While studying abroad, Hu Shi once formulated a life routine for himself: "Get up at seven o'clock every day, go to bed at eleven o'clock every night, and do gymnastics for half an hour in the morning. Read books for at least six o'clock every day. Take philosophy as the backbone and supplement it with politics, religion, literature, and science.” The books he reads are roughly equal parts Chinese and English. In addition, he studied German when he was an undergraduate at Cornell, so he often touches on German books.

Hu Shi, who was profound in Chinese studies, maintained one of the habits of old literati: writing poems and lyrics. Basically, he writes poems when visiting a place for the first time, writes poems when seeing off friends, and writes poems when he feels something during the day. Many letters he exchanges with his friends are about discussing each other's poems. Hu Shi not only wrote Chinese poems, he also wrote a lot of English poems. Of course, the frequency of his English poems was far less frequent than that of Chinese poems. Hu Shi believed that his poems and the articles of his friend Ren Shuyong were the best among all Chinese students studying in the United States. Hu Shi's poems are rarely published, but his commentaries are often published. As a student in the English Department, he is very accomplished in English writing. When he was still an undergraduate, he won the Corson Browning Prize, the essay prize of the Cornell English Department. He was the first foreign student to win this award. At that time, many newspapers reported the matter, which caused a sensation. What Hu Shi published more often in newspapers and magazines were his comments on a certain article, usually in defense of China. In addition, Hu Shi was also very diligent in writing letters. According to his own statistics, he received 1,210 letters and wrote 1,040 letters in 1916.

Hu Shi spent most of his spare time on the Cosmopolitan Club. This organization is composed of students from various countries. Its main purpose is to enhance understanding among countries and promote world peace. Hu Shi served as the chairman of the association for one year (May 1913 to May 1914). In addition, Hu Shi also served as the Eastern President of the Chinese Overseas Students Association and was the main writer of the Journal of the Overseas Students Association.

Hu Shi slowly developed his speaking skills in student union activities. The first English speech he gave in his life was at the Chinese Student Union on February 18, 1911. It was his turn to be on duty that day and he had to give a speech. After that, his speaking skills gradually improved. When Hu Shi gave his first impromptu speech at the World Student Conference in Syracuse on May 10, 1914, he was hailed by a history professor at Syracuse University as the best person he had ever heard in his life. One of the speeches. After that, Hu Shi was invited to give various speeches, mainly on China's national conditions and the current situation of the world. According to his own statistics, he gave more than 70 speeches in three years (1913-1915). Hu Shi also often expressed his pride in his speeches in his diary. What best illustrates Hu Shi’s speaking ability is this: In January 1917, the alumni association of Haverford College in Philadelphia was going to hold an annual banquet. Cornell President Schurman and former U.S. President Taft were originally invited to give speeches, but Schurman was busy at the time. He couldn't come, so Comfort, the principal of Haverford College, asked Hu Shi as his substitute. In fact, Hu Shi wrote in his diary in 1915 that he worked hard giving speeches everywhere and decided to give as few speeches as possible in the future. However, this time he also knew that Principal Comfort was "extraordinarily favored but disrespectful" to him, so he went to Philadelphia to " He gave a speech titled "How Can the United States Help China's Development". Invited to speak and represent Cornell at student government meetings, he frequently took several-day excursions throughout the Northeastern United States.

In addition to Chinese students studying in the United States, Hu Shi also made friends from various countries in various activities. During one meeting, he was happy that he had made friends with the top students in each school. Of course, he himself was recognized by these top students. In his diary, you can often see descriptions of him having long conversations with friends late into the night. He believed that these spiritual exchanges with friends were the most fascinating and enjoyable activities. Due to his active activities, he had close relationships with many well-known professors at Cornell. He was also a frequent visitor to the home of former Cornell President Andrew White (one of the founders and first president of Cornell University). In 1915, he was invited to meet former U.S. President Taft at the home of Jacob Schurman, the then president, and discussed his views on Sino-Japanese relations with Taft. (Hu Shi believed that "Ta is a good person, but he is not worthy of any country's respect".

)

Hu Shi always actively participated in local political and social undertakings. He said that “everywhere he lives, he always regards the political and social undertakings in that place as the political and social undertakings in my hometown and town. Therefore, whenever There are political activities and social improvements in the area, and I am always happy to hear about them. I will not only hear about them, but also devote myself to them to study the pros and cons... This kind of behavior may be scoffed by people, but I am actually quite proud of it. . The society we live in is our society, and the public welfare undertakings there are sufficient for our research..."

However, in 1915, Hu Shi felt that he was too active and had too many friends. , there are too many social activities, so that there is no time to calm down and learn. So he wanted to move to a big city, like New York or Chicago, with millions of residents, where he could hide. This can certainly be seen as an important reason why he transferred from Cornell to Columbia.

Hope to adopt it! Thanks!