Chapter 17 81-86

Chapter 81: Commitment, Independence, Freedom, Creation/Qian Liqun (9) This can inspire us: People of that generation put their lives into it no matter what they do in terms of learning, lecturing, or doing things. Learning and work are not external to them, but integrated with their own lives. One.In this way, everything they do will continuously renew and sublimate their own life, from which they can realize and experience the meaning, value and joy of their own life.This book describes such a well-known story: Professor Jin Yuelin was teaching logic at Southwest Associated University. Some students (I remember this was Xiao Shan, who later became Mrs. Ba Jin) thought this science was boring, so they asked Mr. Why engage in logic?" Professor Jin replied, "It's fun." (Laughs) The great linguist Zhao Yuanren also told his daughter that he studies linguistics for "fun."As the author said, "In the eyes of today's people, there is a lot of deep meaning hidden behind the simple sentence of fun. When many scholars in the world study a certain phenomenon or theory, they often do it for fun. Fun people are not utilitarian , not to catch fame, let alone grandstanding, not to make a lot of money."One more sentence can be added: it is not a professional technical operation, not just for making a living, but for the joy and freedom of one's own life.

Of course, this is by no means to deny the meaning of earning a living. As Lu Xun said, "the first is survival, the second is food and clothing, and the third is development." People's pursuit of material interests and money are human rights. The so-called "poverty and happiness" , as Lu Xun said, it is a kind of ruling technique, and the advocates themselves are not prepared to practice it.For such preachers, young people should maintain the necessary vigilance.But after survival, food and clothing are basically solved, that is, after food and clothing are achieved, what people should pursue spiritually and materially is a big problem.The scholars and professors we discussed obviously pay more attention to the meaning of spirit to human life, and what they pursue is "simple material life and rich spiritual life".They don't pursue things outside of their own lives, so they can, as Confucius said, "wealth and honor due to unrighteousness are like floating clouds to me": those are all external things, which should and can be taken lightly.

This book specifically mentions Mr. Fei Xiaotong's evaluation of his teacher Pan Guangdan: "Our generation attaches great importance to how others see us. Mr. Pan is deeper than us, and he puts his mind on how he sees himself."--This The words are worth pondering: "Focus on how others see yourself", what you care about is the external evaluation and status, which is actually a false name; while "thinking about how you think about yourself", what you care about is whether you are right or not, It is whether the self-life can be continuously created and renewed, so as to obtain true value and true meaning.We have repeatedly said that we must be responsible for our own life, and this is what we mean.And our problem is precisely here: Many people seem to value themselves very much, but in fact they value only temporary fame and fortune. On the contrary, they don't care about the true meaning and value of their lives, and are irresponsible, so they cannot enjoy To the real joy of life unique to the people of the "Republic of China generation". "I'm sorry for myself": This is the really big problem.

Chapter 82: Commitment, Independence, Freedom, Creation/Qian Liqun (10) "Who Is It To Me": Commitment to Academics As for academic commitment, I have already discussed it when I talked about Mr. Zeng Zhaolun; here is a little more development. Another story about Mr. Liu Wendian at Southwest Associated University: One day, Japanese planes attacked Kunming, and professors and students took refuge everywhere.Liu Wendian ran halfway, and suddenly remembered that Chen Yinke, whom he admired "120,000 points", was blind and unable to walk, so he hurriedly led a few students back to help Mr. Chen and ran out of the city, shouting: "It is important to preserve the quintessence of the country. Preserving the quintessence of the country is important!" (laughs) At this time, he saw Shen Congwen, the new literature writer whom he usually despises the most, in the crowd, so he turned and scolded: "Why are you running? I, Liu, am running for Zhuangzi. I am going to die. No one talks about Zhuangzi anymore! Who are you running for?" (Laughs)

This probably has elements of romance, but Liu Wendian's "madness" is true; the so-called "madness" is nothing more than seeing his subject as "the best in the world", and his position in the subject is very important: I If not, this subject will be gone!This kind of arrogance and arrogance of "who can give me nothing" actually shows the academic sense of mission, responsibility, and conscious awareness of academic commitment.The so-called "I am born to be useful", I was born to be a scholar; the so-called "Heaven will send a great responsibility to the people", these scholars were born for a certain subject, such as Zeng Zhaolun was born for chemistry, Liu Wendian was born for poetry, Lin Geng was born for Tang poetry, and so on.

Therefore, in their eyes, academics are their own life, and there is nothing other than academics.Philosopher Jin Yuelin said: "There seem to be many philosophical animals in the world, and I am one myself. Even if they are put in prison to do hard work, their minds are still full of philosophical problems." Here's another example.Luo Niansheng, a world-renowned translator of ancient Greek classics, is said to have only one simple theme in his life: ancient Greece.He himself said: "Every morning, I open the book of Greek literature and forget about other things. I feel that this is the greatest happiness in my life." His life is full of ancient Greece, and he treats it with the spirit of ancient Greek works. world.The stories my son accepted when he was a child were all from ancient Greece; when he was with friends, all the jokes he told were not from ancient Greece; when his friend broke up in love and wanted to commit suicide, he advised his friend: "Go and read "Oedipus the King", you will understand How precious a person’s will is.” (Laughs) His son recalled that when he persuaded his father to fight for some titles and honors, his father approached him, with a mixture of playfulness, satisfaction and joy, and said softly: “I Don’t want that, that’s false.”--It’s enough to have ancient Greece in his life. In the 18th century, the German art history master Winkelmann said that ancient Greek art was "noble simplicity and quiet greatness"; Luo Niansheng immersed in it all his life, and his life also obtained such "noble simplicity and quiet greatness" . (applaud)

Chapter 83: Commitment, Independence, Freedom, Creation/Qian Liqun (11) What is "academic school"?This is true academicism!What is "academic for academic's sake"?This kind of learning as a "self-sufficient existence of life" is the real "academic for the sake of learning"!There is no real scholarship without the commitment of life! For such scholars who have grasped the true meaning of academics, academics are everywhere, and they are in an academic state all the time.Here is another "interesting meal that should be recorded in the history of architecture": In the early 1950s, two of China's most prestigious architects, Yang Tingbao and Liang Sicheng, and their students had dinner at a restaurant in Beijing's Dong'an Market.During the conversation, Yang Tingbao suddenly stood up from his seat, sat down again, stood up again, looked at the tables and chairs in front of him, then took out a tape measure from his pocket, took the measurements, and recorded them one by one in a small book. --It turns out that he found that this set of tables and chairs only takes up a very small space, and it is very comfortable to sit on. This is of reference value in the architectural design of restaurants, and he always carries a measuring stick and a small notebook with him. to record at any time.

The famous reporter Shao Piaoping we talked about earlier also had this experience: a reporter must always live in a role.During the chat, everyone is drunk, but I am alone, and my "news brain" is always active; At this time, "putting the whole body and mind" at all times is actually a kind of obsession with academics and my own work.When the obsession reaches the extreme, there will be a sense of dullness and stupidity.People usually call such scholars "nerds". In my opinion, there is a kind of respect in this well-meaning ridicule: without such a "nerd" spirit, it is impossible to enter academia and rise to the top. --I hope that the graduate students present here will remember this point. (laugh)

This speech is too long, but I have something to say. (laughs) So let’s talk a little bit more briefly. (applaud) What I want to say is that such committed scholars, professors, and intellectuals have their own spirit.In my opinion, it is mainly independent spirit, free spirit and creative spirit. Independent spirit: "every man can't win his ambition" Let me tell you a few stories first. In 1944, Fu Sinian, a famous historian, challenged Premier Kong Xiangxi at the Political Council, exposing his corruption and fraud in the issuance of US dollar bonds. After the meeting, Chiang Kai-shek personally invited him to dinner to intercede for Kong.During the dinner, Chiang Kai-shek asked: "Do you trust me?" Fu Sinian replied: "I absolutely trust." Chiang Kai-shek then said: "Since you trust me, you should trust the people I appoint." Fu Sinian immediately said: "Member I trust you, and as for saying that because you trust you, you should trust the people you appoint, well, I can’t say the same thing if I cut off my head.” (Applause) – Some people say that in this kind of dialogue, “the Scholars, let alone have ever dreamed of it?" (Applause)

It was still that Professor Liu Wendian. In 1928, not long after Chiang Kai-shek took power, he wanted to improve his reputation. He had repeatedly stated that he would go to Anhui University where Liu Wendian was in charge of school affairs, but Liu refused to come to the school to "speak".Later, although Jiang got his wish, but when he inspected, the campus was deserted everywhere, and there was no grand and warm welcome scene as the leader hoped.All because of Liu Wendian's cold words: "A university is not a yamen!" (Applause) Later, when a student riot broke out in Anhui, Chiang Kai-shek summoned Liu Wendian.When they met, Liu called Chiang "Sir" instead of "Chairman". Chiang was very dissatisfied, and the conflict between the two escalated. Liu Wendian pointed to Chiang Kai-shek and said, "You are a warlord!" Therefore, Liu was detained on the spot and said that he would be shot.Later, thanks to the intercession of Cai Yuanpei and others, he was locked up for a month before being released. -- Later generations sighed and said: "Today, such intellectuals are nowhere to be found, and the so-called wind is always blown away by the rain." (Applause)

Chapter 84: Commitment, Independence, Freedom, Creation/Qian Liqun (12) Celebrities are used to "seeing adults, they will despise them": not only "smiling proud princes", but also "foreign adults".Professor Ye Gongchao, who studies modern British and American poetry, said to his friends when he was the ambassador to the United States: "When I met Eisenhower (the President of the United States), I regarded him as a soldier psychologically. When I met Kennedy (the President of the United States), I thought he was just a soldier. Playboy, just a rich little guy." (laughs) There is spirit in the little stories.What spirit?The independent personality, integrity and strength of character that Confucius said "the three armies can win the commander, but the common man cannot lose the ambition". (applaud) I would also like to solemnly introduce to you a magnificent essay in the history of Peking University that cannot be ignored but has been submerged for a long time. I only knew it when I was reading this book. Around 1939, the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government ordered Southwest Associated University three times to abide by the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education, the national unified teaching materials, and the holding of unified examinations. -- Such administrative intervention, which has been regarded as "natural" in today's Chinese education, was rejected by the Academic Affairs Conference of the United Nations University, and Professor Feng Youlan was publicly recommended to draft the "Defence".His writing is neither humble nor overbearing: there are four people who don’t understand the order of the Ministry of Education, "What is not explained by the same people": "Husband University is the highest institution of learning, covering everything. It is necessary to go to the same goal and go different ways. It is unanimous and full of considerations. How can it be stereotyped?" , ordered to follow the same ": this "unexplained one also". "Universities are the highest educational and academic institutions" and "how to research and teach should be given the freedom of manoeuvres for universities." "The Ministry of Education is a government agency, and the authorities sometimes advance and retreat. Universities cultivate people for a hundred years, and policy facilities should not be changed. If the establishment and abolition of a course within a university must be ordered by the Ministry of Education, it will definitely be affected by the advancement and retreat of the authorities in the ministry. The decree is changed from day to day, how can it be planned to carry out research, to suppress the students' hearing, and to strengthen their minds": these are "three things that are not explained". "The courses taught by the professor must be designated by the Ministry of Education, and the content of the courses must also be approved by the Ministry of Education, so that the professor is not as good as a member of the Ministry of Education in the eyes of the students": This "unspoken four things ".In the end, it comes down to one point: "Gaiben School inherits the legacy of Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Nankai University" and has its own tradition, "It seems that there is no need to change it easily." The author said: "When people read it today, they say that they are absolutely perfect, and then sigh for a long time. The dignity of intellectuals should be like this. The government and officials can issue orders as much as they want, but please note that we dare not agree with them and even refuse to implement them-this is called fanfare. Insensitivity, self-evident. Intellectuals should also be reserved like this, not talking about achievements indiscriminately, but they have confidence in academics and expectations for tradition in their hearts - so don't change it easily." We already have Chen Yinke's majestic essay in commemoration of Wang Guowei, setting up the realm of "independent spirit and free thought" for scholars, which we will cherish forever; The benchmark of "strive for academic freedom and resist ideological control", I can't help sighing: the spirit of the university is not returning, the independent spirit of the university! (big applause) Chapter 85: Commitment, Independence, Freedom, Creation/Qian Liqun (13) "Still literati are the most free" This is a sobering statement from Professor Ye Gongchao: He became a professor first, and then went into politics; but he finally resigned from office because he "couldn't let go of his intellectual stature and the arrogance of an intellectual" and came back to be a professor , So, there is an exclamation that "literati are the most free". --However, "after all, literati are the most naive", and soon, relevant parties intervened to put pressure on the school.After rushing through Professor Ye's class for a semester, it was forced to end. But there is still some truth in saying that "literati are the most free": We can still see a spirit of freedom in this generation of scholars including Mr. Ye Gongchao: the so-called body is bound, but the mind is free. In my opinion, this kind of free spirit is not only manifested in the true disposition and true elegance of the traditional "celebrity" that most people of this generation have, but also a kind of "great freedom" of "big life". We talked about the "big commitment" of this generation; in fact, behind the "big commitment" is the concept of "big life".As Lu Xun said: "Infinite distances, countless people are all related to me." The so-called "the mind is vast and even Guangyu", in their minds, the entire nation, the entire human being, and the life of the entire universe are all related to their own. Life is connected.As long as one life in a country, nation, human being, or universe is not free, they themselves are also not free.Some people say that a real poet can feel the joy of heaven and the pain of hell; seeing others killed is more distressing than being killed himself.Therefore, the individual spiritual freedom they pursue contains the spirit of fraternity, which is what Buddhism calls great compassion.This is a state of "a powerful and unconstrained style", independent and unrestrained, and at the same time free to enter and exit between people and things, a state of great freedom in the big realm: this is fascinating. Yes, it is also the charm of this generation.In contrast, the "freedom" that some of us pursue seems too trivial. How creative is human After reading this book, the strongest feeling is that the creativity of "those people in the Republic of China" is really amazing. Please look at Professor Zhao Yuanren, a master of linguistics: the greatest joy in his life is to go to any place in the world, and the local people recognize him as a "villager".After World War II, when he went to the Paris station, he spoke Parisian dialect to the porter, and the other party thought he was a native Parisian, so he sighed: "You are back, now it is not as poor as before, Paris is poor." (laughs) Later, he went to Berlin, Germany, and chatted with the locals in German with a Berlin accent.An elderly neighbor said to him: "God bless you, you escaped this disaster and came back safely." (Laughs) Zhao Yuanren's unique skill is to perform ventriloquist "travel across the country": from Beijing to the south along Jinghan Road, From Hebei to Shanxi and Shaanxi, out of Tongguan, from Henan to Lianghu, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, from Guangdong to Guangxi around Jiangxi, Fujian to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, from Shandong to the three eastern provinces through Bohai Bay, and finally to Shanhaiguan to return to Beijing.This "travel", he talked for nearly an hour at a stretch, "traveling" over half of China, and every time he "arrived" at a place, he would use the local dialect to introduce places of interest and local products and specialties.Known as the "Father of Chinese Linguistics", this genius can speak 33 Chinese dialects and is proficient in multiple languages. (exclaims) People said he was a "Renaissance wise man". --Engels said long ago that the Renaissance is an era of "giants", and the giants in ideology, culture and academics are not restricted by the division of disciplines, but are generalists who develop in many aspects: the future academic development will be It is becoming more and more comprehensive, and what is called for is a new generation of generalists. Chapter 86: Commitment, Independence, Freedom, Creation/Qian Liqun (14) Another example can be given: the aforementioned Professor Wu Xinghua of the Department of Western Languages ​​of Peking University is also such a versatile generalist and all-rounder.Among other things, his way of playing bridge is a good talk in the circle of friends, full of "talking and laughing, looking down on everything": while playing cards, he told jokes, holding a collection of poems by Qing Dynasty literati in his hand, taking advantage of others While thinking hard about countermeasures, he turned his head to read his book. (Laughs) --You can say that this is "showing off talent", but you can't help but admire his extraordinary talent, and behind the talent is abundant creative vitality.Compelling talent, compelling creativity, it is enough for a person to live to this extent. Facing the intellectual and academic creations of this generation, I often think: how much human creativity is really endless, endless!In front of our predecessors, we don't have to feel ashamed, because as far as human nature is concerned, we are not lacking in creativity.What the predecessors could do, we can do too: young people should have such ambition. Transform the spirit of "commitment, independence, freedom, and creation" into daily life ethics This is "those people in the Republic of China": this is a generation of scholars with commitment, this is a generation of intellectuals with independent, free, and creative spirits, they have become the backbone of the nation, the pillars of modern Chinese ideology, culture and academics, And, as Lu Xun said, "hold the gate of darkness" for us.As a descendant, it is a great fortune in life to be protected and nourished by the spirit of this generation.But the people are far away, the darkness is still there, only we shoulder the gate, bear the burden, and stick to the spirit of independence, freedom, and creativity left by our predecessors: this is your generation, the generation of "post-80s" The historical mission is also a key for you to "establish your beliefs and establish your goals and directions in life". The last thing I want to say is that the "commitment, independence, freedom, and creative spirit" embodied in this generation is the spirit of Peking University that we want to pursue and the true voice of Peking University that we want to listen to.Following the spirit of Peking University and listening to the true voice of Peking University will bring us into the big field of vision, the big realm, and the great spirit of life-if we just chew on our own joys and sorrows and regard it as the whole world, we will be too humble Petty, so pitiful.But we also need to be conscious and be good at turning the Peking University spirit of "commitment, independence, freedom, and creation" into daily life ethics, and implement them into specific and micro life practices. This is what I often say "think big, do small "Things"--to be too ambitious, to have high eyesight but to be low-handed is precisely a weakness of Beida people, or a misunderstanding, and has even become a historical burden of Beida people.Today's Peking University people not only have the responsibility to inherit the spirit of Peking University, but also have the mission of overcoming the historical disadvantages of Peking University and becoming a new generation of Peking University people who are far-sighted and down-to-earth: this is what the "post-dead" should have History bears. My speech is over, thank you all. (applaud) Qian Liqun was born in Chongqing in 1939, and his ancestral home is Hangzhou, Zhejiang. In 1960, he graduated from the Journalism Department of Renmin University of China. In 1978, he was admitted as a graduate student in the Chinese Department of Peking University. In 1981, he received a master's degree in literature from Peking University.Author of "Search for the Soul", "Thirty Years of Modern Chinese Literature" (co-authored), "Biography of Zhou Zuoren", "1948: The Mystery of Heaven and Earth", etc.