The Great Way: A Biography of Hu Yuizi -- Series of Biographies of Famous Cultural Figures from Zhejiang Province

Author: Chen Rongli
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-10-01
Features: When I finished the last stroke of this book, it was the night when Typhoon Maisha passed through. The wind and rain raged outside the window, but in front of the computer, my mind went blank. During the nearly year-long writing process of this 250,000-character work, I had imagined countless times what the moment of finishing would be like: would it be tears in my eyes, filled with excitement and restraint, or restless and anxious? The only thing I never expected was a blank mind. As an amateur writer, The Way of the World—A Biography of Hu Yuzhi is my first major long-form work. If the initial participation in the bidding was more out of the boldness and overestimation of a novice, this boldness and overestimation quickly turned into an unbearable pressure and even fear as the writing progressed. Many nights, facing the blank computer screen, I broke into a cold sweat, pacing aimlessly on the terrace like a trapped beast. The panic and anxiety gradually subsided after I had read the thick six volumes of The Collected Works of Hu Yuzhi and the two volumes of The Translated Works of Hu Yuzhi. If words are a river, then through reading the nearly three million words left by the late Hu Yuzhi, I believe I have finally found the to swim across to the other shore. This swim is filled with contemplation and reverence. It must be admitted that in the eyes of many people, including many in my hometown, the late Hu Yuzhi, who served as Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, seemed more like a famous social and political activist, while his outstanding achievements and significant contributions in fields such as progressive culture, publishing and printing, and international studies were often obscured and hidden. This obscuring and hiding is partly due to historical reasons, but more so to the biased perception of the cultural figures of Hu Yuzhi's generation who devoted themselves to revolutionary causes. Although I am powerless to correct this bias, I believe that at least in the writing of this book, I have this responsibility. This is also the initial motivation, the focus during the writing process, and the inherent meaning of a "biography of a cultural figure." I am deeply grateful to the elders such as Yu You, Chen Yuan, Zhu Shunzuo, and Jin Pusen, whose works A Biography of Hu Yuzhi provided a solid platform for my writing, though this platform could also inadvertently become a bottleneck or obstacle for me. Even more grateful are the uncles and aunts such as Hu Xuwei, Hu Xujian, Hu Xutong, Hu Dehua, Hu Xuwei, Hu Ming, Hu Guoshu, Hu Dacheng, and Cao Songjing, whose trust, support, and care as elders gave me immense confidence and courage. Especially Uncle Hu Xuwei, who not only provided a wealth of precious historical materials but also carefully reviewed the manuscript several times, offering detailed suggestions for revision. Without their strong support, this book would have been difficult to complete. For others, the writing process is a process of self-improvement, but for me, it is largely a process of learning. Therefore, this book will inevitably have many flaws and shortcomings. I believe this will not be the last biography of Hu Yuzhi, and I sincerely hope that a more detailed, comprehensive, and profound biography of the late Hu Yuzhi will be published in the future.