"Hu Shizhi is a Little Rabbit" (Shanghai "Li Bao", March 19, 1949)
The fourth graduation photography session of the Liberal Arts Department of Peking University (from left in the front row: Zhu Xizu, Qian Xuantong, Cai Yuanpei, Chen Duxiu, Huang Kan, June 1918)
202 Year 3 is the Year of the Rabbit in the lunar calendar. At the beginning of the last century, there happened to be several teachers with the zodiac sign of the rabbit in the preparation room of the Peking University liberal arts faculty. They often chatted together in their free time, so the place where they lived was called "Mao Zihao", and the various stories related to it gradually became a "good story" in modern academic circles.
Peking University's "Mao Zihao"
is actually the preparation room of liberal arts teachers
In September 1948, Zhou Zuoren wrote the article "Inside and Outside the Red Mansion" in Kuyuzhai. One month later, on October 25, this article was published in the fourth issue of Shanghai's "Ziyue Congkan", signed "Wang Shouxia". This article was once regarded as a masterpiece by a famous writer recalling the past events of Peking University, and it continues to have an influence to this day.
The first chapter of the article is titled "Starting from Mao Zihao", which tells the ins and outs of Peking University's "Mao Zihao". The concept of "Mao Zihao" was mentioned in the history of Peking University before and after the "May 4th" movement, and became an "anecdote" that later generations of readers talked about.
More than ten years later, in February 1961, the article "Inside and Outside the Red Mansion" was included in the book "Zhitang Yiyou Wenbian" by the famous newspaperman Cao Juren, and was first published in Hong Kong. In October of the same year, Zhou Zuoren proposed the "Mao Zihao" part of this article separately, updated it into a single article, and wrote three "Celebrities with Mao Zihao" in succession, which were included in the manuscript of "Memories of Zhitang". Three years after Zhou's death, in July 1970, "Memories of Zhitang", a memoir of Zhou's later years, was still handed over to Tingtao Publishing House for publication in Hong Kong.
The origin of the so-called "Mao Zihao", Zhou Zuoren "started from Mao Zihao", which is very clear in the first paragraph:
...Before the seventh century of the Republic of China, the Red Building of Peking University was under construction, and the liberal arts and sciences were all in the Fourth Princess Mansion of Ma Temple, and the big red gate to the east did not exist yet, and the entrance and exit were only through the gate that was later called Xizhai. After entering, there are several bungalows in the east area, which are generally called "Maozihao" for some unknown reason. In the sixth century of the Republic of China, it was used as a preparation room for liberal arts teachers, with one room per person. Many celebrities gathered here every day... The most famous anecdote about "Maozihao" is that there were two "old rabbits" and three "little rabbits" here. The explanation of this matter is extremely simple, because in liberal arts, Chen Duxiu and Zhu Xizu were born in the year of Jimao, and three others were born in the year of Xinmao, namely Hu Shizhi, Liu Bannong, and Liu Wendian.
It turns out that "Mao Zihao" is just a preparation room for liberal arts teachers at Peking University. The origin of its name was "unknown for some reason" when Zhou was teaching at Peking University. However, among the teachers who often appear in "Mao Zihao", there are five celebrities whose zodiac sign is rabbit (that is, born in the year of Mao in the lunar calendar), which makes this "Mao" character come true. The two older "old rabbits", Chen Duxiu and Zhu Xizu, were born in the year of Jimao (1879); the three younger "little rabbits", Hu Shizhi, Liu Bannong, and Liu Wendian, were born in the year of Xinmao (1891).
It is worth mentioning that regarding the recollection of "Mao Zihao", Zhou Wen although it has been widely spread in the field of public culture and has a long-lasting influence, it may not be considered the earliest in terms of time in terms of the public proposal of the title "Mao Zihao".
Hu Shih Reminiscences of "Mao Zihao" at Liu Bannong's memorial service
"Mao Zihao" remembrance
As far as the author has seen and known, the two old, three, and five "rabbits" in "Mao Zihao" publicly disclosed this title themselves. The person who recalled this anecdote can be said to be the earliest in time. I am afraid it is the "little rabbit" Hu Shi who was the most active in public activities and made the most personal remarks in public.
Speaking of which, the public disclosure of the "Mao Zihao" may have first appeared at the memorial service of "Little Rabbit" Liu Bannong in 1934, where another "Little Rabbit" Hu Shi preached on the spot with great sadness.It was July 1934. Liu Bannong was infected with "relapsing fever" while conducting archeology and investigating dialects in Inner Mongolia. He died of illness after returning to Beijing, and his coffin was temporarily placed in Jiaxing Temple outside the gate. About three months later, on October 14, a memorial service for Liu Bannong was hosted by Peking University and attended by many Peking University colleagues. Among the many newspapers and periodicals from all over the north and south, many reported on the memorial service. Among them, "Panshi Magazine" published by Tianjin Yishi Newspaper Office had the most detailed coverage.
At the end of that year, the magazine published an article "Overview of Mr. Liu Bannong's Memorial Service" in the twelfth issue of the second volume of the magazine, with a total of about 4,000 words. Among them, the content of Hu Shi's speech at the memorial service was particularly vivid and touching, and it is worth reading carefully:
Hu Shi's report briefly stated: "When Mr. Bannong and I first came to Peking University, it was the sixth year of the Republic of China. I remember often chatting with a few friends in the "Mao Zihao" room in front of the Second Hospital. Today, in the elegiac couplets of these friends, I also Someone mentioned "Mao Zihao", and now I think about the situation at that time, which makes me sad. Bannong and I were both born in the year of "Xinmao", and there were several people born in the year of Xinmao in Peking University. Chen Duxiu and others were also born in the year of Xinmao, so they were called old rabbits and little rabbits at that time. . Chen Duxiu and others are old rabbits, while Bannong and I are little rabbits. A few of us chatted together in one place, so some people called the house where we were talking "Mao Zihao". This is the origin of Mao Zihao. This happened in the sixth, seventh and eighth years of the Republic of China. "
Obviously, whether it was the "old rabbit" or the "little rabbit", Hu Shi responded accurately in his speech, and the origin of the name "Maozihao" was also clearly explained, that is:
A few of us chatted together, so some people called the house where we were talking 'Maozihao', which is the origin of Maozihao.
This explanation is quite different from what Zhou Zuoren said in his article "Inside and Outside the Red Mansions" more than ten years later, "I don't know why." Perhaps because he was one of the old and young "rabbits" in the "Mao Zihao", and because of this "story", Hu Shi delivered such a speech clearly and clearly on the spot when he mourned the death of another "little rabbit" who died young. As for the mention in the speech, "Today in the elegiac couplets of friends, there is also a mention of 'Mao Zihao'", this actually refers to the elegiac couplet Zhou Zuoren presented at the meeting at that time:
You are an old friend for seventeen years, and my memories are still from "Mao Zihao".
He traveled across the desert for more than twenty days and returned as Ding Lingwei.
Liu Bannong, Chen Duxiu, Zhu Xizu...
The legend of "Mao Zihao" is gradually coming to an end.
Regarding the legendary origins of Peking University's "Mao Zihao", along with the group of Peking University scholars who were all born in the "Mao year", the group of Peking University scholars, old and young, whose zodiac signs were "rabbit", each emerged and became popular among the world in the first half of the 20th century. Anyone who knows a little bit about this legendary origin will inevitably comment on it in the conversation after dinner.
However, the content of these public comments passed down orally or published in newspapers does not have much new ideas, and there is no updated historical information. Most of them are based on the content recalled by the aforementioned "Mao Zihao" people such as Hu Shi and Zhou Zuoren.
On March 19, 1949, Shanghai's "Li Pao" published a short article titled "Hu Shizhi is a Little Rabbit", which once again retold the story of the old and young "Rabbit" in "Maozihao". However, feeling that time has passed by and the times have changed, there is a sigh at the end of the article:
Dr. Hu is no longer a little rabbit, he should become an old rabbit.
Indeed, Hu Shi, who had already served as the president of Peking University at that time, was in his sixties. The prosperous and high-spirited years in "Mao Zihao" have become a thing of the past and cannot be looked back on. After all, a full thirty years have passed since the name and existence of "Mao Zihao". Not only is youth gone, many of the "rabbits" old and young are no longer alive.
First, the "little rabbit" Liu Bannong contracted a serious illness and died young in July 1934; then the "old rabbit" Chen Duxiu died suddenly in May 1942 in Jiangjin, Chongqing due to poverty and illness. Immediately afterwards, another "old rabbit", Zhu Xizu, a great historian of the generation, also died of illness in Chongqing in July 1944 amid the heavy workload of academic affairs and scholarship.
Just like this, three of the five old and young "rabbits" in the "Mao Zihao" have gone, and only Liu Wendian, who moved to Kunming, Yunnan with the Southwest Associated University, was unable to demobilize with Tsinghua University for some reason, and had to stay at Yunnan University to teach; and Hu Shi, who had already flown out of Peiping and was preparing to go to Taiwan to resettle his family, was no longer a "little rabbit" but an "old rabbit".
It seems that the story and memory of "Mao Zihao" have gradually faded and will eventually become lonely.
"Peking University became famous because of three rabbits"
As time goes by, the legend of "Mao Zihao" gradually comes to an end. As Hu Shi, who has changed from "little rabbit" to "old rabbit", died of illness in Taiwan in February 1962, it finally came to an end that left the world reluctant to talk about it.
However, then a refreshing saying emerged, "Peking University became famous because of three rabbits", which seemed to reinterpret the legendary story of "Mao Zihao" on the historical stage of the new era. This statement comes from Xu Deheng, who personally experienced the "May 4th" movement and later became a famous educator and one of the founders of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This statement appears in the article "Recalling the May 4th Movement" written by Xu:
At this time, Hu Shi also tried every means to use the fame of Cai Yuanpei and Chen Duxiu to promote himself. He said that Peking University became famous because of three rabbits. The old rabbit was Cai Yuanpei (Cai was born in Dingmao, the sixth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, and Mao is a rabbit according to the twelve zodiac signs); the middle rabbit was Chen Duxiu (Chen was born in Jimao, the fifth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, and was also a rabbit); and the other was the little rabbit Hu Shi himself (Hu was born in Xinmao, the seventeenth year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, and was also a rabbit). It became a joke for a while.
It should be said that this statement enriches and enriches the self-reports of people in the "Maozihao" of Peking University, further expands the "Maozihao" people's connections and the pattern of the times, and "digs out" Peking University President Cai Yuanpei, who can be called an "old rabbit" regardless of his personal age, social qualifications, and historical status. In this way, the subsequent discussion of seniority will be logical, and the sequence of the "middle rabbit" Chen Duxiu and the "little rabbit" Hu Shi will be revealed.
It can be said that regardless of whether Hu Shih said it himself or mentioned in an article that "Peking University became famous because of three rabbits", and whether the "three rabbits" ranking method of old, medium and small was initiated by Hu Shi, Xu Deheng's recollection is indeed impressive and refreshing.
After the death of Cai Yuanpei,
Chen Duxiu gave a speech.
Coincidentally, not long after Cai Yuanpei died of illness, Chen Duxiu, who had quietly lived in seclusion in Jiangjin, Chongqing, wrote books behind closed doors and remained aloof from worldly affairs, wrote a "Speech on the Death of Mr. Cai Jiemin" and delivered it to Nanjing's "Central Daily News" for publication on March 24, 1940. In the two concluding paragraphs at the end of this article, Cai Yuanpei, Hu Shi and himself were compared twice in a row, which not only fully reflected the close friendship between them as the "three rabbits", but also further confirmed the saying that "Peking University became famous because of the three rabbits" from the perspective of those who experienced the history and were personally involved in the incident.
In the article, when mentioning the ideological stance of fundamentally opposing the worship of Confucius and moral preaching, Chen Duxiu said that such a stance was highly consistent with that of Cai and Hu. The article said:
This is not just me Personal opinions, I dare say that Mr. Cai and Mr. Shizhi have roughly the same opinions as mine on these two issues; Shizhi is still alive, and people don’t believe that they can ask him. Anyone who is familiar with Mr. Cai’s words and deeds will not think that my words are untrue.
In addition to being highly consistent in certain ideological positions, Chen Duxiu also emphasized the significant connection between the "May 4th" movement and the "Three Rabbits" at the end of the article, and used this as a summary response to all walks of life.Let’s look at the original text as follows:
The May 4th Movement is an inevitable product of the development of modern Chinese society. No matter whether the credit or the crime is attributed to any one person, Mr. Cai, Shizhi and I were the people who were mainly responsible for the thoughts and speeches at that time. Regarding major issues, there are doubts in current opinions, Shizhi is not in the country, and I, who died later, have to say it by the way in this short article to tell the world and future generations to commemorate Mr. Cai!
Obviously, this summary statement made by Chen Duxiu more than 80 years ago has very important evidence and reference value for later generations to view the significant impact of the "Three Rabbits" on the "May Fourth" movement and the period of history in which Peking University participated. Although this summary statement does not directly summarize the theory that "Peking University became famous because of three rabbits", it is probably more socially influential than what Xu Deheng recalled in his later years a few years later, given the historical background at that time.
In fact, although he is not a member of the "Maozihao" of Peking University, the "old rabbit" Cai Yuanpei, who has the most crucial influence on the "Maozihao" people, has long been recognized as the most prestigious and representative president in the history of Peking University. As for whether the saying that "Peking University became famous because of three rabbits" can be recognized by people at the time and the world at large, this is not a question that this article is concerned with and cannot answer accurately. It is undeniable that the history of Peking University before and after the May 4th Movement is indeed closely related to these "three rabbits".
◎Text and photo provided/Xiao Yifei
