Hong Taosheng and Feng Zhi co-translated the German edition of the "Pipa Book" woodcut illustration
At the end of the 1930s, Fu Wukang was in the Sino-German Society
In 1940, Feng Zhi (1905-1993) published "Commenting on Professor Flange's Research on Li Zhen", which was signed by Feng Junpei during the era of the Southwest United University, and was published in the Book Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1. Otto Franke (1863-1946) these two papers were published in 1938 and 1939 respectively, both in the journal of the Prussian Academy of Sciences (Preussische Akademieder Wilson schaften), which shows that Feng Zhi still pays considerable attention to the academic progress of German sinology. The origin of this tradition may be traced back to Hu Shizhi, a teacher in the era of Feng Zhi's study at Peking University. Although we may not be able to find direct evidence now, Hu Shi and Flange were very friendly, and the latter admired Hu Shi as a junior scholar and recommended him as a foreign member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences; later meetings in Switzerland were very happy, and they became friends for a long time.
In his memoirs, Frange rarely mentions Chinese scholars, such as Wang Guowei, Chen Yinke, and Cai Yuanpei, but rarely mentions Hu Shi, who is also in the East Asian History Committee of the International Historiography Committee in Zurich, which consisted of the French scholar René Groussset (1885-1952), Hu Shi, and Flange. He praised Hu Shi as "a Chinese literary historian known as a language innovator" and said, "Hu Shi and I spent several days together and had a very pleasant exchange of views." We did not see each other again, because a new war broke out a year later." But what he did not mention is that the two had already had a "cross-talk of words" before, and Hu Shi's diary could be added. Indeed, he went to Zurich as a representative of China to attend the International Congress of Historiography. Previously, because Ofan Ge recommended Hu Shi first, although the two met for the first time, they were reunited like old friends, and they were very sorry for each other. On August 27, 1938, Hu Shi recorded: "In the afternoon, the Far EasternCommission of the Historical Society held a meeting, and I attended. Otto Franke,This is the first time we've met, and it's a relief. He was the one who recommended me as the Prussian Academy of Sciences, but he was grateful to him for never meeting me. He was also very happy to see him today. He was born in 1863 and is seventy-five years old this year, and his spirit is not weak. The two were at least a generation apart in age, and Frange was nearly thirty years older than Hu Shi, but this could not stop them from appreciating each other. The next evening, Hu Shi made an appointment to have dinner with Flange. Two days later, on August 30, they were having dinner together again, and Frange told him that the Forty Confessions had a German translation. On August 31, "in the afternoon, I went to the lake with Prof. Franke, and it was raining heavily, so I was a little less happy." However on the way with Frank... When people talk about it, it is one gain. By September 3rd, "I went to the circus with Professor Fran ke in the evening." The circus is very good, and its beast training part is better than Barners & Bailey. Many days of boredom, all temporarily forgotten. "The next day is" to send Franke to the line, and they are very in love with each other. He is seventy-five years old, and it will not be easy later."
At the beginning, Feng Zhi studied at Peking University, mainly in the German Department, which determined his basic knowledge structure; but what we need to note is that the so-called "kaifeng is not a teacher", according to Feng Zhi's own words, "Under the influence of Peking University's unique style and democratic atmosphere, my thinking gradually took shape, and from there began the path I took in my life." The prototype may be unsound, the road may be wrong, but I have never regretted it, as long as I mention the time and place of Peking University, it seems to feel a kind of nostalgia that is endlessly evocative. Although it is already two generations apart, Feng Zhi has not left a sentimental face in academics, and he points out at the end of the article: "Fu Shi had a small mistake in his first paper. That is, Li Zhen's friends Liu Dongxing and Liu Jinchuan are regarded as two people, in fact, Jinchuan is Liu Dongxing's alias. As for Fu's mistake of Yuan Zhongdao, the author of the Biography of Li Wenling, for Yuan Hongdao, because of the Huangjie dialect of the "Book Burning" when the Guoxue Preservation Association typeset the "Book Burning", Wu Yu's "Biography of Ming Li Zhuowu" was also lost, and now Rong Rong Zhaozu has corrected it in his "Biography of Li Zhuowu". "The misconception of people's names in Chinese history here is actually not too much of a mistake; but at least it shows that Feng Zhi is very serious about reading, treating it as a very serious cause, and it can also be said that there is a foundation for learning, and it clearly points out the hard wounds of the other party." Around 1940, Feng Zhi, in the turbulent era of the Southwest United University, could no longer play a major in the development of the German discipline itself (even this major was temporarily cancelled); so it was reasonable to adjust his interest and take the traditional study of ancient Chinese culture to heart. If we can combine the situation at the time and the situation when we can better understand, fortunately, Feng Zhi has a diary, which provides us with very good material. On January 11, 1940, the diary said: "Yuan Shouhe came and went with Li Zhenwen. Obviously, it should be this "Comment on Professor Flange's Research on Li Zhen.". At that time, Yuan Tongli (1895-1965, Zi Shouhe) was also in Kunming, he graduated from Peking University in his early years, and from 1929 to 1948, he served as the deputy director and director of the National Peking Library. He had been in frequent contact with Feng Zhi and others before, so he probably played the role of a booster in the process of writing this article. What we should not ignore is that in 1935 in Beiping, it was Yuan Tongli who recommended Feng Zhi to be the Chinese officer of the Sino-German Society, so that he could get a job and at the same time be able to support and care for his father in Beiping. At that time, Yuan Tongli was both the director of the Peking Library and the director of the Sino-German Society. Flange is a veteran figure in the German sinology circle, at this time he is almost old, and the reason why he can still get the continuous memory of the Chinese academic community is that in addition to academic factors, it is obviously related to interpersonal context. This can also be confirmed by the experience of his son Fu Wukang.
Later, in Fu Wukang's memoirs, it was already mentioned that he and Feng Zhi met in Germany. When Wolfgang Franke (1912-2007) arrived in Beijing in 1937, although Feng Zhi was still serving as the Chinese permanent secretary of the Sino-German Society, he had actually gone to Tongji in Shanghai to take up a post, and according to Fu Wukang, "during dr. Feng's studies in Germany, I generally knew him." During Feng Zhi's stay in Germany (1930-1935), although the lord required to study at heidelberg University, he also spent some time in Berlin, so it was expected to know the famous sinologist Flange. As far as the circle of scholars studying in Germany at that time was concerned, it was also very normal to pay attention to the "Sinology" related to their own academic lineage. They also exchanged letters during this period, and even though Feng Zhi was far away in Kunming, he also wrote to Fu Wukang: "Send a letter from Fu Wukang [Fran ke] of the Sino-German Society, with a letter from H. William." This was the case on March 6, 1940, and it is clear that Feng Zhi wrote a letter directly to Fu Wukang, the German officer in charge of the affairs of the Sino-German Society, and a letter about Wei Deming. This is somewhat puzzling, but was this letter sent to Feng Zhi by Wei Deming, who in turn transferred it to Fu Wukang; or was it that Feng Zhi asked Fu Wukang to transfer it to Wei Deming? The latter should be more likely, because Wei Deming was in Beiping at the time, an important figure in the Sino-German Society, and had also held the position of executive officer.
In fact, if Feng Zhi's systematic contacts with the German sinology community cannot be ignored, we must not ignore his experience as the Chinese officer of the Sino-German Society, because the Sino-German Society is, in the final analysis, an organization of German sinologists and their foothold in China, especially in Beiping. It was through contact with sinologists that Feng Zhi was able to fully understand German sinology and develop a certain interest. On August 13, 1946, Fu Wukang went to the Sino-German Society to meet with four former members from the rear area, including Feng Zhi, Jiang Fuxuan (1898-1992), Mao Zishui (1893-1988), and Yao Congwu (1894-1970). This relationship apparently continued to develop, and by 1948 Fu Wukang "was invited by Feng Zhi, now professor and head of the German Department of the Department of Western Languages and Literatures at Peking University, to take up a professorship in his department, which had been vacant by Wei Deming's visit to the University of Washington in Seattle." In a sense, this is a testimony to the close interaction between Chinese Germanic studies and German sinology. Feng Zhi painstakingly constructed Chinese Germanic studies, and he had introduced his German friend Willy Bauer to teach in Tongji, but it seemed unpleasant, and later changed to the Southwest United University; in the second half of 1947, Feng Zhi wrote to his German friend Bauer: "At the beginning of this semester, I was busy with the establishment of the German Chinese and Literature Department. I've done it. Are you interested in coming to us? Is it possible for you? You are welcome now and in the future. Unlike in the past in Tongji, we will not be disappointed at Peking University. Bauer was a Germanic scholar, while Wei Deming and Fu Wukang were sinologists. It can be seen that Feng Zhi's vision is quite integrated, not only to broaden his horizons and interact with sinologists, but also not to abandon the old friendship of the original Germanic science. As far as the intervention of Sinology in Chinese Germanic studies is concerned, there is a tradition; in the establishment of the German Literature Department of Peking University, which was first established by Cai Yuanpei, there were both Germanic scholars such as Orck and sinologists like Wei Lixian.
Judging from the information revealed by this narrative, Feng Zhi and the Wei father and son also have a good relationship. Not to mention The former of Fu Wukang, Hellmut Wilhelm (1905-1990), it is particularly worth mentioning Wei Deming's father, Richard Wilhelm (1873-1930). Feng Zhi entered the German Department of Peking University later than Zhang William and Shang Chengzu, and first entered the preparatory department in 1921, and did not enter the German Department until 1923. Feng Zhi expressed regret about the teaching staff at that time, because not only did Professor Olk leave, "the rest of the orientalist dr. W. who was famous in Germany also resigned and returned to Frankfurt to become a Chinese professor at the university." "What is obviously talking about here is Wei Lixian. Although Feng Zhi's more infatuation was obviously Professor Olk, Wei Lixian was obviously also the focus of the students. Feng Zhi did have a substantial cooperative relationship with Wei Lixian at that time, when the Novel Monthly asked Wei Lixian to write an article entitled "Goethe and Chinese Culture", which was later included in the book "The Understanding of Goethe" (Wen Jin Korean translation). Feng Zhi was commissioned to translate the Goethe group poem "The Four Seasons of China and Germany" quoted in this article as Chinese.
Wei Deming, because he and Feng Zhi are similar in age, may have more common languages with each other. One of the most important things Feng Zhi did when he was the Chinese officer of the Sino-German Society was to organize the publication of the Sino-German Cultural Series, "the Society and the Commercial Press have a contract to publish the Sino-German Cultural Series.". Feng Zhi went three afternoons a week, mainly to read the manuscripts." Wei Deming's important contribution was not only to "inherit his father's business", but also to continue to teach the I Ching to Germans in China in the winter of 1943 at the home of Wil helmHaas in Beiping. Although Wei Lixian had returned to the West in 1930, he had previously been translated into German by Cary F. Baynes (1883-1997), a very important and worth mentioning, because it was jung's disciple who she translated this German translation into English, making it the most popular and popular English translation of the I Ching in the English-speaking world.
Feng Zhi's intellectual formation process is undoubtedly interesting, and his interest in German-speaking poets makes us feel the sensitivity of poetry and thought to Germany and the world; and his "intimate contact" with the German sinology community provides him with a possible broad intellectual space. All of this is also closely related to the contextual factors of the time, such as the "German-Chinese" strategy of the German faculty of Peking University in the era of Cai Yuanpei, such as the formation of the Sino-German academic space in Beiping in the 1930s, and the inevitability of cultural transactions in the Sino-German cultural cause itself. In addition to the aforementioned Wei Lixian, Hong Taosheng also had a great influence on Feng Zhi. According to Yao Kekun's narration:
I also accompanied Feng Zhi to visit a teacher who lectured him on German literature at Peking University. The man's name was Hundhausen, and he was a deformed man. He was originally a lawyer and came to Beijing to handle a large inheritance left in China by a late German businessman. However, he fell in love with Chinese literature, and he cooperated with a classmate at Peking University to translate "The Tale of the West Chamber", "Peony Pavilion", Tao Yuanming poems and so on. Feng Zhi also helped him translate the Pipa Before going abroad. He lives alone on a small island called "Nanhe Bubble" outside Guang'an Gate, a few simple bungalows surrounded by verdant trees, and he lives a simple hermit-like life. To my surprise, he didn't keep any other birds, but he had an owl. The owl is an ominous bird in China and a symbol of wisdom in the West. When he came into town, he also came to sit in our house. Feng Zhi said that he chose Haidaishan University to study in Germany, which was what Hong Taosheng suggested to him. After the liberation of Peiping, he was sent back to China as a German overseas Chinese, and I heard that soon after he arrived in Germany, he seemed to be "unsatisfied with the soil and water" and died.
Vincenz Hundhausen (1878-1955) is also an unusual figure in the history of German sinology, but it cannot be ignored. He is somewhat similar to Kuhn and Chach, not purely academic, but known for his translations, especially adapted translations. But in the history of Chinese German disciplines, Hong Taosheng is indeed very important, Li Shuhua recalled Peking University, referring to two "Professors of German Literature Department: Yang Zhenwen (Bing Chen, concurrently director), Hundhouse", the latter of course referring to Hong Taosheng. I have pointed out that in the process of the development of the German Department of Peking University, there is a change from Ork to Hong Taosheng, that is, the process led by Germanics to sinologists. But in the final analysis, it is still the principle of academic priority, and it is precisely because German teachers like Heliwei cannot have enough academic background and authority as Olke that they give figures like Hong Taosheng a good opportunity to dominate the academic development of the German department to some extent.
Examining the process of friendship between Feng Zhi and German sinologists, we should perhaps note that one is the contextual factor, that is, in the Department of German Literature of Peking University, as an important academic educational institution, it has been able to have close contact with German sinology from the beginning, and this "teacher" factor will inevitably affect the interpersonal network and value orientation of the students; second, the configuration of the Sino-German academic space in Beiping provides convenient conditions for its further access to the circle of sinologists, which should especially mention the pioneering work of the Sino-German Society and its talent screening function; third, Feng Zhi's own individual factors are also important, which includes both the German complex in his nature and the consideration of family factors (such as staying in Beiping to take care of his father, etc.).
From a longer-term perspective, Feng Zhi, as an outstanding modern Chinese poet and the founder of Chinese Germanic studies, was formed in the fusion of knowledge in the dual dimension. First, Feng Zhi himself is the most outstanding lyric poet in modern Chinese literature, he is a person in the literary genealogy and a creator; second, Feng Zhi's overall cultivation of Sinology is good. Whether it is the discussion of Li Zhen or the future study of Du Fu, it shows his good traditional literary accomplishment. But I always feel that Feng Zhi should be regarded as an incomplete talent in the ancient articles, and he should have had a broader and grander academic future, and the problem may be that, first, he did not establish a pure scholar's academic stance and ethical consciousness, so although he had some understanding of German scholarship, he failed to "integrate body and mind" as deeply as Chen Yinke and others; second, he did not outline a feasible academic path to explore Sino-German culture and spirit, such as the relationship between Goethe and Chinese culture, which should be in-depth and borrowed." He has a very close academic feeling about Goethe, the poet's sensitive and perceptual path of intellectual history has played well, but the existing knowledge resources have not been fully exerted, and there is less of an academic red line consciousness; third, it lacks the proper discipline history consciousness, especially theoretical consciousness, from Feng Zhi's individual experience, he has a passion for the revitalization or development of German literature or Germanic studies, whether it is said or done, but this point is not expressed and implemented in academics, that is, articles and writings. In his later years, he realized his own problems, but never consciously combed the history of the discipline, which can be seen very clearly by comparing German sinology, and Flange and others have made many efforts to review the history of the discipline, and no matter how problematic Yan Fuli's combing is, they all have a relatively conscious sense of discipline history. (Ye Jun)