On November 2, philosopher Li Zehou died at his home in boulder, a small Colorado town. Li Zehou's book has influenced an entire generation. However, today's young people do not know much about Li Zehou. Jokes like this were made many years ago. Once, Li Zehou was invited to a private bookstore in the south to engage in activities. The bookstore owner posted a small notice at the entrance of the store, and classmates at a nearby university rushed to tell him: "Li Zekai is coming!" These Xinxin students regarded Li Zehou as Li Ka-shing's son.
In his later years, Li Zehou was still full of vigor when he spoke angrily
Li Zehou graduated from the Department of Philosophy of Peking University. People who study philosophy either become teachers after graduation or change their professions, and it is rare to be able to engage in research in academic institutions. Li Zehou was assigned to the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which was then called the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Most of Li Zehou's academic achievements have been achieved in philosophy.
In 1992, at the age of 62, Li Zehou went to work in the United States. In interviews in his later years, he emphasized that he was not a visiting scholar, but a visiting professor. The difference between the two is that the former listens to the lecture and the latter gives the lecture. The school where Li Zehou teaches is Colorado College. This is a private liberal arts college. Because Liang Shiqiu once studied at the school, some people said that Colorado College was "not small in reputation." In fact, its reputation is really not big, and the school is also very small.
No matter how small the school is, the teacher cannot use Chinese to give lectures. Li Zehou said to himself that his English was only in the second grade of junior high school, and he still attended a rural middle school. At Peking University he studied Russian. Xiao Tao was skeptical that he would lecture to American college students in English, and at least for the first year or the first half of the year, he should rely on translation. Speaking English too simply will inevitably mislead young people.
Today's Colorado College campus
In order to write this article, Xiao Tao browsed the official website of Colorado College. After Li Zehou's death, the school did not express any mourning. The brief history of the university's philosophy department does not even mention Li Zehou. However, Xiao Tao noticed that there was such a sentence in it:
【原文】each year, a leading contemporary philosopher visits campus to meet with students in the junior seminar and to deliver the j. glenn and ursula gray memorial lecture.
Every year, a famous contemporary philosopher visits the school to meet with the students of the junior seminar and give a speech at the Glenn and His Wife Memorial Lecture.
Glenn Gray (J. Gray) Glenn Gray) is the late American philosopher and professor of philosophy at Colorado College. Ursula Gray is Glen Gray's wife. If Li Zehou was one of the contemporary philosophers invited by the Philosophy Department of Colorado College that year, then asking him to lecture undergraduates may not be the school's original intention.
The second thing that made Xiao Tao suspicious was the cause of Li Zehou's death. Did he die of disease, old age, or did he die of illness? Li Zehou's family has not yet explained it to the outside world, and it is estimated that it will not be explained in the future, but it can be seen from Du Xinxin's reminiscence article that there is a hint.
Du Xinxin is 24 years younger than Li Zehou. In 1996, 42-year-old Du Xinxin met 66-year-old Li Zehou in the United States. After that, they were in a relationship for 25 years until Li Zehou's death. During the epidemic period, Du Xinxin bought vegetables for Li Zehou and then sent them to Li's family. Li Zehou's old partner Ma Wenjun would thank Du Xinxin through the glass window.
Li Zehou and Du Xinxin are friends for the new year, and it is Ma Wenjun who is cooking
Li Zehou was so drunk that it was said that when he was young, a pound of liquor was not a problem. In his later years, he was still good at wine and liked to drink Louis XIII. Du Xinxin often accompanied Li Zehou to drink, and there were also times when he was drunk by Li Zehou. Li Zehou's old partner Ma Wenjun was originally a dancer in the cultural troupe, and later married and taught his children at home. The only son, Li Ai, majored in computer science. Here Xiao Tao has one more word to say. The year Li Zehou went to the United States, Li Ai was only 15 years old.
Neither Ma Wenjun nor Li Ai read Li Zehou's books, nor could they understand them. Li Zehou has always said that he is lonely. Du Xinxin also did not read Li Zehou's works, but the two could talk and said nothing. Li Zehou told Du Xinxin that he liked Jiang Wenli and was curious about Jiang Wenli's appearance in real life. He even discussed women's sexual psychology with Du Xinxin. When encountering problems in life, Li Zehou always looked for Du Xinxin first. Du Xinxin was not Li Zehou's assistant, but he did a lot of things that only assistants could do.
For his own afterlife, Li Zehou had already made arrangements. He contacted a cryo-agency to cryopreserve his brain after death. According to Du Xinxin's recollection, Li Zehou talked to her about euthanasia many years ago. In a reminiscence essay, Du Xinxin wrote:
Screenshot of Du Xinxin's reminiscence article
We have talked about death many times and Mr Lee has said that he is in favor of euthanasia and has discussed how to euthanize many times. At that time, the state of Kosovo had not yet legalized euthanasia, and I said that euthanasia is illegal. He said with some pride, "I have a way!" Then he whispered that he had accumulated a lot of sleeping pills, and added, "Don't tell Ma Wenjun."
Li Zehou should not be terminally ill. A month before his death, he sent WeChat to tell Du Xinxin that I fell. While doing a leg-up exercise, he fell down because the chair was moving. On October 27, Ma Wenjun called Du Xinxin and said that Li Zehou had fallen again, and he had not hurt the bones, but he was in pain. Six days later, Li Zehou died suddenly.
Li Zehou last returned to China in 2017
Li Zehou wanted to euthanize. Five years ago, Colorado became the sixth state in the United States to allow euthanasia, but the state's law requires several conditions to be met at the same time: first, it must be a Colorado resident who is at least 18 years old; second, it must be terminally ill or survive for a short time, usually less than half a year; third, at least two doctors must confirm the diagnosis; and fourth, it must be carried out with the assistance of a doctor.
Li Zehou should not have died of euthanasia because he could not meet the four conditions stipulated by law. Besides, he died at home. The death of the late famous taiwanese sports commentator Fu Daren is a veritable euthanasia.
In a phone call to Du Xinxin on October 27, Ma Wenjun said that Li Zehou had taken too many sleeping pills. Whether Li Zehou's death was related to taking sleeping pills, Xiao Tao did not dare to jump to conclusions, but his death was completely in line with his own wishes. In a conversation with Ma Qunlin, Li Zehou said four "quiet", one of which is to die quietly. Li Zehou left. Since then, there has been no Li Zehou in this world.
(Xiao Tao original.) The image comes from the Internet, except as indicated. Reprinting is strictly prohibited, and the embezzler will be prosecuted! ）