Surging News reporter Zhong Yuan
Fudan University History professor Zhang Zhongmin often can discover some "hidden history", especially in modern celebrities. In the new book "Ye Luo Zhiqiu: History and Characters in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China", he wrote that Yan Fu 's "Holly Empty Talk", Hu Shi once passed the penultimate, Chen Yinque 's results were not a transcript. It looks so good and so on; in addition, he is quite concerned about Yan Xishan's staff and other historical figures. Zhang Zhongmin believes that revealing that "hidden history" is not to rebound the pipa or hunting, but to let us understand the complexity of the past and the full picture of historical figures on the basis of more comprehensive possession of historical materials.
Zhang Zhongmin (Zhang Jingti)
New Culture History
You have a lot of more typical new cultural history orientation in your previous works (reading history, medical history, consumer culture research), and this time published "Ye Luo Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi's Zhi Zhi Zhi Zhi's Zhi Zhi Zhi's Autumn: History and Characters in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China seem to return to the theme of political history and history of thought. Is this a transformation of your research interest in recent years?
Zhang Zhongmin : From the perspective of personal practice, some steering should be more natural, because you are a little self -knowledge and are unwilling to "negatively resist". Some of my research and attempts in recent years have become more than what I have seen when I have studied the history and read the data (the previous medical history research is the same). Of course, part is also the result of reflection on the past research path and external academic environment. The logic and continuity in the inside are still consistent. For example, trying to find problems worth studying from reading historical materials, pay attention to the use of diversified historical materials, focus on the audience or communication (I prefer the term "accepting politics" in cultural research "accepting politics" The perspective of this word) treats thoughts, speech, or related knowledge regeneration phenomena. Although
"Ye Luo Zhiqiu" is more concerned about the topic of political or scholars and political relations, it should still be a ideological history of thought with elite as the main research object. Unfortunately, it is limited to my "material Sexuality and education, finely and thoroughly describe the actual and changes of these elite thoughts, not their own strengths. For this reason, I have to think about it, trying to reconstruct the trace of the thinker and the specific context of their remarks in a way of testing. Historic parties' way of life, speech and action between remarks and actions, and the relevant reactions of the audience or readers, try their best to avoid using some preconceived or later positions, concepts, and theories to deal with materials, and avoid avoiding it. The situation of the taboos and sages of the His Holiness and the Sage, let alone write the articles as a footnote for others discussing or viewpoints.
readers may have noticed that most of the articles accepted in this book are brought out of another, and there are almost two or three interconnected articles around a certain character -this is because it is solving a certain one In the process of specific issues, new problems have been assigned, and I have to continue to discuss it. This has continued to extend the time period of my research, and the space continues to expand -the problem is that the problem is increasingly discovering the poor and lack of knowledge reserves of knowledge reserves. The power of research ability is not the heart. A good thing is that this also stimulates that you are interested and motivated to discover new topics and read new materials, and then expand your knowledge. Today, Marita is getting older, and I am very fortunate that I have not kept up. I can read and write from temperament without having to be limited to some "proposition compositions". The research work has not yet been published).
"The Fall of the Leaves Knows the Autumn: Historical Events and Figures in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China"
There still seems to be obvious traces of the new cultural history academic concepts in the new book, such as paying attention to the identification of historical records, and staying vigilant about the retrospective recollection and writing of history. Wait, can you give us some examples of the impact of new cultural history on your research?
Zhang Zhongmin : New Cultural History seems to be a label that has been overused or abused. There is a lot of stigmatization and symbolic violence surrounding it. Even some scholars who are not very clear about or do not understand New Cultural History at all. Using or criticizing this label. Under such circumstances, it still seems necessary to rectify its name (there is no need to expand on it here, it has been discussed in another article before). After all, I enthusiastically introduced the New Cultural History more than ten years ago, and I also worked hard to absorb this model into my own life. Under research.
In the long run, New Cultural History has had a profound impact on me. It is not only a methodology, but also a kind of problem awareness and ideological (broad, not narrow, political ideology) stance that I have internalized. of reading and writing. Specifically, it gave me inspiration and reminders in five main aspects: The first is about historical materials, that is, paying attention to the analysis of historical materials and the investigation of the formation process of historical materials, and cannot ignore the performance component and its dissemination effect in historical materials. . The second is to be wary of existing research and some theoretical and conceptual terminology. Don’t be led by them, and avoid straying into the quagmire of relying on theory to replace history or copying what others say. The third is to pay attention to the logic, relevance and storytelling of writing, but this should not be achieved by misreading historical materials and out of context, nor should it be deliberately kitsch, flashy or sensational. The fourth is its self-reflection and openness. Not only does it not regard historical development as a linear and regular teleological narrative, it also reminds historians to always be aware of the limitations of their own knowledge, abilities, methodology, and stance. The evolution of history has infinite possibilities. Researchers cannot possess or monopolize all the materials and explanations, and there is no final answer for historians to reproduce it. The fifth aspect, and in my opinion perhaps the most important aspect, is its critical nature or its "people's nature" (this is naturally also a postulate position, but it is highly self-reflective and vigilant) , according to most researchers of new cultural history, the purpose of historical research is not only to speak for the disadvantaged and write the history of "people without history", but also to reveal the history that has been suppressed, obscured, or hidden intentionally or unintentionally. All of these should help us improve our historical literacy and appreciation of history, so as not to be arrogant and indistinguishable between good and bad.
Yan Fu’s words and deeds are inconsistent
Let’s return to the specific content of the book "The Falling Leaves Know the Autumn". The book focuses on exploring the more complicated aspects of some modern celebrities, such as Yan Fu's "good and empty talk". So how did you discover these situations of Yan Fu?
Zhang Zhongmin : My earliest understanding of Yan Fu is also the common understanding held by people. Yan Fu was an enlightenment thinker or so-called liberal in modern China. He had a process of ideological change from radical to conservative. He translated many books and had a great influence. Great, and put forward the translation standards of "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance", which were highly praised by later generations. However, later when I was writing my doctoral thesis, I accidentally saw some materials related to the relationship between Yan Fu and Fudan, which were lacking in Fudan history records. As a Fudan native and a researcher of modern history, I was naturally interested in clarifying relevant matters, so I started researching the relationship between Yan Fu and Fudan as soon as I graduated with my Ph.D.In the process of reading Yan Fu's materials, especially Yan Fu's letters, I began to have some new understanding of Yan Fu. Later, combined with some surrounding materials, I gradually discovered that Yan Fu was actually a very realistic person. He lacked responsibility and action, and his words and deeds were very... Inconsistent. On the surface, it seems that he can speak but not act because he lacks position and power, plus he has been sucked in for a long time. Consumption of opium led to poor health. In fact, many times when Yan Fu had real needs and abilities, he had no intention of implementing his ideas. He often did not work hard, but used it more as a way to hand over officialdom and arrange for relatives and friends. As a tool for students, actual work and implementation of the ideas they have expressed publicly come second, and sometimes are not even considered at all.
In addition, Yan Fu was deeply influenced by traditional Huang Lao and Legalist thoughts. On the one hand, he was very pessimistic, and on the other hand, he was superstitious about power. Therefore, he advocated social Darwinism and suffered from it. It can be said that Yan Fu saw the reality too clearly and believed that worldly things could not be done. Powerful countries such as Europe and the United States were too superior to China. No matter how hard people tried, they could not save China. Those who were as smart as others could only protect themselves wisely, go with the flow, and use their Western knowledge. To obtain the greatest benefit from your translation ability, specifically, becoming an official and building relationships with high-ranking officials is the right way. In order to make money and become an official, as well as to cling to powerful people and build relationships, Yan Fu did many things that tarnished his image, some of which were extremely utilitarian and pragmatic, which shocked people. The article "Between Words and Actions - Yan Fu and Fudan Public School" included in this book has some disclosures about this. Another article about Yan Fu that I have not yet published will reveal more about these hidden histories. No further details will be given here.
So how should we view these actions of Yan Fu and some celebrities in similar situations?
Zhang Zhongmin : In the context of China's repeated defeats and admiration for foreigners and innovation, Yan Fu was regarded by public opinion as the first person in Western learning, or even the embodiment of Western learning. He was highly admired by people at the time and had many officials and intellectuals. fans. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Yan Fu was favored and helped by the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, mainly Duan Fang, then Governor of Liangjiang (later transferred to Governor of Zhili), Yan Xiu, the Minister of Education, and others such as Yang Shixiang, Governor of Zhili, and Minister of Posts and Communications (later Governor of Zhili) Shangshu) Sheng Xuanhuai and others, after entering the Republic of China, it was Yuan Shikai . In the intellectual circles, those who cared about Yan Fu very much and were trusted by Yan Fu were mainly Zhang Yuanji, director of the Compilation and Compilation Office of the Commercial Press at that time, Wu Rulun and Yao Yonggai of the Tongcheng School, and Yan Fu's Fujian fellow Zheng Xiaoxu, etc. . The reason why they thought highly of Yan Fu was naturally related to their perception that Yan Fu was the most knowledgeable Chinese person in Western learning at that time. In this regard, Yan Fu once said a very conceited "Master Said": "I am really like a little screamer now. I can yell a few times and everyone cheers. It's really funny."
Statue of Yan Fu
How do you view actions like Yan Fu's? I feel that although the purpose or significance of historical research does not exist for evaluation, it is still inevitable for researchers to make some positioning or judgments on the research objects. However, this standard must be as historical and humane as possible, rather than based on some slaughter. Formulate a narrative or a given position or special interest appeal. As far as the study of Yan Fu is concerned, I think we should first get rid of the influence of labeling. We should not regard Yan Fu as a so-called Enlightenment thinker, right or wrong, use his remarks as the standard for evaluating him, or use such terms as enlightenment, progressive, conservative, etc. Liberalism and other broad concepts are used to mark or simplify Yan Fu's words and deeds throughout his life.
Many of Yan Fu's specific political opinions and attitudes actually followed the trend and changed at any time. For example, after the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising, he quickly switched from supporting Sheng Xuanhuai to supporting Yuan Shikai. He took the initiative to offer suggestions and suggestions, which won Yuan Shikai's trust. He was appointed by Yuan as one of the northern peace representatives to go to the south to hold talks with the revolutionary party. After the founding of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai regarded him as a teacher and sent him Divided into many positions and titles. Yuan Shikai restored the monarchy, and Yan Fu also actively cooperated and supported it. He joined the preparatory committee and secretly participated in some restoration and promotion activities.After the failure of Emperor Hong Xian's system, Yan Fu continued to take the opportunity to speak, claiming that he was coerced to join the bidding meeting. He did not support the actions of Yuan Shikai's restoration of the emperor system. In the letter, Yuan Shikai and Yizhen "all Manchu sent the funeral talents"). Interestingly, at the same time, at the same time, Yan Fu also involved in the restoration activities of Zhang Xun . He had high expectations for Zhang Xun's restoration success. He also suggested that Puyi Master Chen Baochen , who also refers to Zhang Xun. The opposition is eliminated, and when the restoration fails, Yan Fu will re -fill the prophet, and will be convicted of Zhang Xun Mang to be arrogant and mistaken for others. The failure is inevitable.
is second, because Yan Fu's writings include translators are relatively easy to get, and even "Complete Works" can be used for our reference, which provides us with the most direct evidence for us to understand and grasp Yan Fu. The "Complete Works" that relies on Yan Fu and self -statement is not enough (not to mention that there are still many Yan Fu's writings still to be discovered), and the materials of those who have interacted with Yan Fu, especially those close to them, such as Zheng Xiaoyu, Zhang Yuanji, and Zhang Yuanji, and Yao Yongju, Sheng Xuanhuai, Duanfang, Yuan Shikai, Liang Qichao , Chen Sanli, Hou Yi and others, including some archives, modern newspapers and periodical materials, should be included in the scope of reference. Only then can we have a more comprehensive and profound understanding of the response of Yan Zheyan and its context, and even its response, so that it is possible to reveal those who are not known for others, or those who have been forgotten or ignored by people and researchers in the past Hidden history. Based on these internal and external information, it is not difficult to find that activities such as translations, schools, and newspapers are helpless for Yan Fu. What he really desires is to be an "emperor" and a big official. For example, Yan Fu said that he felt lonely and boring if he did not be an official for a few days. From this perspective, we can understand why Yan Fu likes to work in Beijing so much, so he likes to communicate with the noble officials, even if he sighs too much entertainment in the officialdom from time to time, spend money and hurts.
's evaluation of Yan Fu's people may be a bit harsh, because it is actually quite popular among modern intellectuals in modern intellectuals. People, including Liu Shipei , which are focused on this book. However, the concept of public propaganda and claims, but in practice, he is unwilling to follow the implementation, and it is natural to receive the responsibility of people and public opinion. Just as the people criticized Yan Fu in the late Qing Dynasty, Yan Fu served as the supervision of Anqing Anhui High School at the same time and Wusong Fudan Public School Supervision: "The trend of Anhui Higher School, chasing the source, and blaming the school supervision. The academic community is named, and its book is said: the shallower the people, the more luxurious this language is. The school is "
Liu Shipei's scholar at
mentioned Liu Shipei. You have described in detail what Liu Shipei did during the period of Emperor Hongxian. knowledge. So how do you understand the enthusiasm of modern intellectual scholars on politics and obsession? In addition to the aspirations of "snobbish" and "fame and fame" in their personal personalities, what else is worth noting?
Zhang Zhongmin : I have been concerned about Liu Shipei for many years. When I first do a doctoral dissertation, I saw some of his discussions about World Language . In the past few years, I saw a lot of information about the world language when reading materials, and the study of world language history research found that it was worth continuing to discuss a lot, so I continued to focus on the world language movement of modern China with Liu Shipei as a breakthrough point.When
first researched Liu Shipei, he found that people paid more attention to Liu Shipei's academic thoughts, anarchist ideas, betrayal of the revolution, etc., but about his Esperanto ideas and the situation after joining Duanfang, especially his activities in the early Republic of China. Not much has been studied. So I started to read materials in this regard. By reading the materials of Qian Xuantong, Su Manshu, Zhang Taiyan and others who were closely related to Liu Shipei, as well as some reports in newspapers and periodicals in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, I discovered Liu Shipei and Zhang Taiyan. , Qian Xuantong, Duan Fang, Nan Guixin, Yan The relationships between Xishan, Yuan Shikai, Chen Duxiu, Cai Yuanpei, Wu Zhihun, Lin Wanli and others are worth mentioning, so I wrote four related articles to discuss the relationship between Liu Shipei and Esperanto, Zhang Taiyan, Nan Guixin, Yuan Shikai and others (two of them have already been included in this book), and then examined the compilation process of "Mr. Liu Shenshu's Suicide Note".
In the process of studying Liu Shipei, his own feelings were also very complicated. Some of Liu Shipei's changes and practices are indeed very sad, but his talent and education are admirable, and his experience of being mistaken for his cleverness is also lamentable. Why did Liu Shipei suddenly join Duan Fang from a fierce anarchist, and then attached himself to the more powerful Yuan Shikai in the early years of the Republic of China? Some scholars have done analysis in the past and believe that the reason why Liu Shipei is snobbish and changeable is closely related to factors such as his family situation (such as the influence of He Zhen and family difficulties). This is why Liu Shipei himself wrote to Zhang Taiyan in early 1912 to save him. righteous It was publicly acknowledged when expressing gratitude and apology, but tracing Liu Shipei's previous mental journey and way of life, combined with Cai Yuanpei's evaluation of Liu Shipei as a "nerd" with a "competitive", "suspicious" and "powerful" personality, we may be able to Come up with a new explanation.
After the academically mature Liu Shipei later became friends with Zhang Taiyan, although the two were sworn enemies of each other, their academic views were quite different. Therefore, they had many secret contests in the articles they published during this period, and they talked with each other without naming each other. The other party discusses it. In addition, while living together in Tokyo, Zhang Taiyan discovered some problems in He Zhen's personal life and told Liu Shipei directly. Unexpectedly, this aroused the jealousy of the competitive and suspicious Liu Shipei, and his wife He Zhen and the third party Wang Gongquan instigated Liu Shipei. The relationship broke down. At the same time, Liu Shipei, who originally contacted Duan Fang, the governor of Liangjiang, to help Zhang Taiyan obtain funding to study Buddhism in India, but failed to become a beneficiary of Duan Fang's funding, so that he, who originally lacked money, was able to stay in Tokyo and continue to organize " Hengbao" continued to advocate anarchism and Esperanto. Even so, Liu Shipei's violent words and deeds still faced surveillance and persecution by the Japanese government and police. In early November 1908, he had to return to Shanghai in dismay. After that, Liu Shipei probably began to be controlled by the rule. In early 1909, Liu Shipei's betrayal became public, and he openly defected to Duanfang and became a member of his shogunate. After that, he never mentioned radical ideas such as anarchism and Esperanto.
In order to restore the friendship with Liu Shipei, Zhang Taiyan made many attempts. Even after Liu Shipei publicly defected to Duanfang, Zhang Taiyan still wrote to Liu Shipei, hoping that he would return from his lost ways, leave Duanfang, and concentrate on academics. But the more Zhang Taiyan pulled Liu Shipei, the more counterproductive it became. Liu Shipei probably had a feeling of "how can he be bright when he is good". Zhang Taiyan wrote to him, hoping that together they could devote themselves to academic studies, study the quintessence of Chinese culture, and win glory for Chinese culture. However, Liu Shipei, who was good at using power, judged others by himself and felt that Zhang Taiyan was taking advantage of him and the market. The favor to him was actually suspected of hindering his bright future - because at this time, Liu Shipei's leader Duan Fang happened to be transferred from Jiang Governor to the more important Governor of Zhili. As a relatively enlightened governor among the Manchus, public opinion spoke highly of him and he was very optimistic about his career. Liu Shipei, who was deeply loved by Duan Fang, did not need to abandon Duan Fang and experience the pain of exile and poverty again. And purely in terms of the working conditions for studying Chinese quintessence, the conditions of being in the Duanfang Shogunate naturally made Liu Shipei more at ease.From a common sense point of view, Liu Shipei's choice was quite beneficial to him, but God is not as good as God. He could not have expected that Duan Fang would be dismissed by the Qing government just six months after he became the governor of Zhili. It was not until Duan Fang was appointed nearly two years later. In order to supervise the Guangdong-Han Railway, Liu Shipei was honored to become the consultant of the Guangdong-Han Railway and followed Duan Fang to Sichuan. He happened to be engaged in lobbying activities in Chengdu during the Zizhou Mutiny, and he was lucky enough to survive.
" Wu Yu Diary" has recorded some situations when Liu Shipei took refuge in Chengdu in the early Republic of China (from the beginning of 1912 to the summer of 1913). Through Wu Yu's records, we can learn more about Liu Shipei's life and behavior. Liu Shipei is naturally the kind of person with a high IQ and good knowledge, but he does not regard himself as a scholar, but as a very strategic person. So he told Wu Yu about "knowing men and guarding feminism" and advised Wu Yu not to give up his position as a newspaper writer easily. At the same time, he was unwilling to be lonely and took the initiative to offer advice to Yin Changheng, the governor of Sichuan, on the Tibetan issue. At that time, Wu Yu, Xie Wuliang, Liao Ping and many other Sichuan scholars did not think there was anything wrong with Liu Shipei. They all admired Liu Shipei's knowledge. They had many contacts and contacts with him, and the relationship was relatively harmonious. Looking back afterwards, Liu Shipei's year and a half of teaching at Chengdu Guocollege was probably the most stable time in his academic life. The job paid well, he did not need to move around, and he had a group of academic colleagues who kept going back and forth. Liu Shipei himself did not live up to this period of time, writing constantly and accumulating more than a thousand yuan. His wife He Zhen also came here from Taiyuan to find her husband, and the two were reunited. At the turn of the summer and autumn of 1913, after Liu Shipei returned to Yangzhou Province to marry his family, he probably followed He Zhen's advice and did not return to Chengdu to take up a post. Instead, he went north to Taiyuan and accepted an appointment from Nan Guixin, who was a close friend of Yan Xishan in the past. He went to Shanxi to oversee Yan Xishan. Served in the shogunate. Later, it was recommended as a tool by Nan Guixin and Yan Xishan to Yuan Shikai, who was pursuing the restoration movement nationwide to recruit so-called erudite scholars.
At this time, Yuan Shikai had become the president for life. He had monopoly power and no harm to others. Many literati have joined him one after another. Liu Shipei, who had always wanted to make a difference in politics, was no exception, but his dedication far exceeded that of other literati. Liu Shipei, who was eager for fame, thought he had found a real backer and a "clear master" who could lead him to practice the right way and develop his ambitions. Afterwards, he tried his best to advocate for Yuan Shikai and whitewash peace, even if he confused right and wrong and was not tolerated by the Qing Dynasty. As a result, after the failure of the Hongxian monarchy, Liu Shipei became extremely embarrassed and was regarded as "worthless" and his reputation was ruined.
Liu Shipei took refuge in powerful people twice, but each time he relied on "icebergs" and both ended in failure. This is naturally related to the fact that he cannot see the general trend of the times and is hungry, but is it not caused by his self-righteousness and smartness? He knew very well that Duan Fang and Yuan Shikai were using him, but he was also trying to use Duan Fang and Yuan Shikai, hoping that in addition to getting economic benefits, he could also gain a good reputation and use political power to achieve something of his own. Academic ideal purpose.
In short, it is understandable that Liu Shipei defected to Duan Fang because he had no other choice. Moreover, he did not publicly express any outrageous political opinions or do any ugly things after joining Duan Fang. He usually mainly worked hard on Chinese studies and helped Duan Fang do some things. Archaeological identification matters. But after taking refuge with Yuan Shikai, Liu Shipei began to be greedy for profit and was completely reduced to a royal scholar. As a well-educated scholar who was "submissive to the classics and spread among hundreds of schools of thought", Liu Shipei clung to power, made a high-profile appearance, used academics to comment on politics, and made remarks that went against his will. scholar". In contrast, Yan Fu, who also worked for Yuan Shikai to restore the monarchy, was more clever. Yan Fu, who was well-versed in world affairs, made a fortune in silence at this time and did not write or publish articles that openly supported the monarchy. This made it easier for him to support the monarchy after its failure. Clean yourself up and defend yourself.In fact, the literati is not a problem. Why is the problem be negotiated? Who is for? The most important thing is to rely on?
Liu Shipei
Liu Shipei had a poem "Biography of the Book of Book Yang Xiong" (published in the Journal of the National Censity in early 1905). Zhu Xi 's bad reviews in "Compendium of Tongjian", "Ziyang made an outline, and the pen is more verbal. However, according to the United States and the new text, the doctor is added." Liu Shipei believes that such an evaluation is unfair to Yang Xiong. He is based on the records of " Huayang Guozhi " based on the Eastern Jin Dynasty. 6 AD) died, and he had time to play for Wang Mang in the future. Teaching, "Song Ru's harsh theory", Yang Xiong fell into the notorious. It can be seen that Liu Shipei here did not care about historical facts, and tried to argue for Wang Mang's endorsement of Wang Mang in the past. In addition to the intention of the literati who intentionally set the new innovation, he inevitably had no emotional projection in his heart. As a result, he will also take the initiative to fall into the water in the future, and is Yuan Shikai's "Dr. Mang".
Follow the behind -the -scenes character
"Knowing the World" is the core of this book. Most of the more than ten characters you choose are between "big characters" and "little people", such as Nan Guixin, although it is although it is An important staff member of Yan Xishan went to study him. What are the benefits of the history of their characters like their characters? How should these characters write?
Zhang Zhongmin : In the past, we all paid attention to politicians on the table, and did not pay much attention to the characters behind them. What I was impressed by is that Izwig wrote a biographical novel called "Politician behind the scenes", and a politician Joseph Forte. In the political situation after the French Revolution, it seems that he is a behind -the -scenes character, but Including Napoleon's fall, the political and diplomatic system construction of France and even Europe, all have closely related to him, and he played an important role in it. Zwig is an excellent writer who is very good at drawing character psychology. His role in Joseph Forts may be a bit fictional and exaggerated, but it reminds us to pay attention to the role of the characters behind the scenes.
Our research still likes politicians or celebrities under the spotlight, such as Yan Xishan, Chiang Kai -shek , Yuan Shikai and others, but it is easy for people who are behind them. Like the Ruan Zhongshu , Yang Shiqi , Zhang Yizheng, etc. Yan Xishan Chiefs Nan Guixin and so on. Similarly, the reason why the academic star Hu Shi can become a large instrument is also closely related to his friend Xu Yizhen when he was a teenager. Now with the publication of the communication collection of the two people, we can have the growth process of Hu Shi and the role played by Xu Yizheng. Know more deeply.
is just to study these characters, sometimes it is necessary to have some coincidence and luck. Many scholars have successful experience in this regard, and I am fortunate to have a little harvest. For Nan Guixin written in this book, Yan Xishan became the "Shanxi King". Nan Guixin helped him a lot. The two were long -term political friends and collaborators. When I was following Liu Shipei, I discovered that Nan Guixin's clue. In fact, Nan Guixin has less direct information. It is mainly his memoirs, and words such as memories or prefaces that he signed, and these words are not very reliable.But Nan Guixin played a very important role in the politics of the early Republic of China. She successively helped Yan Xishan rule Shanxi, helped Yan Xishan gain Yuan Shikai's trust, helped Yan Xishan implement the construction of a model province, and later helped Yan Xishan deal with Chiang Kai-shek and Zhang Zuolin , Feng Yuxiang and others all played a very important role in the relationship, so many of Yan Xishan's materials related to Nan Guixin, and there were many reports and records about Nan Guixin's words and deeds in newspapers at that time. Combined with the materials of Liu Shipei, Qian Xuantong, Zhang Taiyan and others, there are also materials of Guo Xiangsheng and others not cited in this book (reminder from Mr. Meng Wanshiguo), as well as some memoirs, records of contemporary people, etc. Based on this information, we can probably reconstruct the general appearance of Nan Guixin, including his relationship with Liu Shipei, Yan Xishan and others, through insinuations and drawings.
Yan Xishan
Materials and truth
In your paper writing, you often cite some materials that are not noticed or used by scholars. How did you discover this material? What issues should we pay attention to when using these materials?
Zhang Zhongmin : In fact, scholars will continue to discover some relatively new materials in their research, but people may not pay special attention to them or make comprehensive use of them. My own clues to finding some so-called new materials mostly come from reading newspapers, letters and diary materials, especially newspaper materials. For example, when I was reading newspapers and periodicals in the late Qing Dynasty, I accidentally discovered some articles written by Hu Shi but not included in his "Complete Works". So I read Hu Shi's diary and correspondence, and found that his diary mentioned that he had published something in a certain newspaper. He has written articles, or recorded clues about what he did, or told about His relationship and interaction with so-and-so, and the large number of newspaper clippings in his diary also tell us some of Hu Shi's reading status, concerns, and possible connections between him and the things mentioned in the newspaper clippings. As for his correspondence, it is partially revealed It affects his communication status and even his response to the outside world. If you follow the clues, you will easily make some interesting discoveries. The textual research on Hu Shi's early writings included in this book is just a small unexpected gain. In the first half of this year, I also tried to write a long article of nearly 40,000 words about some findings from reading Hu Shi's materials.
However, for me, the easiest source of finding and using some newer material is modern newspapers and periodicals. Although many modern newspapers and periodicals have not been preserved, the amount that remains is still huge, and the content involved is naturally extremely rich. Many scholars have done good research on the role of modern newspapers and their importance to intellectuals and China at that time. It can be said that as the largest volume of modern history materials, its academic value has been recognized by everyone. The continuous emergence of newspaper and periodical databases that can be searched in full text also shows that people are increasingly aware of its importance. I have always preferred reading modern newspapers and periodicals. I like to read them day by day, month by month, and read every section. I can also read a variety of newspapers and periodicals from the same period. If I persist in this way for a long time, I have indeed obtained some valuable information from them, and I also like to read them day by day. Discovered some topics or starting points to continue research on.
But it is also worth noting that newspapers and periodicals are real-time, and the authors and editors of many newspapers and periodicals also write very casually. Sometimes one person even covers the entire content of an issue of newspapers and periodicals. In this way, there will inevitably be many unreliable information. , superficial content, there will be many deliberately false records or reports. Not to mention that writers or editors of newspaper articles sometimes, in order to attract readers or sensationalize, often make use of the topic or even make things up out of thin air and deceive people. Even those relatively documentary contents or discussions contain many exaggerated contents, but these problems do not hinder its value. Because every kind of historical data or, more accurately, every kind of text has its limitations, contains "performance" elements and is deceptive, and needs other materials as circumstantial evidence and supplements. The multiple use of materials has become a priority for more and more scholars. Consensus, especially in the current era of information explosion, as long as you are willing to look for it and look at it, there are materials available everywhere, and you can gain a lot from it.
, the a lot of materials also brings the difficulties we choose, and more epistemology, one of them is the love of certain types of materials. To put it simply, the reason why we prefer or worship a certain text (especially files) is because we think it can give ourselves or the truth we want, and despise or ignore other text categories, because we think it refers to what it refers to The content involved is not important or reliable. As a simple empirical cognition (or true judgment), such insights have not been a big problem, but it ignores a very basic common sense (here it is not necessary to support the fierce criticism of postmodernism): Almost all of us use it The literature materials are basically man -made, and there are "performances" or "fiction" components. This is the case for newspapers and periodicals. Some rare files, especially records involving high -level inside in modern China, diplomatic disputes, and military national affairs. It is often the result of careful selection, de -language context, and usually retain the information that is relatively strong or far -sighted, and the party or related party often has no material retention. If you do not refer to the materials of other texts and rebuild the context in detail, you can only use exclusive expression, it is easy to be led by it. As the whole of history.
In fact, if the truth of history can be restored and restructured, then we will be too underestimated by the past history characters, and then we are too underestimated ourselves — how much the truth in our own real life can be. What about public and record? Even if there are records, how many people can be regarded as "real" by people around them? How many can be saved to future generations? Even if it can be saved, how many can be read by future generations? Paradoxically, we often do not believe in the "real" in the real world, but we are often willing to accept the "real" or "real effect" of the past.
is too late to read and "new materials" have emerged in the current "old materials". The research and writing of modern Chinese modern history seems to become more and more easier, but the actual situation is difficult to make people optimistic. Many people have already already. Database dependencies. Mr. Qian Yanshu once said that history is the most convenient and convenient. As long as you are willing to find, you can always find evidence (your own position or point of view). When the current historical materials that are available are easy to get in hand, researchers do not read books and rely on retrieval to do research. Such a "knowledge production method" is quite vigilant. Because this practice is too easy to make researchers use and interpret materials selectively or one -sidedly regardless of the context of context and historical materials, especially when we are at the moment we bring some self -righteous judgments or self -consciousness (or all belongs to all the thoughts (or are all belonging to all belongs to Gaoming (or all belongs to all belonging to When "fatal self -negative"), when judging and writing, it is inevitable that it will inevitably cause the cover or distortion of the past historical truth. Ten years ago, I wrote a special study of the so -called conceptual history of the two professors of Jin Guantao and Liu Qingfeng, but it did not seem to have much role. At that time, their pirates may have been "vassal to the big country." Of course, I don't mean that the database is not important or oppose everyone's database, but I just oppose that I do n’t read the database retrieval as a way of learning, or only the materials in the database. It is believed that researchers only need to have thoughts and theories, and supplemented by retrieving a large amount of database materials can be used as research and writing articles. This is an incredible point of view. Therefore, the small book "Ye Luo Zhiqiu" is the product of some shallow reflection. It may also be the embodiment of my too stubborn, showing a lot of their own limitations and clumsy. After all, such a method of studying or writing is not only difficult to read, but it will inevitably be considered "no thought" and "pile materials".But as an academic expression and research position, I still feel that the writing method of testing still has certain significance.
finally needed to dissect itself. As a by -product when writing a doctoral dissertation for a doctoral dissertation, these articles were made as much as possible when they revenue in this book. Rao is so. With the feedback from some teachers and friends after the publication of this book, and the recent obligation of the information, some of the shameful low -end errors in the book are still many. Unconscious and failure to review afterwards. I couldn't help but think of the reminder of the mentor many years ago: I was worried that my research was too careless. The devil hidden in the details, and warning this warning has always been in mind in these years and has been working hard to change, but now it seems that the results are still poor. Faced with such bottlenecks and fatal defects, this is what I should mostly review and reflect.
Editor in charge: Yu Shujuan
