Chapter 81 Scholars and Hawkers

In Hu Shi's lonely situation in his later years, a peddler who sold sesame cakes became his friend, bringing him unexpected comfort and happiness. The peddler was named Yuan Tiao, a native of Qingjiang, Jiangsu, who had been a sophomore in a private middle school in Shanghai. Living in Taipei in 1949, he sold tofu and worked as a shop assistant, and later made a living selling sesame cakes.In addition to making and selling cakes, he also likes to read a little, and likes to discuss the political systems of Britain and the United States with others.Which one is better, the British and American political systems? He is more inclined to worship the United States, but he can't explain it theoretically, and he has not been able to get a satisfactory answer.So, he rashly wrote a long letter and asked the great scholar Hu Shi for advice.This happened in October 1959.

When Hu Shi received this letter, he saw the name and address of the sender, but he had never met him before. After reading the letter, he realized that it was a peddler who sold sesame cakes. The British and American political issues that I am most passionate about made me feel very happy, so I wrote a reply letter in my own handwriting, the full text of which is as follows: Mr. Yuan Tiao: Thank you for your long letter of October 23rd. I have read your letter carefully, and I sincerely thank you for writing this long letter of two thousand characters in the life of hard-working cakes, baked cakes, and selling cakes. Mentioned" and write it out and send it to me.

The question you raised is too big, and I am ashamed. I cannot give you an answer that satisfies me. I can only say that there is actually no big difference between the British system and the American system you mentioned.The story of "Truman took no one" in your letter is exactly the same as Churchill left No. 10 Dunning Street in 1945. It is the same. I can also say that in our country, there is a cake seller who sells sesame cakes on the street every day with a lead bucket on his back, rain or shine, let alone the scorching sun, but he is still willing to sneak in and care about the country's plans. Concerned about the political systems of the United Kingdom and the United States, and hoping that the country can embark on a road of long-term peace and stability-this single miracle is enough to make me optimistic and happy.

If there is anything I can do for you, such as giving you a book that you can't find, I will be very willing to do it. best wishes. Hu Shi.Forty-eight, ten, twenty-five nights. ① From then on, the peddler Yuan Tiao became Dr. Hu Shi's "my friend". One day, Hu Shi invited Yuan Tiao to visit the Academia Sinica in Nangang.When they met, Hu Shi took Yuan Tiao's hand and said happily: "You are so young, which is beyond my expectation. From your letter, it depends on you being over 40 years old!" Yuan Yu opened a towel bag he brought with him, and inside were 10 sesame cakes, which were bright yellow and exuded the fragrance of freshly roasted sesame seeds.He held it in front of Hu Shi and said, "Sir, I made this with my own hands, and I gave it to you to show my respect to you."

Hu Shi took the sesame cake with a smile on his face, picked up one and ate it, chewing hard, with a joy rarely seen in recent years on his face. They, one old and one young, talked happily for nearly two hours.Hu Shi still did not forget to preach Dewey's philosophy and reformism to his young friends. He repeated the old saying of decades ago: Social improvement is accumulated bit by bit. There can only be retail, not wholesale. Only the communist regime believes that social improvement can be wholesale.Many people do things with passionate goals and blind methods... The reason why many of us failed in the past was also the fault of having ambitions but no methods. ②

Then they talked about their childhood.Hu Shi said that when he was a child, he liked to play games with other children. Later, he went to the United States to study at Cornell University and liked swimming. However, he had a tumor in his nostril, which made it difficult to breathe in water.After hearing this, Yuan Tiao thought it was a coincidence, and told Hu Shi that he also had a small tumor in his nostril, which might be nasal cancer.Yuan Tiao heard that a new batch of cobalt 60 had arrived at the National Taiwan University Hospital, but it was too expensive to afford diagnosis and treatment! Hu Shih immediately wrote a letter to President Gao Tiancheng of the National Taiwan University Hospital, saying:

This is my friend Yuan Tiao, and all medical expenses will be borne by me. ③ Although Hu Shi was not that rich financially, he was often discharged early even when he was in the hospital; but he sincerely helped a studious young man, which was an excellent comfort to his soul. On that day, Hu Shi wanted to keep Yuan Tiao to have a good time.But there happened to be foreign guests visiting, and Yuan Tiao left for fear of delaying Hu Shi's official business.Before leaving, Hu Shi presented him with five books, each of which was autographed as a souvenir, and said: "You take it and read it first. If you need any books in the future, feel free to come and get them."

Later, Yuan Tiao went to the hospital for an examination and was relieved that it was not cancer, but he was very grateful to Hu Shi for his concern and help. As for Hu Shi, he often remembered this peddler friend.Once he had a heart attack and was admitted to National Taiwan University Hospital.His friend Mei Yiqi is also in the hospital, in a ward next door.One day, Mrs. Mei brought a sesame cake to Hu Shi's ward and said, "I'll give you something. I believe you have never eaten something like this." Hu Shi took it over and saw that it was a sesame cake, so he smiled and said, "I have eaten it a long time ago. This is made by a friend of mine." Old Hu Shi was naive enough, thinking that the big city of Taipei, sesame cake "My friend" Yuan Tiao did it all by himself!

①This letter is quoted from "Mr. Hu Shizhi's Chronicle Long-Edited First Draft" edited by Hu Songping, Taipei Lianjing Publishing Company, 1984 edition, volume 8, pages 3006-3007. ②The quotation here is quoted from Wu Xiangxiang's "Hu Shi's "But he is not a teacher"", see "Biography of Hundreds of People in the Republic of China", Volume 1, p. 206. ③Refer to "Hu Shi This Man" written by He Suo, see "The Lonely Lion", Taipei Vanilla Mountain Bookstore, 1977 edition, pp. 31-35.