Literary Master 1918: Starting with New Youth

The autumn rain finally fell, pattering softly.

The entire city of Yanjing was shrouded in a gray veil of rain, and the leaden clouds pressed down so heavily that it was hard to breathe.

The continuous autumn rain is a perfect opportunity to enjoy the scenery and have a good chat. When the sounds of people talking are mixed with the sound of rain hitting the eaves, it creates a unique atmosphere.

Literati and artists love to dine at "Laijinyuxuan," which is not far from Yanhonglou. Dining in such an antique building is simply "elegant."

The professors love to come here when they have free time. They order a few cups of fine jasmine tea, some pea flour cakes and peach shortbread, and easily while away an afternoon.

If you get hungry while talking, you can ask the shopkeeper for a basket of winter vegetable buns to have with your dinner.

At this moment, on the mahogany octagonal table by the window, there are several dishes of dried fruit and candied fruit, and three cups of steaming teacups, each corresponding to one of the three oddballs of Yenching University.

However, the three of them did not rush to drink tea and chat. Instead, they each picked up a copy of "New Youth" and read it very carefully.

When the old and the new clash, you need to understand the enemy!

Before long, Huang Kan slammed the magazine in his hand on the table, causing the tea to splash out. This attracted the attention of the guests at other tables. After they realized it was Huang Kan, they turned back to continue drinking their tea without any surprise.

Can someone with a mild temper be called an "old freak"? Huang Kan happens to be the one with the worst temper among the "old freaks".

"Outrageous! This brat surnamed Wu is going too far!"

"Look at this damned 'Kong Yiji'! It practically names and insults us scholars!"

"How utterly despicable this whole piece is! It portrays us scholars as people who stand and drink while wearing long gowns, and even goes on to say things like 'stealing books doesn't count as stealing' and 'full of classical Chinese phrases.' This is clearly aimed at the millennia-old traditions of culture, at those of us who uphold the ancient ways!"

"And then there are people like Hu Shih and Fu Mengzhen, who have started attacking traditional operas again, spouting complete nonsense!"

Huang Kan was furious, and his loud voice stood out in the teahouse.

The tea drinkers at the nearby tables who had heard the complaints quickly moved away to avoid being hit by the spittle.

He seemed oblivious to the annoyance he was causing, or perhaps he simply didn't care. His finger nearly pierced the paper as he angrily said:

"Qian Xuantong, as a disciple of the Zhang Sect, associates with these fools, spreading heresies and false doctrines; he slanders the Holy Sect, abandons ancient teachings, and indulges such a sharp-tongued and mean-spirited junior, writing articles that attack the mind, and even accepts him as a disciple. He is truly a disgrace to our sect!"

"Do you two know what the students have been saying lately? They're saying that Wu Zhu is 'a genius,' and that he'll kick the three oddballs out of school sooner or later!"

He seemed quite vulnerable, because Zhang Fengzai, who had argued with Wu Zhu in the reading room a few days ago, was one of his students.

Wu Zhu was so arrogant back then that he demanded that he come out and reason with him. When that failed, he threatened to go to the playground. Although the matter had nothing to do with him, as a professor, being looked down upon like that by a student would infuriate anyone!

Not to mention that he had a fiery temper since childhood. He followed Song Jiaoren and others in the revolution, was repeatedly expelled from school, and even smashed a tiger-head plaque. He only settled down after the Xinhai Revolution ended and returned to his study, turning to conservatism. He was by no means a kind person.

Therefore, in his heart, Wu Zhu's hatred level had reached its maximum.

The tea drinkers chuckled and pointed at each other as if they were watching a monkey.

Gu Hongming summoned a pipe from a servant, slowly picked up his teacup, skimmed off the foam with the lid, took a small sip, and instead of swallowing it immediately, he spit it out with a "glug-glug" sound.

"Brother Ji Gang, please calm down. The Kong Yiji depicted by my son is nothing more than a Confucian scholar in his own mind, exaggerated and pretentious, using various pretexts to satirize the times. Why should you take it to heart?"

"In my view, Kong Yiji embodies the gentle and kind qualities of our Chinese people! This is the power of compassion and wisdom. Consider him, even when humiliated by common laborers, he still wears a long gown, teaches, and distributes beans—this is truly the integrity of a scholar. For while everyone else is drunk, he alone is sober; how could that mad, immature boy possibly understand?"

"Everyone knows that vernacular Chinese is crude and uncultured, while the essence of Chinese civilization is fully contained in classical Chinese texts. This ignorant child is truly like a summer insect trying to understand ice!"

His tone was indifferent, as if he were commenting on a group of ignorant and foolish children.

"Gentleness and kindness" is the definition of the spiritual characteristics of the Chinese people by Gu Hongming in his book "The Spirit of the Chinese People".

In his view, it manifests as profoundness, breadth, simplicity, and sensitivity. He then compares it with that of European and American countries, promoting traditional Confucian ethics and etiquette while criticizing popular Western universal values, aiming to spread traditional Chinese learning.

Upon its publication, the book was translated into various Western countries, causing a sensation and sparking a "Gu Hongming craze." His ideas were regarded by some Westerners as the salvation of the East, and there was even a famous saying: "When you go to China, you can skip the three main halls, but you cannot miss Gu Hongming."

But what is backward will always remain backward, and its idealistic view of history has created irreparable flaws in the text.

The way of answering social questions is too abstract and vague.

Moreover, its conservative tendency to glorify feudal culture was eventually replaced domestically by the New Culture Movement led by "New Youth," while abroad it was replaced by theories that were more responsive to social issues, such as socialism, modernism, and liberalism. Idealistic empty talk was ultimately just a flash in the pan.

However, the reasoning he expressed at this moment resonated deeply with several of his colleagues.

Liu Shipei coughed twice, and only after Huang Kan's anger subsided and Gu Hongming fell silent did he slowly speak:

"Brother Ji Gang's righteous indignation and Brother Tang Sheng's rebuttal are both reasonable."

"However, while this article is deliberately defamatory, it is not without merit."

"Now that the imperial examination system has been abolished, a large number of scholars are struggling to make a living, feeling lost and out of step with the times, unlike us who still have a means to earn a living."

Huang Kan was about to retort when he was interrupted.

"Brother Ji Gang, don't be impatient, let me explain in detail."

"But the key point is not that Wu Xiao'er writes about a down-on-his-luck scholar, but that the whole story treats Kong Yiji as a patient, which strongly suggests that he does not acknowledge the preservation of traditional learning."

"By using Kong Yiji as a character, the old learning is nailed to the pillar of shame and ridiculed by vulgar commoners. This is in line with the views of Chen Zhongfu and others, and we must be wary of it."

This pleased Huang Kan and Gu Hongming greatly, and the two nodded repeatedly, their moods improving considerably.

The three calmed down and began to drink tea. Before long, the dried fruit and candied fruit were finished, and the tea was also gone.

Huang Kan seemed to suddenly remember something and asked:

"Uncle Shen, we previously agreed to launch the magazine 'National Heritage' to compete head-to-head with the likes of 'New Youth.' How are the preparations going?"

"The objectives have been determined and submitted to the council. Whether they will be approved will be known soon."

"Excellent! Excellent! That's exactly right! Let the world see what true scholarship and true literature are!"

Huang Kan felt reassured and full of anticipation.

Once "National Heritage" is published, we must thoroughly curb the arrogance of "New Youth".

Although Gu Hongming did not participate, he echoed, "Good."

Seeing that the autumn rain was getting heavier, the group refilled their tea and ordered some more food.

"Uncle Shen, how's the student search going? Are there any willing to participate?"

"Of course, Zhang Fengzai, one of your students, is the most proactive. He led his classmates in the preparations and brought in many talented people."

"Great news!"