Literary Master 1918: Starting with New Youth

Hu Shi was a guest in Yenching, and a guest in Yenching was Hu Shi.

I don't know who started this rumor, but it's gotten increasingly bizarre at Peking University these past few days, dominating the headlines for the past week.

The students discussed the topic wherever they went, and some even went to the philosophy faculty office to confront him, forcing Hu Shi to feign illness and stay home, afraid to come to school to teach.

"Could the rumors be true...?"

Fu Mengzhen peeked into the philosophy faculty room from the doorway and confirmed that Hu Shizhen, whom he was on good terms with, was on leave at home. Inside, there was only Liang Shouming, who taught Buddhist philosophy, and Wu Zhu, who randomly appeared in various places at Yenching University. It was inevitable that they would be shaken by the rumors.

What did he say back then?

We'll treat the guests from Yanjing to a fist the size of a sandbag...

That would be like punching Hu Shi, and he would be expelled from school immediately...

"Huh? Brother Fu, what are you doing blocking this way?"

Wu Zhu had just received his share of the profits from Liang Shouming when he went outside and saw Fu Dapao acting suspiciously. He thought that the matter of Yanjing Ke had been exposed. He looked serious and his eyes were extremely unfriendly, as if he was about to kill Fu Dapao to silence him.

Fu Mengzhen felt a little uneasy and explained:

"Oh! I came to see Professor Hu, but he's not here... Strange, could he really be a visitor from Yanjing?"

"You don't think so?"

"Um... I suspected it was fake before, but now... it seems like it is."

"Since Brother Fu, who is acquainted with Mr. Shih-chi, says so, it seems to be true!"

Wu Zhu was overjoyed; he never expected that someone would be so eager to draw attention to him!

He was initially completely baffled, wondering how Hu Shi had become associated with the pen name "Yanjingke".

Later, Liang Shouming came looking for him, slapping his thigh, and told him everything that had happened on the day of the banquet. Only then did he realize that Wu Zizhen had made too much of a commotion, and with the addition of Hu Shi’s female friends, the rumors spread like wildfire.

As the saying goes, it's easy to spread rumors but difficult to refute them. Liang Shouming wanted Wu Zizhen to come to Yenching University again to apologize to Hu Shi and take off the hat on his colleague's head, but Wu Zhu stopped him.

Are you kidding me? Who's going to take the blame if you take it off?

Hu Shih, you should just keep wearing that "Yanjing Guest" hat. Who told you to have so many female friends!

Hehehe!

That's what he thought, but Wu Zhu pretended to be very impressed:

"I never expected it! Mr. Shih-Chih quietly produced such a masterpiece, which caught all of us at 'New Youth' completely off guard."

"Yes... I had no idea Professor Hu was so capable..."

Under Wu Zhu's guidance, Fu Mengzhen's judgment gradually began to shift, and he started to suspect that Hu Shi had been keeping secrets.

"Let's go. What brings you to see Mr. Shih-chi?"

"Responding to Professor Hu's call, I wrote a paper on drama reform, which I'm preparing to publish in this month's *New Youth*. I originally wanted to ask him to check if there were any omissions, but he's not at the university, so I'll have to go to his home to look for it."

As they were talking, Fu Mengzhen handed the manuscript to Wu Zhu, asking her to take a look.

"I know nothing about drama, how dare a layman like me give you pointers?"

"If even a complete novice can understand it, then it proves that I write well!"

"Okay, let's go to the Chinese Literature Research Room."

......

As the last bell rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Wu Zhu and Fu Mengzhen left the Chinese Literature Research Room one after the other, both looking rather grim.

Neither of them looked at the other, and they deliberately walked in the opposite direction, just so they would never meet again.

The argument just now was really intense. Wu Zhu may not know much about opera, but he knows how to curse!

Regarding Fu Mengzhen's article "On Drama Reform Again," he didn't really have much to say, because Fu Mengzhen's views on drama were very similar to Mr. Pa Weng's views on literature.

It possesses progressive anti-feudal characteristics, but also has the limitations of Enlightenment thought.

In a typical case, in order to promote theatrical reform, they fell into the dead end of completely negating traditional drama and then vigorously promoted Western drama.

This is the tendency towards cultural nihilism, which then serves as a justification for cultural colonization, viewing Western drama as an ideal model...

The ideas of elite academic researchers are actually quite far removed from the general public; in the end, they remain castles in the air.

The two argued about it for a long time, but neither could convince the other, so they simply gave up.

Wu Zhu went downstairs to the reading room, intending to have a chat with Brother Li. Anyway, no one was reading at this time, so there was no need to worry about disturbing the students.

He went to the door and looked inside. Sure enough, only Brother Li was there; all the other students had left. So he strode inside.

"How have you been lately?"

"Hmm?... It's Brother Wu! I've been doing well lately!"

Brother Li, who was engrossed in reading, smiled when he saw Wu Zhu approaching.

Wu Zhu moved a stool and sat down opposite him:

"I promised to come and talk to you about literature and ideals a few days ago, but I kept putting it off until now. I just had a fight with Fu Mengzhen, and my ears are really sore."

"Sigh! I tried to talk to Fu Mengzhen, but he ignored me! And why did you two argue?"

"How should I put it... Actually, I not only argued with him, but I also argued with my mentor. In my opinion, the academic elites surrounding 'New Youth' don't even understand our Chinese culture enough, so they blindly promote the idea that the West is good and wonderful, without ever seriously considering whether their slogans can be put into practice. They call themselves the enlighteners of the masses, but they have never gone among the people."

Wu Zhu spoke his mind for the first time, and he was very helpless.

Brother Li's eyes lit up:

"What you say is so well said! Go among the people... that's what we need most right now!"

"Many of my classmates are going to study abroad, but I don't want to. I feel I don't know enough about our own country yet, and it would be more beneficial to spend my time here! Now, Brother Wu's words have made my goals clearer!"

Wu Zhu nodded in agreement:

Have you been auditing any courses at Yenching University recently?

"Go whenever you have time, but..."

Brother Li hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Speak frankly."

"I once sat in on a lecture by Mr. Hu Shih and asked him a question about philosophy, but when he heard that I was not a formally registered student, he refused to answer my question..."

Feeling discouraged?

"Don't be discouraged! Being close to the water tower gives you an advantage! If I don't understand something, I'll read and study more. Look at me, I'm studying Western philosophy right now. Before this, I never thought there were so many new ideas abroad. Kropotkin, whom I thought was advanced, now seems questionable."

Brother Li held up the book on the table, letting Wu Zhu see the cover clearly; it was a history of Western philosophy.

What a rare spirit!

Thump, thump, thump—

There was a gentle knock on the door of the reading room.

Wu Zhu turned her head and saw Mr. Shouchang at the door, looking at the two of them with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Shouchang."

"Director Li!"

The two stood up and greeted each other.

Li Shouchang bowed slightly and waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to be so polite.

"The renowned Bamboo Gentleman is actually chatting with the librarian about everyday things, is it because he's from your hometown?"

"He's a fellow villager, but more importantly, he's a guide."

Wu Zhu answered very decisively.

Brother Li was taken aback, never expecting that he was so highly regarded by Wu Zhu.

Li Shouchang chuckled and didn't ask any further questions:

"I've been secretly listening outside for a while now, and the views of both of you have been truly eye-opening. There are some issues I've never even considered, but these two students have explained them to me so clearly."

Wu Zhu scratched his head with Brother Li.

Li Shouchang deftly rummaged through a box and took out a booklet:

"Speaking of new ideas, have you two been familiar with the workers' and peasants' revolution in neighboring Russia?"

"I've heard about it."

"Never heard of it."

Wu Zhu and Brother Li's responses differed somewhat. One was someone from later generations who knew history, while the other was someone from the present era who was out of touch with the world. They certainly couldn't align their perspectives on "granularity."

Li Shouchang gestured for the two to sit down:

"I happen to know a little about it; would you two be willing to listen?"

"No problem, Mr. Shouchang, please speak freely!"

Wu Zhu quickly pulled Brother Li to sit down and took out his paper and pen, showing a rather proper attitude.

"I published an article titled 'A Comparative View of the French and Russian Revolutions' in the journal *Yanzhi* in July. I wonder if either of you has read it?"

"Of course I've read it. You used the contrast between 'freedom' and 'bread' to illustrate the differences between the revolutions in the two countries, explaining things from simple to complex. I understood it as soon as I read it."

"Very well, then I'll go a step further and tell you both about my recent insights, starting with this book, 'The Manifesto'..."