If you make an American
Pick a book before coming to China
His answer may be Shi Jingqian
Jonathan D. Spence, a renowned historian and expert on modern Chinese history, passed away on December 26, 2021 local time, at the age of 85.
Born in 1936 in the United Kingdom, Shi Jingqian taught in the History Department of Yale University for 43 years. As a Western scholar of Chinese history, Shi Jingqian has written many books on the intricate history and characters of modern China with beautiful and fluent writing and storytelling methods.
His books such as "In Search of Modern China", "Chinese Emperor: Self-Portrait of Kangxi", "The Death of Wang", and "Matteo Ricci's Memory Palace" have introduced a more authentic and rich China to Westerners, and have also gained a large number of Chinese readers.
In his empathetic, cleverly narrated words, Chinese experiences have turned into flesh-and-blood encounters, albeit sometimes cruel. By truly copying the characters and their situation, Shi Jingqian lovingly leads us into the lives of these people, making us feel as if we have witnessed all this with our own eyes, as if we have had direct communication with them. This feeling can only be given in the best historical works. Sinologist Fairbank commented on Shi Jingqian's achievements.
01
The most storytelling historian
Shi Jingqian loves stories. In the boarding school of childhood, the late-night pastime of the students after the lights went out every night was to tell each other stories. He felt that he had found his freedom in the story, avoided the school guards, and avoided the boring order and rules.
Such a love of stories influenced Shi Jingqian's life and made him "the most storytelling historian".
If an American were to pick out a book about China before coming to China, they would most likely choose Shi Jingqian. It is because he is famous enough that he has influenced a large number of young people interested in China in the United States and the West. Even more because his books are not boring, it is easy to read.
For example, in "The Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of Kangxi", Shi Jingqian actually tried to use the first-person writing to incarnate Kangxi himself. He boldly used the word "朕" in the whole text to show the magnificent life of the Kangxi Emperor and the joys and sorrows of the flesh and blood.
Of course, these techniques are based on the full and scientific historical research of Shi Jingqian. In the course of his research, he realized, "Why not allow Kangxi himself to re-experience his imperial life?" Why do you keep saying 'Kangxi thinks so' and 'Kangxi is sick today' instead of telling it directly in the first person? ”
The results proved that this way of writing history was very attractive, and after the book was published in 1974, it attracted the attention of Western historians, and some commentators said that his style was his own style and that he had a unique wisdom in cutting historical materials. Of course, there are also opponents, such as Qian Zhongshu, when visiting Yale, who privately joked that Shi Jingqian was a "failed novelist."
But even Shi Jingqian's strictest critics will affirm the humanist spirit he transmits. Arif Derek, who had been a sharp critic of his work, summed up Shi Jingqian's work with two characteristics:
"He is committed to the humanistic pursuit of the common nature of human beings in the midst of cultural differences; he adheres to a universalist position that confronts cultural differences between different societies without any arrogance."
02
"Why should I betray Shakespeare?"
Shi Jingqian, the Chinese name, was given to him by Fang Zhaoyao, an expert in Chinese history. The pronunciation of the word "Shi" is in line with his English surname Spence, which also points out his pursuit of studying history; "Jingqian" means "admiring Sima Qian".
Shi Jingqian admired Sima Qian very much and hoped that he could also become such a historian, but he would also modestly say that he certainly could not reach such a height. In addition, although the "Records of History" is also a narrative of storytelling, Shi Jingqian does not fully agree with Sima Qian's attitude toward history, believing that the authenticity of some of the accounts is doubtful.
"Strong and exploitative moral judgment", this is Shi Jingqian's historical evaluation of Sima Qian, who believes that Sima Qian's history is to let every recorded thing be examined by posterity as morality. And he insists that historians don't really need to make moral judgments about everything.
In both academic and life, Shi Jingqian has some of his own insistence, some of which seem strange to outsiders. For example, he has lived in the United States for most of his life, but he refuses to become a U.S. citizen. When asked why he was obsessed with being an Englishman, he asked, "Why should I betray Shakespeare?" ”
Such a "foreigner" thinking has also penetrated into his works, and many interesting sparks have been sparked.
In the book "Matteo Ricci's Memory Palace", he mentions the little-known Late Ming Jesuits who came to China and used the popular memory technique in Europe to break into the Chinese scholar-doctor community; in "The Land of the Great Khan", he wielded his pen and ink, from the Lubbock monks and Marco Polo in the Mongolian Yuan period to the contemporary Nixon and Kissinger, talking about how Westerners viewed the historical process of China.
Of course, there is also his most popular "novel" work, "The Question of John Hu", the Chinese Catholic John Hu wandered thousands of miles to France, and the Yongzheng people went to Europe but were imprisoned in a lunatic asylum, absurd but real.
Peking University professor Le Daiyun said of Shi Jingqian: His main contribution is to inspire different cultures to look at each other, thus creating a tension. "Seeing yourself is relatively closed; I look at you differently than I look at yourself."
03
He has been to China many times
As a historian of China, Shi Jingqian has come to China several times.
In 1974, the same year he completed The Emperor of China: A Self-Portrait of Kangxi, he came to Chinese mainland as a member of the Yale university delegation, and before that, in the 1960s he had traveled to Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Later, following the trajectory in his book, he went to Beijing, Shanghai, Yunnan, and Guangxi, and made new gains everywhere he went.
In 1989, at the invitation of Le Daiyun, Shi Jingqian came to Peking University, which was his first lecture in China. At that time, there were eight lectures in a row, which was extremely sensational in the domestic academic circles.
Shi Jingqian's most recent public visit to China was in the spring of 2014. The day I arrived in Beijing, it was just in time for the severe smog. He was surprised by two things: the earth-shaking changes in the city of Beijing and the enthusiasm of Chinese readers for him.
On February 28, 2014, he gave the first public speech on his trip to China at Peking University. The lecture, which was originally scheduled to be held in a classroom with a capacity of 180 people at Peking University, was forced to be transferred to another large classroom with 380 seats, but it was still unable to satisfy the "fans" who flocked to it. This was a lecture about Shen Fuzong, and not many people present knew his story.
Countless people rushed to him for autographs, and people stared at him with fanatical and expectant eyes—Shi Jingqian knew that he was famous in China, but he was still surprised by such a sight.
He said at the time: "I am a historian and prefer to learn from the past. China is so vast, with such a large population, such a complex diplomatic environment, it is really difficult to govern. Throughout the 20th century, Chinese did experience so many difficulties, but they still persevered. ”
When asked by the media "what is the most needed china in this era", Shi Jingqian replied: "I am not sure, China is too complex, too unique, I still need to think." ”
Text, Editor/Cardi C
Some of the information comes from:
Beijing News Book Review Weekly "Historian Shi Jingqian's Death: The Most "Storytelling" Sinologist"
China News Weekly, "American Sinologist Shi Jingqian: Governing China Is Too Complicated"
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