Chen Yinke.
This sentence comes from the monument inscription written by Chen Yinke on the second anniversary of Mr. Wang Guowei's drowning. The interpretation is that the most important thing in academic research is to have free will and an independent spirit. And independent spirit and free will must be fought for, and they must be fought for life and death.
The full text is: Two years after Mr. Wang Jing'an of Haining committed suicide, colleagues at the Tsinghua Research Institute couldn't help but think about him. His disciples have been nurtured and educated by his master for many years, and they will always remember him. Qian said, it is appropriate to inscribe the Zhenmin to make it clear to Wu Jing. Because I ordered Yin Ke to write words engraved on stone, and I have been unable to get through the words, I would like to mention Mr. Yin Ke’s ambitions to inform future generations of the world.
His words say: Scholars' study and scholarship will be based on freeing their minds from the shackles of worldly truth, and the truth will be carried forward. Without freedom of thought, one would rather die. How can I dare to hope for the essence of the sacrifice of the benevolent saints of ancient and modern times? The gentleman saw his independent and free will in one death, and it is not about the grievances and grievances of one person or the rise and fall of a surname.
Woohoo! Trees and stones are placed in the lecture hall, out of sorrow and never forgotten. It expresses the wonders of the philosopher and expresses the confusion of the true master. The future life is unknown, so Mr. Wang's writings may sometimes be unclear. Mr.'s teachings may sometimes be debatable. But this independent spirit and free thought have lasted for thousands of years, and are as long as the sky and the earth, and the three lights are eternal.
Education Contributions
After Chen Yinke returned to China from studying abroad in 1926, he became a professor at the Graduate School of Tsinghua University and was one of the "four great mentors" of Tsinghua University at that time. After that, he became the only "joint professor" of the Chinese Department of Tsinghua University, and was praised among teachers and students as "unparalleled genius", "professor of professors", and "teacher".
On the Tsinghua campus, whether students or professors, they all ask him for advice on any difficult questions in literature and history, and they are sure to get satisfactory answers from him. Everyone calls him a "living dictionary" and a "living dictionary". When he lectures, Professor Wu Mi, the director of the institute, is always there to listen to his lectures, rain or shine;
Other professors with very high standards, such as Zhu Ziqing, also often come to the classroom to listen to his lectures. Philosophy expert Feng Youlan was the secretary-general and dean of literature at Tsinghua University at the time. But whenever Chen Yinke took the "History of Chinese Philosophy" class, Mr. Feng would always respectfully accompany Chen Yinke out of the faculty lounge and sit quietly in the classroom. Listen to his lectures.
The courses he teaches mainly include "Buddhist Sutra Translation Literature", "Sanskrit Grammar", "History of the Two Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties", "Tang History", "Yuefu in the Tang Dynasty", "Tang Poetry Evidence", etc.
Chen Yinke takes great care of his students and is also very concerned about their lives and even their employment issues after graduation. He believes that question-and-answer written examinations are not the best way to observe knowledge. Writing a paper requires new information and new insights. He never asked students to use rote memorization methods, but encouraged thinking. He was even more opposed to the "cramming" education method.
“The world is full of peaches and plums”, for Chen Yinke, it is well deserved. He has trained many outstanding talents for the country, including masters such as Ji Xianlin and Jiang Tianshu.