As we all know, the master Mr. Gu Hongming's English is impeccable. Even Mr. Lin Yutang, a language master, deeply admired Mr. Gu Hongming's English: "Among China people, Gu Hongming's English writing is really excellent. I haven't seen anyone equal to him for 200 years. No matter how hard he uses words, he is excellent. There is no doubt about it. "
But in some comments on the Internet recently, I saw that some people thought Mr. Gu Hongming's English was a bit verbose. Surprised, I thought about it and understood the basis of these statements. Because Mr. Gu Hongming repeatedly used some words in his article, such as "China people's spirit" (which he translated into Justice in the Spring and Autumn Period), it is inevitable to leave a long-winded impression.
However, as the famous saying goes, "A thousand people have a thousand Hamlets in their eyes" (or, if there are a thousand readers, there must be a thousand Hamlets, and so on. ). Even the same article, different readers will read different tastes and have different feelings from different sides. Personally, after reading Mr. Gu Hongming's article, at first, I felt a short sense of verbosity. But after reading and thinking carefully, I don't feel verbose, but I think it's just a writing technique. This phrasing technique is not so long as emphasis and guidance. Later, the more I looked at it, the more I felt that the latter view was more appropriate.
Then, some friends may ask, "Why can you say that? Where is the basis? Where is the truth? "
As for the basis and reason, because I am not a professional researcher, I really can't come up with convincing arguments at the moment. Here, I just briefly talk about my feelings for your reference.
First of all, we might as well imagine the time when Mr. Gu Hongming lived. As we all know, it was at the beginning of last century. At that time, China was synonymous with backwardness, and it was an era of bullying. At that time, western countries not only knew nothing about China culture, but also were full of misunderstandings and prejudices about China culture. It is actually very difficult for these people to explain the profoundness of China culture in a simple way, and it is in just a few articles or a speech. Generally speaking, when you face some ignorant people full of prejudice and misunderstanding, it is not only necessary but also essential for you to explain the problem.
If you can read Mr. Gu Hongming's article carefully, you may find that his repetition is definitely not procrastination and verbosity, but progress and rise at different levels. Like Panshan Highway, although it goes around, it goes up around. Often unconsciously, in these endless cycles, in the process of enjoying the scenery along the way, you are slowly taken to the top of the mountain. It opens your eyes and broadens your mind, just like the poem "Reach the Peak, the other mountains all appear dwarfs under the sky." written by Du Fu, a poet in the Tang Dynasty. From this perspective, only by standing at the peak of China culture can we find the shortcomings and defects of western culture. What has this effect is Mr. Gu Hongming's article. So it is not difficult to understand the shock and sensation caused by his articles in western society at that time.
It is this writing technique and skill, that is to say, in constant repetition and emphasis, such as peeling silk and reeling cocoons, it unfolds layer by layer, rises slowly, and finally reaches the core of the peak. Only in this way can Mr. Gu Hongming discuss the present situation with Bo Gu's quotations in front of a large number of westerners who know nothing about oriental culture, and make the huge subject of China culture so comprehensive, clear and easy to understand in a few words. From the overall effect, this is not verbose, but in fact it can be said to be concise, comprehensive and profound.
In order to better illustrate this writing style, we might as well look at some of his articles to further understand its essence. For example, Mr. Gu Hongming talked about the differences between Americans, British, French and China people in the preface of "The Spirit of China People". He said:
"The American people, I can say here, find it difficult to understand the real China people and China civilization, because the American people, as a rule, are broad and simple, but not deep. The British can't understand the real China people and China civilization, because the British, as a rule, are profound and simple, but not extensive. Once again, Germans can't understand the real China and China civilization, because Germans, especially educated Germans, are usually deep, broad and not simple. The French, well, in my opinion, are the people who can best understand the real China people and China civilization. It is true that the French are not as deep as the Germans, as broad as the Americans, and as simple as the British, but the French, as I mentioned above, have an excellent spiritual quality, which is necessary to understand the real China and China civilization. A spiritual quality, that is, delicacy, because, in addition to the three characteristics of China people and China civilization that I have already mentioned, I must add one main characteristic here, that is, delicacy; Exquisite to such an extraordinary degree, you may not find it anywhere except in ancient Greece and its civilization.
(Note: Chinaman was the name of China people in that era? Or because of its discriminatory meaning, the author deliberately uses it to satirize? I don't know, friends who have research may wish to point out)
For another example, in the preface to the article "The Spirit of China People", Mr. Gu Hongming said when talking about civilization:
"Now, in order to evaluate the value of a civilization, in my opinion, the question we must finally ask is not what great city, what magnificent house, what good road has been built and can be built; What beautiful and comfortable furniture it has made and can make, what clever and useful utensils, tools and instruments; No, I don't even know what kind of institutions, arts and sciences it has created: in order to evaluate the value of a civilization, we must ask what kind of people, men and women it has created. In fact, the men and women produced by a civilization-the types of human beings-show the essence, personality and soul of that civilization.
After reading these, I wonder if everyone thinks he is wordy? Or do you think it spreads at different levels? I think, when you just read a little, you may find him verbose, but the more you read, the more you may feel that he is guiding, emphasizing, spreading at different levels and advancing step by step.
If you can agree to these, we might as well continue. When talking about the shortcomings of China people, Mr. Gu Hongming said this:
"The real China people may be rough, but his roughness is not vulgar. The real China may be ugly, but there is no ugliness in his ugliness. The real China people may be vulgar, but there is no aggression and noise in his vulgarity. A real China may be stupid, but there is nothing absurd in his stupidity. The real China people may be cunning, but there is no deep malice in his cunning. In fact, what I want to say is that even if the real China people have shortcomings and flaws in their bodies, minds and personalities, there is nothing to dislike. You rarely find a real old-school China person, even the lowest kind, which is absolutely disgusting. ".
Seeing this, will your mouth smile naturally? When a person is full of literary talent, even his sophistry, or his sophistry, will appear so cute and logical.
In addition, another writing feature of Gu Hongming is that he constantly quotes a large number of classics and famous sayings in his articles, usually in Latin, German, French and other languages. These quotations not only show his erudition, but also are just right. Often, these quotations not only enhance the readability and persuasiveness of his articles, but also make people think deeply and have endless aftertaste. For example, in the preface to The Spirit of China, he quoted a passage from Goethe:
Goethe said: "It is a long way for human beings to know how to treat sinners gently, how to treat offenders kindly and how to become a human being." Indeed, they are people with sacred nature. They first taught this and gave their lives for it, so as to make it possible and accelerate its practice. "
Seeing this, can you remember the song in the movie Forrest Gump? American pop singer Bob Dylan sang "Gone with the Wind" in the 1950s and 1960s. Here, please allow me to post the original lyrics:
How many roads does a person have to walk?
Before you called him a man?
How many oceans does a white dove have to fly?
Before she slept on the beach?
Yes, how many times do the shells have to fly?
Before they are banned forever?
My friend, the answer is floating in the wind.
The answer is floating in the wind.
Yes, how many years can a mountain exist?
Before it was washed into the sea?
Yes, how many years can some people exist?
Before they are free?
Yes, a person can turn his head several times.
Pretend he didn't see it?
My friend, the answer is floating in the wind.
The answer is floating in the wind.
Yes, how many times does one have to look up?
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, how many ears should a person have?
Before he can hear people crying?
Yes, how many deaths does he need to know?
Too many people have died?
My friend, the answer is floating in the wind.
The answer is floating in the wind.
We don't know whether the author of this lyric was influenced or inspired by Goethe, but it is not difficult for us to find similarities here, especially when we read the first verse. From this, it is not difficult for us to know that what all civilizations have in common is only human nature. This may be what Mr. Gu Hongming or all wise men want to tell us: civilization originates from people's hearts.
In a word, if you can appreciate Mr. Gu Hongming's article as a whole, instead of finding fault with specific words, you may find that Mr. Gu Hongming's article is actually not wordy. Because the content he needs to discuss is too huge and profound, and his readers are too ignorant and misunderstood about the topic he discusses. Therefore, he had to use simple, clear and profound words to guide and emphasize. This is actually a writing style, and it is this writing style that makes him speak his theme so clearly and thoroughly in his short essays, which has won the recognition of readers and achieved success. When talking about Gu Hongming's English attainments, E. Fangzhi, a western bishop at that time, once said: "In the eyes of the British, his articles written in English can be compared with any great Victorian writer, and he has no sense of inferiority." If we can look at the overall effect, this evaluation is actually very pertinent and not excessive.