Menglin's complaint, Xu Xianle said angrily that the content of the complaint was distorted.During the mediation process, Xu Xianle went straight to the Rural Rehabilitation Association's office to look for Jiang Menglin. Jiang Menglin was so frightened that he hurriedly avoided from the back door stairs; Xu Xianle shouted that seeing her husband is a legal right, and she has been insulted and pained by Jiang Menglin. Relying on official positions and bullying weak women."Jiang Menglin thought he couldn't offend Xu Xianle, so he took refuge in Shimen Reservoir; Xu Xianle once asked to meet again on the grounds of giving winter clothes, but Jiang Menglin still hid. After about a year of quarreling like this, the two parties agreed to divorce on January 24, 1964. Tao Xisheng was a witness. The alimony was 500,000 yuan claimed by Xu Xianle. The cash of more than 200,000 yuan is not taken into account.Although Jiang Menglin only wanted to sign to stop the lawsuit, his friend signed a check to repay the alimony. The total cost was 770,000 yuan, and the two-year and six-month relationship between husband and wife finally came to an end. Jiang Menglin told the reporter: "It has been more than a year since I got married. I have been disappointed. I have suffered unbearable pain in life; my home is the abyss of my pain. I deeply regret not accepting the advice of my old friend Mr. Hu Shizhi. I am ashamed of my old friend, and I should have the courage to admit my mistakes to my old friend, and even more courage to correct my mistakes." At the same time, Jiang Menglin was not afraid of embarrassment, and wrote the letter Hu Shi wrote to him on June 18, 1961. The long letter was published publicly. In the face of the uproar of public opinion, Jiang Menglin was very calm: "This is my personal matter, and I should correct it when I find a mistake. The so-called 'people who commit crimes cannot be forgiven', I am willing to face the facts and accept the unfortunate consequences." After the marriage contract was terminated , Jiang Menglin was refreshed again, and devoted himself to the construction of Shimen Reservoir. Attachment: Hu Shi's long letter to Jiang Menglin. ...In the past ten days, I have heard many words from friends who love and care about you, and only then did I realize that your news of the continuation has really caused a storm in the city...These words are roughly like this: A certain lady (note: referring to Xu Xianle) has spoken I asked you for 200,000 yuan, but you only gave me 80,000: 60,000 for an engagement ring and 20,000 for clothes.This was told by a certain lady herself. She felt wronged and dissatisfied.A friend who cares about your happiness came to me and told me that I should try my best to persuade you to "rein in the precipice", sacrifice the big money you have paid, or save the remaining little savings, otherwise you will never have spiritual happiness in the rest of your life, maybe There is still a lot of pain... Between yesterday and today (17th and 18th), I heard reports from five or six people who really cared about you... These friends said: The way this lady treated Mr. Meng Lin was exactly the way she treated her ex-husband in the past A certain general (note: referring to General Yang Jie) used the method she used to treat many boyfriends in the past 17 or 18 years: before talking about marriage, first ask for a large sum of money, and first ask for the right to manage all the property.Mr. Meng Lin is too honest and too obsessed, and he is definitely not a person who can deal with her.In the future, Mr. Menglin will be penniless, and his relatives will not come to the door; he will make noise day and night, so that Mr. Menglin can't handle his official and private affairs! What a powerful person her ex-husband is!After only seven months of marriage, he had to pay a huge price to obtain a divorce!These friends said: Mr. Shizhi did not speak eight days ago. I am sorry for my old friend. I am afraid it is too late today. I know it's too late, but I thought about it last night, and I'm thinking about it today: I have a duty of final advice to my old friend of fifty years.I am the witness of your marriage with Zeng Gu (note: Tao Zenggu, Jiang Menglin’s second wife), and I am a friend of your family. I have to write this letter...