Hu Shih - The Chinese Renaissance

[gato]

http://polycrit.com/HuShih/

Hu Shih (1891-1962), Chinese philosopher and essayist, leading liberal intellectual in the May Fourth Movement (1917-23).

In 1910 Hu won a Boxer Indemnity scholarship to enroll at Cornell, where he quickly came under the influence of liberal political philosophy in general and John Dewey's experimentalism in particular. Upon his return to China in 1917, Hu Shi became a leader in the New Culture movement, his most celebrated historical role. While professor of philosophy at Beijing University, he wrote for the iconoclastic journal New Youth (edited by a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party, Chen Duxiu). His most important contribution was promotion of vernacular literature to replace writing in the classical style. Hu Shih was also a leading critic and analyst of traditional Chinese culture and thought. He was ambassador to the United States ( 1938-42 ), chancellor of Beijing Univ. ( 1946-48 ), and after 1958 president of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

While he continued throughout the 1920s and 1930s to participate actively in culture and politics, his influence went into a slow decline as his ideas lost relevance in the escalating fever of revolution. His contribution to scholarship on China's literature and history continued to play an important role, particularly in the inspiration of other writers. Because of his criticism of the Chinese Communists, his work is almost completely untaught in schools in mainland China.

"The Chinese Renaissance" contains a series of lectures Hu Shih delivered at the University of Chicago as the Haskell lecturer in the summer of 1933.

- RESISTANCE, ENTHUSIASTIC APPRECIATION, AND THE NEW DOUBT: CHANGES IN CHINESE CONCEPTIONS OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION

- THE CHINESE RENAISSANCE

The vernacular language movement and education reform.

- RELIGION IN CHINESE LIFE

Influence of Buddhism on Chinese culture.

- SOCIAL DISINTEGRATION AND READJUSTMENT

Democracy, feminism, social reform.

[gato]

《胡适演讲集》 Selected speeches and talks delivered between 1918 and 1960 (in Chinese)

http://polycrit.com/HuShih/hu_speeches.html

Partial Table of Contents:

[gato]

Great essay on Hu Shih. I didn't know that his eldest son stayed in the mainland after 1949 and denounced his dad, who had gone to Taiwan with the KMT, as "the people's enemy." The same son later committed suicide when he himself was denounced as a "rightist" in the anti-Rightist campaign of the late 1950s.

http://xiongpeiyun.over-blog.com/categorie-14650.html

Excerpts:

Hu Shi et la Chine

错过胡适一百年

熊培云

胡适膝下有二子，长子胡祖望，得名于胡母冯顺弟，有光宗耀祖之意。次子胡思杜，由胡适亲赐，寓意“思念杜威”，既表达了他对老师的敬重之情，更含着他一生对自由主义的坚定信仰。1949年后，胡适去了美国，祖望继续留在美国，而思杜却留在了大陆，并于华北人民革命大学改造。　　

　　“不要儿子，儿子来了”。胡适曾说， “思杜是我创造的。”大意是说中国该选择杜威，更要一代代“思杜”下去，但他怎么也不会想到，他的儿子竟会朝他飞来投枪，称他是“帝国主义的走狗”。1951 年，胡思杜在《中国青年》上发表了《对我父亲----胡适的批判》：“他对反对派的赤胆忠心，终于挽救不了人民公敌的颓运，全国胜利来临时，他离开了北京，离开了中国……从阶级分析上，我明确了他是反动阶级的忠臣，人民的敌人。在政治上，他是没有进步性的……这一系列反人民的罪恶和他的有限的（动机在于在中国开辟资本主义道路的）反封建的进步作用相比，后者是太卑微不足道的。”

　1930 年4月，胡适曾写信给杨杏佛，称“我受了十年的骂，从来不怨恨骂我的人，有时他们骂的不中肯，我反替他们着急。有时他们骂的太过火了，反损骂者自己的人格，我更替他们不安。”五十年代，他又说，“我挨了四十年的骂，从来不生气，并且欢迎之至。” 说这话时，他大概不会料到，1957年，胡思杜被划为右派，后自杀身亡。胡适痛失骨肉，“思杜”化作一缕轻烟。历史以其特有的残忍将胡适的自由主义大旗扔进了虽前仆而无后继的悲观处境。江冬秀常抱怨，“胡适房间里给死人的地方多（胡适爱藏书），给活人的地方少”，事实上，胡适彼时，凄凉晚境，已经无人愿为他挺血肉之躯，更不会如他改写的《西游记》第八十一难“观音点簿添一难，唐僧割肉度群魔”般割肉喂了小鬼，一切苦难只由得他自己去担当了。

笔者花了半年时间苦读《胡适全集》，时长痛短痛，嘘声振壁。以下胡适诸多理论，几十年后当年曾经敌视他的政府，无论台湾当局还是中国大陆都在悄悄地实践着：　　

□实践是检验真理的惟一标准（胡适的真理观：后见于中共结束两个凡是）；

　　□大胆地假设，小心地求证（胡适的摸着石头过河：几十年后见于中共经济体制改革）；

　　□多研究些问题，少谈些主义（胡适的实用主义：见于邓小平的猫论）；

　　□容忍比自由还更重要（胡适的多元论：见于2001年中共七一讲话，对意识形态之争的放松，社会主义与资本主义长期共存）；

　　□充分西方化（中国改革开放，充分世界化）；

　　□教育破产的救济方法仍是教育（再穷也不能穷教育）；

　　□把国民党分成两半或成立一个新的政党实行民主政治（胡适的两党制设想，已经在中国台湾实现）；

　　□中国需要医治贫穷、愚昧、贪污、疾病、扰乱，而不是革命（大革命半个世纪过去，五毒俱全）；

　　□宪政是宪政的最好训练（几十年后中国台湾国民党放弃党政与训政走向宪政，新中国成立近四十年后中国农村出现了海选）；

　　□宁鸣而死，不默而生（台湾解开报禁）；

　　□中国应该搞邦联制（…… ……）；　

[studentyoung]

I didn't know that his eldest son stayed in the mainland after 1949 and denounced his dad, who had gone to Taiwan with the KMT, as "the people's enemy." The same son later committed suicide when he himself was denounced as a "rightist" in the anti-Rightist campaign of the late 1950s.

不是他的大公子，是他的二公子“思杜”。其实他骂他老爸也没啥奇怪的呀，因为他们的政治立场不一样！我记得读过一篇课文，写的是美国南北战争时期的事。老爸是南方将军，儿子为北方的军士。在一次行动中，儿子在一山头上埋伏，看见他爸带着军队从他眼皮底下走过。结果，他把他爸给杀了！应了老毛同志（毛泽东）一句话：革命不是请客吃饭！

现在，你该明白什么叫“洗脑”了吧！现在，你也明白为什么思想领域也是“兵家必争之地”了吧？

[gato]

应了老毛同志（毛泽东）一句话：革命不是请客吃饭！

对呀，同志。革命是不认感情的。

现在，你该明白什么叫“洗脑”了吧！现在，你也明白为什么思想领域也是“兵家必争之地”了吧？

洗得挺干净的。

[Mark Yong]

Does anyone know if 胡適 Hu Shi's famous essay on the replacement of 文言文 Literary Chinese with 白話文 Vernacular Chinese is available online? If so, can anyone provide me with the URL? Thanks.

[Jose]

I think the article you're looking for is 文學改良芻議, originally published in New Youth in 1917. I have found the original text (in simplified characters) in the Xinhua website.

[HashiriKata]

I remember in the early part of 20th century, some prominent Chinese figure went so far as to suggest replacing Chinese with English as the language for China. Does anyone remember who that was?

[Ian_Lee]

Hu Shih didn't go with KMT to Taiwan. Hu's liberal thought never got along with Chiang's authoritarism when KMT was in power in Mainland or in Taiwan.

[studentyoung]

I remember in the early part of 20th century, some prominent Chinese figure went so far as to suggest replacing Chinese with English as the language for China. Does anyone remember who that was?

This guy is called 钟文鳌.

http://cache.baidu.com/c?word=%D6%D3%3B%CE%C4%F7%A1&url=http%3A//soft%2E13520%2Eorg/readcontent%2Easp%3Fid%3D/nzt/his/luxunhushi/12&b=9&a=17&user=baidu#baidusnap0

胡适在《逼上梁山》一文中，对此有详尽的叙述。文章一开头就说，提起当时讨论“文学革命”的起因，不能不想到那时清华学生监督处的一个怪人。那个人叫钟文鳌，是一个基督教徒，受了传教士和青年会的很大影响，在华盛顿的清华学生监督处做书记，职务是每月寄发各地学生应得的月费。钟想利用他发支票的机会来做一点社会改革的宣传，便印了一些宣传品，和每月的支票夹在一个信封寄给留学生们。他的小传单有种种花样，大致是这样的口气：

“不满二十五岁不得娶妻。”

“废除汉字，取用字母。”

“多种树，种树有益。”

支票是留学生们每月渴望的；可是钟文鳌先生的小传单未必都受他们的欢迎。留学生们往往拆开信，把支票抽出来，就把这个好人的传单抛在字纸篓里去。

“可是钟先生的热心真可厌！他不管你看不看，每月总照样夹带一两张小传单给你。”胡适平时是厌恶这种青年会宣传方法的，总觉得他这样滥用职权是不应该的。有一天，又接到他的一张传单，说中国应该改用字母拼音；说欲求教育普及，非有字母不可。胡适一时动了气，就写了一封短信去骂他，信上的大意是说：“你们这种不通汉字的人，不配谈改良中国文字的问题。你要谈这个问题，必须先费几年工夫，把汉文弄通了，那时你才有资格谈汉字是不是应该废除。”

Thanks!

[gato]

又接到钟文鳌的一张传单，说中国应该改用字母拼音；说欲求教育普及，非有字母不可。

But this guy was advocating replacing characters with pinyin, not English. Was there someone else?

[HashiriKata]

But this guy was advocating replacing characters with pinyin, not English.

I know about the advocations for replacing Chinese characters with a latinate/alphabetical system. It's the advocation of replacing the language with a foreign language that struck me as an extreme measure. The quote below points to something similar:

"Dissatisfaction with the linguistic situation was so great that a few radical individuals advocated the abolition of Chinese altogether and its replacement with Esperanto"

(Source: Chinese, by J. Norman (CUP, 1988), p.257)

[Jose]

S. Robert Ramsey begins his enthralling book The Languages of China with an account of the proposal to adopt Esperanto and abolish the Chinese language:

In the early years of the Republic, a Chinese intellectual named Qian Xuantong published an open letter to Chen Duxiu, the leader of the attack on Confucianism.

Dear Mr. Chen:

In an earlier essay of yours, you strongly advocated the abolition of Confucianism. Concerning this proposal of yours, I think that it is now the only way to save China. But, upon reading it, I have thought of one thing more: If you want to abolish Confucianism, then you must first abolish the Chinese language; if you want to get rid of the average person's childish, uncivilized, obstinate way of thinking, then it is all the more essential that you first abolish the Chinese language.

To keep China from perishing and to make the Chinese people into a civilized, twentieth-century people, argued Qian, the Chinese language had to be replaced by Esperanto.

(Ramsey, S. Robert. The Languages of China, p. 4, Princeton University Press, 1987)

[gato]

About Qian Xuantong (钱玄同)

http://www.guoxue.com/master/qianxuantong/qxt14.htm

钱玄同与白话文字

http://bbs.dlut.edu.cn/bbsanc.php?path=%2Fgroups%2FGROUP_4%2FHISTORY%2Fhero%2Fhistory_celebri%2Fhistory_hero_hm%2Fwenhua%2Fluxun%2FM.1034062622.A

说说鲁迅的文字改革观

鲁迅提倡汉语拉丁化，首先是出于对中国旧文化机制的腐蚀性强烈的拒斥，

同时也是出于对于劳动者深深的同情。在《汉字和拉丁化》一文中，鲁迅说：

“大众语文的音数比文言和白话繁，如果还是用方块字来写，不但费脑力，也很

费工夫，连纸墨都不经济。为了这方块的带病的遗产，我们的最大多数人，已经

几千年做了文盲来殉难了，中国也弄到这模样，到别国已在人工造雨的时候，我

们却还是拜蛇，迎神。如果大家还要活下去，我想：是只好请汉字来作我们的牺

牲品了。

”进而得出结论：“现在只还有‘书法拉丁化’的一条路。这和大众语

文是分不开的。也还是从读书人首先试验起，先绍介过字母，拼法，然后写文章。

开手是，象日本文那样，只留一点名词之类的汉字，而助词，感叹词，后来连形

容词，动词也都用拉丁拼音写，那么，不但顺眼，对于改作横行，那是当然的

事。”（《鲁迅全集》第５卷第５５６页至第５５７页）

http://cul.book.sina.com.cn/p/2005-03-15/ba115234.shtml

八十载沉冤案要翻--白话文，曾经胜利的失败者(5)

一、取消汉语；用英语或法语代替（倡导人：刘半农、钱玄同）

　　二、废除汉字；

　　1、欲使中国不亡，非取消记载道教妖言的汉字不可（钱玄同）；

　　2、汉字不废，中国必亡（胡适）；

　　3、劳苦大众身上的结核菌都潜藏在（汉字）里面，倘不先除去它，结果只有自己死（鲁迅）；

为汉字而牺牲我们，还是为我们而牺牲‘汉字’呢？这是只要还没丧心病狂的人，都能够马上回答的（鲁迅）；

中国古书，页页害人。汉字终当废去，盖人存则文必废，文存则人当亡，在此时代，已无幸存之道（鲁迅）；

　　4、语言学家设计出第一个汉字罗马化方案。后又出现汉字拉丁化方案。

　　5、中国文字要走世界共同的拼音化道路（毛泽东）。

[bhchao]

Ironically, Confucianism may be needed to save China today (in social terms). Looks like Hu Jintao is trying to recover those 'antiquated' values of decency that were lost and heavily attacked during the 1960's.

Don't think Qian and Chen Duxiu were completely wrong on their attacks on Confucianism, especially considering the predicament that China was in at the time. But it's one thing getting rid of Confucianism in a political structure, and a completely different issue eliminating Confucianism at all levels altogether, especially concerning social and family relationships, and public norms of civility.

Qian and Chen may not have intended for today's social predicament. But their ideas were eventually executed in a wrong fashion by Mao.

[gato]

Ironically, Confucianism may be needed to save China today (in social terms). Looks like Hu Jintao is trying to recover those 'antiquated' values of decency that were lost and heavily attacked during the 1960's.

But what does Confucianism mean in today's terms? Is it another name for obedience to authority?

Qian and Chen may not have intended for today's social predicament. But their ideas were eventually executed in a wrong fashion by Mao.

Maoism, which is another name for Stalinism, would have caused problems even if it didn't target Confucianism.

[bhchao]

But what does Confucianism mean in today's terms? Obeying your elders, your boss, the Party?

Hmm...good point on the latter. Espousing Confucianism could be used for "legitimacy purposes". Respect for elders or family loyalty (putting family or the welfare of elders first above your own), reverence for education or self-cultivation (creativity and individual analysis instead of rote memorization). I'm not saying that these don't currently exist in mainland China, but a few comparisons with the societies of the Four Tigers would show some noticeable contrasts.

I think the widespread "money first" mentality can be offset with a dose of Confucius. Too many people know how to make big bucks, but are lacking in social graces.

Confucius also said a ruler should uphold the interests of the people. If he didn't, the people have a right to remonstrate. He would lose the Mandate of Heaven and the people have the right to kick him out of office.

[gato]

I think the widespread "money first" mentality can be offset with a dose of Confucius. Too many people know how to make big bucks, but are lacking in social graces.

I think that's partly because a real authentic people-based culture has no chance of growing in the PRC because of the control the government has over the culture. Because the culture has no room to grow, people focus on making money instead, and the culture that does exist is consumer-oriented, which, in today's media world, means teenage-oriented (i.e. the MTV culture).

The MTV and consumerist culture is dominant in Taiwan as well, but there is also a much more vibrant artistic, political, and intellectual culture there supplement that consumerist culture. I think every society needs that to maintain a balance, so that people don't just live for material goods. The PRC unfortunately doesn't have that balance right now.

Religion, particularly Christianity, is making a comeback in the PRC, as people look for some spiritual guidance in their lives. The government seem to be ambivalent about it, unsure whether it can be controlled.

Confucius also said a ruler should uphold the interests of the people. If he didn't, the people have a right to remonstrate. He would lose the Mandate of Heaven and the people have the right to kick him out of office.

That's usually the part of Confucianism not taught in schools.