Key Terms
- Yan Dong Yuan: The residential area for scholars of the former Yenching University and later Peking University, which serves as the core setting for the story in this book.
- Intellectual Community: Specifically refers to the scholars who returned from overseas studies in the 20th century and experienced the changes of the era, and they are the protagonists of this book.
- Oral History: A historical research method that records the memories of eyewitnesses through interviews, and it is an important means for the author.
- University Restructuring: A major reform of China's higher education system in 1952, which had a profound impact on the residents of Yan Dong Yuan.
- Scholarly Past: Records the life experiences, academic pursuits, and fates of a generation of scholars in the context of the times.
Abstract
Xu Hong, a retired professor from the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University, recently launched a new book titled Neighbors in Yan Dong Yuan, which has attracted wide attention from the academic community and readers. Based on the author's decades - long living experience in Yan Dong Yuan at Peking University and combined with a large number of interviews and historical materials research, the book vividly reproduces the collective portrait of a group of Chinese intellectuals who lived there from the 1920s to the 1960s (and extends to the post - reform and opening - up era). Most of these scholars were born in the late Qing Dynasty or the early Republic of China, studied in Europe and America, and then returned to China to serve, becoming the founders of Chinese academia in the 20th century. In a podcast interview, Professor Xu Hong shared her motivation for writing - it is not only the responsibility of a professional journalist but also a record and "salvage" of the personally - experienced history, especially focusing on those "returned overseas scholars" who came back during the national crisis, stayed during the turning points, and endured the trials of time. The book uses the buildings in Yan Dong Yuan as a clue to string together the daily lives, academic pursuits, friendships, and choices and fates of many scholars such as Yang Hui, Feng Zhi, Lu Zhiwei, and Zhao Zichen in the historical torrent. This is not only a recollection of a specific community but also a deep portrayal of the spiritual world and patriotism of a generation of intellectuals, providing a valuable micro - historical perspective for understanding the social changes in 20th - century China.
Insights
Professor Xu Hong's Neighbors in Yan Dong Yuan and its related interviews provide a highly valuable micro - perspective and in - depth materials for us to understand the historical fates and spiritual worlds of Chinese intellectuals in the 20th century. Its practical significance is reflected in the following aspects:
- Complementing the Grand Narrative: By focusing on the individual stories within the specific space of Yan Dong Yuan, it enriches our understanding of the impacts of major historical events (such as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the liberation, the university restructuring, and various political movements), showing the specific marks and complex aspects of history on individual lives.
- Highlighting the Value of Oral History: This research makes extensive use of oral interviews, especially interviews with the "second - generation residents of Yan Dong Yuan", successfully "salvaging" and "rescuing" many individual memories and historical details on the verge of being forgotten, highlighting the important role of oral history in constructing a more complete and human - oriented historical narrative.
- Revealing the Changes in the Academic Ecosystem: The description of the residents of Yan Dong Yuan and their academic activities during the Yenching University era and the Peking University era in the book reflects the evolution track of China's higher education system, academic environment, and even disciplinary establishment (such as the early Department of Political Science).
- Reflecting on the Choices of Intellectuals: Through the experiences of Lu Zhiwei, Zhao Zichen, Zhang Dongsun, etc., it presents the difficult choices, ideal perseverance, and real - world dilemmas of intellectuals during the great changes of the era, triggering profound thinking about the relationship between intellectuals and the era.
- Unique "Architectural Narrative": Using the 22 buildings and 2 quadrangles in Yan Dong Yuan as the structural framework, it makes the physical space a carrier of historical memory, providing a novel methodological reference for non - fictional historical writing.
All in all, this work is not only a commemoration of a specific group of people and a community but also has important practical implications and enlightenment for understanding history, inheriting cultural heritage, and reflecting on the social roles of intellectuals in the present.
Views
01 "The Group Portrait of a Generation of Scholars"
Professor Xu Hong clearly points out that she is writing about a specific generation of intellectuals: they were born in the late Qing Dynasty or the early Republic of China, studied in Europe and America in the 1930s and 1940s, and were part of the "returned overseas scholars" group, determined to serve the country with science or academia.
The key is that they returned during the national crisis, chose to stay during the historical turning points, and fully experienced various political movements of the People's Republic of China and the reform and opening - up. This constitutes their unique life trajectory and historical mark.
02 "Salvaging" and "Rescuing" Historical Memories
An important motivation for writing is to "salvage" and "rescue" those figures and details that may be forgotten by history. Xu Hong believes that history both shapes and erases people, and if not recorded, they may disappear.
Therefore, she makes efforts to dig out the deeds of people such as Xu Shuxi, the former director of the Department of Political Science at Yenching University, and Lu Zhiwei, the former president of Yenching University, as well as the daily life fragments of ordinary neighbors, trying to present a more abundant and real historical picture.
03 History Constructed by Architecture, Details, and Life
History is not only composed of grand events but also reflected in the details of daily life. Xu Hong uses the 22 buildings and 2 quadrangles in Yan Dong Yuan as carriers, and through details such as neighborly relations, study furnishings, and daily trivia, restores the "fluidity" and "presence" of history.
She emphasizes that "True history always lies in the concrete and verifiable details. Without details, history ceases to exist." This method makes history more warm and tangible.
04 Choices and Perseverance in Special Times
The podcast repeatedly mentions the choices of intellectuals at key historical nodes (such as around 1949, the university restructuring in 1952, and after the Cultural Revolution). For example, Lu Zhiwei refused Hu Shi's persuasion to leave, and Zhao Zichen brought his whole family back to China, which reflects their complex patriotism and understanding of the era.
In their later years, many scholars such as Hong Qian and Zhou Xiangeng chose to devote their energy to translating Western classic works rather than just completing their own writings. This is also a kind of responsibility and perseverance towards academia and the younger generation.
In - depth Analysis
The Century - long Echo of Yan Dong Yuan: The Fate Silhouettes and Memory "Salvaging" of a Generation of Chinese Scholars
In a quiet corner of the Peking University campus, there used to be a residential area called "Yan Dong Yuan". It is not only a place made of bricks and tiles but also a special field that has carried a century of vicissitudes and condensed the lives and fates of a generation of top Chinese scholars. Recently, the new book Neighbors in Yan Dong Yuan by Professor Xu Hong, a retired professor from the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University, and its related interviews have brought this almost forgotten garden back into the public view, triggering extensive discussions about history, memory, and the fates of intellectuals.
Origin: The Responsibility and "Salvaging" of an Old Resident
Professor Xu Hong has a deep - seated connection with Yan Dong Yuan. She moved in with her father, the then - director of the Department of Mathematics at Yenching University, when she was 100 days old in 1946 and has lived there ever since. She is truly the "oldest resident". With 78 years of life experience, and having spent most of her life in the news industry - five years of study, thirty years as a journalist, and twenty years as a teacher, Xu Hong regards recording the stories of Yan Dong Yuan as a "must - do thing" after retirement. This is not only due to the instinct of a journalist to record the truth but also a practice of her teaching concept - using the work to demonstrate what good news writing is.
Previously, she had completed The Story of the Han Family, which records the history of her mother's family. The themes of the two books are actually in the same vein, both focusing on the same generation of intellectual community. "In The Story of the Han Family, this group is among my family members, and in Neighbors in Yan Dong Yuan, this group is among my neighbors," Xu Hong explained. The typical characteristics of this generation are: born in the late Qing Dynasty or the early Republic of China, growing up in the 1920s and 1930s, studying in Europe and America in the 1930s and 1940s, and determined to serve the country with science or academia. Many of them "came back during the national crisis, stayed during the turning point of the country's fortune, endured various political movements, and did their best after the reform and opening - up". Recording their stories, especially those people and events that may be covered by the dust of history, has become the core driving force for Xu Hong's writing - a self - awareness of "salvaging" and "rescuing" historical memories.
Space: The Transformation from "East Great Land" to Yan Dong Yuan
The history of Yan Dong Yuan is closely related to Yenching University. This large - scale area (a total of 77 mu combined with Yan Nan Yuan) was initially built as a "high - end residential area" by Yenching University from 1926 to 1928. Due to its location on a high slope, it was once commonly known as "East Great Land" (corresponding to "South Great Land" of Yan Nan Yuan). There are 22 small buildings in the style of American rural villas and two quadrangles here. The environment is beautiful, and the facilities are advanced. According to Mr. Deng Yunxiang's research, its conditions were even better than those of the residential areas at Tsinghua University at that time.
Yenching University, a private university founded by John Leighton Stuart and others with the funds from American churches, selected a site in the suburbs of Beijing after 1919 and purchased land to build the campus. It had abundant construction funds and large - scale campus construction. However, with the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, especially the national university restructuring in 1952, Yenching University with a strong church background was abolished, and its campus, teachers, students, and disciplines were merged into Peking University, Tsinghua University, and other institutions. Yan Dong Yuan then became the residential area for faculty and staff of Peking University, but the name "Yan Dong Yuan" originating from Yenching University was retained in the standardized naming and has continued to this day. Xu Hong recalled from a child's perspective that although the garden was full of "big figures", there was no strict hierarchical feeling in the daily lives of the children. Instead, there were more ordinary interactions among neighbors and playing in the public space.
Group Portrait: Gathering of Masters and Anecdotes of Ordinary People
Xu Hong's narration does not follow the traditional biographical model but "lets the buildings speak". She uses the buildings in Yan Dong Yuan as a clue, and each chapter focuses on several buildings and their successive residents. This structure gives a clear physical support to the historical narrative.
- Friendship and Perseverance: The book begins with a description of the profound friendship between Yang Hui and Feng Zhi, two great literary masters. They once co - founded a magazine and later taught at Peking University, living in two small buildings with similar layouts in Yan Dong Yuan. Xu Hong delicately recorded Yang Hui's stubbornness in learning German from Feng Zhi, a master of German, to study the original works of Marx to prove his innocence when he was criticized in the 1960s; she also depicted the restraint and purity of Feng Zhi and his lover Yao Kekun during their study in Germany, who "acted out of love but stopped at propriety" in order to focus on their studies.
- Salvaging Forgotten Gems: When narrating the No. 22 building where Feng Zhi once lived, Xu Hong made efforts to "salvage" Xu Shuxi, a forgotten figure. He was the founder of the Department of Political Science at Yenching University and the director of the first Department of Political Science in the history of Chinese higher education. Xu Shuxi was an expert in Japanese studies and had fought against Japan's aggressive intentions before the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Later, he "entered politics as a scholar" and joined the diplomatic circle. Through him, readers can catch a glimpse of the side of intellectuals in the Republic of China who studied international politics and participated in public affairs.
- Scholars Well - versed in Chinese and Western Cultures: Many scholars well - versed in Chinese and Western cultures once lived in Yan Dong Yuan. For example, the chapter "Torii's High - Perch and Overlooking" involves the archaeologist Torii Ryuzo (Japanese), the sociologist Lin Yaohua, and the linguist Gao Mingkai. Torii Ryuzo was employed by Yenching University during the Japanese occupation of Beiping. This maverick Japanese scholar bowed to the arrested teachers and students at the school gate when the campus was seized by the Japanese army. There were also many great linguists such as Li Funing, Wu Dayuan, Hong Qian, and Yang Yezhi living in the garden. Most of them were proficient in more than four or five foreign languages, and their diligence in academic research was admirable.
- Difficult Choices: The book also touches on the major choices of intellectuals at historical turning points. Lu Zhiwei, the president of Yenching University, was called "the soul figure of Yan Dong Yuan" by Xu Hong. He refused Hu Shi's suggestion to leave before 1949 and chose to stay. The theologian and writer Zhao Zichen not only returned from Hong Kong himself but also recalled all his children abroad, and the whole family faced the unknown future together. Behind these choices are complex patriotism and understanding of the era.
- The True Nature of Life: In addition to academia and politics, there are also many details of daily life in the book. For example, the smell of tens of thousands of books in He Qifang's house made his daughter He Shanya "dread it at first sight" and yearn for the clean and bright windows of the neighbor's house; Xu Hong's own childhood experience of sneaking into Feng Zhi's study to "steal" Grimm's Fairy Tales; the deep affection between the physicist Xie Yuming (who narrowly missed the Nobel Prize) and his wife Xie Xide (later the president of Fudan University); and even the interesting news that scholars liked to read "picture books" (comic books). These details make the historical figures more three - dimensional and amiable.
Method: The Power of Memory, Interviews, and Details
Since most of the main characters in the book have passed away, Xu Hong's research largely relies on interviews with the "second - generation residents of Yan Dong Yuan". These "second - generation" people have a wide age range. There are centenarians such as Lu Zhiwei's daughter and Hu Jinfu's daughter (Hu Luxi), as well as "big brothers" slightly older than the author like Zhang Yici, the grandson of Zhang Dongsun, and Hong Yuanyi, the son of Hong Qian, and there are also people of the same generation as the author, such as Yang Lian, the son of Yang Hui, and Ma Zhixue, the son of Ma John. Their memories, supplemented by Xu Hong's own personal experiences and necessary literature research, together form the basis of this book.
Xu Hong emphasizes the importance of details: "True history always lies in the concrete and verifiable details. If the details are gone, history is gone." She tries to restore the atmosphere of that era and people's living conditions through specific and real details, avoiding empty discussions and grand judgments. She uses a child - like perspective for observation and narration, making the writing more genuine, simple, and closer to the "flowing life" itself.
Echo: The Echo of History and the Enlightenment for the Future
Neighbors in Yan Dong Yuan is not only a memoir about a specific place and a specific group of people but also a history of the spiritual world and fates of Chinese intellectuals in the 20th century from a micro - perspective. It reminds us that the grand historical process is composed of countless specific personal experiences, and understanding history cannot be separated from the attention and empathy for individual fates.
The generation of intellectuals shown in the book embraced ideals, traveled across the ocean to study, and returned to China to engage in education and scientific research, longing to change the country's destiny with knowledge. However, their life trajectories were inevitably intertwined with the turbulent era, experiencing the baptism of war, revolution, and political movements, and bearing unspeakable hardships and sacrifices. Their perseverance, confusion, compromise, and resistance together composed a complex and profound tragicomedy of the era.
Today, revisiting the stories of Yan Dong Yuan is not only to remember the predecessors but also to reflect on history and understand the present. The experiences of these scholars, their pursuit of knowledge, their sense of responsibility towards the country, their choices in difficult situations, and the academic heritage and spiritual wealth they left behind have profound enlightenment significance for us to think about the social roles of intellectuals, the independence and value of academia, and how to conduct ourselves in a changing era. With her rigorous research, affectionate writing style, and unique narrative structure, Professor Xu Hong has successfully "salvaged" a precious historical memory, leaving us a cultural wealth worthy of repeated reading and thinking. The story of Yan Dong Yuan will continue to trigger people's deep thinking about the past, present, and future in the echo of history.