Gu Hongming (18 July 1857 – 30 April 1928), courtesy name Tang Sheng (唐生), courtesy name Hongming (洪明), was a Chinese poet who called himself a languid, a native of the east, west, south, and north, and was also signed as Hanbin Reader, Mr. Dong Bao, and his English name
Tomson
。 Originally from Hui'an County, Fujian Province, he was born in Penang, British Malaysia, Southeast Asia. He is proficient in 9 languages such as English, French, German, Latin, Greek, Malaya and other 9 languages, and has obtained 13 doctorates, and is the first Chinese person in the Manchu Qing Dynasty who is proficient in Western science, language and Oriental Chinese studies.
He was good at swearing, he loved to scold people, some people said he was conservative and reactionary, but many people he scolded were either lazy, stupid, or bad character. There are no more people who dare to curse people like this today.
The "foreign devils" were both respectful and afraid of Gu Hongming. He called them "foreign devils" and "Yidi" without hesitation. No one dared to laugh at this skinny old man with a melon hat, a robe, and a pigtail. If you say that China is uncivilized and uncivilized, it is bad. He will bring out the darkest and most disgraceful side of your culture and entertain you with skilled noble Chinese words.
For some people in their own country, Gu Hongming is a joke. When Gu Hongming was teaching at Peking University, some people saw him as lonely and eccentric, and acted unexpectedly, and was called "Gu Crazy".
Gu Hongming opposed equality between men and women, claiming to be loyal to the former Qing Dynasty, but he also scolded powerful people such as Empress Dowager Cixi, Yuan Shikai, and Xu Shichang. There is only one person he has always maintained respect for — Peking University President Cai Yuanpei. It wasn't because Cai Yuanpei gave him his job— his other superior, Zhang Zhidong, was also unceremoniously criticized by him.
Such a magical scolder constitutes a cross-section of the spirit of Peking University - independence, criticism, and Gu Hongming's scolding, and also achieves Cai Yuanpei's reputation of inclusiveness.
Colleagues have mixed evaluations of Gu Hongming, and Li Dazhao once said: "I am foolish to think that Mr. Gu Hongming, who has finally produced more than 2,500 years of Chinese culture, is enough to raise his eyebrows and breathe in the world of the twentieth century." Chen Duxiu, who is also good at cursing, denounced him as "stubborn" and "old antique".
What is certain is that Gu Hongming is not only a brilliant scholar and translator. He was a completely patriotic and spiritually independent intellectual, which is the most lacking thing today.
How the good scolder is made
Gu Hongming's father was a Malaysian overseas Chinese, it is said that his ancestors killed people by mistake in Fujian to avoid disaster in Nanyang, and his mother was Portuguese. Gu Hongming was born in 1857, formerly known as Tang Sheng, from childhood is very intelligent, with his father to run a rubber plantation with the Englishman Brown very much like him, think of the righteous son, with the age of 10 he went to England to study.
At that time, Gu Tangsheng was very thin and short, and he also dragged a braid, and he was bullied by his "Yidi" classmates, and westerners called that braid "pig's tail", and the classmates even pushed him into the women's toilet to insult him and drag his braids. He studied hard and as a teenager he could memorize most of the German Faust.
Western thinkers such as Voltaire and Leibniz mentioned the benefits of Chinese civilization many times in the Age of Enlightenment, but in fact, no one has ever been to China, believing that China is more perfect than Europe, one is to encourage Westerners to strengthen themselves, and the other is the literati's obscenity to the East. But Gu Tangsheng was very surprised to see these works.
By the age of 23, the talented Gu Tangsheng had already obtained a master's degree and a German doctorate from the University of Edinburgh, studying in Italy, Austria and Germany. He was already very knowledgeable, and at the same time, he had also practiced excellent debate skills with "Yi Di".
It is said that he deliberately took the newspaper on the streets of England, and some British people saw it and laughed and said, "Look at this Chinese stupid, the newspapers are all taken down." Gu Tangsheng replied, "Your English is too simple, and you can't show your ability to read it." Then he skillfully reread the newspaper, speaking in an authentic London accent, stunned the Englishmen.
After the end of the study tour, Koo was arranged by the Malaysian authorities to work in Singapore and met Ma Jianzhong, who was working for the Qing government at the time, and Ma was the author of China's first grammar book, Ma Wentong. Gu Tangsheng and Ma talked for three days, became fascinated by the culture of the motherland, and decided to return to China to work. At this time, he changed his name to "Gu Hongming".
After returning to China, Gu Hongming became Zhang Zhidong's staff, mainly as an interpreter and encyclopedia consultant - he told Zhang Zhidong "Western things" every day, helped Zhang do many important projects, such as the Hanyang Iron Works, and later transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to run foreign teachers. During this period, I painstakingly read the Confucian classics, starting with the Kangxi Dictionary, first recognizing the words in their entirety, and then starting to read a subset of the history of the scriptures. He translated the four books into English, annotated them in the words of famous Western writers such as Goethe, and constantly recommended traditional Chinese culture to the West.
Toilet was Yuan Shikai at that time
Gu Hongming has the dual characteristics of Chinese intellectuals laughing and cursing and Westerners being straightforward: Empress Dowager Cixi celebrates her birthday, and officials set up a stage to sing and celebrate. This old woman, known as "Lafayette", dared to embezzle naval military funds for her birthday, and also claimed that "whoever makes me unhappy today, I will make him unhappy for the rest of his life." ”
Gu Hongming dared to damage her. In 1902, Zhang Zhidong held a celebration on Cixi's birthday, and the new brass band played the newly compiled "patriotic song" to help. Gu sighed at that time: "There are 'patriotic songs' all over the street, and no one has heard of people singing 'love folk songs'. So he sang on the spot: "In the ten thousand years of the Son of Heaven, the people spend money; the longevity is boundless, and the people suffer." The seat was as earth-colored as earth, but he smiled freely.
Yuan Shikai came from a military background and liked to emphasize that he was unlearned but good at practical work. He once boasted to the German minister: "Zhang Zhongtang (Zhang Zhidong, who was born in Tanhua) is a scholar; I am not a scholar, I am a businessman. Yuan Shikai's staff proudly told Gu Hongming about the incident. Gu Hongming replied without hesitation: "The old mother does not need to learn when she pours the toilet; apart from the toilet, I don't know what things in the world can be done well by unlearned people." ”
In the winter of the Xinhai Revolution, Yuan Shikai once asked Tang Shaoyi (Qing Shangshu, Premier of the Republic of China) and Zhang Jian (Qing Zhuangyuan, industrialist) to set up wine, hoping that Gu Hongming would support the Yuan Party. Gu Hongming turned his face on the spot and called the two "Tu Mustard Shangshu" and "Inuma Zhuangyuan". Although Tang Shaoyi was scolded, she always respected Gu Hongming, and after Gu Hongming's death, she tried to apply to the government for a state funeral, but unfortunately failed.
After Yuan Shikai became emperor, Gu Hongming angrily scolded: "Yuan Shikai's behavior is still inferior to that of a thief and a thief, and his incorruptibility is shameful and righteous. Later, he directly called Yuan Shikai "untouchable". Yuan Shikai was very angry, but Gu Hongming's reputation was too big to dare to persecute, and he could only buy it, and Lao Gu refused to accept it.
As soon as Yuan Shikai died, Gu Hongming feasted on guests at his home in Beijing to celebrate Yuan's return to heaven. Feng Guozhang and Zhang Zuolin had both hoped to draw Gu Hongming together, and "General Dog Meat" Zhang Zongchang also wanted to woo him on the pretext of being appointed president of Shandong University, but he did not agree.
When I entered Peking University, I still had to scold
In 1917, Gu Hongming accepted Cai Yuanpei's invitation to teach English literature and Latin at Peking University. At the same time, most of the people invited were some "new school figures", such as Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Hu Shi, Qian Xuan and others. Gu Hongming and the new school of characters have different ideas, and often fight verbal battles.
Before Cai Yuanpei, Peking University had always been a school with a strong official atmosphere, and when he entered Peking University, he was equivalent to an alternate official, and it is said that in the gymnastics class at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the instructors had to give such an order: "Official, please take a step forward." ”
After Cai Yuanpei became the principal, most of the well-informed college students were exposed to things like freedom, democracy, and evolution, and suddenly saw an old master with a small yellow pigtail and similar to a foreigner on the podium and burst into laughter.
Gu Hongming said: "You laugh at me, it is nothing more than because of my braids, my braids are tangible and can be cut, but the braids in your classmates' heads are not so easy to cut." At that time, many naughty students of Peking University bet on cutting the old man's braids in order to become famous, but considering his temper, no one dared to do it.
Hu Shi commented on the world's most famous braid in the Weekly Review, believing that Gu Hongming was meant to be different from others, because he had cut his braids abroad before, and he kept them after the Qing Dynasty. Gu Hongming was furious and claimed to sue Hu Shi for insulting his reputation. Gu Hongming explained that when he cut his braids, he said that it was because his girlfriend liked braids when she was young, and cut them and gave them to her. It is the past, not the revolutionary past. He then scolded Hu Shi, a Doctor at Columbia University, for speaking "Lower-Middle American English."
Gu Hongming did not sue Hu Shi in the end, and Hu Shi asked him several times about this, and whether he handed him over. Gu Hongming only criticized his "defamatory article" with braids as too poor in wording and did not really go to court.
Gu Hongming also scolded the students. Luo Jialun, who later served as the president of Tsinghua University and Central University, when he was a student, his English was not good, and Gu Hongming asked him to memorize English poems by name, saying: "This is the foreign "Daya", that is the foreign "Leaving the Troubles". Luo Jialun sometimes simply said "no", which triggered Gu Hongming's anger, and even scolded the words "forget the eight eggs" (different from today's pronunciation, this is the literati scolding method, meaning "shameless guy"). This made Luo Jialun think of Mr. Gu with a distinct personality many years later.
At that time, there were many foreign professors in Peking University, and once in the lounge Gu Hongming met an Englishman, Gu Hongming asked him in English what he taught, and the British taught literature. Gu Hongming immediately changed to Latin, and the British spoke incoherently on the spot, and Gu Hongming criticized: "How can someone who teaches Western literature not be Latin!" "Turn around and go.
In 1920, the 46-year-old British writer Maugham came to China and heard that "you can not look at the Three Great Halls, you must see Gu Hongming", Maugham's friend wrote a letter to Gu Hongming, asking him to come to the door. Gu Hongming, who was over 60 years old, did not go at all, and Maugham had to find Gu Hongming's small courtyard (today at No. 28 Cypress Hutong in Dongcheng District), and Gu Hongming proudly said to Maugham: "Your friend thinks that Chinese are coolies, beckon." Maugham had been stuttering, and was stunned after hearing this. In Gu Hongming's eyes, the elderly should sit at home and wait for the younger ones to visit.
English newspapers often ask Gu Hongming to write articles, and Gu Hongming writes articles criticizing students for disobedience and making sports. The students once met Gu Hongming and said, "You always say that there is a difference between Yidi and Zhonghua, why did Mr. Yidi scold us in Yidi's newspaper?" Gu Hongming was stunned and suddenly said angrily, "I am not even afraid of Yuan Shikai, I am still afraid of you!" ”
Peking University students have summed up a rule that they cannot mention "Yuan Shikai" to Professor Gu Hongming, otherwise a class will be scrapped at that time, and he will scold until the bell rings.
A principled swearler
Gu Hongming once gave a speech in English at the Six Kingdoms Hotel (today's Huafeng Hotel) in the embassy area of Dongjiaomin Lane, saying that foreigners were scolded for buying tickets, and Chinese the ticket price was higher than Mei Lanfang. Listening to Mei Lanfang singing only requires one yuan and two corners of the ocean, but listening to Gu's speech requires two yuan. Foreigners filled the venue.
Gu Hongming and Tagore
Like Gu Hongming's own translation of "Spring and Autumn Righteousness", his scolding is not nonsense, in addition to different ideas, most of them are because of a sense of justice.
He once met a foreign reporter at a large banquet, and the reporter asked: "How to stabilize China's political situation?" He replied: "The method is very simple, pull out all these politicians and bureaucrats in the audience now, shoot them, and China's political situation will be more stable." "The officials listened and dared not speak out, because no one could ever scold him.
Xu Shichang, the president elected by the Anfu Congress, received an honorary doctorate in literature awarded by France, and Gu Hongming saw french ministers and celebrities and sneered: "I have always looked up to your beautiful France (he admired French culture, once said that 'French bread is more handsome than other countries'), and now he has actually given Xu Shichang a doctorate!" ”
When Cai Yuanpei was forced to resign because of the Peking University student movement, The Masters and Students of Peking University carried out retention activities. Gu Hongming stood up and shouted, "The principal is the emperor of our school, and he can't go!" ”
Gu Hongming is already a legend in his life, and after his death, he becomes a myth, and people often relish his views on women, but forget that he once angrily scolded the lewd politicians and saw certain characteristics of Western civilization that need to be criticized early. His scolding and criticism were motivated by righteousness (though some were too old) and public. He is a man who has implemented the principle of "worrying about the road and not worrying about poverty".