Tsinghua first, Peking University second

Author: Xu Jinru
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: This book is compiled by a person named Xu Jinru, who studies classical literature and claims to be a representative of conservatism. This person has been at Peking University and Tsinghua University, but he admires the traditional spirit of old Tsinghua while hating Peking University, especially seeing how figures like Kong Qingdong and Yu Jie from Peking University have been making a lot of noise recently. Unable to endure it any longer, he finally spoke out: "No matter how you stir things up, you are still second!"
Editor's Note: Xu Jinru's articles are all very interesting; he loves to compare things. He once said, "If Tsinghua people were like British or Americans in adhering to public conventions, then Peking University people would be like Germans in taking pride in their uniqueness, with everyone hoping to be the only one" (Page 4 of Qing). This is a very basic expression by Xu Jinru about the freedom of Peking University people and the freedom of Tsinghua people. Beyond this, the person becomes somewhat vague. Later, Xu Jinru concludes, "Many people mistakenly think Peking University is the place of freedom, but they don't realize that only at Tsinghua can one find the freedom truly belonging to modern people." This conclusion about "freedom" comes out quite abruptly, but after a little thought, it is both unexpected and reasonable. First, the book title "Tsinghua , Peking University second" clearly tells you that this is not a book intended to help you comb through history and reason things out. The author choosing such a glamorous angle to examine the tradition of freedom already reveals his boring nature. I doubt Tsinghua people would be willing to be this "flower queen."
The book Qing contains many anecdotes for readers to enjoy, one of which is particularly brilliant. It tells of how the "Tsinghua professor" Liu Wendi looked down on the "Peking University vagrant" Shen Congwen. During the period of Southwest Associated University, the two worked together at the same school. One day, an air raid siren went off, and everyone was running to a safer place. Liu Wendi was also running but stopped when he saw Shen Congwen. He angrily shouted, "Students run for the future of the motherland, I run to preserve Chinese culture, but you damn man, why are you running?"
Xu Jinru greatly admires this story and says, "This kind of arrogance purely based on knowledge is the true symbol of nobility" (Page 152 of Qing). Later, I would say that just as Xu Jinru's admiration for Tsinghua has degenerated into a vulgar attitude toward social reality, his criticism and belittling of Peking University's tradition of freedom blindly denies the reflections and critiques of Peking University people regarding the problems that arise in social practice. Perhaps inspired by the strict distinction between "ancient freedom" and "modern freedom" made by the French conservative thinker Alexis de Tocqueville, and passing through the division made by the cautious Austrian F.A. Hayek between "Anglo-American freedom tradition" and "French-German freedom tradition," the Chinese conservative thinker Xu Jinru finally feels he has grasped the developmental trajectory of the Chinese "concept of freedom." Thus, he demonstrates a bit of professionalism by distinguishing between "the freedom of Peking University people" and "the freedom of Tsinghua people."