What was Hu Shi's life like in his later years? Why did you become depressed?

I believe many people are familiar with the name Hu Shi. As the leader of the New Culture Movement, Hu Shi is also a very famous thinker, writer and philosopher. Many people may have read some articles by Hu Shi, who also has great influence in literature. But apart from Hu Shi's achievements, have you ever known Hu Shi's private life? You may have read Hu Shi's diary that he wanted to play cards every day during his study abroad, but do you know how Hu Shi spent his later years? Why was Hu Shi's life so miserable in his later years? What happened to him? Let's take a look together.

1. Hu Shi was a very popular figure in modern history all his life. Since he became a professor in Peking University at the age of 27, he has been enthusiastic about helping the needy and is known as the "number one" in academic circles. But when he left the mainland for exile in the United States in 1989, let alone helping others, his life was very difficult.

1949, he is 58 years old. None of his paternal ancestors seemed to live long, and his father, Hu Chuan, lived only 55 years old. Therefore, at this time, Hu Shi seems to be ready for the end of his life at any time, especially his worries about his home country, which he repeatedly talked about in his articles and diaries.

He was extremely disappointed with the Chiang dynasty, so when faced with a choice, he decided not to rely on the left and right, and he could not stay on the platform. On April 6 of that year, he set sail from Shanghai and drifted to the United States in the wind and rain.

The former president of Peking University and former ambassador to the United States temporarily lost all his splendor, and then lived a lonely life in a foreign country for several years on the basis of self-reliant university salary.

2. One stay in America is nine years. Living in an apartment building on 8 1 street in new york, he confidently thought he could become a professor of sinology at Harvard University, but those foreign scholars didn't seem to want him to grab his job and secretly resisted. When I didn't get what I wanted, I had to apply to Princeton University as a curator of a small library with an annual salary of $5,200. Money is not meager, but low status. Call the curator, in fact, just like the director of the reference room of the department of major disciplines.

This is such a small library. By the end of 195 1, the school still thought it was too expensive, and hired another one with an annual salary of only $3,500, and skillfully dismissed him. It can be said that during the ten years in America, he was depressed. In a letter to his friend Zhao Yuanren, he said that he was "mentally miserable", and the economic pressure he had never considered before suddenly came before him.

At that time, his family of five lived in four places: his wife was in the United States, his eldest son went to Thailand, his daughter-in-law was in Taipei, and his youngest son was in Peiping, and he stayed for a long time; Although their income was extremely high before, they spent a lot of money and often subsidized others. No deposit. The couple are old and sick and often have to stay in bed. The payment of medical expenses is very difficult.

At this time, Tang Degang, a "little friend", said in his memory, "Mr. and Mrs. Ruyi Langjun are old and sick, and they are unable to do so. Naturally, they sat in empty seats. His financial situation, like his health, is obviously becoming more and more desperate. " In the past, servants could not afford it, so they had to do everything by themselves. They often read books at home alone and forget to boil water, resulting in smoke all over the room.

Later, after reading Hu Songping's dialogue with Mr. Hu Shizhi in his later years, Tang Degang's Oral Autobiography of Hu Shi and Hu Shi's Diary after 1948, I forgot many major events, but only two things were the deepest:

On the one hand, his old lady, Jiang Dongxiu, was not used to western food. Due to financial difficulties, she cooked a lot of bacon, dried prunes and salted fish and dried them on the balcony. Some smells are so bad that neighbors complain. Hu Shi was uneasy. At one time, he most hoped that his wife would go out to the theatre and throw away all these things.

Another thing is that he never brings money and can't remember it. Jiang Dongxiu thought of a way to bring him two dollars in his tie every night, so that Hu Shi can buy tickets when he goes to work every day. Hu Shi is still very proud of this. Tang Degang, a young scholar, interviewed him, and he made a special trip to tell him about it. He smiled.

Although these two things are trivial things in old age, they can explain a lot. For example, Hu Shi's consciousness and gentleness went from poverty to old age.

There is also his embarrassment in his later years, and the two dollars on his tie squeezed into the subway, which seems to be daily hints.

3. Things took a turn for the better in August 1957. The "Academia Sinica" on the island voted for the general election, and Hu Shi was elected as the new president of Chiang Kai-shek, which went against the general will and was not rejected. Hu Shi's life in America is really hard. He is eager to think of his own country and intends to come back. So in April of 1958, he finally returned to Taiwan Province with Mei Yiqi from Tsinghua University.

After his return, he immediately became the president of Academia Sinica and held an important position in the leisure department of the government for a long time. He knew that the rest of his life was short, and the intellectuals and "old employees" in Taiwan Province finally got their "spiritual leaders", and the two sides hit it off and were ready to fight.

Hu Shi, who was in Taiwan Province in his later years, wanted to do two major things:

First, promote the independence and prosperity of academics, culture, science and technology, give full support to the capable talents of the 1970s generation, and draw up the Outline of the Five-year National Plan for Developing Science and Cultivating Talents, so as to lay the foundation for the rapid development of science and technology and economy across the Taiwan Strait and become one of the four little dragons in Asia in the future;

Second, make use of one's position and prestige, strive to maintain and expand the space, directly or behind the scenes boycott Chiang's father and son, oppose Chiang's re-election and support the formation of opposition forces. In political affairs, his ultimate goal and hope is to realize the comprehensive democratic structure of the country.

Unfortunately, such an environment, his ideas, is tantamount to whimsy, but also completely tiger skin, basically ended in grief, but he also planted the fire for the democratization process on the island later.

At that time, his situation changed, but his life was still simple and he was a poor scholar. He seems to have a premonition that life is passing more eagerly and devoted himself to his work. During the day, various visitors, meetings and speeches; In the evening, his habit of staying up late all the year round has not changed. After 1 1 in the afternoon, "he started reading, writing and handling official business, often until three or four in the morning."

When he was young, he only rested for four or five hours every day. I still remember that in the book Hu Shi's Oral Autobiography, he seems to have told Tang Degang that a person who sleeps more than five hours a day is lazy.

In his later years, Hu Shi's material life was still casual, and the only "luxury requirement" was that the leather shoes he wore "must be customized with good leather"-he seldom cared about his personal image and was old.

At that time, the mainland criticized him fiercely, and many former teachers and friends attacked him like Koukan. But Hu Shi didn't care. His heart didn't seem to be disturbed too much, but he was very sad. Fortunately, Sun came back to life and returned to Taiwan Province with his parents. Hu Shi enjoyed a kind of family happiness.

Every Sunday, in his spare time, he plays with his grandson, folds a big sheet piling toy together, and frequently apologizes to his three-or four-year-old grandson, saying that he is too stupid or something, and he looks very helpless. But everything is not satisfactory. In his later years, the greatest pain may be the news that his youngest son, Hu Sidu, committed suicide.

1958 In May, he got the news that Hu Sidu had died on a phone call from the Pan Asia Society in Xiangjiang, but he almost fell to the ground. But he didn't mention it again, probably because he refused to believe it, and his will after death also talked about Hu Sidu's arrangement.

In this way, he gradually came to the end of his life:1On February 24, 962, at the reception of Academia Sinica, Hu Shi delivered his last speech in his life under the gaze of everyone, and then he had a heart attack and fell to the ground and died. He didn't leave any message, but it is conceivable that the Anhui native walked quietly in the early morning when the autumn wind penetrated the window, but with many unspeakable regrets.

After his death, he left nothing but books and almost no legacy. His ex-wife Jiang Dongxiu probably misses him. Since then, she has often complained to her daughter-in-law: "I should help poor scholars, write checks like millionaires, and treat me like a poor man." He also said that he continued to "pretend" to be a philanthropist, with a helpless face and a wry smile.

However, as we all know, in the story of modern China, even though there are too many vicissitudes and glories in blowing in the wind, the phrase "My friend Hu Shizhi" has become an eternal cultural motto with an ancient and brand-new taste and light.