The Collected Works of Hong Ye on Learning -- A Collection of Modern Historians

Author: Hong Ye
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1981-03-01
Features: Hong Weilian (1893.10.27-1980.12.23), originally named Ye, styled Lu, registered name Zhengji, styled Weilian, and known by the English name William. Born in Houguan, Fujian (now Minhou), he was a renowned historian. Hong Weilian received his early education at home, entered Fuzhou Heling Yinghua College in 1910, and went to the United States for studies in 1915. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1917 and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1919. He graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York in 1920 with a Bachelor of Divinity degree. From 1920 to 1922, he traveled across the United States, giving lectures to raise support from American friends for China's resistance against Japan's occupation of Qingdao. In 1923, he was invited by Peking University to assist Harry F. in raising substantial funds for the construction of a new campus in the western suburbs of Beijing. He returned to Beijing the same year, participated in the construction of the new campus, and served as a professor in the Department of History at Peking University. During his twenty-three years of teaching at Peking University, he held various positions, including Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Director of the Department of History, Librarian, and Director of the Graduate School of Arts. In 1924, at the request of Peking University, he negotiated with Harvard University to establish the Harvard-Yenching Institute and secure the Charles Martin Holle Fund for Asian cultural and educational initiatives. In 1925, he went to Harvard University to lecture. He returned to China in 1930 and served as the Director and Supervisor of the Institute of Chinese Studies at Peking University. In 1933 and 1940, he was awarded honorary doctorates in literature and divinity by Ohio Wesleyan University. During his time at Peking University, he concurrently served as the Chief Editor of the Harvard-Yenching Institute's Indexes for over two decades. In 1937, he received the Paul Pelliot (Julien) Prize in Paris. On December 12, 1941, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Japanese along with Lu Zhiwei, Zhao Zicheng, Deng Zhicheng, and others. After his release the following year, he refused to work for the Japanese puppet regime. When Peking University reopened in 1945, he resumed his position as a professor in the Department of History. In 1946, he lectured at Harvard University and served as a visiting professor at the University of Hawaii in 1947. From 1947 to 1948, he was a visiting professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. From 1948, he became a research fellow at the Harvard-Yenching Institute. In 1958, he concurrently served as a member of the Academic Committee of Nanyang University in Singapore. In 1973, he received the Pittsburgh University Award for Promoting Sino-Western Cultural Exchange. During his tenure as Librarian of Peking University in 1928, Hong Weilian meticulously established library management systems, paid close attention to the acquisition of new books and periodicals both domestically and internationally, as well as rare Ming and Qing historical texts, and made significant improvements to the library's catalogs. Hong Weilian was erudite and rigorous in his scholarship. He placed great importance on the compilation and application of reference works, inventing the "Method of Collecting Chinese Characters" and writing "On Indexes," which he used to compile various indexes. Under his leadership, the Harvard-Yenching Institute's Indexes division compiled sixty-four indexes in eighty-one volumes, greatly benefiting the academic community. His prefaces to the "Index to the Liji," "Index to the Spring and Autumn Annals," and "Index to the Poetry of Du Fu" ranged from tens of thousands to nearly a hundred thousand words, meticulously examining academic origins, compiling relevant discussions, and elaborating on the evolution of textual transmission, all of which held high academic value. Hong Weilian conducted in-depth and insightful research on Du Fu's poetry and life, the "Secret History of the Mongols," and "Shitong," achieving remarkable accomplishments. He dedicated his life to education and Sino-Western cultural exchange, making significant contributions to the development of Peking University and the establishment of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. His major papers include: "On Indexes," "Lima's World Map," "Preface to the Index to the Liji," "Preface to the Index to the Spring and Autumn Annals," "Preface to the Index to the Poetry of Du Fu," "The Origins of the Secret History of the Mongols" (English), "Supplement to the 'Discarding Redundancy' Chapter of Shitong," and "Revisiting Du Fu" (English). His works include "The Greatest Poet of China: Du Fu" (English monograph) and "Collected Essays on Scholarship by Hong Ye."