Introduction to Qian Zhongshu

Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998), a modern literature researcher and writer, was named Mo Cun, also known as Huaiju. He once used the pen name Zhongshu Jun, and lived in Wuxi, Jiangsu people. Because he caught a book when he was one year old, he was named "Zhongshu".

Qian Zhongshu was born in a family of poets and writers. He received traditional classics and history education since childhood. He was good at Chinese and English in middle school, but his grades in science subjects such as mathematics were extremely poor. When he applied for Tsinghua University, he only scored 15 points in mathematics. However, because of his outstanding scores in Chinese and English, and even full marks in English, he was admitted to the Foreign Languages ??Department of Tsinghua University in 1929. During this period, he studied hard and had extensive exposure to cultural and academic achievements from various countries around the world. Graduated from university in 1933. In 1935, he married writer and translator Yang Jiang. In the same year, he obtained the qualification of a publicly funded international student, studied in the English Department of Oxford University for two years, and further studied French literature at the University of Paris in France for one year before returning to China in 1938. He has taught in many universities.

Qian Zhongshu has thoroughly studied Chinese history, philosophy, and literary classics. At the same time, he has never stopped reading and researching on old and new Western literature, philosophy, psychology, etc., and has written many prestigious academic works. . His essays and novels are also excellent, especially the novel "Fortress Besieged", which is full of talent and witty metaphors and can be said to be a household name.

Qian Zhongshu has been extremely smart since he was a child, but his talent is mainly reflected in literature. He likes to express himself as he pleases, and is particularly unwilling to follow logical reasoning step by step, so he hates courses such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Qian Zhongshu gradually fell in love with English after entering middle school. Qian Zhongshu's middle school is a missionary school run by the American Episcopal Church, and most of the courses are taught in English. His English scores are very good, but he never takes English classes, nor does he read English textbooks, nor does he take notes in class. Instead, he reads original novels in foreign languages. Therefore, he almost completely relied on self-taught English, which fully demonstrated his outstanding language talent. Although his academic performance is very good, Qian Zhongshu is indeed a bit "crazy" in terms of life. For example, he can't always tell the difference between east, west, north and south, and he can't tell the direction when he goes out. He wears clothes either backwards and forwards, or without distinguishing between inside and outside. The most embarrassing thing was in the physical education class. As the team leader, he shouted the English commands loudly and accurately, but he himself couldn't distinguish between left and right and didn't know what to do. I shouted the correct password, but I was confused and couldn't stand. I often made the whole class burst into laughter, but I was baffled. Extraordinarily smart but often "confused", this is Qian Zhongshu who is elusive.

Qian Zhongshu is knowledgeable and has an amazing memory. When he was studying at Tsinghua University, he, Wu Han and Xia Nai were known as the "Three Talents" of Tsinghua University. The interaction with old man Chen Yan further reflects this point. Chen Yan, also known as Shi Yi, was one of the "three great poets" in the late Qing Dynasty and occupied an important position in the poetry world at that time. Old man Shi Yi had little approval of the poets and scholars at that time, but he looked at Qian Zhongshu in a different light. Every winter and summer vacation when Qian Zhongshu returns to Wuxi from Tsinghua University, old man Shi Yi invites him to his home. Once, old man Shi Yi talked about Wang Yun, a great poet in the late Qing Dynasty: "Wang Yun has a very low character and a bad appearance. Do you know this, brother?" Qian Zhongshu said to him, "He must be a dwarf." Shi Yi laughed and said, "How do you know this? Qian Zhongshu said: "When the king died, there was a funny elegiac couplet in the Shanghai newspaper that said, 'Learning from Fu Wen Zhongzi is like Wu Dalang'," and the old man Shi Yi nodded in agreement. It is also said that Wang Yun's only "Hunan Army Chronicles" is of note, and his poems are very few. He only used certain two sentences in his "Shi Shi Shi Hua", but he can no longer remember which two sentences they were. Qian Zhongshu immediately replied: "It seems like 'I am ashamed to carry a dagger alone, just to see the mountains.'". Old man Shi Yi couldn't help but marvel: "Brother Shi, you have such a good memory!"

As a famous writer and scholar, Mr. Qian Zhongshu's achievements have attracted worldwide attention. In his later years, Qian Zhongshu thanked guests behind closed doors and was indifferent to fame and fortune. His high moral integrity was praised by the world. A foreign reporter once said that he had two wishes when he came to China: first, to see the Great Wall, and second, to see Qian Zhongshu. He regards Qian Zhongshu as a symbol of Chinese culture. There was also a foreign reporter who wanted to interview Qian Zhongshu because he had read Qian Zhongshu's "Fortress Besieged". He called many times and finally found Qian Zhongshu. Qian Zhongshu declined the interview request on the phone and said: "If you feel good after eating an egg, why do you need to know the chicken that laid the egg?" CCTV launched a popular " "Son of the East" column, many people tried their best to get into it and were proud to show off their "style". However, when the program producers tried to interview Qian Zhongshu, they were resolutely rejected by him.

A famous university in the United States wanted to invite him to give lectures for half a year, once every two weeks, 40 minutes each time, which totaled about 8 hours, and the reward was US$160,000, but Qian Zhongshu did not give a lecture at all. Moved. Someone else wrote an article in Le Monde in Paris saying: The person in China who is qualified to win the Nobel Prize for Literature is none other than Qian Zhongshu. Qian Zhongshu not only did not accept this evaluation, but wrote an article in Guangming Daily questioning the fairness of the Nobel Prize for Literature.

At 7:38 am on December 19, 1998, Mr. Qian Zhongshu passed away in Beijing due to illness at the age of 88. According to Mr. Qian Zhongshu's last wish, everything about his funeral should be kept simple, and his body can be seen off by two or three relatives. No memorial ceremony will be held, ashes will not be retained, and flower baskets and wreaths will be provided. On the day of the cremation, there were only more than 20 people at the scene to see him off, including Qian Zhongshu's son-in-law, grandson, granddaughter, his students, students of his students, and some friends. Others came voluntarily after hearing about it. Qian Zhongshu's widow, the famous scholar Yang Jiang, placed a small purple forget-me-not and white rose on Qian Zhongshu's body. When the door of the cremation room was closed, others advised her to leave. She said, "No, I have to stand for another two minutes." There were tears in her eyes. After Qian Zhongshu's body was cremated, his ashes were scattered nearby according to his wishes during his lifetime. "Such great scholars represent an era. If everyone knew about it, there might be thousands of people coming from overseas, right?" said Mr. Read his book. Mr. Qian Zhongshu lives in the book. A famous saying about marriage in "The City Besieged" - People inside the city want to get out, people outside the city want to get in