Spirit of the Chinese People 2

Author: Gu Hongming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-28
Features: "Gu's writings in foreign languages, expounding Confucianism and Taoism, stirred the times; Gu was indeed a remarkable figure. His magnanimity and self-pleasure, his disdain for both East and West, were truly close to madness. Yet he could speak in accordance with his actions, and lived a life of obscurity. Compared to those who kowtowed to the powerful, was he not a man distinguished from beasts?" — Lin Yutang, great translator and humorist "I believe that Mr. Gu Hongming, whose culture spans over 2,500 years, is enough to bring honor to China in the 20th century world." — Li Dazhao, one of the leaders of the New Culture Movement "Mr. Gu is indeed the representative of Chinese culture, and the only Chinese spokesperson in the world." — Wu Mi, Peking University professor and cultural giant "In his lifetime, Gu Hongming had already become a legendary figure; after his death, he might even become a mythical one." — Wen Yuanning, Peking University English professor
Knowledge creates miracles, and good books change destinies. The Spirit of the Chinese People (Part II) is Gu Hongming's masterpiece in promoting traditional Chinese culture to the West. The book consists of two parts: The Tribute to the King and The Story of the Chinese Oxford Movement.
The Tribute to the King is a collection of Gu Hongming's various essays written in 1900. According to the account of his colleague and close friend Zhao Fengchang, The Tribute to the King sold extremely well upon publication, with "countries competing to read it." Luo Zhenyu also said, "Europeans eagerly circulated it, and at the time, it was so popular that it made paper expensive." In the early 20th century, Gu Hongming's reputation, especially in Western society, far surpassed that of,,, and even Yan Fu. Some say that the true understanding of China in the modern Western world began with Gu Hongming, and that their true understanding of him also began at this time.
The Story of the Chinese Oxford Movement was written in memory of Zhang Zhidong and was first published in Shanghai in 1910. In the book, Gu compares Zhang Zhidong to the 19th-century British Cardinal Newman, contrasting Zhang's Qingliu movement, which sought to uphold Chinese moral and ethical traditions, with Newman's Oxford Movement, which attacked liberalism in the Church of England. He points out that both Zhang's Qingliu movement and Newman's Oxford Movement opposed and attacked the same enemy—the destructive force of modern Europe's highly developed material civilization.