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Liang Shuming once asked Hu Shi: "People think that imperialism, aggression by great powers or feudal warlords at home are important reasons for endangering China's development. Why do you think that poverty, ignorance, and disease are China's problems? ”
Hu Shi replied: "Everything is attributed to imperialism, and to whom does Zhang Xianzhong Hong Xiuquan blame it?" Opium is imported by foreign countries, so why are the growing nations of the world not harmed? Are the poppies that are everywhere today forced to be planted by imperialism? Imperialism has closed its doors, why Japan has taken advantage of this leap to become a world power. ”
Young Hu Shi
This very famous "Liang Hu Question" in history caused a wave of controversy in society at that time, and many people criticized him as a Chinese, but did not consider the danger of the country from the standpoint of Chinese, although there was no treason, but he thought too rationally and did not defend his country.
Hu Shi's real sense of history, which is well known to everyone, was in Chen Duxiu's "New Youth", when he studied under Professor Dewey of the United States, who had just received a doctorate from Columbia University, and was a talent that the motherland desperately wanted to recruit at a time of crisis.
Cover of New Youth magazine
Chen Duxiu admired Hu Shi's talents the most, and when Hu Shi had not yet become famous, he vigorously defied public opinion and invited Hu Shi to return to China to become a professor at Peking University and become the fan editor of "New Youth".
Hu Shi also lived up to Chen Duxiu's expectations, and a "Discussion on literary improvement" fired a powerful shot at the new cultural movement, and showed his name of Hu Shi in the circle of literati students in the north and south of the great river, this year, Hu Shi was only 26 years old.
As the main forerunner of the new cultural movement, Hu Shi's proposal for cultural reform was actually somewhat biased, advocating the comprehensive study of advanced Western culture and the complete abandonment of traditional Chinese culture. Such black-and-white ideas may seem too extreme today, but in the era of the painstaking search for a new path for China, the ideas of literati and scholars were far more extreme than we think.
Hu Shi and Lu Xun, whom we know from history textbooks, are in opposing camps, they are not accustomed to each other, and Lu Xun, who is respected by the Chinese people, has also written many articles satirizing Hu Shi.
Hu Shi and his wife Jiang Dongxiu
But in the beginning, Lu Xun, Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Hu Shi, Liang Shuming and others were in the same camp. With Peking University as the ideological front and New Youth magazine as the ideological carrier, they have joined hands and made unremitting efforts to seek a way out for China's future.
However, with the changes in the domestic situation, the ideas of Hu Shi, Lu Xun, Chen Duxiu and others gradually diverged, and later even developed from harmony to difference into a political dispute that was hostile to each other.
Deeply influenced by the ideas of American democracy and freedom, Hu Shi followed his mentor, Professor Dewey, and believed that China should also learn from the United States in order to forge a way to live.
Hu Shi took a group photo with his mentor Dewey
In that era of ideological controversy, no one could say with certainty who was right and who was wrong, and naturally Hu Shi should also have his own right to speak. However, at this juncture, China's diplomacy failed at the Paris Peace Conference, and President Wilson of the United States, who was called the savior by Chinese diplomacy, did nothing in the face of the transfer of sovereignty over China's Shandong Province.
However, at this time, Hu Shi put himself on the sidelines and viewed the issue of Shandong's sovereignty from Germany to Japan from the perspective of a bystander, and for China, he did not show the slightest dignity as a Chinese, and even wanted to leave Peking University because of his mentor Dewey's visit to China.
Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao led the students to rise up the May Fourth Movement and wanted to put pressure on the government, but Hu Shi not only did not contribute, but also issued obstructionist remarks, saying that the students' duty was to study and should not be involved in state affairs.
Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu
Even in today's era of peace, students have the responsibility to care about the major affairs of the country, not to mention that when the country is facing danger, where can students, as patriotic Chinese, read the books of the sages without hearing anything out of the window?
Chinese standing on The soil of China, facing the threat of the destruction of their homeland, how can they be regarded as bystanders? Just as robbers have broken into your home to rob you of money, kill your relatives, and insult your friends, you have no sense of sadness and resentment, but instead blame your own house for not being strong enough, and the people in your family are not strong enough.
Hu shi
In the face of the great national righteousness, defending it with a tenacious heart, fighting it with a warm heart, and keeping it with a sincere heart is the attitude and integrity that a Chinese should have. No matter what kind of dangers their home country faces, it is too cold-blooded to look at and evaluate it rationally, objectively and neutrally.
It is often said that without the suffering of others to persuade others to be good, Hu Shi seems to be from the perspective of an outsider to persuade the suffering compatriots to do what they should do in peace and do what they should do, and not to participate in major national affairs.
But at the same time, Hu Shi blamed the responsibility for endangering China's foundations on the ignorance of the Chinese people who refused to be enlightened, but he never thought that not every Chinese had the opportunity to be like him Hu Shi.
He can receive a good education, have the opportunity to study in the United States, learn the advanced Western-style ideas he pursues, and his family's situation, talent, and family support are inseparable. However, after returning to China after completing his studies, he looked at his compatriots who he described as "ignorant" with the mentality of "why not eat meat".
Why are the literati who worry about the country and the people always? Are ordinary people born without the idea of patriotism? The reason for this is only because the literati are highly educated and can wrap their patriotism in noble words.
For ordinary people, their patriotism is not weak, but in the situation of three meals, survival is instinctive. In order to enlighten the people's wisdom and solve ignorance, in the turbulent times, it is feasible to bring the whole people to participate in major national affairs and defend national dignity.
Hu Shi and Chiang Kai-shek
Hu Shi later joined Chiang Kai-shek, who had a high opinion of him: a model of the old culture and old morality, a teacher of the old ethics and new ideas.
Some of Hu Shi's articles at that time were indeed quite insightful and had a positive impact on the development of the current society, but in the end they were reduced to the kind of people he scolded. Even today, Hu Shi, who has been ancient for many years, is still on the blade of controversy.