Hu Shi poured his money into help, smashing pots and selling iron just for the future of talents.
At the beginning of the 20th century, China was in dire need of a large number of talents. Hu Shi, a professor at Peking University who returned from studying abroad, saw a large number of outstanding young people such as Lin Yutang, Wu Han, and Luo Ergang who dreamed of studying in the United States, but they suffered from poor family conditions and could not afford to pay high tuition fees and living expenses.
Hu Shi resolutely decided that he would not hesitate to go bankrupt and fund these unavoidable talents. **He has funded Lin Yutang with $2,000 to complete his Xi at Harvard and Leipzig, two of the world's top universities. For other talents, Hu Shi is also righteous and squandering money, and almost exhausted all his savings.
After Lin Yutang returned to China after completing his studies, when he learned that the 2,000 US dollars were all Hu Shi's own money, he was extremely grateful: "I feel dirty, because I have never had such a clear opinion and such a broad mind. ”
Hu Shi's righteousness and squandering wealth brought a group of powerful master talents to the pinnacle of life, and they later returned to the society and made China's academic career flourish. Without Hu Shih's help, these talents would likely have been depressed in poverty, and we do not see their outstanding achievements today.
Hu Shi suffered countless abuses, but he always remained gentle and elegant.
As the leader of the May Fourth New Culture Movement, Hu Shi led the trend of the times academically and ideologically, and also attracted countless criticisms. Lu Xun publicly ridiculed and criticized Hu Shi in newspapers and periodicals many times, and some people in the academic circles spread rumors and slander after dinner.
In the face of attacks from all sides, Hu Shi has always remained gentle and elegant. Not only did he refuse to fight back, but sometimes he would praise the articles that attacked him: "Reading the books of the ancients, on the one hand, you must know how smart the ancients were, and on the other hand, how stupid the ancients were." ”
In 1936, after Lu Xun died of illness, Xu Guangping suggested that Hu Shi could come forward to promote a national commemoration. For Hu Shi, this is tantamount to sending charcoal in the snow. He not only served as a member of the Lu Xun Memorial Committee, but also strongly recommended and supported the Commercial Press to publish "The Complete Works of Lu Xun".
In this era of "for tat" and "freedom of speech", Hu Shi's tolerant and generous gentlemanly demeanor regardless of previous suspicions is simply admirable. Because of this, he made countless friends and gained a great reputation throughout his life.
Make bold assumptions and carefully verify them" Hu Shi pioneered a new academic approach.
After the May Fourth New Culture Movement, Chinese intellectuals began to completely Westernize, simply imitating Europe and the United States, and lost their subjectivity. Hu Shi proposed a unique academic method: "bold assumptions, careful verification".
In other words, dare to come up with new insights and subversive hypotheses. For example, Hu Shi criticized Luo Ergang's "Outline of the History of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" for being too pandering to the mainstream and blindly praising the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. This was an extremely bold assumption at the time.
But at the same time, we must not be arbitrary, but we must look for evidence and carefully verify it. Hu Shih said that when the evidence is insufficient, one can only make assumptions, and only after finding conclusive evidence can a conclusion be made.
This academic method has broken the trap of Chinese scholars only reading the books of sages and sages and reading from the books, and has opened up a new horizon for academic research. It is precisely because of this that Hu Shi has had a profound influence on a generation of scholars. Historian Gu Jiegang has publicly stated that his research methods are "directly attributable to Mr. Hu."
Chiang Kai-shek invited Hu Shi to serve as **, but was refuted on the spot.
In 1952, Hu was invited to give lectures in Taiwan. In 1954, Chiang Kai-shek pretended to nominate Hu Shi as the first candidate, trying to win him over to cheer for himself.
Unexpectedly, Hu refuted on the spot: "I have a heart attack, and even the insurance company doesn't insure me, how can I be a **?"He publicly declared that if he was really nominated, he would definitely refuse.
In the face of power, Hu Shi was not only unmoved, but also firmly defended his beliefs: not to be swayed, not to compromise.
In the era of the White Terror, it was rare for someone to dare to sing against Chiang Kai-shek in such a public manner. **This shows Hu Shi's high style and integrity as a gentleman.
Hu Shih sang a swan song for the ages, and before his death, he severely criticized the Taiwan authorities for not having freedom of speech.
In 1958, Chiang Kai-shek again invited Hu Shi to be the president of the Academia Sinica. At the inauguration ceremony, Chiang Kai-shek demanded that Hu Shih must hold high the banner of "** resistance to Russia".
Unexpectedly, as soon as Hu Shi opened his mouth, he directly ridiculed: "* You are wrong." And retorted article by point, saying that academic research has nothing to do with politics.
This sharp criticism directly hurt Chiang Kai-shek's self-esteem. In his diary, he denounced this as the "second greatest rebellion" of his life.
To this day, Hu Shi's sentence "**You are wrong" is still evocative. An old man who is about to finish the last journey of his life dares to criticize power so openly and explain what a true gentleman is.
Hu Shi practiced the true meaning of a gentleman in his own life. He is an example for us to learn from Xi.
Hu Shi's life has interpreted what a true gentleman is. He deserves to be learned Xi everyone. If you are also touched by his life story, welcome to share your thoughts in the comment section.