Huang Kan's Collection of National Studies - Collection of Huang Kan

Author: Huang Kan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Huang Kan (1886-1935), styled Ji Gang, styled Liang Shou Jushi, was born in Daizong Tree Village, Qingshi Ridge, Qichun. In 1900 (the 26th year of the Guangxu reign), he passed the county examination. In 1903, he enrolled in Wuchang Wen Tong Middle School and often discussed current affairs and revolution with classmates Tian Tong, Dong Yongwei (Dong Biwu), Song Jiaoren, etc. In 1905, he was sent to Japan by Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Huguang, as a government-funded student to study at Waseda University. That same year, he joined the Chinese in Tokyo. In autumn 1910, he returned to China to organize anti-Qing activities. In early 1911 (the third year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing dynasty), Huang Kan participated in the anti-Qing activities of the Gongjin Society and the Wenxue Society in Wuhan, wrote the commentary "Great Chaos is the Medicine for Saving China," which shook Jianghan and greatly boosted revolutionary morale. After the establishment of the Republic, Huang Kan edited the Minsheng Daily in Shanghai. In autumn 1914, he was appointed as a professor at Peking University; after 1919, he successively taught at Wuchang Higher Normal School, Wuchang Zhonghua University, Peking University, Northeast University, Nanjing Central University, and other institutions, teaching poetry, etymology, and classical studies for a total of 22 years. Throughout his career, he remained concerned about national affairs and his patriotic sentiments never waned. In 1914, Yuan Shikai imprisoned Zhang Taiyan, who opposed the restoration of the monarchy, in Beijing. Huang Kan went to the prison to live with Zhang as a protest. His teacher Liu Shipei invited renowned scholars to a meeting under the guise of academic research to mobilize support for Yuan's declaration of monarchy. Huang Kan angrily condemned the meeting and left, and the other attendees followed suit. When the "September 18th Incident" occurred, he wrote the poem "Encouraging the Nation" on the spot: "Forty million people may fight and die rather than witness the devastation of the Chinese land." He called on the people of the nation to rise up and resist the enemy. Huang Kan was diligent in his studies and considered himself foolish, advocating "pursuing learning with precision" and "broad yet rigorous scholarship." He valued mentorship but did not blindly follow his teachers' teachings, often reminding himself with the phrase "be diligent in life and devoted to passing on knowledge." Despite his fame as a scholar and his frail health, he remained dedicated to scholarship tirelessly, saying, "only when I have read all the books in the world can I dare to speak," and vowed not to write books until he was 50 years old. His studies in textual criticism, phonology, and etymology drew from the traditions of the Han and Tang dynasties and the school of the late Ming and early Qing, with many original insights and a unique style. In phonology, he made classifications of ancient sounds that accurately reflected the actual spoken language of his time. In his later years, he mainly focused on the study of textual criticism. Huang Kan was a prolific writer, with important works including "Yin Shu," "Shuo Wen Lue Shuo," "Erya Lue Shuo," "Jiyun Shenglei Biao," "Wenxin Diaolong," and "Rizhi Lu Jiaoji."