Hu Baoguo, researcher at the Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1957-2023). Photography
I've never called him "the same old man," even though it's a name that has a lot of influence. Since the name of "will be the same" has become popular in the world, many younger generations and many peers have used the name of "same old". It seems that he never called me "Zi Lao". This title was given by Hou Xudong, and now many people are using it. Chen Shuang gave the nickname "Big Animal", which is not called by many people now. Maybe it's because when people get old, everyone will give some face.
1. "You can write better"
Bao Guoxing's writing is sharp, and sometimes it is also a little sarcastic and caustic. Friends who have read his "Going to Datong for a Meeting" and other articles will think of the objects of his ridicule included below. My deceased friend, Professor Liu Huazhu of the Department of History at Peking University, once said to me in person, his expression and words were too serious, as if he reproached me for being numb. In fact, between friends, you don't really have to care about this. After all, the embarrassment in the narrative plot does happen, and all kinds of details are said by themselves. And the objects of Baoguo's sarcasm are also Lao Leng, traffickers, barheads, monkeys, etc., who are more famous in the academic world. Another article "Lao Wang's Day", saying that "Lao Wang" and "new works came out" are "Young Officials in the Qin and Han Dynasties". Because I have a humble article "The Young Officials of the Two Hans" published in the 51st volume of "Literature and History", some people think that "Lao Wang" is talking about me. In fact, there are many deeds of "Lao Wang", and many of them have nothing to do with contemptible people at a glance. "Lao Wang's Day" and "Going to Datong for a Meeting" are both included in "Between Fiction and Reality" (Social Sciences Academic Press, 2011), which is a typical witty writing of Baoguo.
Baoguo's humorous self-deprecation is sometimes just as sharp and thorough, and everyone listens to it, only happiness. For example, he recalls that when he was studying in Japan, he turned on the TV to practice his listening. Just when the spirit of diligence was vigorous, I didn't want to be stopped by my sister-in-law: "You can turn it off." That's South Korea. ”
As far as academic judgment is concerned, Baoguo's vision is very high. But the way he criticizes seems to be mild. The humble book "Research on Regional Culture of the Qin and Han Dynasties" is the final result of the second National Social Science Foundation project "Research on Regional Culture of the Qin and Han Dynasties", published by Sichuan People's Publishing House in 1998. Xu Weimin's book review was published in the fourth issue of "Chinese History Research" in April 1999, Zang Zhifei's book review was published in the first issue of "Newsletter of the Chinese Qin and Han History Research Association" in January 2000, and the book news was published in "Wen Digest Daily" on June 3, 1999, and he won the third prize of the second Guo Moruo Chinese History Award in October 2002. But when it comes to Baoguo, his evaluation is obviously not high. However, his face-to-face criticism was only seven words: "You can write better." "This project was established in 1992, and the work attitude at that time was actually to strive to write better. As Baoguo's "Will Be the Same: A Collection of Research Papers on Medieval History" says in the "self-preface", it is "serious and attentive". When I applied for the project, I had the idea of studying Lu Yun's Cultural Geography of the Han and Jin Dynasties (Shaanxi People's Education Publishing House, 1991). Lu Yun's book, when he learned the news of its publication, he couldn't find it all over, and it happened that the editor in charge was Fa Xiaolu Xiaohong, and he was about to come to his only remaining book. The book was lost again, and I can't remember which student borrowed it, so I had to ask someone to buy an old book online. Lu Shu has inspired me, and I also think that I have innovated on the basis of it. But thinking about Baoguo's very measured judgment of "you can write better", I think it is appropriate. Later, I read Baoguo's article "'Historical Records' and 'Hanshu' Calligraphy and Changes in Regional Concepts", and I really admired his wisdom in history. Of course, this is the real academic harvest of the in-depth "Qin and Han regional cultural studies". Mr. Zhou Zhou Liang sent a letter to Mr. Hu Rulei, because of the sentence "giving birth to a child should be like Sun Zhongmou". For the other two papers of Baoguo, there is even more praise for "the unpublished review, which is very enjoyable to read, and has the style of Yin's old age, which is both blue and cross-cooked" ("Remembering the Good Teacher of Zhou", "Will Be the Same: A Collection of Research Papers on Medieval History", Zhonghua Book Company, 2020 edition, p. 386). Good articles on the theme of Baoguo, as well as "Ruying Famous Scholars in the Han and Jin Dynasties" and "The Transfer of the Political and Cultural Center of the Han Dynasty", are all included in his "Will Be the Same: A Collection of Research Papers on Medieval History".
Hu Baoguo is the author of two books: "Will Be the Same: A Collection of Research Papers on Medieval History" (Zhonghua Book Company, 2020) and The Development of Historiography in the Han and Tang Dynasties (Peking University Press, 2014).
Of course, Baoguo's contempt for some of my words, although I didn't express it in person, I could feel it tortiously. As soon as the text came out, it was thrown on the scales of evaluation with different scales, and you should not be paranoid to the extreme, thinking that your own things are absolutely good, and of course, you should not care too much about the criticism of others. I once read on the Internet that I was very harsh in criticizing clumsy writings, such as a collection of essays made up of multiple essays, and the phenomenon of repetition due to negligence. It is accurate and accurate. Professor Chen Wenhao of Changhua Normal University in Taiwan also pointed out the problem of clumsy writing in a hurry, resulting in many mistakes. It's a pity that it's not face-to-face criticism. I am ashamed to ask students to check for errors, often in the dozens, or even in the hundreds, of several of my books. In addition to technical negligence, there are often deficiencies in academic concepts, academic logic, academic methods, etc. I have personally experienced that in academic life, such as the "small" hidden under the leather robe" mentioned in Lu Xun's "A Little Thing", people who "teach me to be ashamed and urge me to reform myself" ("The Scream: A Little Thing", pages 482 and 483 of Lu Xun's Complete Works) are always inevitably exposed and need to be vigilant. "Research on Regional Culture of the Qin and Han Dynasties", published by the People's Publishing House in 2022, was published in the second series of the "People's Library". I have added some content, corrected some errors in the original book, and made up for the shortcomings. Some of the research experience after the first edition has also been fleshed out. When I did this work, I always thought of Baoguo's request to "write better". It's just that it's hard to say exactly how far it will end up.
Baoguo's ridicule will also spill over into the academic field and involve social phenomena. He wrote: "Last year, for some reason, a group of people began to recall the eighties of the last century very seriously. I also belong to that era, and as I get older, I often can't help but recall that era. There was a very famous song at the time: "Young Friends Come to Meet". The song sings: 'In another twenty years, we will meet again, how beautiful the great motherland will be, the sky will be new, the earth will be new, and the spring will be brighter. In recent years, every time there is a sandstorm in the spring, I will think of this song. (Appraisal Article, Between Fiction and Reality, p. 120)
While living in the western direction of Beijing, Baoguo went to work at the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Jianguomen, and often commuted by subway line 1. Once, when there were probably fewer passengers on the bus, he once looked at a girl in the seat opposite him and met with a white eye. Baoguo's self-deprecation said that the girl was not beautiful: "You don't know, in fact, I'm worried about you." "Another story about the city's transportation. During the SARS epidemic, there were few pedestrians on the streets, and I remember that Baoguo once said that there were no companions on the bus: "One dollar is a big one." ”
胡宝国与其父胡如雷（1926-1998）。 陈爽 | 供图
2. "What could be more important than happiness?"
Baoguo was born into a family of historians. Personally, I have deep respect for such academic origins and academic backgrounds. Some of our friends are from the same background, but not much about their own parents. Baoguo is different, and when talking or writing, he always talks about Mr. Hu Rulei nearby.
In the article "Father's Book", Baoguo talked about Mr. Hu Rulei's "Research on the Form of Chinese Feudal Society", which was "a sensation in the academic circles at that time". Baoguo does not need to use beautiful words, and his evaluation is very objective: "He spent many years of painstaking efforts and read a lot of books, not to mention historical materials, he carefully read "Capital" three times alone. However, since this book is about the characteristics of China's feudal society, it is inevitable that Chinese history will be widely compared with foreign history. To conduct this kind of research, the author had to have a very in-depth understanding and study of foreign history, which he did not have at the time. In addition, the book is coherent, covering a long historical period from the Warring States period to the Ming and Qing dynasties, although he has taught the general history of China many times in the university, but after all, he does not have the same extensive knowledge of general history as Qian Mu and other scholars of the older generation, so I am honestly always skeptical about how much this book is correct and how high its value is. But in any case, for him, researching the issues he is interested in is a joyful journey after all. Putting aside all solemn and grandiose reasons, what could be more important to the individual researcher than happiness?"
Looking back on Baoguo's words and deeds, it seems that the word "happy" can be used to describe the microclimate around him, and "happiness" seems to be the background color of his spiritual life. In his reminiscences of Mr. Hu Rulei, Baoguo also wrote: "After 1949, he often performed well at critical moments. In the later period of the Cultural Revolution, when he was "criticizing the law and criticizing Confucianism", a magazine asked him to write a signed article. He refused, and wrote to tell people that he would not write several of his 'don'ts', such as not writing articles that did not conform to historical facts, not writing articles that did not conform to historical materialism, not writing articles that did not conform to his own wishes, and so on. Because he didn't write, he lost a chance to become popular, and because he didn't write, after the end of the 'Cultural Revolution', he didn't have any problems and lived happily. The so-called "joy" can be understood in contrast to "happiness". In the "self-preface" of "Between Fiction and Reality", he said that "just writing and playing, just trying to have fun", and "pursuing pleasure", which is roughly the same meaning. The so-called "happiness" of Baoguo reflects the true love for academic life. This kind of true love, of course, is based on deep understanding. When I read this passage about "not writing", I remembered that when I was a student, Mr. Zhao Lisheng came to Northwest University to give a lecture and participated in a discussion with Mr. Zhao Lisheng. ”
Baoguo wrote in the article "Hot Pot": "My father has a strong ability to imitate...... He will also use Shandong dialect to say the words of Confucius in the Analects. Confucius said to Yan Hui: 'You eat in a basket, drink water in a scoop, and there is no door in the three broken rooms, and everyone sheds tears for you, you still don't take it seriously, Hui'er, Hui'er, you are really a good person!'" (Between Reality and Fiction, p. 135) When Baoguo retold this passage to us, he said it in a pure Shandong accent. The famous sentence in the Analects of Yongye, which is regarded by Confucianism as a moral yardstick: "Virtuous, Hui Ye! A spoonful of food, a scoop of drink, in the alleys, people are unbearable, and they will not change their pleasures." Virtuous, Hui Ye!" was expressed in such a vivid way, and the distance between us and the old-timers was shortened at once. I remember that Zibaoguo said this paragraph more than once. However, when I "went to Datong for a meeting", I visited the Yungang Grottoes with my friend Zhao Ruimin, the Department of Archaeology of Shanxi University. Probably because people don't know each other well and are a little shy.
From left: Jing Shuhui, Hu Baoguo, Wang Zijin, Hou Xudong. August 2006 at Tianchi, Changbai Mountain. Chen Shuang ||
3. "I want to write something more"
When writing this short article, look back at the text message conversation with Baoguo from 11:36 on August 18, 2019:
"Thank you, old man, for your greetings. I was uncomfortable just now, lying down and falling asleep, and my voice was hoarse, so I didn't say much. This illness came suddenly, but it was also reasonable. Deserve. Wu Ningkun said: 'I returned, I suffered, I survived. I am: I smoke, I suffer, I deserve to die. My brother doesn't smoke, prostitute, or gamble, but he must control his drinking! Since he got sick, Little Bear has been a great help to me, and he is really a good boy. Thank you, thank you!" We're all waiting to read your good article. Listen to your admonition and be careful when drinking. Now the density is too great. ”
"Thank you! I don't have a good article, you have density. Hahaha!"
The "little bear" mentioned here is my student, Xiong Changyun of the Palace Museum. In the future, I will contact Baoguo on WeChat. For a while, I often sent him some jokes or funny videos, some of which were so-called "hilarious talk shows", hoping that he would relax and be happy. He replied "haha" "hahaha" and I was happy because of it. On March 25, 2022, in order to congratulate Brother Xu Jun of Chung Hwa Book Company, I invited him to the party. Baoguo replied: "Thank you." But I still won't go. Not good lately. Tired. High blood sugar, hypothyroidism. "Actually, I was supposed to go, Xu Jun was too good to me. Nothing to ask for from me. "He's a good person. Both ability and political integrity. I told Baoguo: "We have also canceled it." I'll make another appointment after April 6th, and maybe you'll be able to come. "The reason for the cancellation may be the recurrence of the epidemic. Another time, on July 31, 2022, it was issued: "For Professor Xu Jun's retirement and application for Shandong University, there will be a small gathering at 18 o'clock on August 1." Please reply when you receive it. Please pay attention to the nucleic acid report date. Thank you today. "Recalling that time, I probably discussed it with Xu Jun and other friends, and it seems that he said a few days ago that he could go out for a short walk. Everyone wants to see him. However, the intention was still unsuccessful. Baoguo replied: "During chemotherapy, puncture causes pneumothorax. Here's what the day's WeChat conversation was after: "Take care!" "Thank you for thinking of me!" "If you need any help, just ask, you're welcome." "Thanks Big Brother!"
In 2008, Hu Baoguo took a photo in the Social History Research Office of the Institute of History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Dingyizhuang | photography
In March 2022, I made an appointment with Baoguo but did not get together, which is almost two years since today. In November of that year, I also had a heart attack. Over the years, how many relatives and friends have left. Volume 742 of the Taiping Yulan quoted "Emperor Wen of Wei to Wu Qianshu" and wrote: "In the past, there were many epidemics and disasters. Cao Zhi's "Speaking of Epidemic Qi" said that many people's "zombie pain" and "crying sorrow", pointed out that "this is the misalignment of yin and yang, and the wrong time for cold and summer". Baoguo left everyone, in fact, the "epidemic" has come to an end. Now that it is an anniversary, I am looking back at the relevant WeChat texts sent by several friends on my mobile phone. One youth editor wrote: "...... In fact, Tong Lao finally left very suddenly, originally on the 9th, he also made an appointment with experts from the Third Hospital of Beijing Medical University, and Tong Lao also said that if the medicine works this time, he wants to write something more. I didn't expect to have a sudden fever on Wednesday, and it was not good in the evening, and I didn't have time to transfer to the upstairs ward on Thursday, so I left. The cause should be a lung infection. "It's sad to read, so sad that I can't help but cry. The words "I want to write something more" seem to have an indescribable weight, like the night wind beating on the north window, knocking on our hearts.
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Editor-in-charge: Liu Xiaolei