Some time ago, he participated in the "Ge Xiaojia Outstanding Paper Award" of Sichuan University, and was asked to explain the origin of this award. I quoted Ge Xiaojia's famous paper on the relationship between nature and nurture (Ge Wen, published in the American Journal of Developmental Psychology, is considered to have opened up a new research direction and has become a classic paper in that field). Actually, I don't know much about the content of the article, but I just use its title to "talk about things".
The so-called nature, or nature or essence, seems to be innate, difficult to change, but not impossible to improve. Mencius once said that people are different from beasts. The reason why human beings are human is because they make unremitting efforts to improve our innate nature, unlike animals, which are basically driven by instinct (of course, documentaries such as "Animal World" often give scientific explanations for the "bestiality" of animals, as if all actions are for reproduction with eugenic effects).
Eugenics has led to racial discrimination and brought disaster to humanity. Nowadays, foreigners pay the most attention to the so-called "political correctness" when they speak, so they talk about geniuses to avoid discrimination. However, in the past, the "genius theory" was quite popular, and Chang Naiyu made it clear that the "greatness of literature depends entirely on whether the author's personal feelings are great". In the same way, "those who must have great vitality must be great historians." In this way, people will now say less, or not at all.
Li Ji also believes that the same professionally trained scholars may have a very different perspective on problems and materials, and some people "can solve some basic problems in a short period of time," while others "may only be able to solve minor problems in their lifetime." And this difference "has less to do with scientific training, and most of it has its roots in individual wisdom." The "individuality" of this wisdom seems to be a bit of a talent, but it is actually related to the comprehensive cultivation of ordinary people. Gai Liji once told Fu Sinian that the first condition for becoming a scientific archaeologist is that "there must be problems". And this has nothing to do with professional training, "it is completely the result of personal academic cultivation, not those who are incompetent".
Nowadays, everyone pays attention to "academic correctness", so teachers don't dare to talk about talent, in fact, there is no denying it. In terms of historiography, there is indeed a side to the management of history that relies on talent and intuition. Whether the so-called "sense of history" is good or not is different from person to person. However, this capacity is developable. Just like swimming, some people have a good "sense of water", and such people are more likely to progress to the level of "wateriness", but swimming is something that everyone can learn, not only will they never forget it after learning it, but they can also gradually improve their "water nature". Cognition may rely more on understanding, while academic ability can be trained and cultivated by accumulation.
Academic ability directly affects all aspects of "research", which is very important. However, it should be remembered that academic ability includes professional training, but it is not limited to the narrow sense of "professional" field. Chen Shan, a Song man, said: "Reading must know the entry and exit methods, and you should always seek to get in, and finally you should seek to get out." Seeing kindness is into calligraphy, and using it thoroughly is out of calligraphy. If you can't put it into the book, you don't know what the ancients wanted, and if you can't publish it, you will die under the words. ("The New Words of the Lice Cut")
Mr. Wu Tianqi has tried to be in and out of politics and academics, and he believes that this method is not only applicable to reading, but also to politics. To engage in politics, we must first seek entry if we do not adapt to the environment and conform to reality; but if we enter but do not get out, the deeper we fall, the deeper we fall, we will become a politician; and if we can get out of politics, we can become a politician. The difference between the two is reflected in self-cultivation. A good politician will practice the principle of "adapting to transforming" in order to break down the gap between reality and ideals, dissolve their contradictions, and link the two into one. In the early days, it is advisable to "take advantage of the weaknesses of reality in order to increase one's own strength in order to achieve success, but in the end it is to converge and try to establish political ideals in order to stabilize society and consolidate the basis of its rule."
As Mr. Wu said: "No matter what kind of 'home' is successful, the essential quality is of course the minimum condition that goes without saying. With the essence of goodness, the second step must be coupled with sufficient effort, which is related to self-cultivation. And educated politicians, no matter how they respond to the times, cannot lose their fundamental stance. This is true of politics, and so is learning. At the beginning of the entry, it is mainly acceptable, but it is not blindly followed, but also has some critical attitude; after entering and leaving, it is necessary to develop one's own independent thinking, in order to become great.
Temperament is important to anyone. But no matter where we come from, upbringing can be transformative. The so-called religion of the ancients is to change people. Mencius said that "those who have perseverance without permanent property are only able to do so", which can best demonstrate the change of education to people. The difference between people and birds is more cherished by the educated, that is, Mencius's so-called "the common people go to it, and the gentleman survives". However, after being educated and changed, we can not forget ourselves and the place where we have been raised, or we can have both nature and strengths. Sichuan University set up the "Ge Xiaojia Outstanding Paper Award", which has the idea of this aspect, and the book is shared with those who are willing to be the corporal of the world.
(Author's note: This article was written after participating in the "Ge Xiaojia Outstanding Paper Award" of Sichuan University in 2013, and the "Origin of Ge Xiaojia Outstanding Paper Award" stated at that time is attached so that readers can better understand the reasons for their clumsiness)
Appendix: Origin of Ge Xiaojia's Outstanding Paper Award
Some of the people here today come from far away, and some may have little to do with history, but they came together because of Ge Xiaojia. Participating in this award, the mood is mixed. However, the state of mind of the individual is a private matter. What I would like to share with you is the hope that I see in academic legacy.
This Outstanding Paper Award is to encourage students who are serious about their studies, and to let everyone know what kind of seniors we have had, so as to commemorate an outstanding alumnus of the department.
Ge Xiaojia is an outstanding student in the seventh and seventh grades of the history department - in my personal opinion, he is the best student, and there is no "one" behind him. He is a native of Fujian, and he seems to have been born in Beijing, but he was admitted from Guizhou. used to dig coal in coal mines, and is good at sports (especially good at playing football), likes music, and Liang Qichao's sarcastic "appetite" is the characteristic of a scholar. In short, he is an ordinary person who everyone is willing to make friends. Of course, he is also very talented, able to endure hardships in reading, good at comprehension, solid basic skills, and good at ancient Chinese and foreign languages.
Focusing on basic skills based on language ability was the style of study in the Department of History of Sichuan University. At the same time, the Department of History of Sichuan University is a place with an open academic style, where teachers not only train people for one school and one major, but also open their horizons to educate people for the times, society and the world. At least one of the characteristics of the seventh-level style of study is that it has a broad vision and an open mind. Although I am good in this industry, most of the students who studied abroad have changed careers. Not only did Xiao Jia study sociology and turn to psychology, Huo Datong also studied psychoanalysis, and Dai Sijie entered the famous Paris Film School to study directing. Whatever major you study, you can teach anything, and there are only one or two people.
These transferees can still maintain excellence in the new direction, and Ge Xiaojia is the best example. Xiao Jia is an extremely smart person, and the discipline seems to have no restrictions on him, but he borrows more. He studied history in the Ming and Qing dynasties, changed his master's degree in Taiwanese history, and studied sociology and anthropology with a Ph.D. After graduation, he engaged in psychology research, and soon became known for frequently publishing important papers in top psychology journals. A few years ago, he served as the executive chairman of the International Congress of Psychology, which is not a recognition that ordinary scholars can achieve.
I think this is because the Department of History at Sichuan University teaches not only knowledge, but also not only the knowledge of history, but also how to manage what students learn and do what they do to be as good as possible. At that time, the academic style of the Department of History of Sichuan University was to encourage students to be both high-level and down-to-earth, with high eyes and not low hands, so that they could quickly enter unfamiliar fields.
一九九六年，也就是他进入心理学领域后两三年，葛小佳在《发展心理学》（Developmental Psychology）上发表“The Developmental Interface Between Nature and Nurture：A Mutual Influence Model of Child Antisocial Behavior and Parent Behavior”一文，产生很大的影响，被认为开拓了一个新的研究方向，誉为理论与研究结合的典范。 该文被简称为“Nature and Nurture”，现已成为那一领域不能不提的经典论文，引用达数百次。
Nature is important, but no matter where you come from, you can be changed, and after you change, you must not forget yourself and where you came from. The idea of this dissertation award also has this meaning.
Although Ge Xiaojia changed careers, he did not forget historiography. In the "East Wind and West Wind" received by today's winners, there are many historical book reviews written by Xiao Jia, most of which are the first time to introduce new achievements overseas. This book was published and donated by the Social Sciences Academic Press, and future winners will receive it at the same time. We would like to express our special thanks to the Social Sciences Academic Press! The establishment of this award has received attention and support from many quarters, and we are very touched by the fact that quite a number of people have expressed their willingness to donate large sums of money! However, in the end, we did not accept external donations. The source of the bonus is mainly the remuneration of Ge Xiaojia himself, teacher Ge Zhaoguang and others. Therefore, the amount of the prize money is not high, and it is only hoped that it will be an honorary encouragement that can be written on the resume of the winner.
Many years ago, when I was a graduate student in the United States, I won a dissertation award named after my senior. The prize money is not high, 50 dollars, and judging from the level that people like to flaunt today, it is only a "departmental award", which is really not enough. But for a foreign student, it's a great encouragement and a pretty warm memory. I sincerely hope that today's award-winning students will have similar memories as me in the future.
Source: "The Tao is Outside"