One Hundred Years, Many People, Many Things Yang Yi's Oral Autobiography "Yang Yi's Oral Narrative Yu Bin Written and Published by Yilin Publishing House.
Lin Yi. The reason why so many people talk about memory is because memory doesn't exist anymore. This is a famous quote from the French historian Pierre Nora. From 1978 to 1992, Nora convened 120 scholars to complete a large-scale cultural project under the name "Field of Memory". As a leading figure in the historiography of "cultural memory", Nora's meaning of this sentence is actually to emphasize that it is precisely because of this characteristic of memory that historians must use all means to preserve memory.
There are many carriers of memory, such as classic records, archaeological remains, museum collections, images, as well as private diaries, letters, oral accounts, memoirs, and so on. Although there is no large-scale, systematic and in-depth study of the "field of memory" in China's cultural circles, the concepts of "private is public" and "personal is social" about private and individual experiences (experience, knowledge, etc.) have become widely recognized, especially those exemplary figures with outstanding achievements, whose personal memories are closely linked to the memories of the times, and the memories related to them are vivid and vivid historical volumes.
Every year, many scholars' memoirs, including oral accounts, are published. At the end of 2023, the author has selected seven works on this theme published this year, and looks back on the 100 years shown in the book with you. In the ups and downs of the world and the ups and downs of the world, the author is particularly touched by the persistence of the spirit of Chinese culture and the active absorption and creative application of other cultures that these scholars have invariably displayed.
Unveil the past and show everyone's style.
One Hundred Years, Many People, Many Things: Yang Yi's Oral Autobiography", this book is a really good title. The old things, the mountains and rivers, use this book to lift the veil of the past.
Together with her brother Yang Xianyi and her lover Zhao Ruifeng, Yang Yi is a well-known translator, and she has translated a large number of literary works between Chinese and English, from "Dream of the Red Chamber" and "The Outer History of Confucianism" to "Red and Black" and "Wuthering Heights", which will be passed down in different countries for a long time.
Yang Yi was born in 1919, and his father, Yang Yuzhang, was the president of the Bank of China at the time. At that time, the Yang family was a wealthy tycoon who controlled finance in Beijing and Tianjin. Yang's in-laws knew Yuan Shikai, Yang Shixiang, Tang Shaoyi, Gu Weijun and others, as well as Qi Baishi painted portraits for them, and Mei Lanfang sang for them. Yang Yi said that the story of the Yang family is very similar to Ba Jin's "Home".
And how did Yang Yi escape from the shipwreck of this old big family? A good boudoir education has laid her generous and graceful bearing, and the international training of Chinese and Western schools has broadened her horizons. The family situation stimulates Yang Yi's rebellion, she is young, she can accept new things, Yang Yi is more intelligent than herself, and has vigorous vitality and the power to break out of the "home".
In the second half of the memoir, Yang Yi told interesting anecdotes about the teachers and teachers of Southwest Associated University and Sun Yat-sen University: Mr. Shen Congwen always smiled; The heroine who assassinated Sun Chuanfang, Shi Jianqiao, has an awe-inspiring temperament; She herself and Ba Jin's second brother Li Yaolin are in love, married to the suitor Zhao Ruifeng, and have a good impression of Mu Dan but can't develop...In those years, the beacon fire was burning everywhere, and life was difficult, but the story in her eyes was full of color and joy. I think this may have a filter effect of memory, or it may be because of Yang Yi's optimistic personality. From a noble daughter to a translator, she has gone through a hundred years of ups and downs.
My Heaven and Earth Kingdom Family Teacher is a collection of nostalgic reminiscences, bringing together the articles written by Peking University professor Li Ling in the past 30 years to remember relatives, friends and teachers and describe his life experience.
Li Ling's foundation in Chinese culture is very good. For example, "Mother is also Tianonly (Three Short Rules)", which uses the sentence of "Poetry, Hufeng, Baizhou", "Mother is also Tianonly", which is equivalent to "Ouch my mother" in modern Northeast dialect, the pain of bereavement at this moment can only be shouted out in such a way of calling the sky and grabbing the earth, the joys and sorrows of human beings can be connected, and there is a cultural bloodline inheritance here.
"Heaven and Earth You" is the longest written article in this collection, space changes in time, the alleys where you live, the schools you go to, the stars change, and the career of this person named "Li Ling" is recorded. In "My Teacher's Dream", the teenager Li Ling began to like reading, and he said that reading can not only help him relieve his worries and boredom, cure his illnesses and injuries, but also curb violent tendencies. Later, Li Ling, who was standing on the teaching altar, had a very different idea of the "teacher's dream". Li Ling also met some nobles who helped him, "Three Nobles" refers to Cheng Deqing, Hou Daqian, and Chang Renxia, whose help made him feel remembered for life.
Li Ling's knowledge is very miscellaneous, and there is a reason that his teachers are miscellaneous. He said: "I have met many old gentlemen, and this is a blessing to me. Li Ling listed the teachers who led him into the door of academics: Yu Weichao, Gao Ming, Yan Wenming, Ma Yao, Wang Shimin, Li Xueqin, ** Xi, Qiu Xigui...He recalled the exchanges between teachers and friends, and stated his evaluation of the character and knowledge of the gentlemen.
Be nourished by tradition and leave cultural memories.
How to live reasonably and happily" is a special commemorative edition of the 130th anniversary of Liang Shuming's birth. Based on "The Complete Works of Liang Shuming", selected articles from classic works such as "Chaohua", "Essentials of Chinese Culture", "Eastern and Western Culture and Its Philosophy", etc., were determined by Liang Shuming's family. The selected articles focus on the elaboration of outlook on life and values, and although they are new editions of old texts, they are still very relevant to current life and still have a lot of inspiration for contemporary readers. Liang Shuming's outlook on life and values are deeply rooted in his love for traditional Chinese culture. Known as the "Last Confucian", he adhered to the old civilization's resolute resistance to Westernization, and did not care about being regarded as backward and stubborn by the world. Time has changed and the tide has receded, and we have realized that there is nothing wrong with accepting foreign civilizations in terms of inherent cultural heritage, and the ideas provided by Liang Shuming have their profound truth.
Before Liang Shuming, few people could systematically abstract this issue to the philosophical level in their comparative understanding of Eastern and Western cultures. Liang Shuming expounded his views on the different forms of human culture. He lamented the decline of traditional Chinese civilization, but he also doubted the applicability of the materialistic culture of the West in China.
Liang Shuming's article presents the state of mind of Chinese Confucianism, "although thousands of people have gone to me", he is torn between Buddhism and Confucianism, starting from the suffering of individual life, and striving to find a good cure for suffering. He worked hard to build the pastoral dream of rural China, launched the rural construction movement, followed his own blueprint, fulfilled his life mission, and walked straight and iron-clad. His philosophy is full of sober humanity and cares for the spiritual well-being of mankind.
The title of this book is the question raised by Liang Shuming. This question is answered in the book, and we should all read it and think about it.
The title of the book "Year Rings" also has a sense of time, which makes people sigh. The author, Wang Dehou, said that he has three names, and one name can be written in four ways. Born in Hankou in 1934, it coincided with New Year's Day, so it was called "Han Yuan"; When I was in elementary school, my name was "Dehou"; In the second half of his life, he changed his name to "Dehou" to rejoice in the rest of his life; Later, he photocopied Zhu Xi's "University Annotations" of the Qing Dynasty Wuying Palace, and saw that "knowing and then having a certainty, being fixed and then being able to be quiet, being quiet and then being able to be peaceful, being safe and then being able to worry, and then being able to get", it turned out that at that time, "after" and "after" were interconnected, so he often wrote the name "dehou".
Wang Dehou believes that one of the ways of thinking of Chinese cultural people is hidden in the mystery of this "deep literature and thoughtfulness". Of course, it may have something to do with his profession. Wang Dehou studied in the Department of Chinese Chinese Language and Literature of Beijing Normal University in 1953, and after working, he was transferred to the Lu Xun Research Office in Beijing and became an expert in Lu Xun studies. His life experience was similar to that of most intellectuals of his time, and in the difficult years, he consciously found spiritual support for himself.
Wang Dehou said that he was greatly encouraged by Lu Xun's idea of "establishing people", "if his Taoism is to respect his personality and spirit", and "live to old age and learn from old age" is the realm we should pursue.
This book also records the words and deeds of well-known scholars such as Li Helin, Wang Yao, Yang Jiyun, Zhong Jingwen, Qi Gong, and Li Changzhi, as well as the academic exchange letters between Wang Dehou and his teachers and friends, presenting the academic and personal demeanor of these scholars, and recording a large number of personal experiences in the intellectual circles, leaving a cultural memory of an era.
Zhou Zhiwen, the author of The Year of the Pilgrimage (all three volumes), has long been immersed in classical Chinese culture. This collection of memories does not use linear narratives, but uses flashing moments of time to present those faint moments in memory, and the stars flash. With Mao Jian's comments on Zhou Zhiwen, he believes that he has inherited the literary system of Gui Youguang, which is extremely plain and affectionate, and is a work of silence in the Chinese world.
Zhou Zhiwen told it lightly: he wrote down the stories of all kinds of people he met in the streets and parks, such as barbers, physiognomists, and meditating old men; He also described the conversations, words and deeds of his colleagues in the university, and gradually triggered his thoughts on life, old age, sickness and death, feelings and knowledge, travel and hometown, artistic beliefs, etcIn Zhou Zhiwen's view, in terms of the achievements of creativity, we are not much better than the ancients, and our current academic progress has accumulated the wisdom and achievements of countless people throughout the ages, so we must always have a humble attitude and the idea of carrying forward the past and forging ahead into the future.
Zhou Zhiwen's article immersed me in the indifferent and calm aura of cultural people who read poetry and books.
Enhance in cross-border and learn from each other in comparison.
Truth and Beauty: Yau's View of Mathematics is a collection of essays, speeches, and reminiscences of Chinese-American mathematician Yau's reflections on mathematics and humanities education for nearly half a century.
Yau is Chern's first Chinese winner, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, an emeritus professor of mathematics at Harvard University, a chair professor at Tsinghua University, and a winner of the Shaw Prize in Mathematical SciencesIn the book, Yau Chengtong shows the demeanor of a mathematician. Articles such as "Looking Back on 150 Years of Harvard Mathematics" have sorted out the role of mathematics in promoting the development of human society; The "Outline of the History of Mathematics" lists 80 key items, and speaks about the experience and prospects of mathematical research, which will surely inspire researchers.
Yau Chengtong believes that mathematics is a general science, involving the commonality with physics and many other disciplines, involving the interaction between string theory and geometry, experimental science and theoretical science of the hidden dimension of the universe, and mathematics determines the content and research methods of most philosophical thoughts, and shapes many schools of painting, architecture and literary style. Yau said that many mathematicians are good pianists. The requirement of conciseness in mathematics has a subtle effect on cultivating people's logical ability and perceptual ability, making people pleasing to the eye and providing aesthetic value. Mathematics is comparable to any cultural discipline.
Yau Chengtong loves literature and history, undertakes court training at an early age, and is familiar with the classics, and these readings have contributed to the cultivation of his people and the improvement of his realm. Good scholars are often interdisciplinary, broad-minded and have excellent humanistic qualities.
Jiang Yi and His Literary Friends" revolves around the artistic creation and social interaction of the Chinese in Britain represented by Jiang Yi from 1930 to 1950. During this time period, a small group of Chinese writers and artists lived in Hampstead, then north-west London, with Jiang Yi, a writer, poet, and painter.
The book is divided into two parts: the first part, Jiang Yi; The second part, Jiang Yi's circle of friends. Contributors include Paul Bevan, Kruger, Cheng Ka-yee and others, all of whom are famous artists of the day. This book can also be seen as a research project on cultural memory.
The book is not a statement of Jiang Yi's life, but rather an attempt to assess Jiang Yi's status as a cultural celebrity in the United Kingdom, and to judge his life achievements as accurately as possible in the context of Chinese art writing. For example, the articles written by Kruger use various historical materials as much as possible to compare them with Jiang Yi's self-reports and reminiscences, and try to restore the real Jiang Yi's life in a "demythologizing" way. Other articles emphasized the issue of Jiang Yi's identity as a foreigner in England. For example, Ye Shufang's essay focuses on the "production mechanism of unity, nostalgia, and racial expression" of Jiang Yi and Xiong Shiyi and other Chinese in the UK.
The essays by Zheng Jiayi, Tessa Thorneli and others attempt to reflect on the experience of Anglo-American Chinese, the personal feelings and emotional aspects of life, and the complex nature of history through the story of Jiang Yi. It not only discusses all aspects of Jiang Yi's life and work, but also discusses the nourishment provided by Hampstead's Chinese intellectual group in his personal life and career, as well as the interaction between the members of the group, which has a promoting effect on the research of Chinese in Britain in the 20th century.
We all know that it is difficult to have authentic and pure memory preservation, and memory is always faced with various problems such as self-dissolution, misreading by others, or forgetting, pretentiousness, etc. How to make memories carry meaning, so that generations of people can grasp the gray line between absence and presence, these scholarly memoirs may provide some good research examples.
*: Wen Wei Po).