Qian Zhongshu, The of the lovers of wisdom

Author: Gong Gang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: In the 21st century, world culture is facing a new turning point. To oppose cultural hegemonism and cultural fundamentalism, it is essential to promote multipolar balance and the pluralistic development of culture. In this process, Chinese culture will inevitably become an important part of the construction of the new world culture. This requires us, on the one hand, to interpret traditional culture in a modern way to facilitate its modern development and benefit the world; on the other hand, to urgently summarize the past experiences and lessons of absorbing Western culture on the basis of Chinese culture, to summarize the modern culture of the past century, and to contribute to the construction of the future world culture. The core of this summary undoubtedly lies in the conflicts and collisions between ancient and modern Chinese and Western cultures and the resulting development trends. The century of Chinese comparative literature has developed under the impetus of this historical mission. The 20th century was a century in which the history of Chinese academic culture transformed from tradition to modernity andly moved toward maturity and prosperity through the conflicts and integration of Chinese and foreign academia. In this century, comparative literature first emerged as a concept and method of academic research, and then as a relatively independent discipline, leaving a profound and unique mark on the history of Chinese academia. The emergence, development, and prosperity of comparative literature in 20th-century China were primarily based on the internal need for changes in the concepts and methods of Chinese literary research. This determined the basic characteristics of 20th-century Chinese comparative literature. Historical research shows that Chinese comparative literature was neither ancient nor imported; it is a new humanistic phenomenon rooted in the intrinsic needs of the development of local literature, emerging in the context of global exchanges, with Chinese characteristics. The relationship and mutual influence between Chinese and foreign literatures over the past century are an important part of Chinese comparative literature. As Mr. Qian Zhongshu said, "From a historical perspective, one of the first tasks completed by countries in the development of comparative literature is to clarify the relationship between their own literature and foreign literature, and to study the mutual influence between their own writers and foreign writers." Over the past century, many scholars have made significant achievements in this regard, but past research has largely been limited to the influence of Western culture on Chinese scholars and writers, with little study on how this influence developed within the inheritance of Chinese culture, and even less on how traditional Chinese culture was reinterpreted under the influence of foreign culture to promote its modernization. This series of books, starting from the current academic situation and the perspective of the history of scholarship, comprehensively explores and deeply studies how outstanding Chinese academic figures over the past century, inheriting traditional Chinese culture, absorbed Western culture, and formed a unique modern Chinese culture according to the needs of the times and society. On this basis, it explores the laws of inheriting traditional culture, absorbing Western culture, and the coexistence of pluralistic cultures, aiming to clarify the unique path of the formation of new culture in China, draw correct conclusions and predict future development directions through examples, so that Chinese culture can truly become an advanced culture and occupy its rightful place and play its due role in the pluralistic landscape of world culture. The connection between ancient and modern cultures and the communication between Chinese and Western cultures are important contents of cultural development in the 20th century, but academic research has focused more on general theoretical discussions about these aspects and less on substantive case analyses that combine the integration of Chinese and Western cultures with the inheritance of ancient and modern cultures. This series of books, starting from the perspective of the history of scholarship, conducts in-depth case studies on Chinese academic figures who have made significant contributions to the development of Chinese culture and the communication of Chinese and Western cultures. On the coordinates of the intersection of ancient and modern and Chinese and Western cultures, it comprehensively elaborates on their lives, ideals, careers, achievements, and their contributions to the development of Chinese and foreign academia. It particularly emphasizes how, over the past century, they inherited traditional Chinese culture, absorbed Western culture, and formed a modern Chinese cultural landscape completely different from the past. The focus on case studies aims to highlight their unique contributions to the development of Chinese and foreign academia through the lives, ideals, careers, and achievements of key figures, as well as their inheritance of traditional culture and absorption of Western culture, clarifying the unique path of the formation of new culture in China. It strives to draw correct conclusions and predict future development directions through examples regarding the century-long debate between Chinese and Western, ancient and modern cultures. The authors of this series are first-class experts and scholars with extensive writings in cross-cultural studies and modern literature, possessing a deep cultural foundation and research expertise. They are the new generation of leading figures who have emerged after the great figures of the early 20th century, such as Qian Zhongshu and Ji Xianlin, who communicated Chinese and Western cultures. They have basically achieved the goal of famous scholars writing about famous figures, with in-depth research, accurate narration, detailed materials, and unique perspectives. In short, the research conducted in this series of books is not only extremely important for China but also has outstanding methodological and epistemological significance for the dialogue and communication of pluralistic cultures in the world. This series aims to fill the gaps in academia in this regard. Yu Yingshi, in his evaluation after the death of Qian Zhongshu, said, "Mr. Mocun is one of the highest crystallizations of Chinese classical culture. His death symbolizes the end of both Chinese classical culture and the 20th century." This book systematically summarizes and reflects on the literary research achievements of Qian Zhongshu within the above cognitive framework, comprehensively examining his knowledge, his views on Chinese and Western culture and literature, and his outstanding achievements in classical literature research, primarily highlighting Qian Zhongshu's humanistic qualities, academic and literary attainments, and cultural significance characterized by "uniting Chinese and Western learning and integrating ancient and modern."