Hongye Yang Liansheng Volume

Author: Liu Mengxi, Editor-in-Chief; Zhang Yanru, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-06-01
Features: The academic thought of a nation is the spiritual light of that nation. The activities of academic elites in a specific era often contain a vast amount of information that transcends that era. At the turn of the century, China urgently needs to gain forward-looking thinking through reflection on the past and understanding the present. The modern Chinese academia, which began around 1990, absorbed new concepts popular at the time and initiated exchanges and dialogues between Chinese and Western academia. Based on the recognition of the value of academia itself, scholars developed a conscious demand for academic independence. From the important milestone of Yan Fu's translated works as the starting point of modern Chinese academia, a large number of scholars, at the intersection of tradition and modernity, constructed a dual character of enduring value and timely relevance, with pioneering significance and exemplary role. These classic works shine in the brilliant sky of Chinese academia, becoming an important source for today's students to capture academic inspiration. This series compiles classic works of enduring significance by modern academic giants such as Yan Fu, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Zhang Taiyan, Wang Guowei, Hu Shih, Jin Yuelin, Gu Jiegang, Feng Youlan, Chen Yuan, Li Ji, Xiong Shili, Lu Xun, Wu Mi, Wu Mei, Chen Shizeng, Zhang Junmai, Fang Dongmei, Tang Junyi, Liao Ping, Meng Wentong, Tang Yongtong, Cai Yuanpei, Yang Shudu, Yu Jiaxi, Zhao Yuanren, Qian Jibo, Ma Yifu, Guo Moruo, Tai Xu, Yang Wenhui, Ou Yangxi, Lü Cheng, Fu Sinian, Dong Zuobin, Hong Ye, Yang Lian, Luo Zhenyu, and Chen Yinque. These works not only showcase the monumental achievements of modern Chinese academia that can be celebrated for generations but also provide spiritual nourishment for the Chinese nation aspiring to a brighter future and greater leaps. For convenience of reading, each volume includes a brief biography of the author at the beginning and an academic chronology and bibliography of the author at the end.
Hong Ye was one of the internationally renowned historians of the contemporary era, particularly noted for his research on historical methods and the compilation of reference books. He made contributions to the study of Chinese literature, history, and philosophy. The nine essays included in this volume are profound and extensive works. Yang Liansheng was a master of multifaceted knowledge in contemporary China, with significant achievements in economic history and literary history, especially renowned for his research on Chinese economic history. This volume selects his works such as A Concise History of Chinese Money and Credit and An Interpretation of the Economic History of the Jin Dynasty, along with nine essays on economic and cultural history.
Hong Ye (1893–1980), styled Weilian (also Wailian, William), named Zhengji, and styled Luchen, was a native of Houguan (now Minhou) in Fujian. He was an outstanding historian and educator of the contemporary era. From 1910 to 1915, he studied at Heling Yinghua College. In 1915, he went to the United States for studies, graduating from Waseda University in Ohio in 1917 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He obtained a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1919 and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Union Theological Seminary in Columbia University in 1920. He later pursued a doctorate in history but did not complete it. After returning to China in 1923, he successively served as a professor, department head, vice president, librarian, director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute's Pelliot Index Project, head of the Department of History at the Institute, and graduate supervisor at Peking University. In winter 1941, Peking University was closed by Japanese forces, and he was arrested and imprisoned with Deng Zhicheng for six months. After his release, he refused to cooperate with the Japanese and puppet regime until Peking University reopened after the war, when he returned to his position. In spring 1946, he went to the United States to lecture but remained there. From 1948 to 1968, he concurrently served as a research associate at the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. He later passed away in the United States. His major articles include: The World Map of Matteo Ricci (published in Yu Gong in 1936, Vol. 5, Issues 3-4), Preface to the Liji Pelliot Index (published in Journal of Historical Studies in 1936, Vol. 2, Issue 3), Preface to the Spring and Autumn Annals Pelliot Index (published in Special Issue of Pelliot Index in 1937, No. 12), Preface to the Du Shi Pelliot Index (completed in August 1940), A Study of the Origins of the Secret History of the Mongols (published in Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies in 1951, Vol. 14, Issues 3-4), and Breaking the Axe (published in Tsinghua Journal in Taiwan in 1956, volume issue). His major books include: On the Pelliot Index (Beijing Pelliot Index Compilation Office, 1930), A Study of the Shouyuan Tu Lu (Beijing Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1933), Three Collected Works on Qing Paintings (Beijing Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1933), The Greatest Poet of China, Du Fu (Harvard University Press, USA, 1952), and Collected Works of Hong Ye on Scholarship (Zhonghua Book Company, Beijing, 1981).
Yang Liansheng (1914–1990), originally from Shaoxing, Zhejiang, was born in Baoding, Hebei. He was an internationally renowned sinologist and economic historian. In 1937, he graduated from the Department of Economics at Tsinghua University. In 1940, he went to the United States to study at Harvard University, obtaining a Master of Arts degree in 1942 and completing his doctoral dissertation A Translation and Annotation of the Shihuo Zhi of the Jin Shi in 1946. In 1947, he became an associate professor at the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University and a full professor in 1958. During this time, he completed his representative works such as A Concise History of Chinese Money and Credit and A Collection of Chinese Poems in Classical and Modern Chinese. In 1961, he became a naturalized citizen of the United States. In 1962, he was invited to lecture at the Collège de France in Paris and Kyoto University in Japan. Most of his representative works were written in English, including Lectures on Special Topics in Chinese History (1950), A Concise History of Chinese Money and Credit (1952), Studies on the History of Chinese Institutions (1962), Random Notes on Sinology (1969), and Explorations in the History of the Chinese Nation (1983). Additionally, he co-edited The National Language Dictionary with Zhao Yuanren in 1947.