Hu Shi Collection (8)

Author: Ouyang Zhesheng (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-11-01
Features: This volume includes Hu Shi's History of National Language Literature, History of Vernacular Literature (Volume 1), and Prefaces and Postfaces. History of National Language Literature was a lecture series delivered by Hu Shi at the Third National Language Institute under the Ministry of Education in November and December 1921. In March 1922, Hu Shi revised the manuscript while delivering a lecture at Nankai University. During the summer vacation of 1922, Hu Shi taught at Nankai University using the revised manuscript from March. Later, in December 1922, he lectured again at the Fourth National Language Institute under the Ministry of Education, using the Nankai printed version as a basis and printing a separate copy. The History of National Language Literature published by Beijing Cultural Society in April 1927 was based on the Nankai printed version, with a title inscription by Qian Xuantong on the cover and a preface written by Li Jinxi. The appendix Fifty Years of Chinese Literature has been removed. New appendices The History of the National Language Movement, The National Language Movement and Literature, and Essentials have been added. The History of National Language Literature contains many printing errors, and the quoted passages in the book have now been verified and corrected without additional notes. History of Vernacular Literature (Volume 1) was revised and expanded by Hu Shi based on new materials, building upon the foundation of History of National Language Literature. Prefaces and Postfaces was compiled by the editor and includes prefaces and postfaces written by Hu Shi for various publications, spanning from 1918 to 1961. The articles are roughly categorized and arranged chronologically. Among Hu Shi's prefaces and postfaces, the following three types have not been included in this collection: (1) Those already published in Hu Shi's Collected Works, Recent Works on Learning by Hu Shi, and other individual works written by Hu Shi himself. (2) The prefaces and postfaces by Hu Shi on his research of the Records of the River System, as the number of such works is too large to be included due to space constraints. (3) Several prefaces written by Hu Shi after 1949 that have a strong political tone have been excluded.