Chapter 39 The joys of "evidence addiction"

At the beginning of the textual research of the novel, Hu Shi said to himself that he was a bit "textual research addiction", and liked to write textual research articles that were half-new and not old.Therefore, people also jokingly called Hu's "textual research addiction". The study of textual criticism was popular in the Qianjia period of the Qing Dynasty.It mainly includes the collection and arrangement of characters, phonology, exegesis, collation and ancient book materials.It pays attention to the assessment of facts, the induction of examples, draws conclusions based on credible materials, pays attention to seeking truth from facts, and believes without evidence, so it is also called textual research.Hu Shi once summed up this kind of research method of scholars in the Qing Dynasty, from which he summed up the ten words of "bold hypothesis, careful verification". ① Applying this method to the study of novels not only absorbed the experience of Qing Confucian scholarship, but also was a creation of Hu Shi himself, which opened up a new situation in the study of traditional Chinese novels.

Textual research articles are mostly unavoidably boring; doing textual research articles is naturally even more boring.However, trekking in the sea of ​​books and learning has its own bitterness as a scholar; every time you get something, you will have endless fun.In the 1920s and 1930s, Hu Shi was indeed a bit addicted to textual research novels. He stayed up many nights, suffered a lot, and gained a lot of fun from it. Hu Shi was once known as "Wu Mystery", and he especially admired Wu Jingzi who was a writer in Anhui. In recognition of this pioneer of vernacular literature in Xiangzi, Hu Shi wrote a "Biography of Wu Jingzi" in April 1920, which began with:

Our first great writer in Anhui was not Fang Bao, Liu Da, or Yao Nai, but Wu Jingzi from Quanjiao County. ② Since there were too few materials at that time, it had to be used to fill the space, and Wu Jingzi's biography was vague.Hu Shi felt very sorry in his heart, so he paid attention to seeking Wu Jingzi's "Wenmu Shanfang Collection" and other posthumous works.It was not until the second year that the Daijingtang bookstore in Beijing found "Wenmu Shanfang Collection" for him. "Wu Mi" was very happy, so he used this collection as a base and made a chronicle for Wu Jingzi with reference to other materials.The preface says:

The authors of ancient Chinese novels, such as , , and , were not allowed to have biographies: this is one of the most unfortunate things in the history of Chinese literature.Now I actually found Wu Jingzi's anthology, which enabled me to write a detailed biography of 17,000 characters for him. I think this is one of the very happy things in my life. ③ This chronology was made in the winter of 1921.Seventeen thousand and eight thousand characters were written in three days; and there were classes on two days and meetings on one day."Wu Mystery" was quite satisfied with such a swiftness.But there is also a little difficulty in the middle.From the "Quanjiao County Chronicles", Hu Shi first found out Wu Jingzi's great-grandfather, Wu Guodui, and then found out the four Jinshi brothers who had gone abroad. Can't find out.In this way, the "lineage" of the Wu family is missing an important link, and it is incomplete.Hu Shi was fascinated and couldn't let go, so he talked with his friend Gao Yihan and got some clues; so he went to check "Qixian Leizheng" again, and in volume 15 there is "Wu Guodui Epitaph" written by Chen Tingjing From it, it was found out that the eldest son Wu Dan of Guodui's three sons was Lin Qi's father and Jing Zi's grandfather. "Wu Mi" felt that this was "the most proud thing of this year"! So he added a part of Wu's "family history" overnight, and revised and completed the "Wu Jingzi Chronicle". ④

Hu Shi's textual research has also reached a point of "fascination". In May 1921, he borrowed "Xueqiao Shihua" and "Sequel" from Shanbu'an, and in August, he bought "Eight Banners Poetry Notes" and "Eight Banners Classics". Hu Shi was naturally very happy about this important matter.In particular, the gift-reply poems of Cao Xueqin and his friends Dun Cheng and Dun Min contained in it are really important materials for researching Xueqin's life. In November, he wrote the revised and finalized version of "A Textual Research on A Dream of Red Mansions".However, Hu Shi still felt dissatisfied.Although Mr. Yang Zhongxi, the author of "Xueqiao Shihua", said that his record is based on Duncheng's "Sisongtang Collection", it is written by later generations after all, which belongs to "evidence of changing hands".Only by finding the "Si Song Tang Ji" can it be regarded as the most reliable direct evidence of the contemporaries.

Therefore, Hu Shi asked bookstores and friends in Beijing and Shanghai to do everything possible to search for "Si Song Tang Ji". After searching for a long time, there is no sign of "Si Song Tang Ji".By 1922, Hu Shi was almost in despair.One day, a bookstore clerk suddenly sent a book and said, "I found "Si Song Tang Ji"!" Hu Shi was overjoyed, and opened it, but it turned out to be "Si Song Thatched Cottage Collection"! Not a few days later , Someone came to Hu Shi and said that he saw a copy of "Si Song Tang Ji" in a bookstore.Hu Shi said, "I'm afraid it's the Sisong Thatched Cottage again?" The man went back and looked, and sure enough, he was wrong again.

On April 19, Hu Shi went to Peking University to attend classes.The clerk of Songyunge Bookstore sent a book to his concierge. It turned out to be a genuine "Sisongtang Collection", and it was a rare manuscript! Hu Shi wrote down his first book with joy. See the scene in this book: When I came home from the university, I saw a book with a faded blue cloth cover on the table in the concierge, and the words "Si Song Tang Ji" were inscribed on a stripped old pad! I hardly believed it myself. My eyesight improved, and I quickly opened it to take a look. It turned out that it was really a manuscript of "Sisongtang Collection"! This manuscript is indeed the only one in the world.Because this is the original copy that was engraved that day, and there are signs of corrections and deletions at the time of engraving.The most important thing is that there are many poems and essays in this book that have not been included in printed editions.For those that have been engraved, there is a stamp with the word "engraved" printed on the title.For those that have not received the engraved copy, a small red note is pasted on the title.The Jiazi who placed the bets on the title were posted on white paper by the book editors, and they were never engraved. ——My happiness at this time is several times higher than that when I was looking for Wu Jingzi's "Wenmu Shanfang Collection" the year before last! All the poems and essays used, as well as two unengraved poems, are important historical materials for textual research on Cao Xueqin's life.Hu Shi got this precious book and thought it was "the most proud thing recently".Afraid of being ripped off by the bookstore, he immediately read it and copied down many useful materials.Two days later, Mr. Cai Yuanpei sent him another engraved copy of "Si Song Tang Ji", which was borrowed from Xu Shichang's "Wanqing Poetry Club".Hu Shi compared the two copies, and sure enough there was no word "engraved" in the manuscript, nor in the manuscript, which proves that the manuscript is indeed extremely valuable. ⑥ Hu Shi searched for "Si Song Tang Ji" for more than a year, and suddenly within three days, both books were in his hands. No effort”! So he wrote a special article, ⑦reporting to everyone the harvest and joy of getting “Si Song Tang Ji”.

In addition, in the process of textual research, Hu Shi often had unexpected discoveries and unexpected pleasures.For example, when I read "San Sui Ping Yao Zhuan" by chance, I saw the address "Deng Hua Po Po" at the beginning of the volume, so it proved that Zhou Lianggong's statement that there was Luo Shi's address "Deng Hua Po Po" was an error in "Ping Yao Zhuan". Breaking through the mysteries of the past three hundred years is of course enough to be called a "happy event". ⑧The birth date of Pu Songling was also tested. From the "Xingshi" written by Pu himself for Yuan Pei's wife Liu Shi and other materials, it is proved that Pu Songling only lived to be 76 years old; At that time, his wife, Mrs. Liu, had not yet been born. Isn’t it a big joke? ⑨Yuyun: There are roads in the mountains of books, and hard work is the way.Hu Shi's study and learning can be called hard work, hard work but not hard work, and he can often get pleasure from the trek of books and seas.This is a supreme consolation to a devoted scholar.In the 1920s and 1930s, he devoted himself to sorting out the history of the country and researching novels. Although there were mistakes, it was inevitable that future generations would think that he was superficial.But his achievements are undeniable; and in terms of learning methods, he can also provide some reference for young people.His diligence, tirelessness, and spirit of taking learning as fun can be regarded as a model for scholars.

① See "Scholarly Research Methods of Qing Dynasty Scholars", "Hu Shi Wencun", Shanghai Yadong Library, August 9, 1926, Volume 2, pp. 241-242. ② "Wu Jingzi Biography", "Hu Shi Wencun", Volume 4, p. 225. ③ See "Hu Shi Wencun Two Collections", Shanghai Yadong Library, March 6, 1929, Volume 4, pp. 1-2. ④See "Hu Shi's Diary", Beijing Zhonghua Book Company, January 1, 1985, Volume 2, pp. 507, 511-512. ⑤ "Postscript to the Textual Research on the Dream of Red Mansions" (1), see "Hu Shi Wencun II Collection", Volume 4, p. 171.

⑥See "Hu Shi's Diary", Volume 2, pages 320-323 and 325. ⑦That is "postscript to the textual research on the Dream of Red Mansions" (1), originally published in the first issue of the "Keep Hard" weekly report, published on May 7, 1922; later included in the fourth volume of "Hu Shi Wen Cun II Collection". ⑧ See "Hu Shi's Diary", Volume 2, p. 267. ⑨Refer to "Example of Distinguishing Fakes——A Study of Pu Songling's Birth Year", Zhang Yuan's "Mr. Liu Quanpu's Tomb Table" and Hu Shi's postscript, all of which can be found in the first episode of "Hu Shi's Recent Works", Shanghai Commercial Press, April 1937 March 3rd Edition, Volume 3, Pages 323~332, 393~402.