Hu Shi won 35 honorary doctor hats in his life. However, since 19 17 left Columbia University and returned to China, his doctoral hat has attracted academic and anecdotal attention, and the internal suspense has not been clarified until today.
With the arrival of the new century, this issue has become a hot spot for researchers to question, research and argue.
19 19 February, Hu Shi's Outline of the History of China Philosophy was rolled up, recommended by Cai Yuanpei, published by the Commercial Press, with the cover signed "Written by Dr. Hu Shi" and prefaced by Cai Yuanpei himself.
Cai said in the preface that Hu Shi is a descendant of the famous scholar "Sanhu" in Jixi University, and said: "Mr. Shi was born in the Hu family in Jixi, and has been passed down from generation to generation as Sinology. Although I have entered a new school since I was a child, I can still teach myself Sinology without interruption. I also studied literature and philosophy when I was studying in the United States, and I have a lot of experience in the history of western philosophy. Therefore, it is much easier to compile the history of China's ancient philosophy once it is in the hands of Mr. "
There is a saying in later generations that Cai Yuanpei deliberately added the word "doctor" to the syllabus, knowing that Hu Shi did not get a doctorate and was not a descendant of the scholar "Sanhu" of Jixi University, thus raising Hu Shi's social status.
In the preface, there is an intention to move closer to "Sanhu" to show its deep family origin. All this has only one purpose, that is, to shock the arrogant conservatives and opponents of Peking University at that time.
Some people think that Cai Yuanpei was not familiar with the family background of the heroes in Hu Shi's novels at that time, and was cleverly deceived by Hu Shi and fell into a trap.
That is to say, "the Chua family doesn't know all the ins and outs of the Hu family, but Hu knows it and puts it in the front of the book. It was not until later that I felt a sense of security in the south that I said (myself) was not a family of Jixi Hu's Chinese studies. " (Wong Young-tsu's The Merits and Disadvantages of Hu Shi's Curriculum, Reading No.2, 2005) Which statement has more historical authenticity needs further research by researchers.
However, one thing is certain, that is, when Hu Shi left Columbia University in 19 17, he didn't wear a doctor's hat, but went home with his fingers dangling, and didn't get his doctorate until 17 years later.
It is controversial why Hu, who graduated in 10, can still wear his dream doctor hat. What's the mystery?
In his later years, Jin wrote a short article about Hu Shi's memories, entitled "Hu Shi, I don't know much about him", which involved Hu's graduation thesis.
Jin said: "Hu Shi is probably the pioneer of studying in China and writing China's thesis. His doctoral thesis seems to be the history of China's logic development. In the thesis examination, the school also invited a scholar who knows the history of China and does not belong to the philosophy department to participate. The scholar happened to know astronomy. He asked Hu Shi,' When did China's historical records begin to be accurate? Hu Shi couldn't answer. The examiner said:' The record of' at the turn of October, there will be food every day' in the Book of Songs is correct, which has been confirmed by astronomy. "I have heard this story, not Hu Shi told me. Even so, I think it is probably true. " (Jin Memories and Memories, edited by Sichuan Education Press 1995)
When Lao Jin said this, it was already several years since the founding of New China. In those years, Jin Linyue, who is self-serious, has become an old golden head, and his memory has obviously declined. It is inevitable that he will make some mistakes in recalling the past.
In fact, the topic of Hu Shi's thesis is The Evolutionary History of China's Ancient Philosophical Methods, English version of Shanghai Yadong Library, 1922. The Chinese version of the manuscript is called History of Pre-Qin Famous Scholars. 1983, Shanghai Lin Xue Publishing House published a Chinese translation entitled History of Pre-Qin philosophers.
Jin has always despised Hu Shi's learning. Cai Yuanpei said that Hu Shi's "old learning is profound and new knowledge is profound", while Jin said that Hu's "old learning is insufficient, and new learning stops at Huxley" (the extraordinary way), and he said that "Western philosophy and famous scholars' learning are not Mr. Hu's strengths" (Feng Youlan's China Philosophical History Review Report II).
A few small examples from Lao Jin's article show that he doesn't know much about Hu Shi. One of them said, "this gentleman, I really don't understand." When I knew him for a long time, one day he came to me and forgot the details. When we talked about necessity, he said, "There is nothing necessary or inevitable to do." I said,' No, there is a factual necessity, a psychological necessity and a theoretical necessity …' I really think there must be something wrong with him. He is a philosopher! He said, "Another time, after I wrote that article about surgery. Speaking of my article, he said he didn't understand abstract things. This is also a strange thing. He is a professor of philosophy history! " (Memories and Memories by Kim)
Through these small cases, we can see Jin's doubts about Hu Shi, a doctor of philosophy, and also vaguely reveal Jin's suspicion that Hu Shi did not pass the doctoral examination in that year.
Different scholars at home and abroad have commented on this information. There are some believers and many deniers.
Chinese-Americans who graduated from Central University and taught at Columbia University in their early years clearly pointed out: "Mr. Wang said,' Western philosophy and famous scholars are not Mr. Hu's strengths!'" This is obviously a kind of psychology of' scholars despise each other'. ""But in China's philosophy circle, there are really not many "literati" who can "despise" Hu. The same is true in all walks of life such as literature, history and religion. Those who despise each other are fresh, and the rest of the people like us only have' love and admiration'. This should also be the main reason why My Friend Hu Shizhi can be unanimously accepted by the whole country! " He also said: "Hu Haowen, doing something, doing something wrong; Even experts who criticize Hu and play pranks can hardly make irresponsible remarks, calling them "boring", "shameless" and "unworkable". If they impose any of the three nothings on Hu Shi, they will be unpopular. In today's world, people who are bored, incompetent and even shameless are really full of words! However, my conscience is not Hu Shi! " (Friends of My Friends-Miscellaneous Notes of Hu Shi, by Tang Degang, published by Guangxi Normal University Press in 2005).
Therefore, Tang Degang made a detailed and accurate textual research on Hu Shi's doctoral problem.
According to Tang, the process of studying for a doctor's degree in liberal arts at Columbia University in Hu Shi's time was: after completing the required credits (Hu's credits at Cornell College were partially recognized by Columbia University), he had to take a written test, an oral test and a European language. Pass the door, so that you can be considered a "doctoral candidate." As a candidate, you can choose a topic and write a "doctoral thesis". After writing the paper, let's have another "defensive oral test". The oral exam is the last and easiest level. However, although it is relatively easy, there are still three kinds of results after the exam, which are generally called "three columns" or "three columns". They are as follows: the first column, "minor repairs passed". After "passing", "small" things will be "modified" under the supervision of the director's thesis tutor. The second column is "Overhaul Passed". After passing the test, another group of examination committees should supervise the reform of "big" plus "repair". This is a very troublesome thing. After the paper is "overhauled", I have to go back to school to take a "make-up exam". The third column, "no". Ten years of hard work is wasted once, and the doctor will be abolished if you are not allowed to make up the exam.
Also, the doctoral thesis of Columbia University must be published in a book, and 65,438+000 copies (on today's microfilm) must be submitted to the university to be considered as a formal degree. Therefore, it takes at least one and a half years to be a real doctor, whether it is overhaul or minor repair. At that time, it was too expensive to publish in the United States, and the papers of China students were often taken back to Shanghai Communications Commercial Press for printing by publishing houses, and then sent back to Columbia University in 65,438+000 copies, which was considered a success.
Therefore, no matter which "column" the China students in the United States took, they didn't even take this test. As soon as they returned to China, they couldn't wait to pretend to be "doctors".
Therefore, Mr. Zhang Ziying, a poet of the suspected Hu school, said: "Use a doctor first, and then use Colombia to complete your studies." At that time, almost all doctors were like this. It is more appropriate for the poet Zhang to change the word "Xian" to "Du" in "Xijiang Moon". However, some "first use" is about one year, and some are three, five or even ten years. Life is not without "first use".
Professor Xia (educated youth) and Professor Fu (Ruth) think that 10 years was used first, and there is no other reason, just "the paper was delayed".
Both Mr Xia and Mr Fu believe that he passed the first column-minor repairs. In this way, Hu's thesis can be published in Shanghai immediately, and he can get his doctorate by the end of 19 1927 (doctoral thesis attached to Columbia University, unlimited semester). Why wait until Dewey 1922 left China to go to the publishing house, and 1927 went back to new york to get his degree? !
In fact, the difficulties that Hu encountered in the oral test of 19 17 were similar to those of the later Jules. Admitted to the second column, under normal circumstances, you have to go back to school to make up the exam. At that time, there were no jet planes between China and the United States, so it was easy to go back to school to make up the exam! So he has only one way to "delay", and one delay is 10 years!
After Dewey returned to China to give lectures, due to Du's position at Columbia University and Hu's reputation at home and abroad, it was natural that he did not have to take a make-up exam when he changed from major to minor. If Dewey's legacy is still there and Columbia University's records are still there, then there is no need to fight the lawsuit of "Hu Shi's degree". (See Hu Shi's Oral Autobiography, annotated by Tang Degang, published by East China Normal University Press 1993).
Tang Degang's theory was opposed and criticized by Hu Songping, Yu Yingshi and others. In the "Editor's Note" of Mr. Hu Shizhi's Chronicle, Hu Songping quoted a section of Tang Degang's account in Hu Shi's Miscellaneous Notes (Taipei: Biography and Literature Publishing House 1979). Tang said: "Hu studied in the Graduate School of Columbia University for only two years (1915-1917). Two years is not enough to get a' (required residence) in the process of doctoral study, let alone pass the exams at different levels. ..... So it is impossible for Hu Shi to finish reading in two years. "
In this regard, Hu Songping defended Hu Shi and said: "According to Hu Shi's Miscellaneous Notes, Columbia University does not seem to grant Mr. Hu a doctorate. However, it is true that Columbia University awarded Mr. Hu a doctorate. If there is no mistake in Tang Jun's inference, then the person who awarded the doctorate of Columbia University made a mistake. "
According to historian Yu Yingshi, "there is no problem with Hu Shi's doctorate, just because the paper was delayed for ten years." . That is to say, as Xia Zhiqing said, this is just an "unfinished procedure".
In order to prove this statement, Yu Yingshi cited several relevant examples according to Hu Shi's diaries, letters and oral autobiography, and thought that Hu Shi had taken enough courses in philosophy history and philosophy at Cornell University in the last two years, so with two years at Columbia University, he spent four years studying for a doctorate. With such full preparation, Hu Shi completed all the necessary courses and assignments of Ph.D. in Columbia University within two years. (The course of rediscovering Hu Shi, by Yu Yingshi, published by Guangxi Normal University Press in 2004. The same below)
Yu also pointed out that in the sequel to Selected Letters of Hu Shi (published by Vision Publishing Company), there is a letter written by Zhu Jingnong to Hu Shi on September 7, 2009, which reads: "There is a boring thing to tell you today. Recently, a group of students studying in the United States who have never met you listened to the nonsense of a gentleman who used to be your friend, but now he has become your enemy. They said "one dog barks, all dogs bark", "Khufu pretends to be a doctor", "Khufu failed the oral exam" and "Khufu does this and that". I think it doesn't matter whether you are a doctor or not, but the word' impostor' is absolutely intolerable. I shouldn't have passed this boring sentence on to you, making you feel bad. However, because' an open gun is easier to hide than an open enemy', this rumor is very hateful, so to tell the truth, my brother should also try to' defend himself'. Naturally, no friend who is a step away from this statement believes it. However, there are not many friends in the first step. Now, there are too many people arguing. Only if you print the paper quickly, the rumor will not spread.
According to historian Yu Yingshi, this "former friend, today's enemy" refers to Mei Guangdi who followed Hu Shi to study in the United States. This was the source of "rumors" in those years, but Zhu Jingnong clearly knew that the crux of the problem was that Hu Shi's doctoral thesis was not printed.
1920 On August 9th, Zhu Jingnong wrote a short message to Hu Shi: "In addition, you should try to publish your doctoral thesis. I'm really tired of hearing a lot of rumors about this. Please publish it early. "
According to these two letters, Yu Yingshi thought that Hu Shi's paper was finally published in 1922, which had something to do with it. According to Tang Degang, if Hu Shi failed the overhaul in the Columbia University exam, he had to make up the exam. Why did Hu Shi wait until the year after Dewey 1922 left China to go to press, and 1927 returned to new york to get his degree? (Oral Autobiography of Hu Shi)
Yu Yingshi thinks this is absurd. At that time, the "oral test" of Columbia University's doctoral thesis was "the easiest to pass", and Teacher Tang admitted it. Unless it is clearly recorded in the Record of Columbia University that Hu Shi changed from "overhaul" to "minor repair", it is really hard for us to imagine that someone in the examiner deliberately gave Dewey a hard time and must be critical of the papers he directed. "
Yu Yingshi's explanation is: "After Hu Shi returned to China in 19 17, he immediately threw himself into the literary revolution in full swing, followed by the May 4th Movement in19/9. In the first four or five years, his activity and workload were unimaginable. Just look up the remnants of1919-1920 (the third volume of the complete works). During this period, it is impossible for him to print his thesis and get a degree certificate.
So why did he finally publish this paper in 1922? In addition to the letter quoted by Zhu Jingnong, another reason is that he was self-motivated and was willing to be hired by Columbia University to teach the history of China's thoughts and literature for one or two years. ..... This should be the main reason why he decided to publish his thesis. On the one hand, he completed the final formalities of his degree; On the other hand, it can also be used as a textbook for teaching China's philosophy.
Not only that, he also had the opportunity to attend an American education conference 1923 in June. Therefore, it is no accident that the paper was published in 1922. Later, these two travel plans were cancelled, so the trip to Europe and America was postponed to 1926- 1927. ..... In a word, there is nothing suspicious about Hu Shi's "doctoral degree problem" except that it has been delayed for ten years because of "delay in handing in papers". "("rediscovering the course of Hu Shi ")
Yu Yingshi, who graduated from Harvard University in the United States and served as a professor there, later served as the president of New Asia College and vice-president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a disciple of Qian Mu and always thinks highly of himself. He is an authoritative figure in overseas Hu Xue studies. Although he did not reach Fu Sinian's "supercilious" status, he was also arrogant and ignored other historians. Thus, there was a "righteous act" that criticized Tang Degang, an overseas historian.
However, compared with the "son of heaven's protege", it is not a grade in any way, and it is also a junior in English, which can't be compared with Tang, who is almost diligent in practicing. As far as Tang Degang is concerned, Shi Ying is just a doll, so there is no need to take it seriously. In the face of criticism, she avoided talking and laughed it off.
However, the Englishman's "judas kiss" annoyed Wong Young-tsu, a Taiwan Province historian of the same age. Wang also lashed out of his own pocket out of disgust at the "righteous act" of being held accountable, just like a political term often used in the 1950s and 1960s.
Wang said: "The main basis for me to clarify the facts is Hu Shi's Diary. According to Hu Shi's diary, it is of course of positive significance to correct some intentional misinformation and fallacies; However, the authority of Hu Shi's diary cannot be said to be 100%. In addition to the fact that diaries are often distorted by recollections and supplements afterwards, Hu Shi became famous early and cherished feathers. His diary is obviously to be made public and shown to others, because it is hard to avoid covering up the truth if it is carefully written. In other words, Hu Shi's diary is not all Hu Shi's private space. As he said when chatting with He Bingdi in new york,' Chen Yinque has a good memory',' Lei Haizong is a bit stupid',' Ma Yinchu takes a cold bath every day, and women can't live without it' (see Sixty Years of Reading History and Reading the World) and other' true confessions' are completely undisguised and can't be found in Hu Shi's diary. " (Wong Young-tsu, Hu Shi's Merit Course, Reading, No.2, 2005). The following quotations are the same)
When talking about the key point of Hu Shi's "doctor problem", he said: "I strongly praise Hu, who published judas kiss and cursed Su, and admitted that when she was in Hu Shi's class, Hu Shi used the Outline of the History of China Philosophy printed with" Dr. Hu Shi ". But she quoted Hu Shi as saying: "I never like to dazzle people with the title of degree." Dr. Hu Shi wrote a few words, which was a trick of the publishing house. The so-called unwillingness to show off one's education means not to show off one's education. As for publishers, how can they do this without authorization?
Quoting Su's words shows Hu Shi's dishonesty. At that time, Peking University did not stipulate that non-doctors could not be professors. If Hu Shi claimed to be a doctor before he got his degree, people of insight would not have any reaction, so-called "Dr. Hu Zhuang". Zhu Jingnong didn't need to remind Hu Shi in his letter of 19 19, hoping that he would print paper quickly to dispel doubts.
Under this pressure, Hu Shi did not print the paper as soon as possible and obtained a doctorate, but waited for ten years. Of course, it's suspicious.
Yu explained that after Hu Shi 19 17 returned to China, he immediately devoted himself to the literary revolution in full swing. In other words, Hu Shi has no time to print papers and get a degree. However, if 19 17 passes the degree examination, and the paper does not need major overhaul or minor repair, but must be handed over to the bookseller for printing, then the so-called "no time" or "no idea" (the idea should be strong under the questioning of friends) is difficult to justify; I'm afraid the rest of the reasons are difficult to establish, because there is no money to print papers, there must be something wrong.
Tang Degang once told the author that the archives of Dr. Hu Shi's thesis that failed in 19 17 are still kept in Columbia University. He has read these books and talked face to face with Hu Shi. However, these documents can no longer be accessed without the consent of family members ... "
Finally, he said: "Hu Shi's shortcomings can be advantages or even' good examples' in Yu's works. To paraphrase Yin's mantra: "Where shall we start?" "
Recently, I read Yu Yingshi's recently published article entitled "The Final Judgment of Doctor Hu Shi's Degree Case". (See Volume 5 of Collected Works, Guangxi Normal University Press, 2006) Yu said in the article that he found several new evidences that could completely solve the unsolved case of Dr. Hu Shi, and illustrated it with examples, "as the final judgment of the whole case".
Yu's new evidence is a "note" and a letter from Hu Shi. A Brief Annotation was written in 1922 1, which was written by Hu Shi for the East Asia edition of History of Pre-Qin Scholars. It said: "This monograph on the development of China's ancient logical methods is that the time I lived in new york was 19 15 September to 1965438 April. It has been accepted by the philosophy department of Columbia University as part of the requirements for completing the doctorate in philosophy. ..... In the past four years, I have been longing for the opportunity to make a thorough revision of this paper. But the pressure of work made it impossible for me to realize this wish, which is why this book has never been published. British and American friends who have seen the manuscript of this book in China have repeatedly advised me to print the old work four years ago as it is. I have decided to do so now, although I am reluctant ... "
In this "brief explanation", Yu Yingshi concluded: "We learned two basic facts from this: First, after his doctoral thesis was submitted in 19 17, it was officially accepted by the philosophy department of Columbia University at that time; 2. The East Asia version of 1922 is exactly the same as the original paper submitted by 19 17, except for the introduction and introduction. 192665438+February [Hu Shi] Diary:' Power generation in East Asia, ask them to send 100 copies of the History of Famous Studies to Dewey.' It can be seen that he officially received his doctorate in 1927, that is, the paper written by 19 17 was finalized. This fact must be based on an absolute premise, that is,1965438+May 22, 2007, the oral examination of the thesis has been successfully passed. "
The second proof is that on April 3, 2007, 1965438+65438, Hu Shi sent a long letter to Wei Liansi. At the end of the letter, he said, "I'm still writing the conclusion of my paper. I gave the written part to Professor Dewey, who was very satisfied with what I wrote and gave me a lot of encouragement. I estimate that it will be finished in another week. "
After receiving the letter, Yu Yingshi thought that "this is really irrefutable evidence, which can destroy any false test about the failure of the oral test". In view of Tang Degang's "extremely vivid and interesting imagination", the most important key figure is of course how to instruct Professor Dewey to evaluate it.
Therefore, Yu Yingshi thinks: "Now, we can know for sure that Dewey has read all the first drafts of the paper except the conclusion, and he is very satisfied and has given a lot of encouragement, so the so-called' failure in oral examination' speculation has completely lost its basis for existence ... Professor Dewey has affirmed the value of the paper, and any unexpected peak cannot happen in this final oral examination."
Therefore, Yu believes that the fundamental reason why Hu Shi's doctoral degree was delayed 10 years is that the paper was submitted too late, and other explanations and speculations are nonsense. "A mystery in 85 years has finally been completely solved, and there is no room for debate anymore." Is this conclusion made by Yu's family a real conclusion? Is there a possibility of a "strange peak" in the process of deciphering this unsolved case? Waiting for the test of history.