Zong Tuo in 1999
Nowadays, academic circles often mention the two names "Nanrao Beiji" and "Beiqian Nanrao". The "Beiqian" and "Beiji" here refer to Qian Zhongshu and Ji Xianlin in the north, and "Nanrao" refers to Zong Bairao in the south.
China’s academic master. The three of them are all contemporaries: Qian Zhongshu can be said to be the eldest brother, Ji Xianlin is the second brother, and Rao Zongyi is the third brother. Both the former and the latter are dead. It is no exaggeration to say that the 98-year-old Rao is the backbone of China's academic community today.
Zong Rao, whose real name is Gu'an, Bolian, Bozi, and his nickname is Xuantang, is from Chao'an County, Guangdong Province, China. A famous master of Chinese studies, honorary professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, and president of Xiling Seal Society. His knowledge covers almost all aspects of Chinese studies and he is proficient in Sanskrit. He has published more than 80 monographs and more than 500 papers. His representative works include "Nanrao Beiji", "Dunhuang Calligraphy Series", "A Comprehensive Examination of Zhenbu Figures in the Yin Dynasty", "An Examination of Ci Collection", "Laozi Xiang'er Notes and Proofs", "Wenzhe" and "Sanskrit Collection". In 2013, he was awarded the "World Chinese Studies Contribution Award" and Phoenix.com called it "an encyclopedia that unlocks the wisdom of life." In 2014, he won the “Lifetime Achievement Award in Chinese Studies” at the first Global Chinese Studies Ceremony. He has long been committed to academic research, involving various fields of literature, history, philosophy, and art. He is proficient in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and music. He has profound attainments and has learned both Chinese and Western knowledge. The academic community calls him "an internationally renowned Sinologist,"
"the pride of the entire Asian culture."
Rao Lao's life is also somewhat legendary, and his academic experience can be said to be A miracle in the cultural circle. As we all know, Qian and Ji were both graduates of Tsinghua University. Later, they also studied in the UK and Germany and came back with famous titles. He was the only one in the history of Hong Kong University. This is a popular story about a person who was appointed to a teaching position without a degree. In fact, most of Rao's knowledge came from self-study and family study.
This all started with the Rao family in Chaozhou. .
According to research, Rao Lao’s ancestors lived in Mei County, Guangdong Province, so he was a Hakka. However, after his twelfth generation Grand Master Shi Baogong started selling Hakka tofu in Chaozhou City. The development is slow. Speaking of Rao’s older generation, Rao was the third generation of the richest man in Chaozhou. According to him, “My grandfather had four brothers, each of whom owned a bank issuer. 's silver shop. At that time, a large amount of overseas remittances and domestic military pay were transferred through the bank of the Rao family in Chaozhou, so the Rao family has been the richest man in Chaozhou for two or three generations." It is easy for a rich family to create a coquettish brat, but Mr. Rao is an exception. It can be said that it is a miracle in the history of Chinese culture that a master of Chinese studies comes from the richest family, but it can be traced because in addition to running the family business, the young Rao Zongyi was also a scholar. Growing up under the influence of history.
Rao said, “My academic development is due to my family training, which can be said to be family education. I have four foundations that come directly from my family education: First, the foundation of poetry, which I learned from my father and teachers at home. My family has taught me to write poetry, lyrics, parallel prose, and prose since I was a child. The second is the foundation of Buddhism; the third is the foundation of bibliography; the fourth is the "research method of the Gan School". "In an unfettered learning environment, I developed unique study habits and methods since I was a child, which will be very helpful for me to do various academic research in the future. I had already practiced these four basics before I was 15 years old. From my experience, home learning is a convenient way of learning, because it is important to "open up" when learning. If you have home learning, you can avoid detours when introducing it. "Origins of Home Learning" from the Waijiang Owners Forum. It means that there are many books at home and knowledge passed down from generation to generation. This is actually a person’s learning system. If the existing learning system of the elders can be expanded and improved, the foundation of Chinese studies will be more solid.” He added, "Actually, I didn't even go to elementary school as some articles said. I was completely self-taught. I went to an ordinary junior high school.
There is a private library - "Xiao Tianlou " was the largest library in eastern Guangdong at that time. Zong Yirao had been reading and playing there since he was a child. Whether he understood it or not, he also studied there.
So he already knew the basic types of books borrowed from China; I was familiar with history even earlier. In addition, my parents’ friends are all local intellectuals. They often recite poems in the back garden of their home and learn from each other. The young Jao ??Tsung-i grew up in such a strong family cultural atmosphere. With subsequent hard work, it became a success. Zongyi Rao lost his father when he was 16 years old. As the eldest son, he will inherit the family business and at the same time complete his father's book Chaozhou Art and Literature. He may lack the business gene and can only continue his father's academic work. However, due to the unfavorable business situation, the family wealth gradually dispersed in his hands.
In 1935, the 18-year-old Rao Tsung-i completed the above-mentioned book "Chaozhou Travels on Literature and Art" and became famous in the cultural circle. After that, he came from "Xiao Tian Building" to the world outside the house, and was hired as a researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in his early 20s. At that time, due to the Japanese invasion, Sun Yat-sen University had moved to Yunnan. On the way to Yunnan, Jao Tsung-i was seriously ill and stranded in Hong Kong. This gave him the opportunity to get acquainted with Wang and others who had a profound influence on him, and thus officially entered the door of Chinese studies. The war caused him to lose his collection of "Xiao Tianlou", but he met Fang Jiren, a Confucian businessman who greatly supported him in Hong Kong. From 1952 to 1968, Jao Tsung-I taught in the Chinese Department of HKU and met Lin Yangshan, the department director with a pioneering spirit. Everyone, appreciate each other. It can be said that a thousand-mile horse will eventually meet Bole. This is a great blessing for Chinese academic circles.
Rao Lao’s knowledge extends in all directions and involves almost all categories of Chinese studies, including Dunhuang studies, oracle bone studies, Ci studies, history, archeology, bibliography, Chu Ci, epigraphy, and music history. , Taoist history, Buddhism, ancient Chinese literature, poetry, Chaozhou studies, etc. In addition, he is also proficient in books and paintings. Rao's painting won the authentic copy of the Dunhuang Manuscript "Tang Manuscript" with its white figures, and he worked hard to develop and create a kind of Rao's white painting. Zhang Qian once commented: Rao's description is unique in the world. His landscape paintings are more innovative and unique.
Rao is known as the last "master" in the field of "Chinese Studies" because of his academic expertise. As you can see from the results below, he certainly deserves it: in some areas, he occupies the position of a trailblazer. The first to compile a catalog of lyrics and Chu Ci, the first to study "Rishu", the first to study Dunhuang white calligraphy and painting, the first to connect Li Yin with oracle bone inscriptions, the first to propose the "Maritime Silk Road" concept, the first to propose Chu culture and Wuyue culture as subject names, the first to talk about bamboo and stone carvings in the history of Chinese art, the first to talk about 0755-. I like Sanskrit. In order to appreciate the "authentic flavor", I started learning Sanskrit when I was in my forties. I studied it for decades until I could understand it.
Let’s listen to Mr. Rao’s self-report:
“My thirst for knowledge is too strong. This thirst for knowledge conquered my whole person and engulfed myself. I think learning It's a pleasure. I study many, many questions. I study them word by word. In order to find the root of something, I have to be patient in the process. I also studied some questions slowly. More than ten years.” "Literature is the most difficult thing to cultivate. Today's Chinese students can't write ancient prose or poetry, so they are separated from the ancients. They can't create, they can only theory. They borrow foreign theories to pretend to know what they think they know. In fact, it is a misunderstanding. Today’s students can write a book, but they cannot write an ancient poem. Without mastering these ancient styles, there will be no breakthrough in Chinese studies. ”
He added, "The scholarship, chess skills, calligraphy and painting of ancient literati are closely related to this, which is a kind of influence of traditional culture. My interest in calligraphy and painting was cultivated by my father since I was a child. The current gap in family education has made It is difficult for children to be exposed to traditional culture from an early age, and it is a pity to be influenced by Chinese studies
Finally, he said: "My two daughters did not inherit my academic research, and I have always regretted it. But today, academic research in China has been very prosperous since the 1980s, and there are many real scholars. I don't worry about my studies being interrupted. However, there may not be scholars like me, because they are so stupid to delve into some problems that even many experts seem to be bored with. Why? No money to make. ”
In this way, Mr. Rao was satisfied with the state of “disengagement” and was not lonely at all.
His knowledge seems to have nothing to do with the world, and his works do not reflect the background of the times. Reading his poems and paintings is an ancient fashion, just like a person from the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In fact, this is what makes him proud, that is, studying for the sake of interest and asking questions for the university.
Someone said: "He has three hearts. The first is curiosity, the second is childlike innocence, and the third is self-confidence. One is higher than the other." Holding these three hearts, Rao Lao The pursuit of wisdom is persistent, persistent and tireless.
This is Zongrao’s miracle. Some people predicted that "there will not be another Chinese master like him in 50 years." Sincerely.