Ye Gongchao Biography

Author: Bo Guoyong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The first part of this book introduces Ye Gongchao's family background, his academic pursuits, his career as a professor, his "New Moon" period, his transition from literature to politics, and more. His contradictions as a person: reluctant to engage in politics yet chose to enter it during national crisis; disliking Lu Xun's personality yet deeply praising his essays; urging Zhou Zuoren to move south with a heavy sense of mission, yet failing to offer straightforward advice to Zhou when he allied with the enemy. Why did he not speak freely as usual at that time? It all makes for fascinating reading. Even more intriguing is the second part of the book: Ye Gongchao's interactions with many cultural figures. "Ye Gongchao and Xu Zhimo," "Ye Gongchao and Wen Yiduo," "Ye Gongchao and Zhu Ziqing," "Ye Gongchao and Wu Mi," "Ye Gongchao and Zhou Zuoren," "Ye Gongchao and Hu Shi," "Ye Gongchao and Fu Siyan, Mei Yiqi, Jiang Menglin, Wang Shijie." Through these, one can gain a multi-faceted understanding of Ye Gongchao's character, actions, and writings. I particularly enjoy the section "Ye Gongchao and Wu Mi." As everyone knows, Hu Shi and Wu Mi's diaries are among the most preserved. Wu Mi, having once taught at Tsinghua alongside Ye Gongchao and lived next door to him, even ate at Ye's home for a period, meeting daily and becoming like family. Naturally, his diaries contain dense traces of Ye Gongchao's life. This density includes friends confiding in each other about romantic matters, colleagues discussing teaching difficulties, friends dining together, and Ye and Wu exchanging visits and conversations with various friends.