Wu Han 1925 graduated from high school. Due to the decline of his family, he teaches in the primary school in the village and earns a little salary to supplement his family. However, Wu is not here. 1928, he left home alone, moved to Hangzhou, and was admitted to the preparatory course of Zhijiang University. A year later, the school closed, went to Shanghai and was admitted to Chinese College. Since then, he has forged an indissoluble bond with Hu Shi, the principal at this time.
Entering the Chinese Academy, Wu Han became a student of Hu Shi, and soon wrote the article Economic Situation in the Western Han Dynasty, which won Hu Shi's admiration. On March 1930 and March 19, Wu wrote directly to Hu Shi and asked him about the problems he encountered in sorting out The Story of the Buddha: "Mr. Ming is very busy, but I really can't think of anyone but Mr. Wang who can solve and guide the road in a scientific way." Soon, Hu Shi left China College, and Wu Han followed him north. Gu Jiegang was introduced as a librarian in yenching university Library. During this period, he wrote the Chronicle of Hu Yinglin, which became the beginning of his formal study of Ming history. Wu Han wrote a letter to Hu Shi again, and Hu Shi wrote a reply to Wu Han on the second day after receiving the letter, praising his works and asking Wu Han to "talk about it sometime". Since then, Wu Han has become a "disciple" of Hu Shi.
The reason why Wu Han didn't enter Peking University is that he has a serious partiality. The entrance examination requires three subjects, namely literature, history, English and mathematics. He got full marks in literature, history and English, but he got zero marks in math. According to the regulations of Peking University, zero points in one subject cannot be admitted. Later, he transferred to Tsinghua, and the result was the same. However, Tsinghua relented and accepted him on the grounds of outstanding achievements in literature and history. Wu Han became the "Tsinghua people" and missed out on Peking University.
When Wu Han entered Tsinghua, his family was basically going downhill. Hu Shi likes this disciple very much. A few days after he was admitted to haing s ngor, he wrote to Weng, acting president of Tsinghua, and Zhang, dean: "This man's family is very poor, and he wants to work and study, but he has no acquaintances in Tsinghua, so it is difficult to get an urgent opportunity to work and study. If he can't find a job, he can't go to school. I advised him to decide to enter the school and asked him to ask his two brothers for help. I would appreciate it if my two brothers could help me in this matter. " In addition, it also introduces the academic level of Wu Han.
As a student of Tsinghua, Wu Han studied under Professor Hu Shi of Peking University. In his letter to Wu Han, Hu Shi gave various instructions to this disciple: "To manage the history of the Ming Dynasty is not to ask you to compile a new history of the Ming Dynasty, but to cultivate yourself into a scholar who can sort out the materials of the Ming Dynasty." Wu Han said: "As far as glory is concerned, all directions are smooth." It can be seen that Hu Shi has a deep influence on him.
In 1930s, China enjoyed peace in turmoil. 193 1 The September 18th Incident broke out, and the three northeastern provinces fell, causing great excitement. Wu Han is obviously a patriot. He actively supported his classmates' activities, but he didn't bring a toilet. However, he is a warm-blooded young man after all. In his letter to Hu Shi on1932,65438+130, he accused the authorities: "Looking back at the history of any dynasty in any country, we can't find such a despicable * * * *. The letter hopes that "Mr. Wang will also solve the problem and point out a way." "
Hu Shi did not answer. On June 27th, 1932 published the article "Give to the current college graduates", which continued to advocate the concept of "saving the country by science", but Hu Shi also asked students to "have a little confidence" in his prescription.
Thanks to Hu Shi's care, Wu Han worked and studied in Tsinghua, and the treatment was quite generous, which was enough to meet the needs of studying. When Wu Han graduated, Hu Shi's famous saying was engraved on his graduation photo: "Make bold assumptions and be careful to verify. Talk less empty talk and read more good books ―― remember Mr. Hu Shi's words. "
Wu Han is really a historian, smart and diligent, taught by his teacher. While studying in Tsinghua, he wrote a number of insightful and far-reaching historical works, such as A Study on the History of Hu Party, The Battle of Jingnan in Ming Dynasty and the northward movement of the capital, and Farmers in Ming Dynasty. From 65438 to 0934, Wu Han graduated and stayed in school to teach, offering subjects such as Ming history and Ming society, which influenced him to catch up with historians such as Chen Yinque and Zhang Yinlin.
One of Wu Han's important historical achievements in his youth was the study of "national history". Jianzhou is the ancestral home of the Jurchen nationality. After Nurhachi entered Shanhaiguan to establish the Qing Dynasty, he strongly denied that Jianzhou was under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, and falsified, forged and distorted the past history in the Qing Dynasty. As Lu Xun pointed out: "If nothing else is said now, it is shocking enough to look at the methods used by Yongzheng and Qianlong Dynasties to China people's works. Complete destruction, destruction, deletion, etc., the most insidious thing is to tamper with the contents of ancient books. The compilation of Siku Quanshu during the Qianlong period was hailed as a great event by many people, but they not only messed up the format of ancient books, but also tampered with the articles of the ancients, which were not only hidden in the palace, but also awarded to places with rich style of writing, so that scholars all over the world would never think that there were many people with great backbone among China's authors. " In this way, the history of China was torn page by page.
The final research results show that as early as the Ming Dynasty, there was a "Jianzhou Wei", and the Jurchen nationality was a member of the Chinese nation under the rule of the Ming Dynasty for a long time. Through this research, Wu Han's historical concept has changed, just as he expressed it when editing the special issue of Art History Newspaper. First, discuss right and wrong, regardless of similarities and differences; Second, seeking truth; Third, pay attention to "some records that have been ignored by people outside the official history"; Fourth, "historiography belongs to the people of society." This shows that Wu Han has seriously questioned the official history. In his speech on the first anniversary of history, he wrote: "We believe that the biographical era of imperial heroes has passed, and the ideal new history belongs to society and people."
Here, the author would like to point out in particular that the 1930s was the period when the French Annales School rose, and its way of managing history was to abandon political history and focus on the role of social life history in social evolution. Almanac school absorbed a lot of Marxist concepts and became one of the most important schools of contemporary historiography, and a number of historians emerged, such as Mark? Bloch, Braudel and others. Wu Han's way of managing history is quite consistent with it, although the expression is not clear, and there is no team scale. It can be seen that the academic circles in China reached a considerable height in the 1930s. Although it can't compete with European and American academic circles, it is not far away to catch up.