Miscellaneous notes - Zhao Family

Author: Yang Buwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-03-01
Features: Yang Buwei, the wife of Zhao Yuanren, wrote "Miscellaneous Notes on the Zhao Family," a memoir that many people today should read. I believe the book has at least two advantages. First, it provides rich historical materials from the modern era. Since the author interacted with many prominent figures in modern Chinese academia, she was able to share her personal impressions of these important scholars. For example, the book describes Hu Shih, Qian Xuantong, Liang Qichao,, Liu Banruo, Jiang Menglin, Jin Yuelin, Chen Yinque, Fu Sinian, Luo Jialun, Li Fanggui, and Xu Zhimo. Whether the descriptions are positive or critical, they feel sincere and unassuming, without the author using others to elevate herself. Thus, readers can trust the recollections, and the author wrote them with ease. For instance, when recalling her travels to Germany with Zhao Yuanren in the 1920s, she recorded how Chinese students studying abroad at the time were trending toward divorcing their arranged marriages. This was a common practice among the students, but the author added a remark: "Among these students, only Chen Yinque and Fu Sinian devoted themselves to studying, untouched by such matters. They were like the stone lions at the gate of Ningguo Mansion in Dream of the Red Chamber—pure." The book also mentions how Chen Yinque and Yu Dawei (both students at the time) invited Zhao Yuanren and his wife to see German opera. When Chen and Yu took the guests to the theater entrance, they were about to leave, but Zhao and his wife asked why and discovered that Chen and Yu had saved their own meal money to treat Zhao and his wife to the opera. Such records, though brief, give readers a sense of Chen and Yu's character. The book also details Zhao Yuanren's journey to the United States after the war broke out. Some earlier books claimed that Zhao was obsessed with the American lifestyle and abandoned his homeland during a time of need, relying on rumors. However, Yang Buwei's account reveals a different story. In 1938, when Peking University and Tsinghua University relocated westward, Zhao Yuanren's family followed to Kunming. However, during the national crisis, some powerful figures in the Central Academy of Sciences discriminated against Zhao Yuanren's language department, preventing him and his colleagues from conducting normal research work (according to Yang Buwei, Zhao "spent seven or eight hours holding a pen but couldn't write a single character, not speaking a word all day"). Under these circumstances, the University of Hawaii in the United States invited Zhao to take a position, prompting him to leave for the U.S. These records show that in real life, the lives and working conditions of Chinese scholars were indeed extremely difficult—even someone as academically renowned and respected as Zhao Yuanren couldn't avoid the petty grievances and had no choice but to leave.
The second advantage of the book is that it is engaging and entertaining. Through the recording of historical anecdotes, it reveals another side of the lives of many modern academic masters. For example, the philosopher Jin Yuelin, known for his scholarly demeanor, is described in detail by Yang Buwei. One incident from the 1920s in Beijing tells how Jin suddenly called Zhao Yuanren's home, saying something had happened and asking Zhao's wife for help (Yang Buwei was studying medicine in Japan at the time). It turned out that Jin was having trouble with one of his hens, which couldn't lay an egg and was stuck in the middle. Thus, he asked Yang to assist with the delivery. Such anecdotes are scattered throughout the book, making for delightful reading. I believe today's readers would also enjoy sharing this joy.