Time flies so fast, in a flash, it has been more than 30 years since Mr. Over the years, Mr.’s voice, face and smile have often appeared in my mind, and I have written some memoirs several times, but I put them aside because I am not satisfied. Now that I am approaching the age of old age, I don’t want to leave lifelong regrets, so I rashly wrote down some memories that were messy but real, and expressed my grief that I haven’t been able to express for a long time.
last side
In November 1988, I went to Guangdong to participate in the “1988 Reform and China’s Modernization—International Academic Discussion on the Study of the 1980 Reform”, and my husband also went there. When I went to his guest room on Yuexiu Road in Guangzhou, he was reading a manuscript of someone else. Although I met him in Shanghai in September of this year, this time I felt that he was extraordinarily healthy and his face was rosy, not as tired as in previous years. When asked about his health, he said that he had only been checked at East China Hospital recently, and everything was normal except for a small problem with his lungs. In recent years, smoking has basically stopped.
After a few words, he told me about the writing and editing of his treatises one by one. In those years, Mao Haijian and I made an agreement that as long as I saw my husband, we would ask him about his manuscripts. It is estimated that my husband would have a headache when he saw us. He said that the compilation of a new collection of essays “Meditations on Modern History” has already started, and it will be finished soon. The random thoughts recorded in the academic process should also be sorted out. In the book “Metabolism”, “It will be released next year,” he said with a smile, “It’s been too long.”
I know his troubles, he is too busy. In October 1988, he was out and about almost entirely. There is a meeting of Li Hongzhang in Anhui, and he really wants to participate. The next social history conference in Nanjing was warmly invited by the organizers, but it seemed inconvenient to turn it down. The Shanghai People’s Publishing House asked him to review the county annals, and he was an old friend for decades, so he couldn’t let it go. After my husband passed away, some teachers and friends in Beijing often told me that he had gone out too much in recent years, and I could only smile bitterly. What can I say? It is also his wish to go out to see while his legs and feet can still walk. But when you think about it, how many activities can really be rejected? Mr. is knowledgeable and keen in thinking. His perspective and depth of thinking are admirable. Inadvertent summaries and comments can often inspire people. Therefore, many places hold academic seminars, and he is often invited to attend and speak. I have seen this situation a lot, and I often have a disrespectful thought: It is really tiring to achieve this level of knowledge.
But during the Guangdong meeting (excluding the days of waiting for train tickets after the meeting), I think he was still relaxed and happy. No matter in Xiqiao Mountain or Xinhui in the South China Sea, I naturally go to greet him every day. There are many visitors there and the topics are quite extensive. At the Xinhui, he gave a speech at a conference. Because his Xiangxiang accent was not easy to understand after amplification, I was called to the stage to act as a “translator”. I left before the meeting was over because I booked the ticket one day in advance. When I left in the evening, he took care of me and bought him some books in Beijing. When I went downstairs with my luggage the next morning, my husband was slowly coming up. He took my arm and said, “You’re leaving now.” I asked him if there was anything in Beijing, and he shook his head.
I would never have thought that this farewell on the stairs of the Xinhui Gangzhou Hotel would be my last meeting with my husband.
Teacher’s years
On December 2, 1988, when Chen Linlin told her husband’s sudden death on the phone, I could hardly say anything to comfort her. I feel that the world is missing something, but I don’t know what is missing.
In the evening, I got together with Mao Haijian and Liu Shilong, and the conversation had lost the relaxed atmosphere of the past. The three of us were talking about some insignificant gossip. I don’t know why I said it, I just thought it would relax me a little bit.
The first time I saw Mr. was in June 1980. I left Shanghai in 1970 and settled in Kedong County, Heilongjiang Province. In 1973, I was fortunate enough to study in the Chinese Department of Heilongjiang University. After graduating in 1976, I worked as an editor at Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House. In 1978, the college entrance examination was resumed, and graduate students could be recruited, so I wanted to study again. I studied Chinese in college, but at that time it was always said that literature and art were a barometer of class struggle. I felt that I was not politically sensitive enough, so I wanted to study history. In 1979, I applied for the postgraduate entrance examination for the first time, but my foreign language was too poor and I fell out of the list. So I focused on learning English for the next year. When I applied for the exam in 1980, I saw that the research direction of Shanghai East China Normal University, Mr. Chen Xulu, was “Metabolism in Modern Chinese Society”, which was very attractive. After taking the exam in May, in June, taking advantage of the opportunity to go home to visit relatives, I asked someone to contact me to see my husband, and wanted to find out how my exam results were.
In my husband’s small study, the first impression was that there was a serious language barrier in conversation. My husband’s accent often made me unintelligible and very nervous. I remember that he simply asked about my family and work experience, saying that my test scores were decent, and the total score was above the cutoff. There is a lot of regret below.
My husband recruited two postgraduates this year, Mao Haijian and I, and the schooling system is two years. There are four brothers in front: Xiong Yuezhi, Fei Chengkang, Xie Junmei and Chen Meilong.
My husband was in a bad situation in the school at this time, so Mao Haijian and I basically lived three points and one line every day: dormitory, library, and canteen. Mr. gave two of us a class once a week, which is the topic he is researching “The Metabolism of Modern Chinese Society”. Before giving lectures, we must first read the basic historical materials, that is, the large set of “Chinese Modern History Materials Series”. Remember that the outline of Mr.’s lectures is recorded in a small notebook, and the historical materials cited are cards. Lectures are discussion-style and questions can be asked at any time. The gentleman has deep thinking, active thinking, solid knowledge of historical materials, and strong ability to grasp macroscopically. He can often read new ideas from the vast sea of historical materials. It is really a pleasure to listen to him talk about history. On the basis of reading a lot of historical materials, starting from the microscopic level to find the problem, and then tracing back to the source, not sticking to the statement, grasping the general trend, exploring the cause and effect, so as to understand the essence of historical facts, and build a historical narrative framework.
After dinner in the evening, I gave Mr. Chen his letter and newspaper. In the first year, the brothers were still in school and brought them to the department every day. After they graduated, Mao Haijian and I took over. Therefore, from 1981 to 1982, I could see my husband almost every day, chatting with each other in a vast space, and quickly became familiar with him. We were able to escort us to the constant presence of visitors at night, Mr. The teaching and subtle gains from this kind of contact are probably no less than formal teaching. As far as I know, many students have difficulty seeing mentors, especially well-known scholars, so we are indeed lucky. At that time, Mr. was still an associate professor, and the third-level associate professor was unique in the country. All the senior historians I met later were all moved by this, but he still maintained strong academic creativity in the face of adversity. He had a wish to bring doctoral students, but he could not achieve it until his death. In my opinion, this is not only a loss for the History Department of East China Normal University, but also a major loss for the Chinese historians.
Mr.’s desk is full of other people’s manuscripts and articles waiting to be read, which is mentioned by many people. As far as I know, these manuscripts can be roughly divided into three categories: one is the series or dictionaries edited by Mr. himself, such as the “Series of Modern Chinese History” by Shanghai People’s Publishing House and the “Dictionary of Modern Chinese History” by Shanghai Dictionary Publishing House, When we entered the school, it was the deadline for manuscripts. I remember that I was instructed to review one or two biographies of modern people, and wrote twenty or thirty first drafts of dictionary entries. Later, there were many manuscripts of this type, which took a lot of time for Mr. The other category is textbooks or large-scale dictionaries hosted by the Ministry of Education or relevant units. The teacher may be the editor-in-chief, or participate in the planning. In addition to the busyness, reading the manuscript is also indispensable. There is also a type of scholars (including students and academic colleagues) who come to ask for the sequence after completing the writing. After reading the manuscript, the teacher can refine the theme or explain new ideas, which can really add color to the work, so there is an endless stream of visitors. In the preface written for Brother Xiong Yuezhi’s “History of Modern Democratic Thought in China”, Mr. Xiong wrote:
In recent years, I have often read manuscripts and prefaces for young people, and my eyes are dizzying. Every time I see the unique talents of young people from their writings, and hear the footsteps of young people making great strides, I can’t help myself for a long time. If you can do something for them, “It’s a little creamy on the temples, so why not”! Although, my temples have more than “micro cream”. An individual’s life is like a drop of water in the sea. If this drop is sprinkled on the soil where the shade grows, it will be much larger than a drop of water.
After reading this passage, I finally understood why other people’s manuscripts are always piled up on Mr.’s desk, and why he always finds time to make wedding dresses for others, even at the expense of delaying the completion of his own monograph. Seeing academics as a public tool in the world, and taking academic inheritance as the continuation and expansion of the ontology life, is another great achievement of my years in the school.
Graduated in 1982 and faced the problem of distribution. At that time, the students in the department were unwilling to stay. If I wanted to stay in Shanghai, I would go to Shanghai University of Science and Technology Jiading to teach public classes; when I went to Beijing, I would teach public classes at the PLA Armored Forces Academy. More than two months before graduation, one evening, I suddenly received a call from my husband, asking me to see him immediately. It turned out that Lin Yanjiao, editor of Beijing People’s Publishing House, Chen Zhenjiang of Nankai University, and Yuan Shuyi of Hebei Normal University, went to Shanghai for a meeting, and took time to see Mr. Lin Yanjiao mentioned that the history editing room of the People’s Publishing House needs manpower, and her husband recommended me. After dinner at my husband’s house, my husband asked me to go to the hotel to find Mr. Lin, and told me how to speak again and again. In this way, after the introduction and recommendation of Mr. Lin Yanjiao, I successfully joined the People’s Publishing House after graduation.
first assignment
Before joining the school, I wrote an article “On the Historical Progress of the Westernization Movement”, which was published in Heilongjiang’s “Learning and Exploration” magazine. In all aspects, it could not be regarded as a formal academic paper.
The teacher takes students to pay attention to practical ability. As soon as he entered the school, he told us that after a year, you should write an article. Writing an article can comprehensively examine your problem-solving ability and whether you are suitable for research. Indeed, how to search for the existing achievements in academia, whether to discover topics, how to find materials, how to solve problems, how to make arguments, how to write new ideas, etc., are the best tests for learning ability and effectiveness.
The topics I chose were Xu Jiyu and “Yinghuan Zhilue”, because when I took the postgraduate examination, there was a term that explained “Yinghuan Zhilue”, and I handed in a blank paper. In the history books I came across at that time, there was no content about “Yinghuan Zhilue”, so I chose this topic this time. It took about half a year to write an article. I still treasure the second draft of the dissertation completed in May 1981, with revisions and annotations made by Mr. in pencil.
At the beginning of the article, I originally wrote: “We have written a lot over the years about Wei Yuan’s “Map of the State of the Sea”, and people are familiar with it. What this article is about to introduce is a few issues related to “Yinghuan Zhilue”.” Mr. Revise:
Over the years, there have been many discussions on Wei Yuan’s “Map of the State of the Sea”, and people are familiar with it. There is not much talk about “Yinghuan Zhilue”, because although Xu Jiyu’s official rank is high, his academic status is not as loud as Wei Yuan’s. If the book “Yinghuan Zhilue” is used alone, its social influence is no less than that of “Maps of the Haiguo”.
Make it clear what the article is about to demonstrate. Regarding Xu Jiyu’s evaluation, due to the contrast between his political stance and the contribution of his writings, the description of my original manuscript is very tangled. Mr. commented:
These words don’t make sense. Lin and Wei started from resistance to understand the world, but Xu advocated compromise in understanding the world, which can be compared and demonstrated.
Regarding the knowledge Xu Jiyu obtained from the American missionary Jacob Li, the original text states: “Xu Jiyu obtained statistics and historical facts about foreign historical places from Jacob Li; With the help of Billy, he ‘knows the names of the countries’.” Mr. Modified as follows:
What Xu Jiyu got from Jacoby was: firstly, “a rough knowledge of the names of countries”; secondly, statistics of foreign history and geography; thirdly, seeing “extraordinarily detailed maps of foreign countries”.
The summary is clear and hierarchical. Regarding the completion of the book “Yinghuan Zhilue”, the original text is: “Therefore, “Yinghuan Zhilue” is certainly the result of Xu Jiyu’s hard work, and more importantly, it is the product of the brewing of new trends of the times.” Mr. changed to:
It can be seen that the compilation of “Yinghuan Zhilue” is of course due to Xu Jiyu’s research interest and hard work, but more importantly, it is an inevitable product of China’s contact with the world.
Such an evaluation is obviously more plain and accurate. Regarding the works of world geography compiled by Western missionaries in the late Ming Dynasty, the original description reads: “Because the times did not make demands, such works have little influence even in the intellectual circles, and only play the role of ‘to spread strange news’. Before the publication of “Hai Guo Tu Zhi” and “Ying Huan Zhi Lue”, the Chinese did not have a complete understanding of the outside world.” Mr. changed to:
These things brought by the missionaries were not the demands made by the Chinese themselves, so they had little influence on the Chinese intellectual circles, and only played the role of “broadcasting different stories”. The publication of “Hai Guo Tu Zhi” and “Ying Huan Zhi Lue” is different. They reflect the Chinese people’s urgent need to understand the outside world, so they are welcomed by the intellectuals and have a great impact.
Regarding the influence of “Yinghuan Zhilue” after its publication, the original text reads: “But in general, “Yinghuan Zhilue” was ‘rarely in the world, and it is not important to see it’ at that time, and there was no significant impact. When Xu Jiyu was in After disappearing from the political scene, his writings also seem to have been forgotten.” Mr. Redacted:
However, there were not many people in the Chinese intellectual circle who were concerned about the general situation of the world at that time, so the basic situation of “Yinghuan Zhilue” was “rarely traveled in the world, and whoever saw it was not important.”
Get straight to the point and stay on topic. Other comments include: “On people and time, Kang Youwei’s comments should be placed before Liang Qichao.” “‘On’ and ‘Desire’ should be written clearly”, “‘Ji’ and ‘Borrow’ are not the same word”, etc.
This “homework” was later recommended by Mr. and published in the sixth issue of “Journal of East China Normal University” in 1981. Today, I revisited Mr.’s handwriting, and savoured the difference between the original text and Mr.’s revised text. I really have mixed feelings. I don’t know how other teachers treat the assignments submitted by students, I just know how lucky I am to have such specific instructions from my husband. I have learned that writing articles should put an end to empty words and clichés, be simple and straightforward, and say one thing at a time, not to pursue “new ideas” and be unreasonable; I have learned that the narrative must be logical and clear; I have also learned to be rigorous in attitude and serious in writing. All of these have benefited me for the rest of my life.
open body of knowledge
He has talents, learning and knowledge, and is known for his academic innovation and profound thinking. His writings reproduce the truth of history by sorting out the context of history, and express profound philosophical and rich cultural connotations in concise and timeless words. The character sketches, prefaces, book reviews, miscellaneous feelings and random thoughts written by him also have a broad vision, intensive discussions, and rich literary sentiments, which have long been highly regarded by the academic and cultural circles.
In the late 1970s, Mr. Wang began to construct a new system of modern Chinese history with the purpose of “metabolism”. This new system requires that the political, economic, social, military, ideological and cultural and customs and fashions of the period from 1840 to 1949 be replaced by the old and the new to fully demonstrate the evolution of the unique social form of China’s semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. process.
Regarding the age of modern Chinese history, Mr. Wang has long advocated that from the Opium War to the founding of the People’s Republic of China, “the history of this 110 years is the history of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, it is not a capitalist society with complete meaning, but a Abnormal society under foreign capitalist aggression”, “The lower limit of modern Chinese history should not be the ‘May 4th’ Movement” (“About the Age of Modern Chinese History”, “Academic Monthly”, 1959, tenth one period). After reflection after the “Cultural Revolution”, he pointed out more clearly in his later years: “Semi-colonial and semi-feudal society is also a transitional society”, “This transitional semi-colonial and semi-feudal society has never existed in China before, and China will not be possible in the future. Furthermore, it is a special social form that has never been seen before in Chinese history or in the history of the world. We should examine the ins and outs of such a social form in its entirety, walk out of the framework of 80 years of modern history, and figure out 110 years of history. The Clues of Modern History”, and proposes 1840, 1860-1861, 1894-1895, 1911-1912, 1927-1 The seven important historical years of 1928, 1937, and 1949 serve as “consistent historical clues and the links that reflect the evolution” (“Thinking about the clues of modern Chinese history”, in “Historical Research” I. The third issue in 1988). This not only scientifically defines the disciplinary differences and different connotations between modern Chinese history, Qing history and the history of the Republic of China, but also opens up a new direction for the study of the transition from traditional Chinese society to modern society.
Since 1980, Mr. Shi has systematically taught the course of modern Chinese social metabolism for successive postgraduates. In the past ten years, he has continuously enriched its connotation and improved its structure. During this period, he edited and published two books, Eighty Years of Modern China (1983) and Thirty Years After the May Fourth Movement (1989), to explore the clues and styles of this framework. He published a series of papers in newspapers and periodicals on topics such as patriotism and treason in modern China, revolution and reform, the trend of thinking about the use of Chinese sports and Western culture, the evolution of modern culture, peasant uprisings and population, secret societies, and modern concessions, which creatively revealed China’s The internal laws of the development and changes of modern society have also greatly enriched our understanding of the historic changes in modern society.
In 1988, Mr. died suddenly, and he was unable to complete the monograph on the new system he conceived by himself. The book “The Metabolism of Modern Chinese Society”, published three years after his death, was completed by his students based on the manuscripts (mainly based on the syllabus of Mr. Although the main part of this manuscript still narrates the modern history of China before 1919 (after the “May Fourth”, there is only one chapter “The Choice of History”), it still clearly shows that Mr. The knowledge of the discerning eye and the wide and deep observation. For example, in terms of political change, it has been carefully verified that revolution and reform are a complex historical process of continuous sublation and absorption (Chapters such as “True Reform in False Reform” and “Two Driving Forces in Change”); in terms of social economy, Firmly grasp the “fermentation” effect of energy in the old system when the new productive forces are introduced (“A Small Step in Modernization” and other chapters); in terms of social structure, special attention is paid to the clan organizations linked by blood in the traditional society, and industry and commerce as the The changes in basic guild organizations and party organizations with the homeless class as the main body (Chapters “The Evolution of Urban and Rural Society” and “Middle Society”), in terms of ideology, culture and social atmosphere, are even more powerful and majestic, and fully described The wonderful content of the ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, and old and new disputes (“The Philosophy of Change and Unchanged”, “European Wind and Beauty Riding East” and “Beautiful pursuit of Europe, old state and new creation”, etc.). The theoretical system and analytical framework he devoted himself to constructing in his later years was an important theoretical achievement of Chinese historiography in profound reflection in the changing times, and it was also one of the most valuable academic heritages of Chinese historiography in the 20th century.
It is of course not difficult to integrate the historical process of more than 100 years since the Opium War. Not to mention the history of the Qing Dynasty, the history of the Republic of China, the history of modern China, the history of modern China, the history of the Chinese revolution and other disciplines have been formed for a long time, each with their own expertise and strong barriers, just think about the unpredictable changes in politics, economy and culture over the past century, the involved The vast amount of historical facts and different characters, many of which have special sensitivities, are prohibitive. However, I think that the metabolism of modern Chinese society is an open knowledge system that can accommodate related topics in different fields and levels, and exploring and explaining the vicissitudes of history in Chinese society is what a generation of scholars cannot shirk or avoid. historical responsibility. Judging from Mr.’s academic practice, the evolution of social structure and ideological culture is most likely to become the frontier for breakthroughs. I believe that in a few years, this new system created by Mr. will surely produce many amazing achievements and become a colorful academic field.
This should be the most consoling moment for Mr. Spirit in Heaven. Still delicious!
(“The Metabolism of Modern Chinese Society”, written by Chen Xulu, Life·Reading·Xinzhi Sanlian Publishing House, 2017 edition)
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