Complete Works of Gu Su

Author: Gu Su
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Features: The current collection gathers over 1.5 million words of Gu Su's various writings, letters, and diaries, compiled into four volumes. In accordance with the late Mr. Gu's wish to be remembered as a poet and writer, the "Creative Volume" is placed first, followed by the "Academic Volume," "Lecture Volume," and "Letters and Diaries Volume." Regarding the editing of this collection, there are a few notes:
1. The works included in this collection are only those that can currently be collected. Works that have been lost or scattered are temporarily omitted, to be supplemented in the future.
2. The arrangement of texts in each volume and necessary related information can be found in the preface of each volume; they are not repeated here.
3. The collection of Gu Su's writings was entirely the effort of many of his friends and disciples during his lifetime, especially Ms. Ye Jiaying, who devoted a great deal of effort to it. The of the texts was mainly completed by his sixth daughter, Gu Zhijing.
4. Due to limited experience and academic knowledge, this collection may contain errors or inaccuracies. We sincerely ask readers and scholars to point them out.
Gu Xianji (Gu Bao sui), the original name of Gu Su, was born on February 13, 1897, in Qinghe County, Hebei Province. His father, Jin Chi Gong, was a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty and was very strict in educating his children. From a young age, Gu Su was taught by his father, reciting Tang Dynasty quatrains as children's songs, and at the age of five, he entered a private school where Jin Chi Gong taught him the Four Books, Five Classics, the prose of the Eight Masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, Tang and Song poetry, and fables from the pre-Qin philosophers. In 1907, at the age of eleven, he entered the Higher Primary School in Qinghe County. Three years later, he was admitted to the middle school in Guangping Prefecture (now Yongnian County). In 1915, at the age of eighteen, he went to Tianjin to study and was admitted to Beiyang University. After two years, he transferred to the English Department of Peking University, changing his name to Gu Su and adopting the courtesy name Xianji, inspired by the phrase "Zhou had eight scholars" in the "Wei Zi" chapter of the Analects, where "Ji Su" appears. He also took the pen name "Kushui," as its pronunciation is similar to that of "Gu Su" in English.
In 1920, after graduating from Peking University's English Department, Gu Su devoted himself to education. Initially, he taught English and Chinese in middle schools in Hebei and Shandong. Soon after, he was invited to teach at the Hebei Normal College in Tianjin. Later, he moved to Beijing and taught at Yanjing University and Fu Ren University, among other institutions, including part-time positions at Beijing Normal University, Beiping University, Women's College of Arts and Sciences, the Sino-French University, and the China University. After the liberation, he once served as the head of the Chinese Department at Fu Ren University. In 1953, he moved to Tianjin and taught at the Chinese Department of the Tianjin Normal College, the predecessor of Hebei University. He passed away in Tianjin on September 6, 1960, at the age of only sixty-four.
After Gu Su's death in 1960, all his works were intended to be published, but they were unfortunately lost during the Cultural Revolution. The pain I felt upon learning this was indescribable, so I contacted my sister-in-law Zhijing and fellow disciples to work together on collecting and organizing the works. In 1986, Shanghai Ancient Books Press published the Gu Su Collection; in 1992, Taiwan's published my notes from the lectures I attended as a student, titled Lecture Notes on Gu Xianji's Poetry and Prose, as well as his collection of plays Kushui Writes Plays. By 1995, Tianjin People's Publishing House published Gu Su: Essays on Poetry and Prose, and in 1997, on the centenary of his birth, a revised edition of this book was published.
Recently, I saw a catalog from Shanghai Ancient Books Press stating that they will soon publish Gu Su on Zen in the Academic Anthology series. Now, Hebei Education Press will publish his Complete Works, which includes many works previously unknown to me, especially novels that have never been widely circulated. In addition to his works, this collection also includes a volume of his "Letters and Diaries," which is rare and hard to find outside. With this Complete Works, readers can also gain a deeper understanding of his moral character, achievements, and literary style. The publication of this Complete Works is truly significant.
The Complete Works are divided into four volumes:
Volume I: Creative Works, including his poems, ci poems, qu poems, novels, and prose;
Volume II: Academic Works, including his academic papers and research articles;
Volume III: Lecture Works, including his lecture and teaching manuscripts;
Volume IV: Letters and Diaries, including over 200 letters and two volumes of diaries.
The Complete Works include all of Gu Su's extant writings.