Chinese academic spirit

Author: Xu Fuguan (Author), Chen Kejian (Editor)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: The author has divided the selected articles into six parts, with each part's title added by the author. Part is "Ren Education and Governance." The content of Ren (benevolence) includes self-cultivation, family governance, state administration, and world peace, or simply put, it is the inner sage and the outer king, or in modern terms, it is self-cultivation and engaging in politics. The second part of this book is titled "Case Studies," selecting three articles; the third part is titled "Dialectical Approach to Academic Methods," selecting six articles. In the "Method Dialectics" section, the first three articles are debates with Mr. Mao Zishui and others on the relationship between textual research and principle-based interpretation. Because it was a debate, emotions were inevitably involved, and even the wise could not avoid it. With the passage of time, looking at it calmly today, this emotional outburst was not entirely necessary. Mr. Xu himself said that writing these articles was a "waste of ink" and that he "felt very painful," and at the end of the last article in this group, he expressed that he would "respectfully decline to respond" in the future. However, setting aside the unnecessary emotions, there are indeed many profound insights in these articles. This group of articles, along with other related discussions, holds undeniable value in clarifying the complexities between textual research and principle-based interpretation, as well as in how to organically integrate the two. Mr. Xu is a scholar with profound knowledge and also has deep expertise in literary history. The fundamental spirit and approach of Mr. Xu in studying literature are the same as his approach to philosophy. In his own words, it is "pursuing experience," and I personally think the most appropriate summary is "using historical insight to understand literary hearts," which is why I have used it as the title for several literary essays in this part. Among these, the article "Interpreting Du Fu's 'Six Quatrain Poems Playfully Written' from the Perspective of Literary History and Poetry Learning Methods" is one I particularly like. This article begins by critiquing a national Chinese exam question, revolves around Du Fu's "Six Quatrain Poems Playfully Written," and brings up many issues in the literary history from the Qi and Liang dynasties to the early Tang dynasty. It comprehensively examines and precisely evaluates the comments of predecessors on corresponding faith and the Four Masters of Poetry, making it a masterpiece of mutual verification between poetry and history. It has long been said that "poetry has no definitive interpretation," but this has become the best excuse for some people to indulge in arbitrary assertions. If "poetry has no definitive interpretation" is merely a pretext for creative expression, then arbitrary assertions would be acceptable. The more alarming issue is that "poetry has no definitive interpretation" spreads to "principle-based interpretation having no certain meaning" and "history having no true knowledge," allowing arbitrary assertions everywhere, almost becoming the trend of the times. Mr. Xu Fuguan, through his "self-acquired craftsmanship" — "the method of inductive research" — and his consistent academic spirit and methods of "pursuing experience," has produced various insights and research work that serve as a serious critique of the problems of the era. The fifth part of this book is titled "Cultural Embrace," collecting seven articles, most of which discuss the relationship between Chinese and foreign cultures, especially Sino-Japanese cultural relations. The sixth part is "Prefaces and Annotations," collecting twelve short essays.