Great wisdom will enlighten
On April 15, 1916, Ren Jiyu was born into a middle-class family in Pingyuan County, Shandong Province. In fact, the Ren family's ancestors were also a wealthy family, but after Ren Jiyu's grandfather separated from his brothers, he lost his business due to business failures. Ren Jiyu's father, Ren Jiuting, out of financial considerations, applied for the Baoding Military Academy with lower expenses, and was in the same class or level as the senior Kuomintang generals Liu Zhi and Gu Zhu. Ren Xiaoting was at least a general in the later period, but because of his upright nature and disdain for bending over, he was always regarded as a "dissident" by the Kuomintang troops. In April 1945, he was sent by the Kuomintang Military Committee to Zhang Zizhong's troops to participate in the "Battle of Laohekou" against the Japanese army, and then transferred to the Senate.
In the autumn of 1935, Ren Jiyu took a photo in front of the Le'an Hall of the Summer Palace
Ren Jiyu himself believes that his father's application for military school actually has another meaning of breaking out of the feudal family fence. The Ren family is a big family, four generations in the same house, with the kind of "taste like Ba Jin's "Home", the traditional feudal family in the north". The characteristics of the feudal family are feudal patriarchy, children must absolutely obey the parents, can not disobey, marriage can not be autonomous, and so on. Ren Jiyue believed that his father was very constrained in that environment, so he was not limited to the Ren family's generation of scholars, chose to leave the family, was admitted to the Baoding Military Academy, and became the first soldier of the Ren family.
However, Ren Xiaoting still likes to read and belongs to the "Confucian General" who is both literate and martial. His wife, Ren Jiyu's mother, Song Guofang, came from a family of squires in Pingyuan County, and she began to learn to read at the age of 50, and was later able to exchange letters with her sons who were far away. Under the influence of his parents, Ren Jiyu and several brothers have learned many truths about learning and being a person since childhood.
Later, the Ren Jiyu family set up their own portal in the Lunan area. Ren's father joined the army in the field, and Ren's mother took on the burden of the family alone. This strong woman, with her deep and generous maternal love, cared for xiao Jiyu's brothers. Once, Xiao Ji, who was still nursing, became seriously ill, and the doctor prescribed soup medicine. When his mother fed him medicine, Xiao Jiyu's foot accidentally kicked the medicine bowl over, and the soup medicine spilled on the ground. The mother hurriedly fell to the ground and sucked the soup medicine, and then turned into milk and fed it to him. This incident was remembered for the rest of his life, until he was more than 90 years old, and he often recalled, whenever he talked about it, tears filled his eyes, he said: "Human nature is inherently good." ”
No matter how hard life is, the mother, who is very strict and frugal on weekdays, attaches great importance to the cultural education of her children. Ren Jiyue entered a private school at the age of 4, and whenever he encountered a question that even his parents could not answer, Xiao Jiyue knew that there was a magical world in the books, where there would be answers to everything he wanted to reveal. Some people say that the habit of asking questions that Ren Jiyue developed from an early age is the basis for him to become a generation of philosophical masters in the future. The Same was true of the Song dynasty scholar Zhu Xi when he was a child, and when his father pointed to the sky and told him that it was heaven above, Zhu Xi immediately asked, "What is above the heavens?" This is the philosopher's way of thinking. He wants to know not only the surface of things, but also the nature and behind them. The free and relaxed family environment, the learning attitude of focusing on thinking, and the enthusiastic and persistent desire to learn have made Xiao Jiyue increasingly develop the qualities and ways of thinking required by philosophers.
The edge of bamboo
Also in 1941, Ren Jiyu, who was already a lecturer at Southwest United University, had a classmate named Wang Weicheng from the Philosophy Department of Peking University, who was now an associate professor at the Normal College, and his wife was teaching at the Affiliated Middle School of the United Nations University. Once, when his wife was sick and on leave, Wang Weicheng asked Ren Jiyu to teach on his behalf. At that time, Ren Jiyue felt a little embarrassed: According to Theory, it is his unshirkable responsibility to ask for help from his old friend, but he thinks that he is studying philosophy and teaching philosophy, while Wang Weicheng's lover teaches language, interlaced like a mountain, can he be qualified for the trust of his friends? Ren Jiyue was really hesitant. But after all, he couldn't stand the old classmate's repeated pleading, so he agreed with a hard scalp. Fortunately, Wang Weicheng's lover teaches children, teach it, try it.
No, this help for others has made him a good relationship in his life.
In January 1987, Ren Jiyu (left) was at the home of mr. Feng Youlan (right), a philosopher
It turned out that there was also a Chinese teacher in the Attached Middle School of the United Nations General Assembly at that time, named Feng Zhongyun. She was born into a prominent academic family: her father Feng Jinglan was a famous geologist on the mainland and an important founder of Chinese mineral deposits; The great uncle Feng Youlan, a famous Chinese philosopher, was the dean of the College of Literature of the United Nations University at that time; her aunt Feng Yuanjun was a literary historian and writer; Lu Xun once praised her as a talented "May Fourth" girl with the same name as Lu Yin, Ling Shuhua, and Bing Xin, and later the first first-class female professor after the founding of New China; her cousin Zhang Dainian was also a famous philosopher and was the president of the Chinese Philosophical History Society His cousin Feng Zhongpu (i.e. Zong Pu) is also a writer, author of "Red Beans" and "Three Lives and Three Stones". According to incomplete statistics, there are more than 30 people in the three generations of the Feng family who are professors in the fields of science and technology and culture. In their hometown of Tanghe, Henan, Feng Youlan and his younger siblings are known as the "Three Brothers and Sisters of the Feng Family" and are well-known. The Tang River and even the entire Nanyang area are not only proud of the Feng family, but also form a good atmosphere of eagerness to learn and seek knowledge.
Feng Zhongyun was naturally deeply influenced by such a scholarly door, and she later became a professor, literary historian, and language educator in the Department of Chinese of Peking University.
The class that Ren Jiyue helped people to bring was right next door to the class led by Feng Zhongyun, and they were also teaching Chinese, so it was inevitable that there would be some contact, and the two of them would become acquainted with each other.
In 1943, Feng Zhongyun was hired as a teaching assistant in the Chinese Department of the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the first female teacher of the Southwest United University, and the contact with Ren Jiyue became more and more frequent.
At that time, the Chinese Department of the United Nations General Assembly not only had such famous scholars as Wen Yiduo, Zhu Ziqing, and Luo Changpei, but also a "Four-Part Series" in the Chinese Department. Ren Jiyue studied the history of Chinese philosophy and felt that the "Four Series" was very useful, so he often went to borrow books, and it happened that Feng Zhongyun also borrowed books there. Because the two young people have a foundation in front of them, when they meet at this time, they have a feeling of inexplicability. What is even more coincidental is that Ren Jiyu often goes to Feng Zhongyun's uncle, Mr. Feng Youlan, to discuss philosophical issues, and often meets Feng Zhongyun unexpectedly.
After this, the hearts of the two young people became closer and closer. However, it seems that these two young people are not in a hurry to talk about marriage. This made Ren Jiyu's mentor, Mr. Tang Yongtong, very anxious. Therefore, Mr. Tang personally ran to the Feng family to talk about this important matter on behalf of Ren Jiyu's parents (at that time, Ren Jiyu's family members were in Shandong and Wuhan). Mr. Tang's proposal was very solemn, at that time most people wore long shirts, and Mr. Tang also added a special coat and went to the Feng family to mention his relatives. In fact, in the spring of 1943, Ren Jiyue's mother had just died, first, he missed his mother very much, and second, it was the period when he was filial piety for his mother, so Ren Jiyue never mentioned marriage.
Mr. Luo Changpei of Peking University, the head of the Department of Chinese of the United Nations General Assembly, has a very good impression of Ren Jiyue. And Feng Zhongyun worked as a teaching assistant in Luo Changpei's department. Soon, Mr. Tang and Mr. Luo tacitly and invariably thought together and made it to one place. Tang Yongtong sometimes invited guests at home, so he invited Ren Jiyu and Feng Zhongyun to dinner at the same time; Mr. Luo invited them to visit Kunming Dianchi Park, which of course meant that the drunkard was not drinking, and all three of them knew it. As a result, they have more interactions. Therefore, under the auspices of the gentlemen, Ren Jiyu and Feng Zhongyun held an engagement ceremony, and the witness was Mr. Luo Changpei. After that, Ren Jiyu and Feng Zhongyun spent sixty years together.
Taught peking university
On the night of December 15, 1948, Chiang Kai-shek sent a plane to Beiping Nanyuan Airport to pick up Hu Shi and a group of cultural scholars from institutions of higher learning. The great president only took away a few scholars and family members such as Hu Shi and His wife and Chen Yinke. Ren Jiyue and many teachers—Feng Youlan, Tang Yongtong, Xiong Shili, Zheng Tianting, Shen Junru, Zhang Dainian, etc.—all remained in Beiping with hope, and they and the rejoicing people jointly ushered in the liberation of Beiping. The shadow of the lake light tower of the unnamed lake, the carved beam paintings of the highest school and the sunset silhouette of the distant West Mountain have become the spiritual home of their lifelong dreams.
The newly established Central People's Government appointed Mr. Ma Yinchu as president of Peking University. At that time, the teachers of Peking University still retained the tradition of Southwest United University: there was no unified teaching materials, but according to their own strengths, they gave full play to their own strengths, and the eight immortals crossed the sea and showed their own magic. In terms of language courses alone, Wang Li taught ancient Chinese, Wei Jiangong taught phonology, and Zhu Dexi taught grammar and rhetoric. Literature classes are more colorful, with You Guoen talking about the pre-Qin and Han Dynasties and the poetry of Chu Ci, Lin Geng talking about Wei and Jin Southern and Northern Dynasties and Tang poems, Pu Jiangqing talking about Song Ziyuanqu, and Wu Zuxuan talking about Ming and Qing novels and "Dream of the Red Chamber". Foreign literature is even more incredible, Cao Jinghua talks about Soviet and Russian literature, Ji Xianlin talks about Oriental literature, Li Funing talks about English literature, Feng Zhi talks about German literature, and Wen Yiduo's younger brother Wen Jiasi talks about French literature... Famous people gather, each with their own strengths.
At that time, the academic teaching environment, like the beautiful Yanyuan Garden, was pleasing to the eye and intoxicating. As if the intellectuals had ushered in the spring of Zi Yanhong, Ren Jiyue felt that he had suddenly removed his bloated winter clothes and changed into light spring clothes, and felt that he had endless energy. It was also from this year that Ren Jiyue concurrently served as a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and trained the first batch of doctoral students for New China.
In 1951, Ren Jiyu and his wife Feng Zhongyun took a group photo when their daughter Ren Yuan was one year old
At this time, Ren Jiyu and Feng Zhongyun had two children, both children and daughters. The daughter is called Ren Yuan, the son named Ren Chong, "the task is heavy and the road is long", Ren Jiyue not only remembers his lifelong pursuit, but also pins hopes and wishes on the next generation.
During this period, the country's politics were clear, life was stable, and the more Ren Ji had the opportunity to systematically study Marxism-Leninism, the more clearly the relationship between social history and ideology was seen more clearly than before, and for Ren Jiyue, this was a good time to read and study. At this time, Ren Ji was getting older and more powerful, and he had to go to classes, meetings, and study during the day and night, often when his family was asleep, and he had not yet returned. The children had a hard time seeing Ren Jiyu return, and after dinner, he buried his head in reading books and writing articles. At that time, it was a bungalow, and in the winter, every family relied on a small coal stove for heating, and as soon as the door was opened, the only remaining bit of heat ran out, and the cold was even more intense in the middle of the night. In order to stay up late at work, Ren Jiyu designed a small Kang table, he sat on the bed, covered with a quilt, stretched his legs to the bottom of the small table, and pulled a light bulb above his head, reading and writing is not cold. Under such conditions, he has written many lecture notes in the classroom and completed many academic monographs.
Ren Jiyu's teaching is as rigorous as his teaching. A student handed him a treatise on Islam, which Ren Jiyu read overnight, not only writing a note, but also correcting punctuation. The students asked him to write the preface to his book, and he was meticulous, he must take the manuscript to read it first, write it when he can, and never praise people casually. When teaching, he adopts an equal attitude to study, and is particularly casual with students, never using his identity to force students to accept his views. Ren Jiyu often told his students that he admired Sima Qian very much and let everyone learn from Sima Qian. He said that Sima Qian was persecuted by the rulers of the Han Dynasty, which was very tragic, and it should be said that the Han Dynasty was sorry for him, but Sima Qian wrote history to respect historical facts, wrote about the prosperity and prosperity of the Han Dynasty, and did not take the opportunity to retaliate, distort or falsify history. "This is the spirit of science, respect for history."
Ren Jiyue trained students to pay attention to fundamental issues such as ideological methods, and once a student asked Ren Jiyue which school of Buddhism he should study. Ren Jiyu said: "When we go to the Summer Palace, we first go to The Wanshou Mountain and the Buddha Xiang Pavilion, see the panorama of the Summer Palace, and then go to the Harmonic Garden and the Seventeen-Hole Bridge, right?" No one runs to the Garden of Harmony as soon as you enter the door. The same is true for studying and studying a discipline, first of all, we must grasp the whole picture of this discipline, the entire history, lay a good foundation, and then study a certain school or a certain generation. Don't be busy thinking about any sect now, first read the basic History of China, the History of the World, the History of Buddhism, and the Buddhist Scriptures several times, get the history of Confucianism, the history of Christianity, etc., and then consider the specific research direction in the second and third years. ”
Wang Bo, a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Peking University, recalled, "Everyone has an important impression: Mr. Ren is very humble and low-key. I think that of all the roles that Ren Jiyu has, the most important role is that of a scholar, and it is a scholar with an ancient style. Ren Jiyu has a strong and flexible temperament in his life, speaks concisely and concisely, throws a voice, acts in a principled and persistent manner. In addition, Mr. Ren is also a scholar with realistic concerns, and the collation of traditional Chinese philosophy includes realistic concerns. In terms of doing learning, 'choosing the good and being stubborn' reflects the open spirit of the Philosophy Department of Peking University. "There are many disciples under Ren Jiyu, and Li Zehou, Yu Dunkang, Zhang Yizhi and others have long been famous in the 1980s.
National map years
From 1964, when he was appointed to establish the Institute of Religions, Ren Jiyue stayed at the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for more than 20 years. In 1987, Ren Jiyue was transferred from the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to the director of the National Library, then known as the "Beijing Library". Since then, he has sat in the city of books and spread knowledge and civilization— which he regards as the highest mission of a serious intellectual.
This year, Ren Jiyue was 71 years old.
Scenes when Ren Jiyue was working at the National Library
Ren Jiyue loves books and collects books, and is famous. In Mr. Ren's home, the most eye-catching thing is the row of bookcases standing against the wall. Ren Jiyu told those who visited that this was a bookcase by a bibliophile in the late Qing Dynasty. His disciple sold the books in the cabinet, and finally even the cabinet was going to be sold, so he bought it. Ren Jiyue loves books, and he also cherishes the bibliophile's cabinet, which contains his most cherished books. However, in the later years of Ren's life, the books in the bookcase gradually decreased, and every year some books were transported away by him. It turned out that the new place for these books was Ren Jiyu's hometown, the Pingyuan County Library in Shandong Province. He said: "Since I came to Beijing since I was in high school, I haven't been back to Shandong much, and I have dedicated it to the land that raised me. Ren Jiyue also said that letting the book be read by more people can play its value more effectively.
In the current library science community, there is a kind of "library demise theory", which believes that with the rapid development of modern technology, people's demand for information and documents is no longer as dependent on libraries as in the past, people can obtain the required documents and information without using libraries or without libraries, and eventually one day there will be no need for libraries, and libraries will disappear in human society. In an interview with the Journal of Chinese Libraries in 2009, Mr. Ren said: "The library is a longevity institution, even if the country dies and the government is gone, the library will exist." The way it can be different. Because there is always knowledge, there is always curiosity. Ren Jiyue said that libraries are one of the important carriers of a country's civilization. The National Library of China records the development trajectory of the Chinese nation's civilization for thousands of years, and is the treasure house of Civilization in China and even in the world. He said: "As a public welfare cultural facility that collects, processes and stores all kinds of books, materials and information, the library plays an important role in the dissemination of knowledge and information, and is also a base for lifelong learning and education for all people." Libraries can provide readers with the required materials without restrictions of age and discipline, and play a role in solving the lack of knowledge; although libraries do not directly create wealth, they indirectly cultivate wealth creators, which is our contribution to society. Our educational functions are different from universities, with greater responsibilities than universities, a wider range of services than universities, and a deeper level of service than universities. ”
The positioning of the National Library has always been the focus of attention in the library community. As the curator, this question is an important issue that Elder Ren has been thinking about. When talking about the development and changes of the national map since he became the director of the museum, Elder Ren said: "One of the most important changes is that in the past, our museum focused on the collection and collation of literature resources, and the circulation was less considered. After I came, I tried to reverse it, and the more rare things were, the more I had to meet with society and not lock them up. The situation of 'heavy tibet over light use' has now improved. ”
He also personally led the unprecedented ancient book collation project, relying on the collection of the national map to organize ancient documents. He spent more than ten years, based on the National Library's collection "Zhao ChengJin Collection", and presided over the compilation of 107 volumes of the "Great Collection of China Classics". Just before his death, he was presiding over the compilation of the 200 million-word "Continuation of the Great Tibetan Classics of China".
In 2004, seeing that the Dunhuang literature collected around the world has been published one after another, but the Dunhuang literature collected by the National Library cannot be published due to financial reasons, Mr. Ren was impatient and wrote to the relevant departments: "Now that the mainland is in Lirichang, if the state can have a certain investment in this project, I am willing to do my ninety-year-old man's modest efforts to make this project complete in about 3 years, and also a wish that the Dunhuang academic community can use the data completely." Under the auspices of Mr. Ren, the 150-volume "Dunhuang Testament of the National Library of China" has been published one after another. In addition, during his lifetime, he also presided over the compilation of the "Great Canon of China" and the revision of the "Twenty-Four Histories". This is the heart of an old man who takes cultural construction as his own responsibility.
In the work of cleaning up traditional heritage, Ren Jiyue is the scholar who has devoted the most energy and achieved the most results. From Confucianism, to Buddhism, Taoism; from philosophy, to religion, to natural science, and others such as philology, folklore, and so on. In each area of traditional culture, Ren Jiyue has his own unique achievements, outstanding vision and guidance from a lofty height. Now that he was worried about the first-class equipment and the strength of the library when he first took office, the situation is no longer there, and the national map has entered the ranks of first-class libraries at home and abroad.
A wish
In a conversation with reporters, Ren Jiyue revealed that he wanted to complete his own "History of the Development of Chinese Philosophy". In his vision, this history of philosophical development is very different from the four-volume History of Chinese Philosophy that he edited in the 1960s—not a textbook, but all his personal research experience. "Not too long, about 300,000 words." Ren Jiyue planned. Lifting a heavy weight and not being vain is exactly his true character as a scholar. The difficulty of condensing decades of understanding of Chinese philosophy into 300,000 words is self-evident. At a time when many scholars are glorified by "writings and other bodies", the old man does the opposite. In this regard, he pondered even longer: "There are many books in history, which are called academic works, but they are not academic; they are called scientific works, but they are not scientific. Karma happens, and it happens for a while. Time passed, and it was forgotten. It is the vast number of readers who preside over this elimination choice. The Grand Duke of Heaven and Earth is no greater than a sergeant. I wrote my own book, hoping that its 'lifespan' would be a little longer. ”
But he ultimately failed to complete the 300,000-word but highly anticipated book.
The tedious and voluminous work of sorting out takes up most of his time, and at his desk, there are always endless manuscripts. Compared with his own writings, he always prioritized these manuscripts. The Great Tibetan Classics of China, the Continuation of the Great Tibetan Classics of China, the Great Classics of China, the Twenty-Four Histories of the Dian School edition and the Revised Draft History of the Qing Dynasty... All of them are huge. Time is precious, and Ren Jiyue has too much work to do, so he has to put his writing plan on hold for the time being. Because of this, the plan for writing the "History of the Development of Chinese Philosophy" was delayed again and again, postponed again and again, and finally failed to be realized.
For the academic community, this is a permanent regret; but for Ren Jiyu, it is a choice without regrets. As early as more than ten years ago, Ren Jiyue wrote in his family letter to his daughter: "We must believe that we have the ability and responsibility to contribute to Chinese civilization." Even if it is not for the present, it must be for the hereafter; even if it is not used today, as long as it is useful to society in the future, it is worth doing. Looking at the academic research of Ren Jiyu's life, although it spans many fields, we can truly feel that inheriting Chinese culture and keeping the rise and fall of the country and the nation in mind has always been the main line of his academic research.
Mr. Ren Jiyu mourned the hall
On July 11, 2009, Ren Jiyu passed away in Beijing Hospital. On either side of his posthumous photograph are written the following:
Lao Tzu is out of the customs, the philosopher is dead, and the five thousand exquisite people under the Penglai Pillar are hiding
Shakya Nirvana, Sect Master and Student, and the Great Tibetan Canon Ofe Siku Civilization have been passed down
Source: Magazine of All Walks of Life, Issue 3, 2022
Author: Yan Qing, Guo Gaiyun