Chapter 7 The Figure of a Walker by the Lake——Professor Yi Nian Zong Baihua

Most of the twentieth century is over.What kind of shadows have left behind by the older generation of scholars who passed away with this century that is about to become the past? Today, the academic circles have begun to look back at the generation of Chinese language scholars who were the same age as this not-so-satisfactory century, survived the catastrophe, and passed away quietly.This generation of Chinese intellectuals was crowned as the "May Fourth" generation, which marked their pursuit of meaning.Xiong Shili, Jin Yuelin, Chen Yinke, Tang Junyi, Liang Zongdai, Zhu Guangqian, Zong Baihua... Countless Chinese intellectuals of the "May 4th" generation used their youthful enthusiasm and academic research methods to resist the destruction of meaning in this century and meaning reversed.For the "Fourth Five-Year" generation of Chinese intellectuals who appeared more than half a century later, the image of their predecessors, the "May Fourth" generation of intellectuals, is kind.However, these two generations of intellectuals are two generations after all.

An interesting question that probably cannot be avoided by the intellectuals of the "Fourth Five-Year Plan" generation is: when modern Chinese intellectuals resisted the reversal of meaning in history, did history ever turn them upside down?Intellectuals struggle spiritually with the demon of history, who will win and who will lose?This question involves whether academics should or must submit to history, whether it should or must give up the decision to determine the meaning shape of the world to the so-called history.Of course, this question cannot cover up or replace another question: whether modern Chinese scholars have ever inverted the order of meaning while resisting the inversion of meaning.

These are just empty words, big words, very boring questions.How can a mere scholar be compared with history.Their spirit and personality are at best an embellishment of history, and history follows its own path.A scholar's pursuit of meaning, history will have its own evaluation, although the confused scholar does not know who this history is.It is said that only those who have dominated the fate of several generations and created the joys and sorrows of countless people have the greatest figures given to them by history. Compared with those all-powerful historical figures, the figure left by Professor Zong Baihua is too insignificant. Compared with other scholars whose works are as long as he left behind, his works are obviously too fragmented, and none of them are slightly larger. works handed down.In today's world where books flood people's spirituality, can there be a place for a sincere and transparent mind?

The figure left by Professor Zong Baihua is not huge, but to me, it is very kind.Mr. Zong Baihua has passed away for a year, and his figure still leans towards me from time to time, staying by my side... one When I first entered Peking University, I heard that Professor Zong Baihua likes to take a walk, especially in the Xiaolin Lake and the forest of cultural relics and historic sites.With the publication of the beautiful and elegant "A Walk in Aesthetics", the image of this master of aesthetics as a walker is more vivid, as if Professor Zong Baihua is really a kind of Qinglin Gaoshi.

One day, I went to see him as a routine, but unfortunately I didn't meet him.Grandmaster's mother told me that he went outside for a walk.I turned back, and as soon as I arrived at Weiming Lake, I saw Mr. Zong wearing an old-fashioned double-breasted cloth jacket, with a small cloth bag on his shoulders, and walking home in a hurry with a cane. He looked very tired; although he Tell me to go for a walk, but I can't see the mentality of a walker. The so-called "walking", whether in terms of daily life or in terms of metaphor, has the meaning of being relaxed and leisurely.In any case, the Zong Baihua of the era is definitely not the image of a walker; the Zong Baihua after Youou returned to China is not a walker in the forest of cultural relics and handicrafts.Zong Baihua’s sharp attack on Confucianism and Taoism in the era has disappeared in Zong Baihua’s mature thoughts, and most of what he sees after that is the praise of the personality of Confucius and Zhuang. This does not mean that he has converted to “walking” "philosophy.In the Ming Dynasty, he "discusses the beauty of Jin people", while in concealment, he "discusses the emptiness and fulfillment of art". Zong Baihua's enthusiasm for the fulfillment of life and his great enthusiasm for life in the era are still the same as before.

If the image of Zong Baihua in his later years is the image of a "walker", is this image true? If this poet and scholar who had made a long-cherished wish to "study the dark aspects of human society" changed his religion in his later years to " How this happened, then, is still a question. As an esthetician, Zong Baihua's basic standpoint is to explore the creation that makes life a work of art.This is different from the esthetician Mr. Zhu Guangqian.Zhu Guangqian explored and dealt with art as an artistic issue. His masterpieces "Psychology of Literature and Art" and "On Poetry" in his early years, and "History of Western Aesthetics" in his later years-especially the basic focus and conclusion of the book, are all It fully shows that Mr. Zhu Guangqian is a scholar of literature and art with profound knowledge.But for Zong Baihua, the problem of art is first of all the problem of life, art is a kind of outlook on life, and "artistic life" is a valuable and meaningful life.Zong Baihua and Zhu Guangqian, two modern Chinese aesthetic masters, were influenced by the philosophy of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche in their early years. Due to the differences in personal temperament, Zhu Guangqian’s academic thinking also involves some life issues, but in academic In terms of the basic orientation of the research, the art of life has always played a decisive role in Zong Baihua.

Zong Baihua of the era, facing the chaos of the times, the separation of people's hearts, and the corruption of the national spirit, deeply felt that the transformation of personality was the most important issue.To transform the "mechanical life" and "self-interested life", we must start with the sentiment of life.These arguments obviously have the meaning of a philosophical response to the problem of modernity, just as German life philosophy (Dilthey, Simmel, Euken) appeared as a response to the spiritual crisis of modernity at the beginning of this century. It is not surprising that Zong Baihua, a young man who always attached importance to life issues, immediately hit it off with the popular life philosophy at that time when he came into contact with German philosophy.It can be seen that the young Zong Baihua is familiar with Simmel’s works, and in his main thesis after staying in Europe and returning to China, there are obvious traces of the influence of Spengler’s philosophical thoughts (for example, the concept of spatial awareness he emphasized very much ).Strictly speaking, Mr. Zong Baihua is first and foremost a life philosopher, moreover, he is Chinese-style.

After all, there are substantial differences between the Chinese life philosophy and the Germanic life philosophy.In the modern Chinese philosophy of life, as far as individuality is concerned, Wang Guowei is followed by Zong Baihua. two In the early 1950s, professors of foreign philosophy in major universities across the country were all mobilized to Peking University to reform their thinking.The faculty of the Philosophy Department of Peking University suddenly appeared to be extremely strong.Professor Zong Baihua came to Beijing from Nanjing, and never returned to Jiangnan where he grew up, studied and engaged in education since childhood.

In the beginning, Mr. Zong lived in the South Pavilion of Yanyuan, and with a single lamp, he devoted himself to studying his favorite Kant.A few years have passed, and the lively debate on the subjective and objective positions of aesthetics has begun.Professor Zong Baihua was not so enthusiastic about this debate that affected the positions of many aestheticians.Too bad, he also somewhat adopted some objectivity theory.It can be seen that he thinks there is nothing wrong with objective theory. What is interesting is that at this time, Zong Baihua began to praise the not-so-objective Zhuangzi for walking in the mountains, and expressed his attitude of walking: walking freely and unrestrained, you can occasionally pick up flowers and swallows, as a Memories of walking.

It would be extremely ridiculous to label Zong Baihua's thought as objective or subjective.For him, these are all external names and have nothing to do with life.Is life subjective or objective?Do you have this to say? " Zong Baihua really started walking?Why did he propose the philosophy of "walking" in this era that demands "unity of thought"? What does "walking" have to do with academics? In the study room of Mr. Zong's house, there are various paintings hanging, including two still lifes.Once, Mr. Zong and I chatted about still life.When it comes to art, he is always eloquent, but also quite concise.He said: "Still life is nothing more than injecting emotions into very ordinary small things; in fact, China has long had this tradition and trend. Song people's sketches, a bug, a chicken, are endlessly interesting. This originated from Tao Yuanming dissolving himself The spirit of entering nature is not to write about people or things, but to write about natural objects that appear to be ordinary on the surface, and to place deep affection on sketches, small things, and bugs. Westerners used to pay attention to history and characters, and only in modern times have they paid attention to still life; In the early days, the emphasis was on the individual, and then on the history, and this is still the case today; moreover, in Chinese history, cultural history was not important, only political history, and the twenty-four histories are all the history of political struggles.”

Many scholars of the "May Fourth" generation turned to the study of the history of Han culture (history of thought, academic history, aesthetics, and literature) in the second half of their lives or in their later years, and most of them probably had some kind of "empathy" mentality here.Although most of them received Western academic training in their early years, they are Chinese after all.Even Mr. Zhu Guangqian, who has mainly studied Western aesthetics throughout his life, is actually still a "modern Confucian scholar". Mr. Zong Baihua's systematic research on Chinese aesthetic thought in his later years obviously entrusted him with infinite affection. Zong Baihua in "Sanye Ji" once said that he would "still maintain my usual aestheticism and dark research", which made me wonder how aestheticism and dark research will be connected.But as early as the thirties, he had turned completely to aestheticism.Chinese philosophy of life is always superb... three In his later years, Mr. Zong lived in the Langrun Garden of Peking University, where the lakes and mountains are beautiful and the scenery is beautiful.However, Mr. Zong's living room is on the ground floor of the building, with insufficient light, and the interior is very dim. The study often reminds me of the basement that Kafka once praised in his letter to his girlfriend.The difference is that various works of art are hung or placed around Mr. Zong's study room, which makes this dark room appear a certain mysterious tone.I often wonder: Is this just a symbol of the relationship between beauty and darkness? Mr. Zong feels that through poetry or art, the tiny heart and the vast majority of human beings "open up an underground, deep and mysterious secret passage." More than 1,900 years ago, a Nazarene used his life and blood to reveal another way of communication between a tiny heart and a vast number of human beings. Zong Lao has indeed devoted great enthusiasm to the Chinese-style personality and spiritual beauty.Reading Mr. Zong's papers on the beauty of Jin people and on Chinese music thought made me very excited.Once, I specifically asked Mr. Zong why he wrote about the beauty of Jin people at that time. Mr. Zong answered me without hesitation: "Before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, most of them were practical arts. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, stereotypes were restrained. The real art era was the Wei, Jin, Tang and Song Dynasties; but the Wei and Jin Dynasties achieved the highest. This is the era of freedom. It changed the tradition of Confucianism. Later, Confucianism did not regard Wei and Jin people as orthodox, so I want to reverse the verdict for them.” "So, does this indicate that you have an opinion on orthodox Confucian personality?" I wanted to hang on to the question. Mr. Zong did not answer me directly, but said: "Confucius thought is both superb and practical, both doctrine and practice. Lao Zhuang passed away and escaped from the world, but Confucius entered the world, but he was not vulgar, but superb. Yan Hui was mysterious, his realm Gao and Zigong are very realistic and practical, these two are the most proud students of Confucius." Confucianism emphasizes "truth" and "sincerity", but reality and reality are not so "true" and "sincerity".It is not an easy task to be neither "false" nor "deceitful" in the world.According to the artistic outlook on life, if the darkness of reality is not artisticized, one has to transcend vulgarity. In this case, the darkness remains intact. Mr. Zong Baihua is sincere. I was assigned by the Department of Philosophy to be his graduate student. He never set rules for me, only walked in the conversation, and did not say that the "guiding ideology" must be correct.Academic freedom is the tradition of Peking University in the "May 4th" era. As a professor of Peking University, Mr. Zong still adheres to this tradition in his little tail that is not sunny, which is consistent with his personality.When I was worried about whether my dissertation would pass, I was not surprised by his words. At that time, he said in a rare tone: Let go of your courage and write, don't be an uncle.Considered a falsehood now, it will be recognized as truth later. The image of the detached man is not really detached. Four Mr. Zong's collection of books is very rich, and there are far more foreign language books than Chinese books.Every time I go to chat with Mr. Zong, I can't help but browse casually in front of the bookshelf.Mr. Zong cherishes academic books very much.When the Japanese devils invaded Nanjing, his house was occupied by the Japanese, even the floor was pried open, and his collection of books was lost.Mr. Zong told me about this matter seven or eight times. Mr. Zong's main research object is the spirit and realm in Chinese art, but Mr. Zong told me that he doesn't read many Chinese books, he only reads them in his spare time, and he reads a lot of foreign books. Since the "May 4th Movement", there has been a fairly obvious academic tendency to study and elucidate Chinese national culture with the methods, categories and even values ​​of Western culture.Today, this trend continues unabated.Does this mean the new development of Chinese culture?If Chinese culture is self-sufficient in its own methods, categories, and even value rules, is it necessary to rely on Western culture?If the Chinese cultural form is not self-sufficient in the above-mentioned aspects, can Chinese culture really be developed with the help of Western culture? On Mr. Zong's bookshelf are Heidegger's "Being and Time" and Dilthey's works, both in the 1920s and 1930s.This surprised me.As far as my country’s academic situation in the first half of this century is concerned, generally speaking, the borrowing of methods, categories, and value standards from Western culture has not entered a modern form. Although new academic developments in continental Europe have been introduced, they have deepened. I don't know much about it in detail, and as for the extremely important philosophy of religion, it is still delayed.Undoubtedly, the turmoil of the times and the change of society were an important external reason, so that the purity and unity of academic research were further damaged, and finally interrupted... Mr. Zong told me that since the 1940s, he had taught a little about Heidegger at Nanjing Central University.This matter interests me.In Mr. Zong’s view, Heidegger is very close to the Chinese people’s thinking. He attaches great importance to practical life and life experience; he emphasizes that philosophers should have life experience, which is very suitable for Chinese people.But Heidegger's thinking is very mysterious, and he can't express himself clearly. I can't agree with all of this.Not all philosophies that value practical life are of the same interest in terms of purpose and fundamental aspects, but the hidden differences are just extremely important.Heidegger's concern and speech to the unspeakable show another kind of sentiment. But I completely agree with Mr. Zong's other opinion: Chinese scholars still have a very poor understanding of the West, and all judgments should be put aside for the time being.However, I'm afraid I have to consider why I can't understand it. Mr. Zong really has great love for Heidegger.In those miserable days in the late period of the "Cultural Revolution", Mr. Zong also translated some materials about Heidegger, which shows that he can never forget his philosophy of life. Fives The direction of Mr. Zong's academic research has undergone major changes before and after staying in Europe.Before staying in Europe, Mr. Zong was mainly concerned with European philosophy and science, using pictures to find a basis for solving life problems.After staying in Europe, Mr. Zong paid more attention to the spiritual form of Chinese art.It can be seen that Mr. Zong finally established his outlook on life on Chinese aestheticism. Many scholars who stayed in Europe immersed themselves in Han culture after returning to China.It is easy for people to draw the conclusion that scholars who have wandered through the forest of Western culture finally feel that the spirit of Han culture is slightly higher.A further inference is: In the end, we still have to go back to Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. When the Russians advocate cultural cosmopolitanism, what they achieve is a highly developed national culture; is the reverse also true? This not only involves the question of whether the understanding of Western culture is thorough, but also involves the question of re-examining the basis of meaning. Jaspers' statement about the Axial Age of culture is well known.But is there only one cultural Axial Age in the West?Simmel once said that modern people can no longer understand and no longer support the spirit of the Greek era.The development of the spirit of capitalism undoubtedly relies on another cultural axis different from that of the Greek and Greek era.From the Renaissance to the 19th century, Western rationalism and idealism were much more practical; and from the 19th century to the present, anti-metaphysics, anti-rationality, and anti-idealism have clearly formed an Axial Age.Although the one-dimensional axial spirit of the Chinese cultural form has lasted for more than two thousand years, it has been interrupted by modern culture at the beginning of the current century. This creates a problem: the Greek metaphysics in Western culture, such as the Christian center, the rational-idealist axis (classical philosophy, the Enlightenment), and the anti-metaphysics, anti-rational-idealist axis (modernism) The spirit of Axis culture has almost poured into China, who will be accepted by the Chinese academic circle who is at a loss in the 20th century? Scholars of the "May 4th" generation were obviously close to the first two types of axis spirits, but scholars of the "Fourth Five-Year" generation had to wander between the first two types of axis spirits and the latter type of axis spirit, and hesitated to make a choice. If the new generation of the 1900s expects them to believe in and support the first two axis spirits, I am afraid they will fail. What has happened to Chinese academics cannot be forgotten, and choosing too hastily is not a good thing after all.Maybe it's waiting, but of course it's more than just waiting; which one can live in, think about it today, and talk about it tomorrow.However, waiting does not have to take a walk. One thing Heidegger can't go wrong: think more, speak less, protect language.Mr. Zong Baihua coincided with this.Although he wrote few words and did not do many things, he left behind a huge figure, at least for me. January 1986 Shenzhen