Portrait of Hu Xianhua (1894~1968).
Mr. Hu Xianhua is an internationally renowned botanist in modern and contemporary China and one of the founders of modern Plant Taxonomy in China. At the beginning of the last century, together with Mei Guangdi, Wu Mi and others, he founded the magazine "Xueheng". As a defender of traditional culture, he vigorously opposed the new cultural movement and engaged in fierce polemics with Hu Shi. After studying botany in the United States, he returned to China and taught at nangao normal university, southeast university and other universities, and in the early 1940s, he was the first president of national Chiang Cheng University. He participated in the creation of the Beiping Biological Survey Institute, the Lushan Forest Botanical Garden, and the Yunnan Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Botany, and attracted the attention of the Nationalist government for his great achievements in the field of botany. Hu Xianhua actively offered suggestions and suggestions for the central government and talked freely with Chiang Kai-shek about the reform of political, economic, educational, and construction undertakings. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he and his colleagues discovered and named a new species of living fossil Metasequoia. In 1948, he was elected as the first academician of the Academia Sinica. For the sake of China's botany, he chose to stay in New China when the situation changed dramatically. In 1950, he proposed a multiplicity system of angiosperms, which is still recognized by the world.
However, in the 1950s, when the members of the Faculty were selected, Hu Xianhua was ultimately defeated. He pointed out the errors in the popular Lysenko species theory, which Soviet experts seriously protested, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences was pressured to criticize Hu Xianhua. Professor Xie Yong commented: "For the election of the faculty members in 1955, Hu Xianhua's defeat was not his personal shame, but the shame of this system. ”
After that, Hu Xianhua was really "forgotten", and at the 50th anniversary of the Botanical Society of China in 1983, when the president commemorated the predecessor of Yanlu Lanyi, he did not mention the name of Hu Xianhua, one of the founders of the society and the second president.
In 2016, the goddess of luck took care of me, so that I received a number of pieces of Mr. Hu Xianhua's precious materials in a year. This year, July 16 marks the 50th anniversary of his death. These encounters are recorded here as a souvenir.
Manuscript of "The Transformation of the Chinese Nation"
Chapter II of the manuscript of "The Transformation of the Chinese Nation"
A set of fragmented manuscripts, the first few pages of each chapter are either in tatters or missing, with no titles or no payments, and unfamiliar handwriting. Who is the author? Clues are hard to find. Perhaps for the veteran seller, this is just a very ordinary Republic of China manuscript in the hand-held materials - in fact, the seller is also described in this general way, but with a few chapters of caption photos attached. In hindsight, there were still a few book lovers with a keen sense of smell who carefully read the contents of the manuscript and verified the author, although the answer was on the seventeenth page of the search engine.
The author of this manuscript is None other than Mr. Hu Xianhua, and the name of the article is the extremely bold "Transformation of the Chinese Nation". The comparative bibliography is completely consistent with the handwriting of the manuscript, and there is no doubt that this is a political treatise of Hu Xianhua. Next, it's all about money, patience, courage, and luck.
The auction, which was supposed to end at 9:21 p.m., because of the competition from the big boss of the old book network, there were many book lovers who "insisted that Qingshan would not relax", and it took four hours to end. I smoked a whole pack of cigarettes, gritted my teeth and bid more than a hundred and twenty times, and finally won.
After the fundraising payment, began to anxiously wait for the receipt of the goods. Honest sellers quickly fulfill the contract and send it out. After receiving the courier the next day, I carefully sorted it out and found that the manuscript of more than 120 pages actually had a total of six chapters, of which the fifth chapter was more modified and accompanied by a transcript copied by others. The first four chapters of the manuscript were published in the second issue of Dragon and Phoenix magazine founded by Huang Pingsun in 1945, and later, according to Mr. Hu Zonggang, an expert on Hu Xianhua, the fifth and sixth chapters were actually published in the second issue of the ninth volume of "Cultural Pioneers" edited by Zhang Daofan in July 1948.
Comparing the content, it can be seen that the manuscript bid for this manuscript should be the manuscript of the article of the year, which is almost the same as the content of the publication, and the individual different words may be mistakenly planted during typography. Here are a few examples, and the difference between the two is in parenthesis:
Publication: "Create a new world culture that is superior and more splendid to lead the world?" Manuscript: "Another Creation of a New World Culture that Is Superior and More Brilliant to Lead the World?" ”
Publications: "Every people has its own peculiar form and the culture it has created", Manuscript: Every people has its own unique form and the culture it has created (created)."
Publications: "The pedigree is complex and culturally diverse. Is the result of this mix of nationalities and cultures beneficial? Harmful? Manuscript: "The lineage is both (extremely) complex and culturally diverse. Is the result of such a mixture of nationalities and cultures beneficial? Harmful? ”
"Dragon phoenix" magazine published an introduction to "The Transformation of the Chinese Nation"
The chapters of this set of manuscripts are titled as follows:
(2) The formation of the Chinese nation and its characteristics and achievements
(3) The prosperity of the Chinese nation and its weakness and rejuvenation
(4) The influence of ethnic mixing on the Chinese nation
(5) The political and economic influence of the feudal system and the county system on the Chinese nation
(6) The impact of the election system and the examination system on the Chinese nation
In the spring of 1944, the upright Hu Xianhua refused to move Chiang Kai-shek University to Ganzhou, which caused Chiang Ching-kuo to lose face, so Chiang Ching-kuo told Chiang Kai-shek that the school was running very badly. Hu Xianhua was forced to resign as the first president of the National Chung Cheng University, and Taihe took refuge in Yongfeng due to the war. The hundreds of thousands of words of "The Transformation of the Chinese Nation" were completed in this period. In the introduction, Hu Xianhua wrote: "Our people have all suffered from the lessons of success and failure, and it is advisable to divide and analyze them, so that they can gain and lose everything, and seek to preserve their advantages, discard their shortcomings, and then with the brilliant scientific and philosophical vision, with a cool mind, a fearless spirit, and a sincere effort, in order to seek the transformation of the body, the transformation of the mind, the transformation of the political economy, the transformation of education, and the transformation of society." He also encouraged the Chinese people to say: "The Renaissance era in the West is comparable to that of the middle of the Ming Dynasty." It is only four hundred and fifty years ago. ....... In another four hundred and fifty years, the Chinese nation will not be able to lead the world on a nobler and more beautiful path of civilization. Therefore, we cannot be discouraged and transform the Chinese nation. In this regard, Huang Pingsun commented: "The author dissects this ethnic group from the perspective of a biologist,...... Such as the cut pulse of the doctor, the advantages and disadvantages are expressed, and the treatment is square. ”
When this article was published, it was the season of turmoil, and the full text was not finalized, and it was not known whether the manuscript was completed or not. Hu Zonggang said that "the original manuscript is also unknown", in fact, this manuscript (at least partially) may be hidden in the Institute of Botany, and the old objects auctioned at the same time are all the materials of the institute's old collection. Continuing to pay attention to the auction, I have never seen any subsequent chapters of this manuscript, and the only ones that survive may be those few. According to Hu Zonggang's "Long Compilation of Mr. Hu Xianhua's Chronology": "In May 1968, the Botanical Institute stopped paying wages, held a batch fighting meeting, and let him wear the Kuomintang flag. Books, calligraphy and paintings collected in his life were transported to the Botanical Institute. Decades later, this batch of "paper dust, most of which have been mothed" Hu Xianhua's old collection of Chinese and Western books and materials, was found when cleaning up the debris in the basement of the herbarium of the Botanical Research Institute not long ago, and was about to be pulled away as scrap by truck. The pullers are unknown." Such an act is really "not knowing the preciousness of the relics of the master of the institute, and treating the cultural relics as if they were our own."
"Higher Plant Taxonomy" approved the schoolbook
After bidding for "The Transformation of the Chinese Nation", after four months, one morning I was preparing to go out to run errands, and before I left the door, I habitually glanced at the old book network, and the steps I took stopped again. There is actually a new volume of botanical books described on the Internet as "Hu Xianhua's large number of autographed proofreading and revision", looking at the photo information, the book is an old book, and the batch school is tired, and there is also Hu Xianhua's signature. Can't believe your eyes, after repeatedly comparing your handwriting, immediately place an order to buy.
Taxonomy of Higher Plants
This book should be the old collection of Tianjin Lu Bi's family, the seller is also from Tianjin, originally did not understand if the things in the home are scattered, why is there only one lonely piece? Not long after, I saw that the bibliophile Wei Li had posted a self-printed copy of the "Confessional Poetry Manuscript" given to Lu Bi by Hu Xianhua on Weibo, as well as a number of Hu Xianhua letters from the Lu family's old collection in the spring of the following year, which confirmed my judgment.
This "Higher Plant Taxonomy" was printed in the twenty-third year of the Republic of China (1934), which was a self-printed version of the author before its official publication, and was printed by the Bin Xing Printing And Book Bureau of Beiping Liuli Factory, and the hardcover version was printed in lead on canvas. Because it is still Hu Xianhua's handwritten approval of the schoolbook, it records Hu Xianxiao's revision and revision of this book, which is particularly precious. The author of the book, Lu Kaiyun, is a native of Qiuyang, Hubei Province, who went to Japan and the United States to study biology, and was then a lecturer in the Department of Biology at Yenching University.
Hu Xianhua signature page
Above the name of the editor on the title page, there is the inscription "New Hu Xianhua School" signed by Hu Xianhua. According to the "Long Compilation of Mr. Hu Xianhua's Chronology", "In December 1934, Lu Kaiyun's "Taxonomy of Higher Plants" was published by the Zhonghua Bookstore, and Hu Xianhua proofread it and recommended it for the preface. "The Higher Plant Taxonomy mentioned in the annals is exactly this book. After Lu Kaiyun completed this book that year, he asked Hu Xianhua, who was an authority in the field of botany, to review the book, and he carefully proofread it and recommended it for the preface. What is even more interesting is that through Lu Kaiyun's introduction, Hu Xianhua became acquainted with his father, Mr. Lu Shenzhi, and in 1939, Lu Shenzhi also wrote a preface to Hu Xianhua's poetry collection "Confessional Poetry Manuscript".
After more than 80 years of changes in the world, the outside of the book has been mottled, but the inscription on the title page of the book and the full number of proofreadings are still clearly visible, which is not easy. The book is 388 pages long, and Hu Xianhua's proofreading inkblots have been revised in more than 700 places, and 120 abridgements, 15 questions, and eight revisions to the illustrations. The correction office is mostly professional language, and the words and sentences that are not properly expressed in the original text have also been modified. Such a huge number of batches of schools is really rare. For the late students and later students, Hu Xianxiao did not mention his own corrections, and praised Lu Kaiyun for "working hard and diligently, and his rewarding students are very large, and they are commendable."
Preface to Hu Xianhua in official publications
Here are a few examples from the book:
1. All words "organization" that appear in the text are replaced by "constructs". "Organization" was originally a Japanese loanword, and the Chinese modified by Hu Xianhua should be more appropriate. The places that were originally written as "family history" have also been changed to "bloodlines" with a simpler and clearer meaning.
The original text on page 26 reads: "According to the above list, the meaning of evolution, the theory and facts, is clearly revealed." The background of the taxonomy used is better! ”
The proofreading reads: "According to the above list, the meaning of evolution, the theory and facts, is clearly revealed." The basis for the taxonomy is particularly credible. ”
The original text on page 32 reads: "..., quite a new theory: the most important of which is the recognition of the ancient division of plants as woody plants and herbs." But he not only classifies by this unique distinction, but benefits other organizations."
The criticism is: "..., quite a new theory: its most important one is the recognition of the ancient plant woody and herbaceous origins".
Iv. The original text on page 32 reads: "..., with Eichler of Aikole using the soft flower as the original tissue in the dicotyledonous leaves and called the monocotyledonous plant before the twins, and the dicotyledonous plants are derived from the ascomycete spikes of the unisexual gymnosperms".
The proofreading is: "..., with Eichler the soft flower as the original structure of the dicotyledonous leaves and called the monocotyledonous plant before the twins, and the flowers of the dicotyledonous plants are derived from the unisexual gymnosperm cotyledon bulbs".
Hu Xianhua approved the school
It is not difficult to see that compared with the original text, the revised text is more concise and concise, and it is clear at a glance, which is enough to see Hu Xianhua's professionalism and responsible attitude.
A plant specimen named after Hu Xianhua
The two harvests in half a year surprised me, and what I did not expect was that the fate with Mr. Hu continued.
One afternoon during the summer vacation, in a WeChat book group, suddenly some book friends discussed the achievements of Hu Lancheng and Hu Xianhua, and the competition was in full swing. A seller friend who knew silently dried some plant specimens flowing from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and two of them had Hu Xianhua's handwritten name and signature on the plant specimens.
With the mentality of trying it out, I privately negotiated with the seller, and the other party happily agreed to let me. After the package was in hand, I was "very stupid and naïve" and wanted to donate it to the Lushan Botanical Garden created by Hu Xianhua and others. After the death of Mr. Hu Xianxiao, Ye Luo attributed to this. The leader of the original custodian immediately called and was relieved to hear that the scattered information was more than their old belongings, which made me very skeptical that the information could be properly kept after it was donated. In his later years, Hu Xianhua was greatly tortured physically and mentally, and was forced to move from his original 300-square-meter residence to a 10-square-meter dou room, and the books, materials, and unpublished research results he had collected all his life were scattered. God knows if these precious materials that remain after the disaster will be thrown out as garbage again. The idea of donating, that's it.
Hu Xianhua named a plant specimen
In the first issue of the first volume of the First Volume of the Chinese Journal of Botany, published in March 1934, the first two articles were Hu Xianhua's "Publication Words" and "Overview of China's Botanical Progress in Recent Years".
These manuscripts, school books, and plant specimens that record Hu Xianhua's handwriting may seem to others to be wasted paper and broken books, useless. In me, I felt that the distance between me and the gentleman I admired was shortened, and I was overjoyed that I had such a little intersection with Hu Xianhua. In the speech "How to Obtain a Rich and Happy Life", Hu Xianhua once said: "Our life's energy should not be limited to occupation, in addition to engaging in occupation, we should be good at using time, to pursue truth, beauty and goodness, to pursue the infinite knowledge of the world." ”