Chapter 74 Scholar Ambassador

While Hu Shi was lobbying in Europe, Chiang Kai-shek and the national government called Hu Shi continuously, urging him to be the ambassador to the United States.Hu Shi hesitated a bit.He once made up his mind not to talk about politics for 20 years, and not to enter politics for 20 years.His wife, Jiang Dongxiu, always advised him not to go into politics.This year happened to be their 20th year of marriage.In the past 20 years, Hu Shi has talked about politics early; although he has some influence in the political circle, he has never officially come out to become an official.Now that I am out of the mountain, I feel sorry for my wife; but in the face of national crisis, seeing the national crisis, can the descendants of Yan and Huang not work hard? After repeated consideration, Hu Shi still called the government and agreed to take up the post.Telegram abbreviated as:

The country is in such a crisis, and there is some encouragement, so why dare to resign.Wei Wei has been used to idleness for more than 20 years in self-examination, and has no diplomatic experience. He is afraid that he will not be able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility and cause harm to the country. ① At the same time, he wrote to his wife: In those 20 years, the phrase "not talking about politics" has long been discarded. "Not to enter the political circle" sentence, finally never give up. ... 20 years from today, in this situation where the great war is feared to be inevitable, can I escape for another 20 years? ... I can only solemnly make one more wish to you: I will return to you by the end of the war at the latest to my academic life. ②

On September 17, the Nationalist Government announced that Hu Shih was specially appointed as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of China to the United States. On October 5, Hu Shi went to Washington to take office.This is the first time in his life that he was an official, and it was the most difficult time for the country and the nation.He once wrote a small poem in vernacular, the word cloud: Occasionally there are a few white hairs, and the mood is slightly middle-aged. As a pawn crossing the river, I can only move forward desperately. ③ At that time, it was the critical moment when Guangzhou fell and Wuhan fell. Hu Shi, as a scholar, took on the important task of ambassador to the United States. After taking office, he called Kong Xiangxi, Premier of the Executive Committee, saying that "diplomacy is very important, and we should deal with it with all our energy."

Later, he said in a letter to Jiang Dongxiu: "I came here for the affairs of the country. It doesn't matter if you suffer a little bit. I have said to you many times: 'If you keep the green hills, you are not afraid of no firewood'. The country is the green hills, the green hills. If it falls, our children and grandchildren will all have to be slaves." ④ This kind of spirit of putting the country and the nation first, working hard and working hard is commendable. At the beginning of his inauguration, the country suffered from successive defeats in wars, and the issue of peace and war arose again. There was a huge market for the peace faction, and they all pinned their hopes on the United States to "preside over peace." On October 18, Hu Shi received a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek to President Roosevelt, which stated:

Japan seems to know that force cannot solve the problem, and has repeatedly begged Germany and Italy to mediate peace (press, this is a face-saving speech); but the Chinese people firmly believe that only the US government is the only leader who can achieve a just peace; if the US intends to initiate and invite relevant countries to hold a The time is right for a conference for a permanent peace in the Far East—as precedented by the Washington Conference. ⑤ On the 16th, Chiang Kai-shek called Hu Shi again, hoping that the United States and Britain would "cooperate and intervene."In Weng Wenhao's letter to Hu Shi, he said, "The matter of making peace is not only a matter of Kong Wang Ergong (according to, Premier Kong Xiangxi, Foreign Minister Wang Chonghui) talking to a reporter from the United Press, hoping that the US President will mediate, but also hearing that a certain important official (civilian) People have been sent to negotiate with the Japanese in Banxi in Shanghai," Weng himself thought:

At present, it is not enough to rely solely on the belief that "the War of Resistance will be victorious". ... The actual way out seems to be that the United States severely oppresses Japan, contacts Britain and France, holds a meeting, and seeks a solution together.The life and death of the country is of great importance, whether brother can discuss specific measures with the American dignitaries to achieve the goal of saving the country. ⑥ From this we can see that there is a speck of domestic hostility and atmosphere. Since the Japanese invasion of China, Hu Shi has been very concerned about the international situation.He has advocated peaceful negotiations for many years, hoping to get a chance to breathe and prepare for war. In June 1935, he communicated with his friends, commented on the situation, and estimated two situations to determine the national policy:

(1) In the recent period, Japan dominated East Asia and did whatever it wanted, China was powerless to resist, and the world was powerless to judge.This is the unquestionable situation at hand. (2) In the not-too-distant future, there will be one of the worst international wars in the Pacific, which can serve as an opportunity for us to turn around and wipe out our enemy's hegemony.This is also not very suspicious. ⑦ On the premise of this kind of analysis and foresight, it should be said that there are reasons why Hu Shi advocated peace and waited for changes.And when he examined the situation in the world for two or three years, he had completely changed the position of the Lord and the Peace. In London on July 30, he wrote a letter to Fu Sinian, stating that "the state of affairs has come to this point, and there is no other way than to wait for change". ⑧On October 20, he telegraphed to Chiang Kai-shek that "peace talks are a hundred times more difficult than war" and opposed peace talks, pointing out:

Neither the United States nor the Soviet Union wanted China to make peace.As far as the current situation is concerned, this statement has been confirmed and cannot be doubted.Soviet Russia does not want me to make peace, so it helps me with weapons.The United States does not want me to be defeated, so it is willing to provide economic assistance.Therefore, with regard to the current situation in our country: We just have to wait for the times to evolve. ⑨ His proposition of "waiting for change" and his analysis of the world situation and the future of our country's war of resistance are generally realistic, and have restrained the atmosphere of domestic peace talks and compromises. On December 29, Hu Shi called Wang Jingwei again, opposing his peace talks.The telegram is as follows:

Translated by Brother Tie Ru, please refer to Dean Wang: Brother Weng Yongni made a detailed statement of his contempt on the issue of peace and war last month.If the international situation improves at this time, it is better for us to hold on, and we must not give up the 18-month sacrifice.It is well known that there will be no main battle in the past 6 years. Today's opposition to peace talks is for the country's century-old vision, begging the public to listen.suitable. ⑩ But at this time Wang Jingwei had already secretly left Chongqing, sneaked to Hanoi and transferred to Hong Kong, and had already published the "flashy electricity" of surrendering to the Japanese invaders, which could not be rescued.

When Hu Shi took over as ambassador, he had neither diplomatic experience nor diplomatic genius, and he was the last person who was unwilling to make any request to anyone or any party.He was just a scholar who advocated a kind of "honest and open" diplomacy, or the so-called "waterfowl style" diplomacy. However, with his sincerity and academic reputation, he was respected by the U.S. government and the opposition and completed his diplomatic mission. The first major mission he accomplished was to facilitate the US government's first loan of 25 million US dollars to my country shortly after the fall of Wuhan, that is, the "tung oil loan".Looking at it now, this amount is not large, but it was a considerable international loan at that time, and it was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for the difficult national government at that time, and it also played a considerable role in the morale of our country. of encouragement.At that time, the U.S. government was restricted by the Neutrality Act. Our country's original envoy to the U.S. was an old diplomat who negotiated with the U.S. for loans many times, but failed.Later, the contract of "Dianxi Loan" was signed.From this, one can imagine how hard he has made to cooperate with the dedicated negotiators, and it can also be seen that the US government has considerable respect for this "scholar ambassador".

At that time, President Roosevelt was busy day and night, and it was difficult for many ambassadors from allied countries to have the opportunity to meet with him. However, Hu Shi gained considerable respect and trust from him, and it was very convenient to meet with him. In October 1941, the Tojo Cabinet of Japan was established, and Nomura and Laisu were sent to the United States to cover up their eyes and ears through negotiations, but in fact stepped up preparations for war against the United States.At this critical moment, Hu Shi visited Roosevelt many times to exchange information on the latest developments in the Far East. On December 6, he gave a speech in New York and got a call from Washington: President Roosevelt made an appointment.Hu Shiwei returned late, and arrived at the White House on the morning of the 7th. Roosevelt met him and said: The United States has rejected Japan's request, and war may break out in the Pacific Ocean at any time from now on. Hu Shi returned to the Chinese embassy in Twin Oaks. Just as he was sitting at the dinner table, the phone rang again. Roosevelt called himself and told Hu Shi: "Japanese planes are already bombing Pearl Harbor." The Pacific War broke out! Hu Shi heard the news, really He breathed a sigh of relief for the country and the nation. It has been four years since he proposed "waiting for change". So far, "change" has finally been realized. As an ambassador, Hu Shi tried his best to go to various places to give speeches.He is familiar with the history of the United States, understands the sentiments of the people of the United States, and is quite good at speeches, so he can win the general sympathy of the American government and the opposition.For example, once, Hu Shi gave a speech at the Harmony Club in New York City on the topic of "North American War of Independence and China's War of Resistance Against Japan".Based on the history of the United States and the experience of visiting the battlefields of the War of Independence when Cornell was studying abroad, he compared the War of Independence in the United States with the War of Resistance Against Japan in China.He said: The success of the United States, on the one hand, is due to Washington's determination and actions to lead the military and civilians to fight hard, not afraid of sacrifice, and vow to achieve the goal of independence; on the other hand, it has received French spiritual and material assistance to the United States.Although the historical backgrounds of China's War of Resistance and the American War of Independence are somewhat different, the spirit of hard work and the goal of independence and freedom are the same.Therefore, China looks forward to the assistance of American friends, and the United States also has the obligation to actively support China's war of resistance.Hu Shi also said: When Washington fought hard in the Fergu Valley, it took seven carts full of banknotes to exchange for a cart of wheat flour; but the situation in China today is not as bad! With the assistance of the United States, China's war of resistance will surely be successful.His speech, which was later delivered on other important occasions, was called the "Valley of Fergus" speech.There is also a touching story about the friendship between the people of China and the United States in this speech in the Fergu Valley: On December 5, 1938, Hu Shi gave a speech at a luncheon, talking about the initial difficulties of the American War of Independence, saying that on December 17, 1777 One day, when the army led by Washington retreated to the Fergu Valley, the soldiers' clothes and shoes were all torn, and they often walked barefoot, spilling blood on the snow.He was afraid that people would say that he was showing off his memory, so he explained: "I remember this day (December 17) because it was my birthday." After the speech that day, Hu Shi was admitted to the hospital due to a heart attack.Ylayier, a guest present at the time, went home and said to his wife, "The new Chinese ambassador's birthday is on the same day as mine. Let's send some flowers to him on his birthday." Later, I heard that Hu Shi was ill. On his birthday, I asked Li Guoqin A check of 100 US dollars was sent, and Hu Shi donated the money to the "ABMAC" in the United States. Hu Shi himself also donated 100 yuan, and Li Guoqin also donated 100 yuan.Unfortunately the Ylayier died the following year.On December 17, his wife sent another one hundred dollars to commemorate her husband's birthday, and Hu and Li also donated one hundred dollars each; the same was true for the third and fourth years.For four consecutive years, ABMAC received a total of 1,200 yuan.This is a good story derived from a gossip in Hu Shi's speech. Later, Hu Shi was hospitalized for more than 70 days due to heart disease, and his physical condition deteriorated, but he still often went to other places to give speeches. On May 17, 1942, Hu Shi sent a letter to Wang Shijie saying: This year, my health is a little weaker, I have traveled 16,000 miles, and I have given more than 100 speeches, so I am quite tired.After June, you can take a break.In the three years I have been here, I have never had a weekend or a summer vacation.I'm afraid I'll have to rest for a few days this summer. In more than four months, "more than 100 speeches", almost one speech a day, shows that Hu Shi's spirit of serving the country is evident; while the determination and significance of China's war of resistance must be understood by the U.S. government and the public, and have been widely recognized. Sympathy and support should be said to be inseparable from the speech of this "scholar ambassador". However, Hu Shi was a scholar after all.Not to mention that his scholarly "honest and open" diplomacy is difficult to deal with in power diplomacy and intriguing international exchanges; The censure was also difficult for the scholar Hu Shi to deal with.According to his student and good friend Fu Sinian, there are several points worth noting about the legend among the acquaintances at that time: 1. The staff (staff team) in the library has never been organized well, and everything is handled by itself, so the efficiency (efficiency) is hard to say. ... and said that there is also a lack of discipline in the club. When the husband saw other people playing cards, he joined in himself.This seems worth considering. 2. For Jie Gong (according to, Chiang Kai-shek), he failed to "obey orders and teach".Of course, Jiegong's idea may not be realized, but this kind of coping method is not his habit. 3. Recently, the Gao thief Zongwu and his wife lived in the embassy permanently, and friends here have a lot of discussion. These are indeed the knowledge and deeds of scholars, so what can they do if they are discussed by others? Fu Xin also said that opponents also accused "Mr. has to use his personal reputation to receive degrees everywhere", which is not without reason.After Hu Shi became an ambassador, some universities in the United States and Canada paid homage to him, inviting them to give speeches and presenting degrees. Hu Shi was also fond of fame and never tired of doing it. In four years, he received 27 honorary doctorates, accounting for more than 70% of the honorary degrees he received in his lifetime. .Just as Fu Sinian said: "This is not a bad thing, but you can save a little energy for such things, and then you will have enough energy for big things." Hu Shi didn't think so. Wouldn't it be too much to be famous for being used as a talking point? Domestic discussions on Hu Shi's use of beauty reached a climax in 1940.This year, Mr. Cai Yuanpei, the president of Academia Sinica, passed away, and the council elected Hu Shi and three others as candidates for the successor president for Chiang Kai-shek to designate.As a result of the rumors, the "China News" column of the "China Daily" in the United States published Chongqing Aviation News: "Recently, there is news that my ambassador to the United States has changed hands." I have the intention of going back to China for a while to rest", and he will be appointed as the dean of the Central Research Institute, and Yan Huiqing will be the successor of the US envoy.Hu Shi read this news and scratched many "?" on the newspaper, really dissatisfied.He himself said: "Personally speaking, the president of Academia Sinica is of course the greatest honor for Chinese scholars; But for the sake of national affairs, I really don't want to abandon my envoy to the United States at this time. "Hu Shi still wanted to serve the country, but the government sent Song Ziwen and a group of "ambassadors from the top", which made Hu Shi's mission more difficult and a lot of idleness. On August 15, 1942, Hu Shi received a telegram dismissing him as ambassador.Originally, he had no intention of being an official, and he worked hard to serve for the national crisis; after the outbreak of the Pacific War, he wanted to find an opportunity and was determined to seek it.On the evening of the day when I received the dismissal telegram, I sent a call back to the center to express my gratitude. On September 8, the errand was handed over. On the 18th, he left the Twin Oaks embassy, ​​bid farewell to Washington, moved to New York, and restarted his academic career, intending to stay in the United States to continue writing "History of Chinese Philosophy". ① See the manuscript of "Hu Shi's Diary", Taipei Yuanliu Publishing Co., Ltd. 1990 edition, Volume 13, July 27, 1938. (Third Edition Note) ② Hu Shi sent a letter to Jiang Dongxiu on July 30, 1938. In December 1948, when he fled from Peking, a large number of letters, telegrams, notes, manuscripts and diaries left in his apartment were collected by the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and were compiled and published by the "Republic of China History Group (Research Office)" Some "correspondence letters" and "Hu Shi's Diary"; there are still a number of important manuscripts and letters that have not been published.This letter is quoted from "Hu Shi's Chronicle" compiled by Geng Yunzhi, and attached to the book "Hu Shi's Research Papers" published by Sichuan People's Publishing House in October 1985.All the following letters and telegrams without indicating the source shall be based on this. ③This poem was written on October 31, 1938.The author is in Washington, inscribed on the photo, and sent it to Mr. Chen Guangfu who was also negotiating a loan in Washington at that time.It is later included in the author's preliminary selection of "After Trying" in September 1952, entitled "Inscribe on my own photo, and give it to Chen Guangfu". There is a postscript after the poem: Guangfu and I were both doing some wartime work for the country in Washington at that time. It was the most critical period for the country, so there was a saying of "pawns crossing the river".Eight years later, during the 35th National Assembly period (1946), I wrote some stand-alone banners for others, in which I accidentally wrote these four lines of poems.Later, the literati of the Communist Party used the phrase "a pawn crossing the river" with a very bizarre explanation as material to attack me.These last two lines became the most famous lines. Press, this poem was retitled in 1946, and the situation has changed, and it has its own new ideas. Whether the Communist Party’s literati’s interpretation is weird or not will be discussed in section 67 of this book. In December 1964, the Taiwan Commercial Press published the book "Mr. Hu Shizhi's Poetry Handwriting".The first and second lines of the poem are "with a few white hairs, and the mood is almost middle-aged".The poem quoted here, according to the author’s handwriting on the photo in 1939, has a line of words “I wrote a small photo last November” at the end of the poem. ④ This letter was written on September 21, 1939, see note ①. ⑤This telegram is quoted from "Hu Shi's "However, You Can't Be a Teacher"" written by Wu Xiangxiang, see "Biography of Hundred People in the Republic of China", Volume 1, page 178. ⑥ Weng Wenhao sent a letter to Hu Shi on October 21, 1938, contained in "Hu Shi's Correspondence and Selected Letters", Beijing Zhonghua Book Company, May 1, 1979, volume 1, pp. 383-384. ⑦Note ① Volume 12, attached letter from Hu Shi to Wang Shijie (Snowboat) after June 19, 1935. (Third Edition Note) ⑧Quoted from Hu Songping's "Mr. Hu Shizhi's Chronicle Long-Edited First Draft", Taipei Lianjing Publishing Company, 1984 edition, Volume 5, p. 1640. ⑨Quoted from page 1620 of volume 5 of "Mr. ⑩ Quoted from "Mr. Hu Shih When the Country Is in Difficult Times—— Three Stories Told by Luo Jialun", published in the newspaper on March 2, 1962. At that time, Wang Shijie said in a letter to Hu Shi and others: "President Luo's reintroduction official letter (that is, the letter on July 23) is very trustworthy to Shi's brother, and I am very pleased to read it." For the encouragement of loans to the people and the war, thanks to Hu Shizhi’s achievements, etc., see "Selected Letters from Hu Shi", Beijing Zhonghua Book Company, May 1979 edition, volume 2, pp. 449, 498-499.You can also refer to "Wang Shijie Talks about Hu Shi and Politics" written by Li Qinglai, published in Taipei's "Central Daily" on March 1, 1962; also published in Taipei's "China Weekly" No. 620. This speech was translated and published in Chongqing's "Ta Kung Pao" on February 10 and 11, 1939, and was renamed "Japan's War of Aggression in China", which was read by Chiang Kai-shek."Biography of Hundred People in the Republic of China" published by Taipei Biographical Literature Publishing House, Volume 1, page 181, once quoted Mr. Harold Riegelmam to recall the situation of Hu Shi's speech at that time, saying: He (Hu Shi) compared the situation in China at that time to the situation of the American army in the Fergu Valley in the American Revolutionary War. He predicted with full confidence that the United States would enter the war and China's final victory, and the subsequent evolution was indeed the same.After speaking at the Harmony Club banquet, he and I went to East 70th Street for supper with some friends at the home of my late law firm partner, Morris Cooper II.We were sitting together on a small sofa, and he suddenly stood up and said that he felt severe pain around him, and his face was sweating profusely.He was handed a whiskey and soda and he drank it down.I persuaded him to leave and asked Peter Green who was present to take him back to the Ambassador Hotel on the way.This is Hu Shi's first heart attack.He has since spent 99 days in hospital.But he refused to obey the doctor's orders, and on the second day of his heart attack, he insisted on republishing his "Valley of Fergus" on another important occasion. Speech, and then into the hospital.His doctor told me that the glass of whiskey and soda that was kindly handed to him may have saved Hu Shi's life. Regman was Hu Shi's classmate at Cornell University and was the legal adviser of the Chinese embassy in the United States at the time. See the diary on January 22, 1942 in Volume 15 of the manuscript of "Hu Shi's Diary". (Note to the graphic edition) This letter has not been seen, but it is quoted from Wang Shijie's speech "Mr. Hu's Political Personality and Political Opinions" at the "Monthly Symposium on Characters" of the Taipei Biographical Literature Society, published in Taipei "Biographical Literature", Volume 28, Issue 5. Fu Sinian wrote a letter to Hu Shih on August 14, 1940, see "Hu Shi's Correspondence and Correspondence" Volume II, pp. 477-478. See the manuscript of "Hu Shi's Diary", Volume 14, the attached newspaper clippings on May 25, 1940, records on June 2, December 17, etc. (Third Edition Note)