How do you evaluate the disdain towards talented women in Qian Zhongshu's "Fortress Besieged" and other works?

Qian Zhongshu was not only mean to talented women, but in fact was mean to all human beings. Even when you are mean to yourself, you will never be lenient (you can read "Besieged City? Preface to Reprinting", a person who doesn't know how to laugh at himself will always fall into the inferior category if he laughs at others). The preface to "Fortress Besieged" says: "I have not forgotten that they are human beings, just humans, with the basic instinct of hairless bipeds."

The first time I read "Fortress Besieged", I read Qian Zhong's Writings about France The child who was less than two years old on the cruise ship: "a flat nose, two slanted eyes, high eyebrows, and his eyes were so far apart that he almost felt lovesick." I was surprised: Why does he treat children like this?

Later, after reading Sanlian’s "Qian Zhongshu Ji", I realized that Mr. Qian (Lao Qian? Haha) is a man flying in the sky. With his eyes on the world, it is inevitable not to look down on people.

"Talking about Art" ridiculed Wang Guowei for his "weak writing and excessive poetry".

As for Lu Xun, Qian Zhongshu said that he was only suitable for writing short stories, and also said that the characters of Lu Xun and Cai Yuanpei were not good enough. If Lu Xun's concubine became his sister-in-law, Cai would become a bureaucrat. (Wang Rongzu's "History of Huaiju Heart: Qian Zhongshu's Self and His Microworld", National Taiwan University Publishing Center 2014 edition, page 13)

For Feng Youlan, Qian Zhongshu said that he was "shameless" when he was in the United States. ".

As for Zhang Ailing, Qian Zhongshu told an interviewer during his visit to the United States: "She is very good, she is very, very good." Later, someone asked Qian Zhongshu if he really admired Zhang Ailing so much. He replied: "It's just for socializing. That person is flattering Zhang Ailing."

As for Chen Yinke, Qian Zhongshu in "Guan Zhui Bian" criticized Chen Yinke's annotation of Qian Muzhai's poems: "Only annotation of 'Red Medicine' ’, but I didn’t know that I would use Shou Leng’s language and miss it in person.” In addition, Qian Zhongshu criticized Chen Yinke in front of Yu Yingshi for being too “trivial” to test whether Yang Guifei was a virgin when she entered the palace. Yu Yingshi sighed with emotion: "It suddenly dawned on me that he had reservations about Chen Yinke's knowledge."

So Mr. Qian thinks highly of Mr. Yu Yingshi? It seems so. Qian Zhongshu wrote on the title page of "Guan Zuibian" that he gave to Yu Ying: "Every time I get a letter from you, I feel the wonderfulness of his words. If someone comes to me and has an explanation, I will come out and appreciate it." A visitor passed by this morning and sighed when he saw it: "Overseas, I have to be alone." He responded: "Even in the Central Plains, how can I think of it as a second person!"

In the reply to Yu Yingshi, Qian Zhongshu said: "The two letters of favor and the gifts have profound and everlasting meanings, and the craftsmanship of the sentences is enough to make those who are experienced in chanting things speechless and shrink their hands. You must have immortal bones in your body. My younger brother is like Tian Guang, and I wish I could not meet him again." In the days of prosperity, friends responded with a warm voice; now, the talents of all ministers are gone, and all the foolish talents are exhausted. All I can do is write your poems to the public."

Wait a moment, Mr. Qian said again in a letter to Song Qi. : "Those who write old poems today also have beautiful talents, but most of them are not good at it. They are often 'laborious' and 'acting jerky'. The works written by Yu Junying and Zhou Junzongce are not without good sentences, and every hardship is easy." "Not panting" is graceful and comfortable. "You can use empty words to please in front of you, but you can tell the truth behind your back."

Can we say that Qian Zhongshu is duplicitous? No, Qian Zhongshu’s letters are known to everyone as the “Rice Soup Encyclopedia”. “Losing your heart in person and letting rain fall on your hands” is Mr. Qian’s usual trick. Old-school literati will always reply to their letters. Mr. Qian himself once complained that he wasted all his time. I didn’t have time to read when I wrote back letters, and the letters I wrote back were full of flattery and clichés. They came as soon as I started writing, and whoever took them seriously was really a joke.

As for the "Ye Gongchao is too lazy, Wu Mi is too stupid, and Chen Futian is too vulgar", I will not say more about the "wild words" that everyone knows.

Then——

Even among these "masters" and "great men" who stand tall in our eyes, how many of them can catch the eye of Qian Zhongshu? What's more, the so-called "talented women" who are extremely ordinary?

"Who does Qian Zhongshu think highly of?" is always a topic that can cause discussion among modern Chinese literati (if there are any). I might as well state my opinion here: Qian Zhongshu had several scholars and literati whom he respected very much, such as Li Bake, Chen Yan, René Wellek and even Hu Shizhi. He respected Chen Yan, but Chen Yan did not read "Books of the Two Wests". He respected Hu Shi just because his character was not as good as others. And there is probably no one who can make Qian Zhongshu "respectable" in all the fields he cares about.

Qian is an encyclopedic scholar. If we insist on finding a name, we can say that he is a literary theorist.

Encyclopedic literary theorists similar to him include René Wellek, Harry Levin, etc. Qian also expressed his respect for them. However, as a China scholar, half of his world is in ancient China.

"Professor Harry Levin sat in the car in silence all the way. As he was about to reach the hotel, he suddenly said: 'I am ashamed of myself!' (Original words:' I'm humbled')

I asked: 'Why?' He said: 'He can do everything I know, but there is another world I know nothing about. ! ' (Original words: He has another world that I know nothing about.) His tone revealed infinite regret ("Collected Works to Commemorate the Centenary of the Birth of Mr. Qian Zhongshu", page 112).

Who does Qian Zhongshu respect? Does he have to look up to anyone?

——Even if he is Buddha, in Qian Zhongshu’s own world, does he have to be “favorable”?

Liu Yongxiang asked Qian Zhongshu: "How does the translation of the Thief Consort Story in Herodotus's "Historical Records" resemble that of a Buddhist scripture?" ."

When I wrote this "answer", I was actually a little worried that it would make Qian Zhongshu feel too arrogant. Some friends in the comments did feel this way, so I would like to say a few more words:

Qian Zhongshu is indeed arrogant and offended many people. Yang Jiang has been trying to excuse him all his life and has been beaten for this. Less pen and ink lawsuits.

I have read almost all of Qian Zhongshu’s seminal works, and I can say that I have a certain understanding of him as a person. My opinion is that, both in terms of his personal qualities and academic quality, Qian Zhongshu There is indeed the capital to be proud (the ridicule of Chen Yinke may be an exception, this is just a different academic path between the two).

He gave Xiang Da a limerick. The first two lines were: "The road to death on the outside is still, the door to life on the inside is sentimental." I think these are the words of a wise man.

Yang Jiang said to herself: "We seem to be proud of keeping a distance from people we don't like. We are young and unsophisticated, but those who are the most sophisticated and the best people are also criticized. Zhong Shu This is how I explain myself."

After reading Qian Zhongshu over the years, my feeling is that his early madness was due to his innocence. What about old age? "People call me crazy, but they don't know my true nature." The crazy ones make progress, while the stubborn ones don't do anything.

Qian Zhongshu and Chen Yinke were both said to be arrogant. From their own perspective, I think it would be more appropriate to use the word "negative" rather than arrogance.

Chen Yinke has a poem: I have been frustrated all my life until today, and no one in the world is looking at the sunset. ("Reminiscences of My Former Residence")

Also: Looking back on my life, I feel negative, but I am already ecstatic before I die in this life. ("Wandering Alone in the Jingming Garden of Yuquan in Spring")

Qian Zhongshu also said: If you are angry and your reputation is ruined, it will be more difficult to sing and cry. ("The Jinling Book of Delong Renrenhan")

My favorite book in "The Collection of Qian Zhongshu" is "Huai Ju Shi Cun". Qian Zhongshu was an old-school literati. He hardly talked about himself throughout his life, did not argue or be self-conscious, and only occasionally expressed some "inner thoughts" in his poems. In order to avoid being ridiculed by him as "a false confidant", I only copied the last poem in "Huai Ju Shi Cun":

Reading the world

Reading the world has changed, my temples have been destroyed, and everything is gone. The solitary lamentation sends out the mourning of the whole group.

The stars are not extinguished and the remaining fire is burning, and every inch is difficult to burn and drowned in ashes.

You also need to know how to treat the symptoms and change the medicine, and what new techniques are recommended by the old ones.

I don’t want to leave the old man alone, but live in the mulberry field again.