The legendary life of a Chinese academic giant Chen Yinke s erudition and academic style

Mondo History Updated on 2024-01-29

In the modern academic history of China, there is a "master of Chinese studies" who stands proudly in the public, who is a historian, linguist, classical literature researcher and poet. Together with Pan Guangdan, Ye Qisun, and Mei Yiqi, he is known as the four great philosophers in the century-old history of Tsinghua University, and is listed as the "Four Masters of Predecessor Historiography" along with Lu Simian, Chen Yuan, and Qian Mu. This "master of masters, professor of professors" is Chen Yinke.

Rich family background and erudite background.

Chen Yinke was born on July 4, 1890 in Changsha, Hunan Province, and has a rich family background. His grandfather Chen Baozhen was praised as "the strange man of the sea" by Zeng Guofan, and his father Chen Sanli was a master of poetry in the late Qing Dynasty, and was known as the "Four Sons of the Late Qing Dynasty" along with Tan Sitong, Xu Renzhu, and Tao Jucun. The elder brother Chen Hengke is a famous art master, and Li Shutong and Qi Baishi are "Taoist friends".

In this family full of academic atmosphere, Chen Yinke has read classics since he was a child, and he is well-read and knowledgeable, and has a deep foundation in old learning.

Study tour: 16 years of study in the West.

At the age of 13, Chen Yinke was sent to Japan to study Xi and began to be exposed to Western culture. After returning to China, he studied in the Fudan New School, and was proficient in German, French and other difficult languages. Subsequently, he began a 16-year study tour in the West, successively studying at the University of Berlin, the University of Zurich, the University of Paris, Harvard University, etc., and mastered more than a dozen languages.

Although in these 16 years, he did not obtain a doctorate and only had three bachelor's degrees, he once said: "It is not difficult to get a doctorate, but in two or three years, I am bound by one topic, and there is no time to learn other knowledge." As long as you can learn knowledge, it doesn't matter if you have a degree or not. ”

Emphasis on learning, frugal life.

Chen Yinke's academic path is rigorous and meticulous, focusing on the excavation and use of original materials. He spends a lot on books, but he lives frugally. When he was a student in Berlin, he ate only the cheapest bread every day, and in small quantities. His frugal principle was: "Waist flowers are the cheapest in Germany!".”

Teaching style: meticulous, erudite, multilingual.

Chen Yinke's teaching method is unique. He often copied the board book before class, filled it with historical materials, and then closed his eyes to give a lecture. His students recalled: "Listening to Mr. Chen's lecture was like peeling a banana leaf, peeling it finer and deeper, without arbitrariness, exaggeration, or distortion. "The knowledge he taught was Chinese and Western, and he was able to speak seven or eight languages at his fingertips.

Principles of Governance: "Four Don't Speak" and Excavation of Original Materials.

Chen Yinke has the principle of "four non-lectures" when giving lectures: "I will not talk about what my predecessors have said;I will not speak of what has been spoken of todayWhat foreigners have said, I will not say;I've talked about it myself in the past, and I won't talk about it. "His classes are always able to corroborate old stories with new materials, and discovering original materials has become one of his principles of learning.

In his later years, he was tenacious and blind, but he still did not forget his academics.

In his later years, Chen Yinke was almost blind and had physical problems. At the time of the fall of Beiping, he transported his collection of books to Changsha, but was destroyed by Japanese artillery fire on the way, and all his research efforts were burned. However, in the absence of any information, he still wrote two masterpieces, "A Brief Treatise on the Origins of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" and "A Treatise on the Political History of the Tang Dynasty", through memory and in a dim environment, which laid a classic model for the historiographical research of later generations.

Still persisting in his difficult old age: the creation of "Liu Ru is Farewell".

In 1944, Chen Yinke lost his sight, but he still insisted on working. With the assistance of his assistant, Ms. Huang Xuan, he began to write the 800,000-word "Farewell Biography of Liu Rushi". This work describes the life of a fireworks woman, embodying "independent thought, free spirit".

Mr. Chen Yinke said: "I wrote this book to weep bitterly for the ancients and leave it for those who come. His tenacity and perseverance have made him a model for future generations of scholars, and he has been praised from generation to generation.

Conclusion: The spirit of independence, the embodiment of the idea of freedom.

Mr. Chen Yinke devoted his life to academics, not in vain, not afraid of difficulties, his "independent spirit, free thought" has become a model for future generations of scholars to learn Xi. His erudition and scholarly demeanor, as well as his spirit of not forgetting scholarship in the face Xi of difficulties, let us remember this Chinese academic giant, learn from him, and inherit his academic spirit.

Mr. Chen Yinke's legendary life, like a wonderful life epic, has left a profound reflection and academic inspiration for future generations. With his erudition, rigorous academic attitude, and independent and free spirit, he has become a banner of modern Chinese academic circles.

First of all, Mr. Chen Yinke's knowledge is breathtaking. He is not only a historian, linguist, scholar of classical literature and poet, but also has mastered more than a dozen languages during his 16 years of study abroad in the West. Behind this erudition is a thirst for knowledge and the pursuit of truth, which provides a noble academic example for future generations.

Secondly, Mr. Chen Yinke excels in teaching, and his classes are deeply engaged with students. With his "peeling banana leaves" style of teaching, he is able to tell the academic content eloquently, so that students are like walking on the mountain, tortuous and inspiring. His rigorous approach and multilingual application provide students with a unique academic experience that stimulates their interest in knowledge.

At the same time, Mr. Chen Yinke has always adhered to the principle of "excavating original materials" in his studies. He is not bound by the views of his predecessors, nor is he bound by contemporary concepts, and always uses original materials as the fulcrum for in-depth research. This attitude towards scholarship has added a lot to his academic contributions and influenced many later generations.

What is even more admirable is the tenacity and struggle of Mr. Chen Yinke in his later years. Despite his blindness and physical impairment, he continued to study under extreme circumstances and wrote masterpieces such as "Liu Ru is Farewell Biography". This unremitting pursuit of scholarship is not only a continuation of one's lifelong academic exploration, but also a firm belief in "independent spirit and free thought".

Mr. Chen Yinke's life has shown a unique personality charm and academic demeanor, and his thoughts and behaviors have set a lofty academic example for future generations. He taught us to be erudite rather than degree-dependent, to focus on the source material rather than generalizations, and to be resilient in the face of adversity and live up to our love of scholarship.

In today's society, we should learn from Mr. Chen Yinke's way of study, cultivate a knowledgeable mind, maintain the courage to think independently, and adhere to a rigorous attitude towards learning. It is this kind of academic pursuit that can stand out in the torrent of the times and become a real academic giant. Although Mr. Chen Yinke is no longer there, the academic spirit he left behind will forever inspire scholars to pursue truth and create value.

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