The name Gu Hongming is like a shining star in modern Chinese history. Born in 1857 in Penang, Malaysia, Koo's life was a showcase of cross-cultural exchange and personal talent. His father is an overseas Chinese and his mother is a Westerner, which has allowed him to integrate into multiculturalism from an early age. After being adopted by the British Browns at the age of ten, he returned to England with his adoptive parents and began a fourteen-year journey to study in Europe. Gu Hongming is not only proficient in multiple Chinese, but also obtained doctoral degrees in various disciplines. These experiences laid a solid foundation for his later academic and cultural activities.
Gu Hongming's life is an epic of cross-cultural integration. He began his academic career in Europe but found a sense of belonging in China. In Beijing, he gave his first lecture on Western philosophy and culture in English, and every lecture was packed, and his reputation quickly spread in Beijing, and he was known as "the indispensable Gu Hongming".
After a lecture, a Western scholar asked, "Mr. Koo, how do you see your identity?" Gu Hongming responded with a smile: "Although my skin is white, what flows in my heart is the water of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River." I am Chinese. ”
Gu Hongming's personal life is equally colorful. He retains the long braids of the Qing Dynasty, wears a robe, and wears a melon skin hat, which has a unique image. His outfit is quite eye-catching on the campus of Peking University, and many students complain about it, but Gu Hongming always responds with humor: "My braids are tangible, showing my respect for tradition; Your braids are in your hearts, swaying with the wind. ”
Although Koo's love for traditional culture is deeply rooted in his bones, his vision of modern society is quite forward-looking. He supported equality between men and women, arguing that women should not be seen as mere appendages of men. At a debate, he said passionately: "In the new era, women should have equal education and job opportunities with men. Only in this way can society truly progress. ”
Koo's family life is also full of drama. His wife, Shugu, was deeply respected and loved by him, despite following tradition. One night, Gu Hongming said leisurely: "Shugu's wisdom and courage are the stimulants of my life. Every moment I spent with her was a poem of my life. ”
Gu Hongming's life is a journey full of challenges and opportunities. He was not only a distinguished scholar, but also a cultural ambassador. In his later years, despite all the hardships, Koo never changed his love for culture. His two children, also influenced by it, chose the path of becoming monks, an extremely rare choice in society at the time, showing their ultimate interpretation of spiritual pursuits.
Gu Hongming's life is a broad picture that spans the East and the West. In him, we see the fusion and conflict of cultures, the interweaving of personal beliefs and social realities. He is not only a scholar who returns to the East with Western knowledge, but also a fighter for self-identity in the midst of multicultural exchange. In this era of rapid globalization, Koo's story reminds us that identity and cultural identity is not a process of passive acceptance, but a process of active construction. His life is a vivid footnote to the relentless search for balance and harmony between tradition and modernity, East and West, individual and society. In the story of Gu Hongming, we have witnessed the changes of an era and the profound journey of a soul.