Chapter 27 people who have influenced me in my life

Liang: He rejects Buddhism, and others think he is a person who teaches Buddhism, but he is not. Ai: This is a strange question.In your own opinion, what is the greatest achievement in your life? Liang: Don't talk about my achievements, let's talk about my work. (Ai laughs) What kind of work did I do?I just wrote the book "Heart and Life".Assuming that I have made academic contributions, that is to say, I have made achievements, that is the book, "Human Heart and Life".I tried my best to exert my mind and energy, and what I could do in terms of academic thinking was that book, "Heart and Life".This is one aspect, and the other aspect is that I have done my best to deal with China's political reality in the past few decades.

Ai: Mr. Liang is very old and wise. Do you have any insights into human death? Liang: I once said that death will not end, unlike some individuals who think that death is over, there is no such thing.Didn't I just say eight words, "similarity continues, non-stop is very", life is that today's me is similar to yesterday's me, and the me of the previous minute is similar to the me of the next minute. It's not the same anymore. The same thing, this is called "similar continuity", continuous, uninterrupted, non-interrupted, very, often constant, not the same thing, not the same thing long ago.People are like this, life is like this, so I am still like this.

Ai: People are always afraid of death, people are always afraid... Liang: I don't want to die.In fact, there is no need to be afraid (laughs), and there is no need to hope for longevity. Ai: You don't need to hope for longevity? Liang: There is no need to hope for longevity, let it be, because letting it be is the "Kooran Dagong". Ai: Has your outlook on life changed in the past thirty years? Liang: No change. Ai: Who has the greatest influence on your life or thoughts? Liang: Do you mean the past or the present? Ai: Both past and present are fine. Liang: In the past, I was influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism.

Ai: Buddha and Confucius? Liang: Yes, people in the past have influenced me from Buddhism and Confucianism. Ai: Has someone else influenced your life or thought? Liang: If you don't talk about the ancients, but talk about my contemporaries, my friends and teachers, there are two people.One is from Fujian. Isn’t there a Fujian province in China? (Ai: Yes.) There is a Mr. Lin from Fujian. Mr. Lin is something I admire very much. I respect and admire Mr. Lin in terms of thought and conduct, and he is also a person who has influenced me. Ai: Who is this Mr. Lin? Liang: Maybe some people don't pay much attention to him, but in fact this person is very valuable.His name is Lin Zhijun, his name is Zaiping, and he is from Fujian.

Ai: I didn't pay attention to him either.How did you know him?Be it one of your teachers, or a friend, or... Liang: Let me talk about Mr. Lin first.Mr. Lin is a man of the highest character.He seems to be ignored by people, as if he is not well-known, but in fact, he is the most admired by Liang Qichao.Liang Qichao is very famous. Liang Qichao enjoys a great reputation. He doesn't seem to be as famous as Mr. Liang, but Mr. Liang admires him the most. (Liang Qichao) When he was dying, he took a large box of his writings and manuscripts, some finished and some unfinished, some poems, some articles, some on politics, some on academics, a big box, and told his children Give it to Mr. Lin, ask Mr. Lin to approve, which ones are necessary, which ones are unnecessary, and Mr. Lin will decide which ones will be published after my death.So Mr. Liang Rengong's..., this book that came out after his death—usually called "Collected Works", sometimes it is called the complete "Complete Works". Mr. Liang Rengong's works were published under the name of "Collected Works". When I was here, Many bookstores sold it to him, so "Anthology of the Ice Drinking Room" is much better.But he handed over a large box of everything, including unpublished things, and even unfinished things, to Mr. Lin, who was approved by Mr. Lin, and finally published "Ice Drinking Room Collection".I said this to prove Mr. Lin's knowledge, but also to prove Mr. Lin's character. He has the highest character, and his character is the highest.One more thing to mention is that Liang Rengong is very active in politics. He has a political party led by him, and the name of the political party has also changed. After a short time, he left, even though he was still a good friend with Liang Rengong, he said that this is how you do it, I can't do it, I won't do it with you.Why is it like this?Why didn't he work with Liang Rengong?Liang Rengong is politically ambitious, and he wants to make a big difference, but Mr. Lin does not have this point. Mr. Lin thinks Liang Rengong is a bit messy and hates Liang Rengong.Mr. Lin is such a person, he cleans himself up, he has been extremely clean all his life (laughs), and he is such a person in politics and society.So Liang Rengong admired him, respected him, and left the matter behind him to Mr. Lin. I invite you to review and approve all my works, which ones you want and which ones you don’t want, and you will publish them after you decide.From this place, we can see the value of Mr. Lin, which is remarkable.He's 14 years older than me, and I'm 88 now, so if he's still alive, he's over 100.I admire him very much, I admire Mr. Lin very much.I can't be regarded as his student, but I should be a self-proclaimed student to him.He is also very kind to me and caring. I often introduce my friends to him, such as Mr. Wu (referring to Mr. Wu Guanqi—editor), and he is also good to Mr. Lin. The Mr. Xiong I mentioned just now is because of me I have a good relationship with Mr. Lin—Mr. Lin calls Mr. Xiong "Old Bear" (laughs), and they have a very good relationship.Mr. Xiong asked Mr. Lin to read any works he wrote later.This is Mr. Lin.

Ai: Mr. Lin, how did you know him? Liang: These are several seniors. Mr. Lin is my senior, 14 years older than me, Mr. Liang Rengong is also my senior, 20 years older than me, and Mr. Cai Yuanpei is 30 years older than me.I am very lucky. These seniors and old gentlemen valued me very early (laughs). Before I asked them, they showed a kind of love to me. It’s all like this. The same is true for Mr. Lin, Mr. Liang Rengong, and Cai Yuanpei. The same is true for my husband. I am always well-acquainted and loved by them.When I was very young, I was not yet 30 years old. When I was 28 years old, Mr. Liang Rengong came to see me at my home. He was a very famous person, and I was not famous at that time.Their seniors are modest, they love promising young people, and they help young people. Their intentions are very good.Mr. Lin is like this, Mr. Liang is like this, and Mr. Cai is even more like this. Without Mr. Cai Yuanpei's appreciation for me, I cannot enter Peking University, and I am still very young.

Ai: Then Mr. Lin also went to look for you? Liang: Yes.Let me tell you about my past.I joined the government at the time when I was 24 years old, doing a small job as a secretary of the Ministry of Justice.Later, when I was working as a secretary in the Ministry of Justice, "Journal of Casuistry" was published before that. In the Ministry of Justice, the official position is similar to that of the secretary, and a little higher. What is the name of that person?What is that name called Yu..., I couldn't say the name for a while (it should be Yu Shaosong, the counselor of the Ministry of Justice at the time—the sorter), that person was familiar with Mr. Lin, and Mr. Lin said to that person——because Mr. Lin saw my "Question of Yuan Causation" and asked you to introduce him to that friend. That friend was with me in the Ministry of Justice, and you told Liang that I wanted to be friends with him.In this way, after being introduced by that person, I became friends with Mr. Lin.Didn’t I just say that when I was 28 years old, Liang Rengong came to visit me at my house?It was Mr. Lin who came with him.When he came with him, Mr. Liang brought his son, Liang Sicheng, an architect, and a famous man named Jiang Fangzhen.That time, Liang Rengong, Jiang Fangzhen, Lin Zaiping, and Liang Sicheng came to my house to see me in a car. I was 28 years old at that time.Next, let’s talk about Mr. Wu (you can refer to the article "A Brief Biography of Mr. Wu Yongbo", see "The Complete Works of Liang Shuming" Volume 4 - the editor).Mr Wu is a great value.If someone asks me, who is the person you have met and admired the most in your life?Then I will answer this.He has a good relationship with Mr. Lin, but he is not the same as Mr. Lin.Mr. Lin is very knowledgeable, and he likes to compose poems, but Mr. Wu does not compose (laughs), he is a down-to-earth person.Didn't I say, suppose that in terms of academics, my most important thing is to write "Life and Human Heart"?But I myself think that I have a very important responsibility. What is this very important responsibility?It is Mr. Wu, I want to introduce his knowledge and personality to the world and future generations.From my point of view, Mr. Wu is a pure Confucian, a down-to-earth Confucian.Where does this pure and down-to-earth Confucianism manifest itself?manifested in his life. ...

(August 16, 1980)