On Panyu Road in Shanghai, there was a famous library, the full name of which was "Haiguang Library of Western Thought". There are very few historical materials about it, and when I consulted the archives, I found that the Existence of Haiguang Library was inextricably linked to Fudan University. A case file from the early liberation of Shanghai shows that three of Haiguang's four patrons are from Fudan, namely Zhang Zhirang (chairman of the school council), Pan Zhenya (dean of the law school) and Mr. Zhou Gucheng (provost); and back to the founding of Haiguang, the presiding officer Mr. Lin Tongji and the three wenshi zhe compilers (researchers) Lin Tongqi, Zhang Yintong and Jiang Kongyang are almost all related to Fudan... This phenomenon surprised and intrigued me.
Lin Tongji: You might as well start a library
Lin Tongji (1906-1980) was a well-known scholar who, from 1942 onwards, served as a professor in the Department of Politics and the Department of Foreign Languages in Fudan. According to Mr. Lu Gusun, who listened to his lectures in the 1950s, "Lin Tongji stepped onto the podium, and as soon as the 'golden mouth' opened, he immediately won the applause of the students; the small class that he did not teach also went to the leadership of the department to 'compete' for Lin Tongji." (Lu Gusun, "Autumn Wind And Sorrowful Leaves--Remembering The Master")
Born into a prominent family in Fuzhou, Lin graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1934 with a doctorate in political science and returned to China in the same year. After the August 13 Incident in 1937, he went to Kunming to teach at Yunnan University. In 1940, together with Chen Quan, Lei Haizong, He Lin and others, he founded the semi-monthly magazine "Warring States Policy" in Kunming, and became the core figure of the famous "Warring States Policy School", and the famous scholars Zhu Guangqian, Pan Guangdan, Fei Xiaotong and Shen Congwen were all contributors to the "Warring States Policy".
Lin Tongji
In the summer of 1942, Lin Tongji moved from Kunming to Chongqing and taught in the Department of Politics of Fudan in Beibei. At the same time, his family also became acquainted with Fudan: his father Lin Dingzhang taught civil law in the law department, his sister Lin Tongduan served as an assistant teacher in the department of foreign languages, and his younger brother Lin Tongqi studied in the department of history and geography. My father asked someone to build a two-story house in Beibei, where the family settled. Sometimes, Lin Tongji gives a speech in Fudan, and the brothers and sisters will go to observe. Many years later, Lin Tongqi, who was already a researcher at Harvard University, recalled his life in Beibei with great emotion: "My father made a very clever decision. (Lin Tongqi, "Lin Family Style")
It was during his time in Chongqing that Lin Tongji and the famous banker Mr. Chen Guangfu saw each other as they were. Chen Guangfu is the chairman and general manager of Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank (hereinafter referred to as "Bank of Shanghai"), an avid reader and has many contacts with cultural people. Lin Tongji suggested to him that he might as well set up a library dedicated to western literature, history and philosophy. After Chen Guangfu listened, he promised to fully fund it, and there was no funding limit. From this, the "Haiguang Library of Western Thought" came into being (it is said that the term "Haiguang" is derived from the name of the Bank of Shanghai and Chen Guangfu).
Chen Guangfu
In May 1945, Lin Tongji was invited to the United States for academic exchange and taught at Oakland Mills College (and later as a visiting professor at Stanford University). In 1947, he traveled to Europe, visiting famous scholars and writers from all over the world (such as Croce in Italy, Sartre in France, and Lasky in England), and traveled extensively for the establishment of libraries and for academic and financial patronage. In early 1948, he returned to China and continued to teach in the Department of Politics of Fudan.
In June 1948, the "Haiguang Western Thought Library" was officially opened at No. 16, Lane 209, Panyu Road, which was originally a bungalow purchased by the Bank of Shanghai for Chen Guangfu, with a large garden in front of the house, green trees and an elegant environment. Lin Tongji served as the managing director of Haiguang and actually exercised the position of curator. He was ambitious and purchased more than 10,000 books at home and abroad, many of which were the original works of foreign thinkers and writers; at the same time, he invited famous artists to hold lectures and carry out academic research, and cultural celebrities such as Hu Shi, Ba Jin, Zhou Gucheng, Zhou Yutong, Huang Zuolin, Fu Lei, Li Jianwu, Wang Zaoshi and Xiong Shili all left footprints in Haiguang. According to Mr. Gu Jiegang's account, after he settled on Wukang Road in 1949, he visited Haiguang, and Lin Tongji not only accompanied him to "visit the whole library", but also "instructed him to read and write at the Haiguang Library, which is very quiet, and the Bank of Shanghai provides food, but can work in the town..." ("Gu Jiegang Diary", 1949.10.13.) Later, many of Gu Jiegang's "ancient history identification" papers were completed in Haiguang.
In 1952, due to the public-private partnership, Haiguang was closed and the books in the collection were included in the Shanghai Municipal People's Library. After the reform and opening up, Lin Tongji actively called for the preparation of a Shakespeare library. On August 14, 1980, Comrade Hu Yaobang cordially met with Lin Tongji.
Lin Tongqi: Leave a red mark
When Haiguang was founded, there were three compilations of Wen Shizhe. Philosophical compilation was Lin Tongqi (1923-2015), then an assistant professor of Fudan History and Geography, who was lin Tongji's youngest brother, and the difference between the two was 17 years.
Lin Tongqi studied in the Department of Chemical Engineering of Chongqing Central University in 1941, but was influenced by Lin Tongji and favored Wen Shizhe. In 1943, he transferred to the Fudan History and Geography Department and lived with Lin Tongji in Beibei. According to Lin Tongqi, "I lived on the second floor with Tongji. The relationship between him and me was like a mentor and a student. He asked me to make a study plan, starting with Western history and then continuing with the history of Western philosophy. After graduating in 1946, Lin Tongqi originally planned to go to the University of California for graduate school, but Lin Tongji, who was in the United States, wrote to say that he would return to Shanghai to start a library. Therefore, Lin Tongqi chose to stay in the Department of History and Geography to teach, and together with his brother to organize Haiguang.
Regarding Lin Tongqi staying on as a teacher, Mr. Jin Chongji told me: "When I was admitted to Fudan in 1947, there were no lecturers in the Department of History and Geography except professors, only two assistant teachers, one was Min Yuming, and the other was Lin Tongqi. Mr. Hu Shengwu, who graduated from the Department of History and Geography in 1948, recalled: "Originally, the general history of China should be taught by assistant teacher Lin Tongqi, but his brother Lin Tongji ran a Haiguang Library, and he went to the library to be a researcher, and there was no one to teach the general history of China, so he recommended me..."
Lin Tongji (left) and Lin Tongqi (right) in Beijing with their mother in 1959
As early as when he was studying in Fudan, Lin Tongqi was inclined to progress. There was a progressive group in the Department of History and Geography, with participants including Zhang Yintong, Guo Haichang, Wang Xiaoren, Ji Fan, Jin Benfu and Zhang Yongchang (many of whom later joined the underground Communist Party), with Lin Tongqi as one of the members. Mr. Geng Yong remembers that soon after Lin Tongqi stayed at the school, he entrusted him to invite the progressive poet Hu Feng to Fudan to give a speech. At that time, Marne's classic works were "forbidden books", and Lin Tongqi often secretly read and shared them with his friends. Mr. Shang Ding, who was Huang Yanpei's secretary, recalled: "I first read with Geng Yong and Lin Tongqi, who was a graduate student of Wu Qingyou at the Xuanhuai Institute of Economics, lin Tongqi was an assistant professor at Fudan University, and he also borrowed the original version of Capital from the Haiguang Library where his brother Lin Tongji was also the director. (Shang Ding," "Reading the Book")
Lin Tongqi's public identity is a philosophical compilation, and he is actually a member of the "Ivy Spring Society", a peripheral organization of the underground party, and carries out activities under the leadership of the Zhabei underground party. Because of this, Haiguang once became a stronghold of underground party activities. Underground party members Chen Shangfan, Li Zhongfa, Chen Bing'en, Wu Qiang, and Yu Kaixiang often listened to Yan'an radio and mimeographed secret publications in Haiguang. On May 14, 1949, the Kuomintang military and police raided Haiguang, calling someone "a bandit", and Lin Tongji, Jiang Kongyang and others who were in the museum were arrested (because there was no solid evidence, they were released a week later), and Lin Tongqi was spared because he was not in the museum at that time.
Zhang Yintong: a "mysterious person"
Zhang Yintong (1917-1998), a historian of Haiguang, was also a Fudan native. He graduated from the Department of History and Geography in December 1943 and served as the Registrar of the School's Academic Affairs Department. In the early 1980s, Zhang Yintong taught "South Asian History" and "Southeast Asian History" courses for our history department, which were very popular with students, and I still remember his tone of voice in class.
Zhang Yintong is two times taller than Lin Tongqi. When he was studying in the Department of History and Geography, he had close relations with progressive students such as Lin Tongqi and Ji Fan, and was the "eldest brother" among the members of the progressive group of the Department of History and Geography. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, Zhang Yintong returned to Shanghai and participated in underground anti-Chiang Kai-shek activities in the Shanghai Democratic League. His public occupation after his return to Shanghai is unknown, but in May 1948, he participated in the preparation of Haiguang.
Zhang Yintong graduation photo (Fudan Archives Collection)
How did Zhang Yintong come to work in Haiguang? According to Ji Huan, "His family lived in Yangshupu, and the house was his father's inheritance. His family lived upstairs, and downstairs was rented to Professor Lin Tongji and his American wife. Here, it needs to be explained that Lin Tongji divorced his American wife, Dynan Gray, as early as 1942, and lived in No. 7 Xuhui Village (now Fudan's second dormitory) after returning to Shanghai with Fudan demobilization in 1946. In 1948, when Denan came to China as a United Nations official, Lin Tongji lived with her in a rented house — a house that ji ji called the "downstairs" of Zhang Yintong's house. According to my analysis, due to lin tongqi's relationship and the landlord of Lin Tongji, Zhang Yintong was soon able to appear in Haiguang.
Although Zhang Yintong is a historical compiler, according to Jiang Kongyang, he is mainly responsible for the "trivial matters" of the library, "When Mr. Zhang is in charge of these things, he does not translate, and he does not have to do the work of the research department." (Jiang Kongyang to Pu Zhizhen Letter, June 18, 1948) Zhang Yintong was not in Haiguang for a long time, and within a year, he took a leave of absence and left. On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai in 1949, Jiang Kongyang wrote to his new wife Pu Zhizhen: "Mr. Zhang went home" and "Mr. Zhang was absent recently, and the store management in the museum was temporarily represented by me" (Jiang Kongyang to Pu Zhizhen, 1949.4.30; 5.3.). Therefore, when the Kuomintang military police raided Haiguang on May 14, Zhang Yintong was not in the museum.
Where did Zhang Yintong go? This is a mystery. To this end, I once consulted Mr. Jin Chong and mr. Jin Chong, who told me that Zhang Yintong was a "mysterious figure", "In the early 50s, I was the deputy director of the Academic Affairs Department in Fudan, and there was also a period when I suddenly found that Mr. Zhang Yintong was missing, and where he went has always been elusive..." Regarding Zhang Yintong's life and whereabouts, I have explored in another article and will not expand here - but as one of the Fudan people when Haiguang was founded, he has a case.
Jiang Kongyang: From sea light to aesthetics
Jiang Kongyang (1923-1999), a member of the Haiguang Literary Compilation, became a Fudan native after leaving Haiguang (he taught in Fudan in November 1951), but as early as the early 1940s, he had an indissoluble relationship with Fudan.
Jiang Kongyang is the same age as Lin Tongqi. In 1941, he was admitted to the Department of Economics of Chongqing Central Political School. It was a school for the Kuomintang to train cadres (Chiang Kai-shek was also the principal), and the school conditions were good, but the political atmosphere was depressing. A few years ago, I visited Professor Yu Kaixiang, who also studied at the Central Political School, and was expelled from the school because he was dissatisfied with the Kuomintang's "party-oriented education" (I remember that on the day of the visit, Mr. Yu was still indignant when he talked about his "removal"). After Yu Kaixiang left, he was admitted to Beibei Fudan. As Yu Kaixiang's classmate and friend, Jiang Kongyang often went to Beibei to play, felt that Fudan's democratic atmosphere was strong, and once wanted to transfer to Fudan, but for various reasons did not succeed.
Jiang Kongyang in his youth
Through Yu Kaixiang, Jiang Kongyang met Lin Tongqi, a student in Fudan, and then met his brother Lin Tongji. Like Lin Tongqi, Jiang Kongyang is not interested in his profession and loves the humanities. The literary, historical and philosophical articles he wrote were appreciated by Lin Tongji. Later, when Lin Tongji founded Haiguang, he thought of Jiang Kongyang and invited him to serve as a literary compiler, and Jiang Kongyang resolutely resigned from the high-paying position in the bank and came to take up his post. As soon as he arrived at Haiguang, he wrote to his girlfriend Pu Zhizhen: "Mr. Lin is very kind to us... The other two researchers here, one surnamed Zhang, one is Mr. Lin's younger brother, they are all good people... I had to learn from them from scratch. They didn't delay much, they read more books than I did, and their language skills were better than mine, so I had to work harder! (Letter from Jiang Kongyang to Pu zhizhen, May 26, 1948)
In Haiguang, Jiang Kongyang accompanied Lin Tongqi to participate in the "Ivy Club" activities, while teaching himself English under the guidance of Lin Tongji, according to Pu Zhizhen's recollection, "Mr. Lin asked him to translate and write articles in English, and then change them for him." After the liberation of Shanghai, as Lin Tongji's right-hand man, Jiang Kongyang once acted as the curator of Haiguang, and founded the magazine Haiguang Shuxun and translated the "Commentary of Balzac". Immersed in a sea of rich books, his academic literacy and foreign language skills have greatly improved. For this reason, Jiang Kongyang is full of gratitude to Lin Tongji. In his later years, he said affectionately that what Mr. Lin said to him at that time was like "knife carving" and "lightning", which he had always remembered: "Mr. Lin, from the temperament point of view, is aesthetic. He is open-minded, knowledgeable and has a high level of appreciation. (Jiang Kongyang, "Me and Aesthetics")
In December 1948, Jiang Kongyang and Pu Zhizhen married in Shanghai
In Haiguang, the famous professor's method of governance also had an impact on Jiang Kongyang. When Gu Jie first came to read and write, Jiang Kongyang saw that he remembered the notes in such detail, so diligently and seriously, and from then on he began to take notes seriously. Once, when Zhou Gucheng came to Haiguang and mentioned the General History of the World to Jiang Kongyang, he said in a serious tone that the study of Chinese history "must not only connect ancient and modern, but also connect East and West", and he was deeply inspired. It can be said that later Jiang Kongyang became a famous aesthetic theorist, and the influence of Haiguang was indispensable.
The Haiguang Library existed for a short time (1948-1952), but it spanned before and after the liberation of Shanghai, and experienced changes in the times. In the brilliant starry sky of Shanghai's cultural history, the sea light is just a shooting star, shining brightly and fleetingly. However, in a dazzling moment, people saw a famous university, a group of scholars who greeted the light.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Huang Wei Text Editor: Xu Yunqian Title Image Source: The photo of this article is provided by the author
Source: Author: Reading Shi Lao Zhang