Today, I would like to share with you the story of Hu Shi, a modern Chinese thinker, writer and philosopher, who was once a member of the same path as Lu Xun, a left-wing revolutionary writer in China, but in the end the two parted ways.
Hu Shi photo
Let's talk about the story of Hu Shi and Lu Xun's final breakup from friends.
First, close comrades-in-arms of the New Culture Movement
At the beginning of the 20th century, some advanced intellectuals in China launched an ideological emancipation movement against feudalism, known in history as the "New Culture Movement", which advocated democracy and science, and its advocates took the evolutionary viewpoint and the emancipation of individuality as the main weapons, violently attacked the "sages" represented by Confucius, vigorously advocated new morality, opposed the old morality, advocated new literature, and opposed literature and literature.
Both Lu Xun and Hu Shi were active participants and supporters of the "New Culture Movement", during which Lu Xun saw Hu Shi's published articles, especially the "Discussion on Literary Reform", which aroused his strong identification with Hu Shi and great admiration for his courage and insight in the literary revolution.
Since then, Hu Shi and Lu Xun often discussed issues together, agreed on manuscripts, exchanged letters, borrowed books and materials, and became close comrades-in-arms. Lu Xun also published a large number of influential vernacular novels in New Youth as a sign of his strong support for the New Culture Movement and Hu Shi.
Lu Xun and Hu Shi
For example, the manuscripts of Lu Xun's "Historical Outline of Chinese Novels" before the publication and the completed books after their publication were successively sent to Hu Shi for comments. In the process of writing the "Examination of the Novel of The Chinese Chapter Hui", Hu Shi also asked Lu Xun for advice many times. In 1922, Hu Shi highly praised Lu Xun and almost attributed the achievements of the short story to Lu Xun.
In "Chinese Literature in the Past Fifty Years," Hu Shi summed up the achievements of May Fourth vernacular literature, saying that "the greatest achievement was a man with the name 'Lu Xun'." His short stories, from "The Diary of a Madman" four years ago to the most recent "A Q Canon", although not much, almost nothing bad."
In essays such as "Silent China" and "How to Write", Lu Xun said that Hu Shi was the first "attempt" of literary innovation, and Hu Shi's diary "must be much better". After reading Hu Shi's treatise on vernacular literature, Lu Xun praised Hu Shi in a letter to Hu Shi on August 21, 1922, that he was "vigilant and very happy!" I would love to print it sooner rather than later, because this historical cue is better than many empty theories. ”
Portrait of Lu Xun
Second, due to different political views, they parted ways
However, after the thirteenth year of the Republic of China (1924), the close relationship between Lu Xun and Hu Shi was rifted due to their different political views, and eventually parted ways.
Since Lu Xun's thought has long been immersed in Russian and Soviet culture, his views are naturally leftist. Russian literature, on the other hand, is the voice that flows from the depths of religion, itself has the painful sound of Slavic culture, and there are tough things in the flickering of light and darkness. At that time, the social environment in China was very similar to some parts of Russia, with many meanings of oppression, monotony, and destruction, and only those who passed through it could have a bright flash. Lu Xun was such a crosser, so he became the standard-bearer of the left wing.
Hu Shi, on the other hand, has been swimming in American civilization (universities and doctorates were both obtained in the United States and earned, and he was the ambassador of the Republic of China to the United States), he refused to go bloody and shouted, took the American system as a model, and advocated a rational attitude to deal with cultural and social problems, which could not be understood in China at that time, so the difficulty of operation can be imagined.
Young Hu Shi
From the thirteenth year of the Republic of China (1924), because Hu Shi advocated that young students bury their heads in study and participate less in politics, coupled with his advocacy of "good government" doctrine, he was also "inquired" by the abdicated emperor Puyi and the head of the Nationalist government, Chiang Kai-shek. Therefore, Lu Xun and Hu Shi slowly became estranged until they parted ways.
In the middle of the nineteenth year of the Republic of China (1930), Lu Xun became more and more prejudiced against Hu Shi and wrote many satirical and critical articles. Lu Xun, a left-wing revolutionary writer, and Hu Shi, a right-wing cultural giant, have since been inseparable and incompatible. Lu Xun's praise and depreciation of Hu Shi, from praise to suppression, from praise to irony and rejection, even the "History of Vernacular Literature", which was originally praised as "the police to the point", was later referred to as "not necessarily good".
Three, the two obtained different results
Because Lu Xun chose the path of a warrior, he took the risk of saving others from the sea of suffering, and used the pen to expose the corrupt government and ruling system. Comrade Mao Zedong finally became a national hero on the Chinese cultural front at that time, and Comrade Mao Zedong's evaluation of him was: "Lu Xun is the main general of the Chinese cultural revolution, he is not only a great writer, but also a great thinker and a great revolutionary." ”
Hu Shizhao
Hu Shi, on the other hand, chose to be a defamation friend of the Kuomintang government at that time on the basis of maintaining his independence of personality. He tried to persuade the Chiang dynasty to change from evil to righteousness with a scholarly posture and an expression of conscience, but in the end he became an alien who was not welcomed by the national unification.
Fourth, the author commented:
Hu Shi, a modern Chinese thinker, writer and philosopher, was once a fellow Chinese revolutionary writer lu Xun during the "New Culture Movement", but in the end the two parted ways due to their different political views.
The experience of Hu Shi and Lu Xun from friends to the final breakup inspired us: the two actively participated in the new cultural movement, jointly advocated new morality, opposed old morality, advocated new literature, and opposed the like-minded spirit of literature and literature worthy of people's study and praise. In the case of a decadent and backward government and system, one should choose to conform to the trend of history, dare to break the old and establish a new one, and bravely struggle against the backward old system and corrupt rule like Lu Xun; and like Hu Shi, the use of gentle reform and useless persuasion has proved to be unworkable.
Hu Shi Cemetery
This article is original by "Such As Day Zhongtian 54", welcome to pay attention, learn together, and make progress together!