Author/Tang Xiaoxian (Phoenix, USA)
Wuxi Huishan Qianwusu King Ancestral Hall
The Three Masters of Qian's Guoxue mentioned here refer to Qian Mu, Qian Jibo and Qian Zhongshu, all three of whom are from Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and are all descendants of Qian Hao, the king of Wuyue, and have different branches of the same sect. There are two branches of the Qian clan in Wuxi, Qian Mu belongs to the Hutou Qian clan, Qian Jibo and Qian Zhongshu belong to the Qian clan of Kunshan, and there is a common ancestral hall in Huishan--- the ancestral shrine of King Qian Wusu, which is dedicated to the ancestors of the three kings such as Qian Hao and the ancestors of Wuxi.
Qian Mu and Qian Jibo and Qian Zhongshu have a very good friendship. "The older are called uncles, and the younger ones are called nephews", Qian Mu Xiao Qian Jibo is 12 years old, calling Qian Jibo an uncle; while Qian Zhongshu Xiao Qian Mu is 15 years old, calling Qian Mu an uncle.
In the twenty-first year of Guangxu (1885), Qian Mu (Zi BinSI) was born in a family of scholars in The Village of Qifangqiao, Hongsheng, Wuxi, the hometown of fish and rice in Jiangnan. He is a famous contemporary economic historian, a well-known master of traditional Chinese studies and an educator at home and abroad. Self-taught, he is a university professor who did not attend university and received honorary doctorates from the University of Hong Kong and Yale University in the United States.
Qian Mu edited and finalized the "Treatise on the History of Chinese Academic Thought" at his apartment in Taipei, a complete set of eight volumes, which collects his academic papers of sixty years and is also a summary of his research on Chinese history and national culture for more than half a century.
Mr. Qian Jibo (Zi Ziquan) is Qian Zhongshu's father, a famous expert in ancient Chinese and a master of traditional Chinese studies. His knowledge is boundless, and he can choose the pros and cons and develop his mysteries by the scriptures and talk about history, as well as the hundreds of sons and hundreds of families. Qian Jibo is fluent in all four parts, and is particularly proficient in the works of the collection department.
His father's studiousness and family collection made Qian Zhong's books like a hundred rivers, and he used all his time to read in great detail. When Qian Mu recalled Qian Zhongshu, he praised him for his early years of "fraternal love for qun books, and the collection of books after the Song Dynasty was incomparable." His diligent study laid a good foundation for his later studies.
Qian Jibo attaches great importance to improving the education of his children in practice. He instructed Qian Zhongshu in his composition, asked him to write letters on his behalf, and wrote articles on his behalf, so he made rapid progress.
The Commercial Press wanted to publish Qian Mu's monograph "Introduction to Chinese Studies", and Qian Mu asked Qian Jibo for a preface, and Qian Jibo even asked Qian Zhongshu to ghostwrite it. And qian Zhongshu, a newborn calf, thought about it a little, and actually raised his pen in one go. Qian Jibo was cautious and read this article several times without changing a word. So he gave the preface to Qian Mu in the name of the author Qian Jibo, who was very satisfied. At that time, outsiders, qian Mu himself, did not see that this preface was written by a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth.
Qian Mu, like Qian Jibo and Qian Zhongshu, is tireless and knowledgeable. When they read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms at an early age, they were able to recite the following immediately. Therefore, the three people are like-minded and have a close relationship.
In the summer of 1933, Qian Zhongshu and Yang Miao, a talented daughter of Wuxi, were engaged in Suzhou, because Qian Jibo was in poor health, he simply engaged in it, only setting up a banquet in a restaurant in Suzhou, inviting a few close relatives and friends to a banquet, and Qian Mu was invited. At the banquet, Qian Jibo specially brought his future daughter-in-law to Qian Mu and introduced "Mr. Qian Binsi" to Yang Huan.
One summer after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the three Qian clan met unexpectedly at a lecture in Changshu and were overjoyed. They lived in the same hotel, met day and night, and talked very happily.
After 1949, the world was uncertain, and Qian Jibo's father and son and Qian Mu never met again, but they were often involved. Qian Mu left the mainland and went to Hong Kong and Taiwan successively. Later, he heard that Qian Jibo had died in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and he deeply regretted it. He wrote in the Miscellaneous Memories of Teachers and Friends that Ran Yu "accumulated in Jimei, Wuxi, and Suzhou for eight years, with more than 100 colleagues, the most respectful, the first TuiZiquan." Life intersects, the diligence of learning, the thickness of treating people, and the first to promote the spring." Sighing: "There are not many years left this year, I don't know when I will have to meet other people who have not seen each other again", the regret of not being able to meet Qian Zhongshu again was vaguely revealed in his words.
In 1985, Suzhou held a commemorative activity for the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the city, and Qian Zhongshu was entrusted by the relevant departments in Suzhou to write to Qian Mu and invite him to return to Suzhou to participate in the grand event. The full text of the letter is as follows:
The Four Sects of The Old Master Dao Seat:
Qi Kuo is violated, and fifty wears. Mount Tai is up, and Lu Dian is still alive. Far away, shi Yin reverie. Years ago, I was seen to reminisce about the old one, reminiscing about the ancestors, leaving no wild Jane, so friendship and family affection, the sense of death. Next year, suzhou will hold a commemorative meeting for the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the city, during which the people of Suzhou will be held although they are in Wuyi, and the border between Sangzi and Su will be between Lian Rang and the WuMen, which is what Gu Fangzhi called "the residence of famous sages and overseas Chinese". And since Gong Qin has a good heart and has no chance to hold his hands, the grand event is opportune, and the opportunity is rare, and he thinks that he will come to him at that time to increase his favor and look at it. Selfishness is renewed. The old country and the old country, looking at it freely, but in the case of hearing and smelling, Zhuang Sheng said to the end, when he was promised, he longed for Huilai. The public has a special letter invitation, respects the pieces, and talks about the slightness of Shen persuasion. Lining the fist side drum, the force is thin and the meaning is deep. That is, the spring is not prepared.
On the book of the last bell
Yang Yi waited
February 3, 1985
After receiving the letter, Qian Mu was unable to visit the Suzhou event due to health reasons. In March 1986, at the request of Taipei's United Monthly, the ninety-two-year-old Qian Mu published "Bing Yin New Year's Look at the Current Situation", pointing out: "In China, only the peaceful reunification of all of China will begin with a great future and a great hope." Peaceful reunification is where the great future, ideals, and principles of China's cultural spirit and national nature lie." Later, the People's Daily in Beijing published an excerpt from the article, which was the first time since 1949 that Qian Mu's text appeared in mainland newspapers and periodicals. Mr. Qian Mu was far-sighted and expressed his deep concern for the future of China as a whole. His patriotic remarks have responded enthusiastically on both sides of the taiwan strait and have had a profound impact.
Qian Mu
Qian Zhongshu and his father Qian Jibo
Qian Zhongshu and Yang Zhenshu
Qian Mu Taipei Residence SuShu Building