Introduce Gu Minghong.

Who is Gu Hongming? He was born in Nanyang, studied in the West, married in the East and served as an official in Beiyang. Proficient in English, French, German, Latin, Greek, Malaya and other 9 languages, and obtained the doctorate of 13. He read English newspapers backwards and laughed at the British, saying that Americans have no culture. He was the first person to translate China's The Analects of Confucius and The Doctrine of the Mean into the West in English and German. He has a glib tongue, telling Japanese Prime Minister Ito Bowen about Confucius, and exchanging letters with literary master Leo Tolstoy to discuss the world cultural and political situation. He was called "the most outstanding China" by Indian Mahatma Gandhi.

Gu Hongming, the word Tang Sheng. 1857 July 18 was born in a British rubber plantation in Penang (Penang, Malaysia), northwest of Nanyang Malay Peninsula. In his early years, his grandparents moved to Nanyang from Fujian, China, and accumulated rich wealth and prestige. His father, Gu Ziyun, was the manager of a rubber plantation run by the British at that time. He speaks fluent Minnan, English and Malay. His mother is a blonde westerner who can speak English and Portuguese. In this family environment, Gu Hongming has an amazing understanding and memory of language since childhood. Mr. Brown, a childless rubber gardener, liked him very much and adopted him as his adopted son. Let him read Shakespeare, Bacon and other works from an early age.

1840 British gunboats opened the door to China. Gu Hongming's adoptive father, Mr. Brown, said to him, "Do you know that your motherland, China, has been put on the chopping block, and vicious invaders are waving butcher knives to get a piece of the action? I hope you can learn from China and the West, take on the responsibility of enriching the country and governing the country, and educate Europe and the United States. " When the Browns returned to England in 1867, they brought 10-year-old Gu Hongming to the most powerful western empire at that time. Before leaving, my father burned incense in front of the ancestral tablet and warned him: "No matter where you go, no matter whether you are English, German or French, don't forget that you are from China."

In Britain, under the guidance of Brown, Gu Hongming started with the most classic western literary masterpieces and quickly mastered English, German, French, Latin and Greek by the simplest rote learning method, and was admitted to the famous Edinburgh University with excellent results, which was appreciated by the president, famous writer, historian and philosopher Carlyle. From 65438 to 0877, after receiving a master's degree in literature, Gu Hongming went to famous universities such as Leipzig University in Germany to study literature and philosophy. Later, when Cai Yuanpei went to Leipzig University to study, Gu Hongming was already a famous figure. And 40 years later, when Lin Yutang came to Leipzig University, Gu Hongming's works were already required reading. 14 years of studying abroad has made the talented young Gu Hongming a young scholar proficient in western culture.

After finishing his studies, Gu Hongming listened to the persuasion of Ma Jianzhong, a great Singaporean linguist at that time, buried himself in studying China culture and returned to Chinese mainland to continue studying China classics. He served in the shogunate of Zhang Zhidong, a powerful minister in the late Qing Dynasty, for 20 years, and his main responsibility was "interpretation". While helping Zhang Zhidong to co-ordinate the Westernization, he studied Chinese studies intensively and called himself "Hanbin Scholar".

Gu Hongming was proficient in various languages in Western Europe, and his reputation for quick speech soon spread among Europeans and Americans in China. He kowtowed to his ancestors, and foreigners laughed and said, so your ancestors can eat on the altar? Gu Hongming immediately retorted: If you put flowers in front of your ancestors' graves, can they smell the flowers? He read English newspapers and laughed at the British, saying that Americans were uneducated and satirized that the ship used pure German. Mao Mu, an English writer, came to China to visit Gu. My friend wrote a letter to Gu and invited him to come. But after waiting for a long time, Gu still didn't come. No choice but to find Gu's yard. On entering the room, Gu said rudely, "Your compatriots think that China people are either coolies or comprador. As long as we wave, we must come. " In a word, Mao Mu, who has traveled widely, is very embarrassed and doesn't know what to do.

At the same time, as a defender of oriental culture, Gu Hongming's reputation has gradually become prominent. When Gu Hongming gave a lecture at Peking University, he publicly said to the students, "Why should we learn English poetry? That's because after you learn English well, you should teach China people the truth of being a man and teach them gentle and sincere poems to explain those four foreign countries. " At that time, he still insisted on calling the West "a country of four foreigners". Because of this, many people just regard him as a joke maker, but ignore his inner pain, his positive thinking about oriental culture, his deep concern about the fate of this land, and his firm and desperate struggle.

Since 1883 published an article entitled "A Study of China" in the English newspaper North China Daily, he has embarked on the writing road of promoting China culture and mocking western learning. 1At the end of the 9th century and the beginning of the 20th century, he also translated The Analects of Confucius and The Doctrine of the Mean into English and published them overseas. Later, he translated the university. His works are creative, and the enlightening quips of Goethe, Schiller, Ruskin and joubert are added to the ancient oriental theory. Before him, there was never a good translation of China's ancient books.

From 190 1 to 1905, Gu Hongming published 172 notes on China in five times, repeatedly emphasizing the value of oriental civilization. 1909 published the English book "Oxford Movement in China" (translated in German as "Defending China's Anti-European Concept: A Critical Paper"), which had great influence in Europe, especially in Germany, and was regarded as a required reference book by some university philosophy series. 19 15 Justice in the Spring and Autumn Period (the famous spirit of China people) was published. He showed the world with idealistic enthusiasm that China culture is a panacea to save the world, and at the same time, his criticism of western civilization was sharp and profound. Soon, Justice in the Spring and Autumn Period was published in German, which caused a great sensation in Germany where the First World War was going on.

Gu Hongming believes that the evaluation of a civilization depends on what kind of people it can produce, men and women. He criticized those missionaries and sinologists who were "known as the authorities of China civilization research" for "not really knowing the languages of China and China". He uniquely pointed out: "To understand the real China people and China civilization, that person must be deep, broad and simple", because "the three characteristics of China people's personality and China civilization, besides" sensitivity ",are deep, broad and simple.

From this unique perspective, Gu Hongming compared China people with Americans, British people, Germans and French people, highlighting the characteristics of China people: Americans are broad and simple, but not deep; The British are deep and simple, but not broad; Germans are profound, but not simple; The French are not as deep as the Germans, as broad-minded as the Americans, and as simple as the British, but they have the sensitivity that these three peoples lack; Only China people fully possess these four excellent spiritual qualities. It is precisely because of this that Gu Hongming said that the overall impression of China people is "tenderness" and "that kind of unspeakable tenderness". Behind the gentle image of China people, their "innocent childlike innocence" and "adult wisdom" are hidden. Gu Hongming wrote that China people "live like children-a life with brains".

Gu Hongming lived in an unfortunate era. In such an era, as long as they are from China, they can only get sick and lose their lives. If you are sober, you will pay a particularly painful price if you want to fight. Facing the motherland at that time, Gu Hongming was worried about the fracture of China tradition and the smearing of Chinese civilization. He expressed his worries about China culture and his deep sigh for self-esteem in Zhang Wenxiang Shogunate Notes.

Gu Hongming's wild attitude is the expression of his tears. He used the wild to protect his strong self-esteem. At that time, when westerners saw the streets of China, they often said to Gu that "a child is innocent", which shows that China people are deceiving. Koo was suddenly speechless and unable to send himself. In fact, because his vision is much broader than that of his contemporaries, Gu Hongming understands that misfortune more clearly and deeply than anyone else. So he expressed his love for China culture with a paranoid attitude. He studied in the west, but he likes the feet of oriental girls, especially China girls. His wife Shu Gu has a pair of small feet. He fell in love at first sight and never left. After the founding of the Republic of China, he taught English literature in Peking University, and used extreme behaviors-braiding and wearing old clothes to justify concubinage and foot-binding, to counter the abnormal trend that the whole society abandoned China tradition. Gu Hongming advocated imperial power all his life, but he didn't kowtow when he met the memorial tablet. On the birthday of Empress Dowager Cixi, he blurted out a "congratulatory poem" in public: "The son of heaven lives forever, and the people spend money. Life is endless and the people suffer. " Yuan Shikai died, and the whole country mourned for three days, but Gu Hongming specially invited a troupe to hold a meeting at home, which was lively for three days.

Gu Hongming taught at Peking University and walked into the classroom with a braid. The students burst out laughing. Gu said calmly, "The braid on my head is visible, but the braid in your heart is invisible." Hearing this, the arrogant Peking University students were silent.

Gu Hongming likes to berate westerners all his life, but he thinks it is more important than westerners. If nothing else, he scolded them thoroughly, and always scolded them on important points and key points. Therefore, many westerners are convinced of Gu Hongming's knowledge and wisdom, almost to the point of obsession.

At that time, Gu Hongming delivered a speech on "China people's spirit" in English at the Six Kingdoms Hotel in the embassy district of Dongjiaominxiang (he translated it into "Justice in the Spring and Autumn Period"). China people have never sold tickets before, but he wants to sell tickets, and the fare is higher than that of Mei Lanfang, one of the "four famous poets". Listening to Mei's Peking Opera costs only one yuan and twenty cents, but listening to Gu's speech costs two yuan, which shows that foreigners attach importance to him.

Gu Hongming's superiority in front of westerners stems from his wit and humor. One day, Gu Hongming entertained European and American friends in his private house in Chunshu Hutong, Beijing. He lit a kerosene lamp and the smoke choked his nose. Some people say that kerosene lamps are not as bright as electric and steam lamps. Gu Hongming said with a smile: "We orientals pay attention to understanding and consideration. Orientals have a clear head and the oil lamp lights itself. Orientals don't pay special attention to superficial kung fu like westerners. " Do you think this is about Buddhism, philosophy, or mystifying? Anyway, he scared those foreign devils enough.

Gu Hongming's eloquence is unparalleled. After the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Ito Bowen wandered to China and had some contact with Zhang Zhidong when he was in Wuchang. Gu Hongming is Zhang's assistant. As a gift, he gave Ito a newly published English version of The Analects. Knowing that Koo is a pioneer among China conservatives, Ito took the opportunity to tease him: "I heard that you are proficient in western learning. Isn't it obvious that Confucius' teaching can be done more than two thousand years ago, but it can't be done today in the twentieth century? "When Gu Hongming saw the move, he replied," The way Confucius teaches people is like the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of mathematicians. Thousands of years ago, three to three made nine. Now in the twentieth century, it is still three to three to get nine, not three to three to get eight. " Ito listened, at that time have nothing to say.

At Peking University, he was favored by professors such as Cai Yuanpei, Huang Kan and Yang, but he was a deadly enemy of the new culture.

1928 On April 30th, Gu Hongming died in Beijing at the age of 72.

Gu Hongming's Anecdote

At the beginning of this century, Mr. Gu Hongming * attended the Washington Conference on behalf of Beiyang Government. At a cocktail party, a superficial American lady sat next to Gu Hongming. Looking at this eccentric old man in China, she couldn't find the topic at the moment. When I was serving soup, I finally couldn't help learning the broken English with Chinatown accent and asked, "likke soupee?" Do you like this soup? ) Gu Hongming nodded and smiled politely. The lady thought that the China native couldn't understand even the simplest English, so she stopped answering him. After three rounds of drinking, Gu Hongming stood up and spoke fluent and elegant English, which amazed the audience. Gu Hongming sat down and imitated the lady's accent. He whispered to the lady who was already flushed with shame, "Do you like Speiche?" Did you like my speech? )

Interesting story of Gu Hongming (1)

At the age of ten, Gu Hongming went to London with his adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Brown. According to his father's instructions, he always wore a long gown and jacket in London, with long braids, and always remembered that he was from China (at that time, it was the late Qing Dynasty). One day, he was sitting on the tram and reading The Times in London. Several British people in the same car found it funny and insulted Gu Hongming. At first, Gu Hongming ignored them and simply turned to read the newspaper. This angered Gu Hongming. He read the whole article in pure and proficient English, and then said, "Your English is only 26 letters, which is too simple. If I don't read backwards, it's meaningless! " The grandsons of England were all stupid and ran away despondently.

Gu Hongming's Interesting Story (2)

Gu Hongming was born in Nanyang (Penang, Malaysia), studied in the West (studying in Britain and France), married Toyo (having a Japanese wife who enjoys a high reputation in Japan), and became an official in Beiyang (being an aide to Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Liangjiang in his early years, and working in the Foreign Ministry of Beiyang Government in his later years). He was proficient in 13 languages all his life. He was an eccentric, known as the last braid of the Qing Dynasty (until his death 1928).

Gu Hongming's Interesting Story (3)

Gu Hongming strongly advocates that men should marry little wives, which is the foundation of social stability. He said that men are teapots and women are teacups. A teapot must have several teacups, and a teacup cannot have several teapots.

American feminists went to Shanghai to argue with Gu Hongming. Finally, Gu Hongming asked her, "Dear lady, how many wheels does your carriage have?" "There are four." "One pump or four pumps?" "Use one, of course." "That's what it's like to marry a little wife!"

Gu Hongming's Interesting Story (4)

Gu Hongming attaches great importance to maintaining the traditional values of Confucianism. 1893, when he was assisting Zhang Zhidong, governor of Huguang, to prepare for the mint, one day foreign experts from the mint invited Gu Hongming to dinner. Everyone respects Gu and makes him the leader. At the banquet, a foreigner asked Gu Hongming, "Can you tell us about the benefits of Confucius' way in your country? "Gu Hongming immediately said:" Just now, everyone pushed me to be the chief, which was taught by Confucius. If everyone is competing today as advocated by the west, and everyone is fighting for the position of chief executive, I don't think everyone can eat this meal. This is the advantage of Confucius! "

Gu Hongming's Interesting Story (5)

1896 Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Huguang, celebrated his 60th birthday, and Shen, a gifted scholar from Jiaxing, came to celebrate his birthday. Gu Hongming talked about Chinese and Western academic systems, but Shen didn't answer. Gu Hongming was surprised and asked him why he didn't say a word. Shen said: "I understand everything you said; If you want to understand what I said, you still have to study China for twenty years! " Two years later, Gu Hongming heard that Shen had come to visit Zhang Zhidong and immediately asked his men to move Zhang Zhidong's books into the living room. Shen Zengzhi asked Gu Hongming, "What is the purpose of moving books?" Gu Hongming said, "You ask Shen Gong which book you can recite and I can't? Which book do you know I don't know? " Shen said with a smile: "In the future, the burden of China culture will fall on your shoulders!"