This is the 97 article in Zhengbang’s bookshelf
by Ma Yong (researcher at the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a famous historical scholar)
In the history of modern China, Yan Fu has the most special status.
He was one of the pioneers in modern China who opened his eyes to the world. He advocated most vigorously that China should learn from the West, seek prosperity, go global, participate in international competition, natural selection, survival of the fittest, abide by the laws of the jungle , and transform into A respected modern country.
However, Yan Fu was one of the first Chinese to express disappointment with modern Western civilization. When the European War broke out, he was the first to see the crux of the problem. He lamented that the three hundred years of development of Western capitalism could only achieve the words "self-interested killing, shameless ", "Three hundred years of European science have been used to drive away birds" "Eating Meat" was the first to realize that the inherent value of Chinese civilization would not be lost with economic development, and the first to realize that Chinese civilization might provide some useful supplements to capitalist civilization.
If we observe it from a global historical perspective, we can clearly see that modern Western civilization has undergone a huge transformation after World War II . Greedy, decadent, and inhumane capitalist values have been greatly revised. Marx, The capitalism that Lenin hated and criticized gradually became tender and full of humanity. This is of course a correction made by bourgeois politicians and thinkers who accepted Marxist criticism. It is also the product of the tremendous development of economy, science and technology.
In fact, in the late 19th century, not long after the industrial revolution took place, people clearly realized that the industrial revolution not only liberated productivity, but also created productivity. The industrial revolution greatly expanded mankind's ability to create wealth. As the industrial revolution deepens, the biggest problem for mankind is not development, but what to do if there is a high degree of overcapacity.
The capitalist economic crisis is actually an inevitable product of the early stage of the industrial revolution. When people do not find a new way to adjust wealth, they will definitely compete for wealth and greedily possess it. The thinking and criticism of capitalism by Yan Fu and other 20th-century Chinese thinkers are the most original if viewed from a longer historical period.
Yan Fu's critical awareness of Western culture, his alertness to the shortcomings of the capitalist spirit , and his rediscovery and reinterpretation of Chinese civilization were regarded as retrograde in past discussions, a symbol of backwardness and conservatism, and a sign of conservatism of standard configuration. In fact, if we look at it from the perspective of the global modernization process, the European War caused troubles and Chinese civilization was re-evaluated at this time. Revaluation of the value of civilization in process.
After Chinese civilization experienced the baptism of modern Western civilization, and after the West suffered its biggest setback since the Industrial Revolution, the value of Chinese civilization itself gradually emerged. In this sense, Yan Fu and others are not walking backwards, but providing people with forward-looking thinking, and are the leaders of 20th century thought.
There have been many valuable studies on the significance of Yan Fu’s thoughts, so I won’t discuss them further here. The reason why I emphasize in this short article that Yan Fu has been leading the times from his youth to his later years is mainly to emphasize Yan Fu's extraordinary thinking ability and attraction, especially his diverse and rich circle of friends.
Chinese sages have always warned people to "stay close to gentlemen and stay away from villains". In fact, they emphasize that if you associate with gentlemen and superior people, you will definitely benefit from your friends. The circle of friends determines a person's ideological level. The saying "there are great scholars in talking and laughing, and there are no idle people in communication" refers to a state of life. Reading the correspondence between Yan Fu and those friends, one can deeply realize the power of mutual influence between friends. Due to space limitations, I will just give a few examples.
Looking at Yan Fu’s entire life, he was a hard-working person in his youth.There are many reasons why he is like this, but one important reason cannot be ignored, which is his circle of friends, those who are both teachers and friends, who are constantly and quietly influencing him.
Think about it, a fifteen-year-old boy was praised by the Shipping Minister Shen Baozhen for his article " Great filial piety and lifelong admiration for parents ", "putting the best in others", how great this was for Yan Fu of incentives. Shen Baozhen unfortunately died of illness in office in the fifth year of Guangxu (1879). It is not clear how many contacts Yan Fu had with Shen Baozhen at that time - history is always full of forgetting, whether it is historical materials or memories. ——But we know that Yan Fu and Shen Baozhen's grandson-in-law Lin Xu were very good friends. Lin Xu was unfortunately killed, and Yan Fu wrote several mourning poems full of true feelings and anger. Lin Xu is the son-in-law of Shen Baozhen's son Shen Yuqing , and his wife Shen Que should be Shen Baozhen's granddaughter. If we understand this relationship and then understand Yan Fu's mourning poems and the political sentiments behind them, it is not difficult to see the possible influence Shen Baozhen had on his youth.
The biggest influence on Yan Fu in his youth may not have been Shen Baozhen, because Yan Fu was too young at that time and Shen Baozhen's position was too high. The person who really had a major influence on Yan Fu's youth and shaped Yan Fu in many aspects such as his thoughts, character, and life style must be the most famous diplomat Guo Songtao in modern China.
The correspondence between Yan and Guo has not been seen as time has passed, but Guo Songtao's diary preserves their interactions during their overseas stay, especially Guo Songtao's evaluation of Yan Fu, which is particularly noteworthy. This is an elder's observation and guidance to young people.
Guo Songtao’s views on Chinese and Western culture are very close to Yan Fu’s. Whether Guo influenced Yan or Yan influenced Guo can continue to be studied, but there is no doubt that Yan Fu’s ideological approach was largely influenced by Guo Songtao’s. Inspiration and guidance. Such a circle of elderly friends must have benefited Yan Fu a lot, whether it was his thoughts, career, or occupation. For example, Yan Fu returned from studying abroad early and was designated to engage in naval education. This was actually Guo Songtao's guidance based on personal observations. There have been many studies in this area, see.
Beiyang Naval Academy For twenty years, Yan Fu was the most important career in his life. He made great contributions to China's naval education. During this period, Yan Fu must have had many friends in his circle of friends, but as time went by, tangible documents became difficult to find. In addition, the Beiyang Naval Academy and its archives were almost destroyed in the war of 1900, so it is still difficult to reconstruct Yan Fu’s circle of friends during that period, but you can pay attention to Yan Fu’s Fuzhou Shipbuilding Academy classmates, especially those who studied in England. interaction between. As the most special group of that era, it is human nature for them to care, support, and help each other. Yan Fu's two sisters, one is married to He Xinchuan, his classmate at Fuzhou Shipping School and when he studied in England, and the other is married to Chen Fu, a graduate of Beiyang Naval School. This is enough to show the close relationship between Yan Fu and his shipping school and his classmates in England. Not to mention the Beiyang Naval Academy, which he devoted twenty years of hard work to.
Good interpersonal relationships and a high-end circle of friends are the foundation for a successful career. Yan Fu has always had a unique advantage in this regard. For example, after the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1894, he worked hard to write and open up the people's wisdom. In addition to his personal talent, knowledge, and cognition, he also had to admit that his friends were also important factors. A considerable part of the existing correspondence between Yan Fu and Chen Baochen discusses the Sino-Japanese War and related issues. We have not seen Chen Baochen's letter or reply to Yan Fu, but from Yan Fu's letter, we can clearly feel the fact that they exchanged information and inspired each other.
People who study the reform movement and generally like to say "the south is strict and the north is strict." It means that Liang Qichao founded and presided over the "Current Affairs News" in the south, and Yan Fu participated in the founding and wrote the " National News News " and "National News Collection" in Tianjin.In fact, they are not working in isolation, but echo each other, each has his or her own focus, and cooperates. This is reflected in the correspondence preserved by Yan Fu, Liang Qichao, Wang Kangnian, Zhang Yuanji and others.
Translation introduction Western academic masterpieces are Yan Fu's greatest contribution in Chinese history. In the long run, they can be compared with Xuanzang in the Tang Dynasty, Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi in the Ming Dynasty. We know that Yan Fu received modern Western cultural education when he was a boy. For traditional culture, especially Confucianism, he, like the later Liang Shuming, learned about it again as an adult.
Yan Fu used the elegant Six Dynasties script when translating and introducing Western masterpieces. Some researchers say that it was precisely because of this that he quickly conquered Chinese intellectuals, making his translation works, especially " Tianyan ", famous It spread like wildfire and became a household name. How Yan Fu's elegant writing training was accomplished may suddenly come to light if we carefully sort out and examine the interactions between Yan Fu and Wu Rulun. Wu Rulun was the first-class literary master at that time. He helped Yan Fu review and revise the text. In a sense, it was not only the icing on the cake, but also the Midas touch.
As for Yan Fu’s contacts with the political, educational and industrial circles in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, they were also an important part of Yan Fu’s circle of friends, including Prince Su, Zai Ze, Zai Xun, Yulang , Na Tong, Zhang Baixi , end Fang , Sheng Xuanhuai , Feng Guozhang , especially Ronglu, Yuan Shikai , etc. were all Yan Fu's friends. However, due to the cruelty of history, there are too few records left. People can only imagine them through those few words. mutual inspiration and mutual influence.
History is rich, but historical records are often insufficient. I roughly estimate that the extant letters of Yan Fu are less than one percent of what he may have actually written. An obvious example is the correspondence between Yan Fu and his private disciple Xiong Yuchen. In a short period of time, there were more than 100 letters. The literati of that era were as keen on WeChat as the literati today, and correspondence was a way of life for them. Unfortunately, in the past hundred years or so, there have been wars, dynasties, and turmoil, and there have been few stable and non-relocated cultural families. As a result, a large number of documents, especially letters, have been lost. This is a great pity and there is no way to make up for it.
Historical research and data compilation and editing are a kind of academic relay work, which is a new start for one generation based on the work of the previous generation. This "Collected Letters of Yan Fu" is a separate publication and supplement of the letters of "The Complete Works of Yan Fu" published by Fujian Education Press ; and the letters in "The Complete Works of Yan Fu" are the letters of "The Complete Works of Yan Fu" published in Taipei. Supplementary on a partial basis. As the editor of the letters of these two collections, I am excited to see the original letters of Yan Fu in the National Museum of Chinese History (now the National Museum of China), Liaoning Provincial Museum, etc., and I am also sincerely grateful to my predecessors such as "Yan Fu Collection" edited by Mr. Wang Shi and his disciples.
"The Complete Works of Yan Fu" originally contains 496 letters. This single edition is based on the original version and adds 45 letters that have been lost or leaked in recent years. Among them, there are 17 family letters from "Yan Fu Family Letters", 8 letters to Luping; 3 letters from Xiling autumn auction to Sun Zhuang, and 2019 Guardian spring auction to 1 letter from Zhang Yuanji, 11 English letters from the 2021 Guardian Autumn Auction to Ms. Richardson, Wu Guangjian , and Yan Boxun (Yan Jiazou) (said to be from the old collection of Mr. Yan Qun); provided by Fuzhou Yan Fu Calligraphy and Calligraphy Museum 2 letters to Yan Yao, Yan Xu, etc. and to Yan Peinan; Jiangxi Normal University Library has a letter to Muzun, Wenzhou Museum has a letter to Sun Xuan, provided by scholar Xiao Yifei 1 letter to Quan Bingxun, etc.
would like to express its special thanks to the relevant units and individuals who provided information. The collection of historical information is an almost endless undertaking, and I believe that new information will continue to be discovered after the publication of this collection of letters.Being grateful to our predecessors and looking forward to future generations is the right path for academic development. We hope that this "Collected Letters of Yan Fu" can provide some help for future research on Yan Fu. It's the order.
This article is the preface to "Collected Letters of Yan Fu".
"Collected Letters of Yan Fu"
Editors: Ma Yong, Xu Chao
Publisher: Fujian Education Press
Recommended words: This book comprehensively collects and organizes all Yan Fu's letters that are currently available, a total of 541 letters. These letters include Yan Fu’s letters to Chen Baochen, Wang Kangnian, Liang Qichao, Wu Rulun, Zhang Yuanji, Zhang Taiyan, Xia Zengyou, Morrison, Sheng Xuanhuai, Yang Du, etc., as well as letters to his relatives. Through this collection, you can get a glimpse of Yan Fu’s social and political thoughts, as well as his interactions and relationships with many social, political and cultural celebrities at that time; at the same time, you can also observe the daily interactions and daily life of the ideological translators, and the love of their children, etc. It is a systematic collection of personal historical materials about great thinkers.
