preface
Figure | Hu Shi and Puyi
Hu Shi and Puyi, one of them is the representative of the May Fourth New Culture Movement; the other is the last emperor of the late Qing Dynasty, it is reasonable to say that there should be no intersection between these two people with very different identities, but in 1922, Hu Shi entered the Forbidden City at the invitation of Puyi.
However, the interaction between the new figures and the old deputies caused an uproar in the society at that time, and many media criticized Hu Shi's behavior, while Hu Shi still insisted on his own opinions and was unfair to Puyi, bluntly saying that this was a "human" thing.
Puyi called Hu Shi and invited Hu Shi into the palace
In the 1920s, Puyi, who was still in the Forbidden City, was fascinated by British and American culture, and gave himself an English name of "Henry", Puyi had just gotten married, was busy practicing cycling and playing tennis, and did not have the heart to recover.
Figure | Puyi
In 1922, the Forbidden City's Yangxin Hall pulled into the wire, just installed a telephone, 17-year-old Puyi carefully looked at this fresh thing, on a whim, he took out the phone book, called people everywhere to play. Puyi first dialed one for Yang Xiaolou, a martial arts actor in Peking Opera, and then called the acrobats, and then called the Dongxinglou Restaurant, and almost every phone call was hung up after harassment.
Suddenly, Puyi remembered something, his foreign teacher Johnston once told him that there was a vernacular leader named Hu Shi, Puyi was very curious about this person, and wanted to hear what tone this vernacular leader used to speak.
Johnston, a British teacher, came to Puyi and opened a window for the little emperor who had been tied up in the Forbidden City since childhood, which was very attractive to Puyi who grew up in the deep palace.
However, many of the former courtiers of the Qing court were still serving as his "masters" by Puyi's side at this time, and these old scholars did not like Johnston, but only blindly instilled Confucianism in Puyi, arming the mind of the little emperor with the Four Books and Five Classics. But in any case, the Western culture brought by Johnston still brought Puyi a great impact, and it was in the context of this contradiction that he met Hu Shi.
In this way, Puyi dialed hu shi's family's phone, and it was Hu Shi himself who answered the phone. For the scene when they were talking, Puyi later recalled in "In the First Half of My Life":
After the phone was dialed, Puyi asked curiously, "Are you Dr. Hu?" Great, guess who I am? ”
"Who are you?" How come I can't hear it? Of course, Hu Shi wouldn't know who was calling him.
"Haha, guess what, I said, I'm Xuantong!" Puyi cheerfully revealed his identity.
"Reunification? ...... You, are you the emperor? Hu Shi couldn't believe whether what the other party said was true or not.
"Yes, I am the emperor, I heard you talk, but I don't know what you are like, if you have time, you will come to the palace and ask me to see."
Hu Shi had a habit of writing diaries, and in the same way, he recorded this in his diary:
"Today, Emperor Xuantong of the Qing Dynasty called and invited me to talk about it tomorrow, and because I would not be idle tomorrow, I changed my appointment to see him on the second day of the first month of may in the lunar calendar."
In fact, after receiving this phone call from Puyi, Hu Shi's mood was very complicated, and he was both surprised and excited. Although Puyi had abdicated at this time, according to the agreement between the Republic of China government and the abdicated Qing court at that time, the Qing Dynasty could still continue to rule the land of the Forbidden City, and the government had to subsidize 40,000 silver yuan every year for the expenses of the small imperial court.
I have to say that Hu Shi is more cautious about this meeting with Puyi, although Hu Shi often calls himself a teenager, but he is 30 years old at this time, and his behavior is calm and meticulous, which can be seen from the fact that he did not immediately agree to meet Puyi.
Hu Shi knew in his heart that under the circumstances that he did not know much about the recent situation in the palace and Puyi, rushing into the palace to meet with him was likely to have an unpredictable and embarrassing situation, so Hu Shi specially visited Mr. Johnston in advance, hoping to learn something about the palace and Puyi from him.
Figure | Johnston with Puyi
After meeting Johnston, according to Johnston's account of Puyi, Hu Shi wrote in his diary:
"XuanTong has recently been quite independent, on his own terms, and not bound by a group of old women. The last time he cut off his braids, that's an example... Johnston said that Xuantong had read my "Attempt Collection", so when I sent Johnston a copy of "Wencun", I also sent Xuantong Department. This time he wanted to see me, a completely different person to discuss, Johnston did not know, but also to see that he had his own will. ”
From Hu Shi's diary, it can also be seen that he is more appreciative of Puyi's "self-will" behavior style, which means that Puyi is a relatively open-minded youth, and it is still meaningful to meet with him.
Hu Shi entered the palace to see Puyi, causing a storm of public opinion
A few days later, Hu Shi went to the appointment, for which he did not go to class for a day. On that day, Puyi sent a eunuch to Hu Shi's house to pick him up, and was first led to get off the bus in front of the Shenwu Gate, and was able to enter after being informed. After the meeting, Hu Shi bowed to Puyi, and then sat down on a large blue satin stool prepared for him by Puyi.
Figure | Hu shi
Hu Shi described his first impression of Puyi in his diary:
I called him "Emperor", he called me "Sir", his appearance was very beautiful, but very thin, although he was seventeen years old, but his eyes were more myopic than mine, wearing a blue robe and a dark vest.
Next, the topic of the day began. One is the last emperor of China, the other is a leader of the new culture, sitting together but talking. Hu Shi and Puyi talked a lot, including how to write vernacular poems, how Puyi studied abroad after he went abroad, and so on. In addition, Puyi also explained to Hu Shi:
"We have done a lot of wrong things in the past, and when we reach this position, we still have to spend a lot of money in the Republic of China, and I am very uneasy in my heart, I wanted to seek an independent life, but there were many people who opposed this matter, because once I became independent, many people did not have to rely on it."
Although Hu Shi could not empathize with what Puyi said, he was very sympathetic to his contradiction of wanting to be independent but could not be independent, and at the end of the conversation, Puyi complained that he could not find many new books, and Hu Shi also promised to help him find books.
In this way, Hu Shi and Puyi talked for about 20 minutes in a very pleasant atmosphere, and then got up to say goodbye.
After meeting Puyi, Hu Shi also wrote a small poem called "There is a feeling" to express his feelings afterwards, including such a sentence:
"The nucleus that cannot be bitten open and cannot be broken cannot be closed to a little business in the nucleus; the palace wall of a hundred feet and the etiquette of a thousand years cannot lock the heart of a teenager."
Although this poem is only four short sentences, Hu Shi wrote it very condensed and meaningful, vividly expressing his concern for the young Emperor Sun. Hu Shi was sympathetic to Puyi, but the private meeting between the new cultural thought leaders and the emperors of the old system did not seem to be understood by the public at the time.
On the one hand, the Manchu Qing elders expressed dissatisfaction with Puyi, and after learning that their "emperor" and "new figures" had met, they quarreled like a frying pan behind their backs. On the other hand, young people who are keen on the new culture are also dissatisfied with Hu Shi's approach, and for a while, many newspapers have headlines such as "Hu Shi is the emperor's teacher" and "Hu Shi asks not to kneel".
Regarding the meeting between Hu Shi and Puyi, the "Republic of China Daily" run by the Shanghai Kuomintang people published a commentary with sarcastic overtones, the title of which was "Hu Shizhi's Request to Avoid Kneeling", which read:
Puyi asked Hu Shizhi to talk, and naturally he just talked about it. I didn't want this Mr. Hu to ask for a waiver of prostration. This kind of request, if it had been put forward by Zhang Xun, Xu Shichang and others, would have been extremely common; now it is put forward by Mr. Hu, which is too abrupt. If there is a Qing Emperor in the eyes, he should bow down; if there is no Qing Emperor in his eyes, why ask for it; only those who are in and out of the room who are friends with their subjects will they have to bow down, and They will be asked to be exempt from kneeling.
When Puyi allowed Hu Shizhi's request, he called him a new scholarly titan, and he had the idea of allowing him to walk on the sword to the temple, but this was Puyi's bottom generosity, not Hu Shi's bottom honor.
Then, whether Hu Shi was worried about kneeling at that time, Puyi also said in his later recollection: "He (Hu Shi) hurriedly asked Johnston about the rules of entering the palace, and understood that I did not ask him to kowtow, and my emperor had a good temper, so he came." ”
Not only that, Lu Xun also wrote in a later article ridiculing Hu Shi: It seems that someone has asked, did you see Emperor Sun kneeling down and prostrating his head? Did you see emperor Sun still preach Dewey doctrine to him?
Figure | Lu Xun
In this context, in order to calm public opinion, Hu Shi wrote an article to clarify the facts. In the article "Xuantong and Hu Shi", Hu Shi wrote:
"There's nothing unusual about one person going to meet another. This seventeen-year-old teenager in the Qing Palace was in a very lonely and pitiful situation; in his loneliness, he wanted to find someone who could be regarded as a teenager to talk about, which was also a very common thing in human feelings, but unexpectedly, the imperial thoughts in Chinese brain had not been washed away. So this originally very human thing, when it came to the reporter's pen, became a strange news...
I had no time to go—to correct them, but to write down the truth of the matter and let the people know that it was a very good thing not to make a fuss. ”
At this point, the storm has been slightly calmed.
In fact, from an objective standpoint, Hu Shi's courtesy visit to Puyi is indeed nothing to say, but why did he cause so many young people to be dissatisfied?
Hu Shi's essay "Xuantong and Hu Shi", especially the sentence "He is called Sir, I call him Emperor", is widely controversial.
At that time, the trend of new culture was very strong, in the eyes of radical young people, the Tao was not in conflict, and Hu Shi was the leader of the new cultural movement, naturally he could not make friends with the emperor of the late Qing Dynasty.
If Hu Shi pays attention to only a seventeen-year-old boy named Puyi, then in the eyes of radical youth, what they see may be more of a symbol of imperial power behind Puyi, so the meeting between Hu Shi and Puyi is naturally not an ordinary thing in their eyes.
The final intersection of Hu Shi and Puyi
In 1924, during the Second Zhifeng War, the direct general Feng Yuxiang led an army into Beijing to launch a coup d'état, establish a provisional government, and revise the "preferential conditions", cancel the imperial title, and force Puyi to leave the palace.
Figure | Feng Yuxiang
At that time, the remarks supporting Puyi's exit from the palace were obviously dominant, and the attitude given by the revolutionary party was strongly in favor, and Sun Yat-sen later called Feng Yuxiang and bluntly said that moving the palace to abolish the name was a move of "great happiness for the people", "The root cause of restoration has been removed, and the republican foundation is self-consolidating, which can congratulate the future of the Republic of China." ”
At the same time, some sympathetic remarks were mostly spread in private, and it was in this situation that Hu Shi, as a representative of the new intellectuals, took the initiative to defend Puyi, which inevitably did not attract attention. To this end, Hu Shi wrote an open letter to Wang Zhengting, the foreign minister of the Provisional Government, in which he clearly expressed his dissatisfaction and opposition, and his indignation overflowed into words:
Sir knows that I am a man of justice, and today I would like to make a few words of protest to the Government organized by the gentlemen. This afternoon, there were rumors outside that General Feng surrounded the Qing Palace and expelled the Qing Emperor, but I didn't believe it at first, but when I inquired later, I learned that it was the real thing. I am not in favor of the Preservation of the Imperial Title by the Qing Dynasty, but the preferential treatment of the Qing Dynasty is an international fiduciary, treaty relationship. Treaties can be amended or repealed. However, the republic of China, which deceives others and is weak, takes advantage of the loss of others, and commits acts of violence is really the most dishonorable thing in the history of the Republic of China.
In addition to Hu Shi, Duan Qirui also raised objections after Feng Yuxiang revised the preferential conditions, and stressed in a telegram to Feng Yuxiang that the Qing Dynasty had voluntarily abdicated the throne, should be treated with courtesy, and the preferential conditions involved the international aspect; as for the "moving the palace" stipulated in the "preferential conditions", it was hoped to continue to adopt a delaying method, "considering the long term", and now forcibly forcing Puyi out of the palace is detrimental to the credibility of the Republic of China.
However, the matter of Puyi's expulsion from the palace has become a fact and cannot be changed, so Hu Shisui put forward three more suggestions on the aftermath:
Ensure the safety of the Qing Emperor and his dependents; properly dispose of the antiquities of the Qing Palace to prevent military personnel and politicians from taking advantage of the fire and looting; fairly and reasonably evaluate the antiquities of the Qing Palace and pay them to the Qing Chamber on time and in full.
Sure enough, as soon as Hu Shi's letter was published, it immediately caused an uproar.
Hu Shi's letter mainly accused Feng Yuxiang of his practices in terms of "xinyi" and "morality", and subsequently, Puyi's British teacher Johnston also gave a positive response, in which Johnston praised Hu for saying the right thing in the right way, and said that Puyi would be happy to read his letter.
However, the vast majority of people do not think so. After seeing Hu Shi's position, Zhou Zuoren pointed out in a letter to him:
"Judging from our brilliant and roundabout mind, this incident may be said to be less than 'benevolence' and not the behavior of a gentleman, but from the personal point of view of 20 years of painful life of dragging braids and having experienced the horrors of revolution and restoration, I think this (expelling Puyi from the palace) is a very natural and extremely legitimate thing, although it is not a historical honor, but it is by no means a stain."
Scholars Li Shuhua and Li Zongdong jointly wrote to Hu Shi:
"After reading this news, we feel very shocked, and it is not surprising that this kind of discussion is made by ordinary people who have become officials of the Republic of China, or other ordinary people who have 'relations with the Qing dynasty,' but it is really unexpected for a leader of a new culture and a representative of new ideas to make such a statement."
In the face of doubts and criticism, Hu Shi first stated that his open letter had not been affected by the foreigners (Johnston) before they made relevant remarks, that he had not been instructed and used by others, that his opinions only represented him, that there was no controversy over the cancellation of the Qing Emperor's era name, but that he advocated a little gentler and a little more "gentleman's behavior" in the cancellation method.
In fact, it is not difficult to see from Hu Shi's personality that he is a faction that advocates reform; Hu Shi has been determined to be a "national teacher" since his youth; he has tried to make achievements in ideological theory; Hu Shi is a good person to fight unevenly, speaks for the weak, advocates tolerance and tolerance, emphasizes the independence and freedom of speech and thought, opposes people following the clouds, and goes with the flow.
However, with the changes in history, Hu Shi's thinking will also change.
One day in September 1931, Hu Shi and Xu Zhimo and others traveled together on Jingshan Mountain, and when they looked down at the Forbidden City, Hu Shi sighed bitterly in a bitter tone:
If Feng Yuxiang had not expelled Puyi from the palace, Beiping would not have known what had happened today, and at that time I opposed the expulsion of Puyi, I was wrong! ”
After saying that, Hu Shichang sighed and sighed at the great changes in this mountain and river...
Figure | Puyi as a child
History seems to have made a big joke with Hu Shi, and he finally failed to rescue the young Emperor Sun, whom he sympathized with, from the "nucleus that could not be bitten and could not be broken", and due to various complicated historical reasons, Puyi later sat on the emperor's throne of the puppet state of Manchukuo and became a sinner of the nation.