"Hu Shi's Diary of Studying Abroad" to restore the historical scene
China News Weekly reporter/Qiu Guangyu
Published in the 964th issue of China News Weekly on September 14, 2020
Along with the melody of the song "Orchid Grass" adapted from Hu Shi's vernacular poems, a set of manuscripts of the new cultural movement "legacy" is being displayed in the exhibition hall on the second floor of the Hanfen Building of the Commercial Press.
The exhibition titled "Remains of Yadong Library-Special Exhibition of Important Documents of Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi", including the manuscript of "Hu Shi Study Abroad Diary" with a total of more than 500,000 words, Chen Duxiu's "Science and Outlook on Life" Preface, Hu Shi "Postscript "A Dream of Red Mansions" (1) (2)" and some correspondence between Hu Shi and his friends.
This is the first time that the complete manuscript of "Hu Shi’s Diary of Studying Abroad" has been exhibited to the public. The diary clearly and completely records Hu Shi’s thought evolution before and after the New Culture Movement (between 1911 and 1919), as well as his relationship with celebrities inside and outside the cultural circle. Communication and so on.
“Hanfen Building is the collection building of the Commercial Press. Yadong Library was a well-known publishing institution like it back then. They have a corresponding relationship." Zhao Chengshuai, the exhibition planner and executive deputy general manager of Yunya Culture, said, choosing the Commercial Press The exhibition held in Hanfenlou was also in response to that period of history.
Whether it is "Orchid and Grass", or the theme-related books on the exhibition site that have been published for almost a century, they all make people feel "returning to the historical scene".
Hu Shi's Thought Handbook
The "Diary of Hu Shi Study Abroad" has been circulating on the Internet for a long time, and even the contents such as "playing cards" and "smoking" have become stalks on the Internet, but in fact, the triviality of life that is now used by netizens to compare self-deprecating is just a lot of Hu Shi For a small part of the diary, the historical value of the full version of the diary remains to be explored.
This group of "Diary of Hu Shi's Study Abroad", which was assembled for the first time, has two additional volumes of "Beijing Miscellaneous Notes" and "Returning to Marriage". The time is from 1917 to 1919 after Hu Shi returned to China, filling the existing diary of Hu Shi in the May Fourth Movement "In the previous two years, the blank was evaluated by Professor Chen Zishan of the Chinese Department of East China Normal University as "the most significant and remarkable discovery of Hu Shi's historical data in the new century."
In 1910, Hu Shi was admitted to the United States to study in the United States. He studied at Cornell University and Columbia University. In 1917, he returned to China and taught at Peking University. His study abroad diary recorded that period.
Hu Shi reads a lot and socializes extensively, and his life track overlaps with many celebrities during the Republic of China.
For literary and historical scholars, this precious historical material has greatly expanded the research boundary of that period of history.
Liang Shiqiu, who is younger than Hu Shi, once admired the richness and historical value of Hu Shi's study abroad diary. He said: "If I had also written a study abroad diary back then, the content of the diary was poor and naive."
Different from the simple and clear "bookkeeping" content of Lu Xun's diary, Hu Shi regards the diary as a happy place for his thoughts, which integrates book reviews, essays, data sorting, and life notes.
It is not only a personal record, but also a psychological preparation to pass it on to future generations.
Tang Aijia, a PhD from the Department of Chinese at Peking University, analyzed that the content of "Diary of Hu Shi's Study Abroad" can be roughly divided into "diary" and "miscellaneous". Hu Shi has a very clear understanding of these two styles.
Just as Ouyang Zhesheng, a professor in the History Department of Peking University, said, Hu Shi’s diary has the nature of "ideological autobiography."
It can be seen from the original manuscript that the book used in Hu Shiji's diary is a Western-style book with up and down pages, with the words Name, Grade, School, and Class printed on the cover, similar to the exercise book used by middle school students in China.
But his writing style is completely Chinese, that is, he writes the book horizontally from right to left and top to bottom.
The language of the diary is mainly modern vernacular, but it is also mixed with classical Chinese and English, as well as some Chinese and foreign symbols.
Jiang Yixin, director of the research history of the Lu Xun Museum and the New Culture Movement Memorial, believes that this method of writing and collecting newspaper clippings looks like a modern "handbook."
The content of the diary also reflects Hu Shi's changes in reading.
For example, he would compare "Romeo and Juliet" with "West Chamber" and train his own book review writing, which is a modern style that Chinese classical literature lacks.
"In the New Culture Movement, Hu Shi was a master at writing current reviews. He was trained in this way step by step, and the manuscript of "Hu Shi's Diary of Studying Abroad" provides material evidence in this respect." Jiang Yixin said.
Among Hu Shi’s diaries before 1919, "Beijing Miscellaneous Notes" and "Returning to Marriage" were exhibited for the first time. Although these contents are not strictly speaking diaries when studying abroad, they still bring a huge amount to academia. Surprise and the development of new research directions.
For example, it can be seen in the diary that Hu Shi and Qian Xuantong, the pioneer of the "May 4th" literary revolution, first met on September 11, 1917. This information can effectively make up for Qian Xuantong's diary.
This is of great value to the integrity of the historical puzzle.
For another example, "Returning to Marriage" faithfully records the details of Hu Shi's marriage to Jiang Dongxiu when he returned to his hometown of Jixi, Anhui from December 16, 1917 to February 21, 1918.
What's interesting is that Hu Shi, the "new sentimental person", actually did the record of this old-style wedding without any detail. Even the seating order and process of the wedding can be checked one by one, and there is even a seat map drawn by him himself.
Tang Aijia, a PhD from the Department of Chinese at Peking University, believes that Hu Shi's move is a deliberate attempt to reform wedding customs as an important experiment in ideological revolution.
Only discovered a few years ago
Almost while recording the diary, Hu Shi consciously published and published what he thought could be published.
In the United States, Hu Shi once sent his diary several times to his trusted friend Xu Yisun.
Xu Yisun understood Hu Shi's psychology and named the excerpts of the diary "Notes from the Canghui Room" and sent it to "New Youth" for publication.
Starting from December 1, 1916, "New Youth" serialized the contents of Hu Shi's study abroad diary in 11 issues.
Before the photocopy of the manuscript was published by Shanghai People's Publishing House in 2015, the complete manuscript of Hu Shi's diary of studying abroad was not really disclosed to the public.
The typographical version was first formed in the 1930s, and the first complete published version was born in 1939. It was compiled and published by the Yadong Library. It has 17 volumes and 4 volumes. The title of the book at the time was "Canghui Room Notes". Only those who participated in the publishing process have come into contact with it, such as Zhang Xilu and Yu Changzhi, editors of the Yadong Library.
Geng Yunzhi, president of the Hu Shi Research Society, mentioned in the preface to the "Hu Shi Diary Manuscript of Studying Abroad" that for the publication of Hu Shi’s diary, Zhang Xilu deliberately came to Peiping from Shanghai, "lived in Hu Shi’s house since (1933) ) From December, began to sort out, copy and edit Hu Shi's diary of studying abroad, and finish sorting, copying and editing in July 1934."
The second edition of "The Notes of Canghui Room" was born in November 1947 and was republished by the Shanghai Commercial Press. At this time, the title of the book had become "Diary of Hu Shi Studying Abroad".
Hu Shi mentioned in his "Reprinted Preface" that he "has always opposed the old habit of XX room XX Zhai", so he personally changed the title of the book.
The third edition was published in the Commercial Press of Taiwan, China in March 1959.
In addition, after the founding of New China, this set of diaries was reprinted and published by the Commercial Press, Anhui Education Publishing House, Yuelu Publishing House and other institutions in accordance with the "Yadong Edition".
It wasn't until around 2013 that the collector Liang Qinfeng purchased the entire set of manuscripts of Hu Shi's study abroad diary, and people were surprised that this set of manuscripts still existed in the world.
According to news reports in 2014, when the manuscript arrived in Liang Qinfeng's hands, in addition to the entire contents of "Notes from the Canghui Room", the aforementioned two new contents of "Beijing Miscellaneous Notes" and "Returning Marriage" appeared.
After comparison, the manuscript also found some slight differences from the published and edited version such as "Yadong Edition".
Liang Qinfeng, who likes to collect calligraphy and painting, wants to do something for Hu Shi's research.
In August 2015, Shanghai People’s Publishing House officially published "Hu Shi's Diary Manuscript of Study Abroad" (ie a photocopy of the manuscript of study abroad diary). Hu Shi pasted and inserted more than 450 photos, letters, briefings in Chinese and English, etc. Also restored one by one.
A total of 230 sets of this set of books were printed. Liang Qinfeng personally repurchased them and donated them to the National Library of China, Shanghai Library, Peking University Library, Hu Shi Research Society, Hu Shi’s Former Residence in Jixi, Anhui, Taipei Hu Shi Memorial, and Cornell, USA Major institutions including universities and Columbia University.
In the words of Professor Ouyang Zhesheng of the Department of History at Peking University, after decades of social turmoil, this manuscript has survived "miracle" and reappeared in the world, which is very precious.
Even the 230 photocopies of the "Hu Shi Study Abroad Diary Manuscript" are precious to researchers.
Xi Jiabing, associate professor of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at Beijing Language and Culture University, recalled that when the book was first published, he had no scientific research funds in his hands.
On August 28, 2020, the Beijing Language and Culture University Library finally received a set of photocopies of the manuscript.
The May Fourth Legend of Yadong Library
As a small-scale publishing house, why did the Yadong Library, which was the first to publish the "Diary of Hu Shi's Study Abroad", become a legendary publishing house?
In the final analysis, it is because it is an important dissemination position of the New Culture Movement.
Wang Mengzou, the founder and operator of Yadong Library, is enthusiastic about revolution. Like Hu Shi, he is from Jixi, Anhui, and Chen Duxiu's fellow Anhui. He has forged a deep friendship with Mao Zedong and others in the process of spreading new ideas.
When the Science Book Club was opened in Wuhu, Wang Mengzou wrote and distributed for Chen Duxiu's "Anhui Common Saying News".
In 1913, Wang Mengzou went to Shanghai, the national publishing center at the time, to open the Yadong Library, which was also based on Chen Duxiu's suggestion.
Wang Mengzou’s nephew, translator, and editor Wang Yuanfang once said that after Yadong Library was transferred to Shanghai, it first started by selling maps, and then sold "New English Textbooks" edited by Chen Duxiu.
Chen Duxiu once revealed that he wanted Wang Yuanfang and others to help him make a magazine, but he gave up because of the meager strength of Yadong, which was later published by the Qunyi Bookstore-the "New Youth" that will be recorded in the annals of history.
Although I missed one of the most important magazines at the time, before the May Fourth Movement, Yadong Library's spread of new ideas should not be underestimated.
Wang Mengzou's letter to Hu Shi mentioned that the sales of books and magazines such as "New Wave", "New Youth", "New Education", and "Weekly Review" have surpassed those of the "bastard novels" at the time.
After the "May 4th Movement", the East Asian Library published Hu Shi's "Attempting Collection", Wang Jingzhi's "The Wind of Hui", Gao Yuhan's "Vernacular Letters", etc., and relied on obtaining the right to sell books from the Publishing Department of Peking University in Shanghai. Survived.
In 1920, with the help of Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu, Yadong Library began to publish the new punctuation series of novels edited by Wang Yuanfang, which was very popular.
So much so that Lu Xun has said: "I think many things are done by people who must have special skills. For example, punctuation can only be done by Wang Yuanfang, preface can only be pushed by Hu Shizhi, and publication can only be done by Yadong Library." In December, the Yadong edition of "A Dream of Red Mansions" invited Hu Shi to write a textual research or a new preface. This manuscript was later called "A Dream of Red Mansions", and since then it has completely opened the door to "New Red Mansions".
In the 1923 "Science and Outlook on Life" debate, Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu, who had different views, were deeply involved in the publication process of "Science and Outlook on Life" by the Yadong Library.
The two wrote a "double preface" for this book, and different views became part of the debate, sparking sparks and greatly promoting the sales of the book.
Zhang Baoming, former vice president of Henan University and an expert on the history of modern Chinese literature and thought, believes that publishing houses are the intermediary between thought and reality. It is precisely because of their intervention and painstaking management in the links of publishing, printing, and distribution that the publishing houses make " "Enlightenment" became a movement.
"In this sense, the relationship between Yadong Library and Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi is a typical case of a win-win combination of businessmen and enlighteners."
"The Diary of Hu Shi Studying Abroad", the unique "May 4th Youth Spiritual History", has been published and printed by the Yadong Library for centuries.
Today, the rediscovery and excavation of the content of this manuscript will fill more gaps in research fields in the future and further restore the full picture of the historical scene.
China News Weekly, Issue 34, 2020
Statement: The publication of "China News Weekly" manuscript is authorized in writing