Meng Erdong
Meng Erdong (January 1957 ~ April 22, 2006), born in Suxian, Anhui (now Suzhou), Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University Professor of ancient Chinese literature and doctoral supervisor. Over the years, Meng Erdong has loved education and students. He has relentlessly educated students to pursue true knowledge and establish correct life ideals, becoming a good teacher for students' healthy growth and a model of noble personality. In order to support the development of higher education in Xinjiang, in March 2004, Meng Erdong took the initiative to participate in Peking University's counterpart support for teaching at Shihezi University. He insisted on finishing the last lecture while coughing violently and collapsed on the podium. The hospital diagnosed him with an esophageal malignant tumor. On April 22, 2006, Meng Erdong died in Beijing at the age of 49 due to ineffective treatment. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Education awarded Meng Erdong the honorary title of "National Model Teacher".
On September 25, 2019, he was selected into the personal list of "The Most Beautiful Strugglers".
Chinese name: Meng Erdong
Nationality: Chinese
Ethnicity: Han
Birthplace: Suzhou City, Anhui Province
Date of birth: 1957.1
Date of death: 2006.4.22
Occupation: Professor
Graduation institution: Peking University
p>Beliefs: Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Communism
Main achievements: Love education and students
Representative works: History of Chinese Literature and Chinese Literary Criticism History
Political outlook: Communist Party member of China
Character experience
Meng Erdong (1957.1-2006.4.22), 1957 Yuesheng, a native of Suzhou City, Anhui Province, is an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China. He is a former professor and doctoral supervisor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Peking University. His subject expertise is the history of Chinese literature and the history of Chinese literary criticism, and his research direction is Wei, Jin , Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties literature.
Over the years, Meng Erdong has adhered to the party’s educational policy, loved education, and loved students. He has unremittingly educated students to pursue true knowledge and establish correct life ideals, and has become a good teacher and noble personality for students to grow up healthily. A role model; he was indifferent to fame and fortune, willing to be lonely, and devoted himself to his studies. He wrote "General Theory of Chinese Poetry" (co-author), "The Development and New Changes of Poetry in the Mid-Tang Dynasty", "Biography of Han and Mencius School Poems", and "Beautiful Essays handed down through the ages". , "Translation and Annotation of the Collection of Tao Yuanming", "History of Chinese Literature" (co-editor) and other monographs with more than 4 million words; won the first prize of the 8th Beijing Outstanding Achievements in Philosophy and Social Sciences and the 1st Prize of the 9th Peking University Outstanding Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences The first prize has been highly praised by the literary and historical circles in my country.
On January 12, 1957, Meng Erdong was born in Bengbu, Anhui Province. During his primary and secondary school years, he had outstanding academic performance and excellent academic performance. In March 1978, Meng Erdong passed the college entrance examination and became a student in the Chinese Department of Suzhou Normal College. In early February 1980, he was selected to stay in school and became a teacher in the Chinese Department. He never stopped studying. He entered Peking University three times in more than ten years and went through the study process of further study, master's degree and doctoral degree.
In 1994, Meng Erdong stayed at Peking University to teach in the Chinese Department. Since then, Erdong prepared his lessons meticulously, sitting quietly before class and "watching movies" and "playing back" after class to find out the gains and losses. The ins and outs of each question and the arguments for each argument are supported by detailed literature. He never loses his temper with his students. After class, students see Teacher Meng as a teacher and friend who is knowledgeable and sports-loving, elegant and academically focused, dedicated and life-loving.
Meng Erdong has published many works such as "The Development and New Changes of Poetry in the Middle Tang Dynasty" and won many awards including the National Book Award.
The subject expertise is the history of Chinese literature and the history of Chinese literary criticism, and the research direction is the literature of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties. Meng Erdong was indifferent to fame and fortune, willing to be lonely, and devoted himself to his studies. He wrote monographs with more than 4 million words, including "The Development and New Changes of Poetry in the Mid-Tang Dynasty" and "The Biography of Han and Mencius School Poems". It took him seven years and a lot of arduous research to complete the "Supplement and Correction" of more than 1 million words.
What they didn't expect was that the general secretary replied quickly, which made Meng Fei and her mother extremely excited. Recalling the scene when she received the reply from the general secretary, Meng Fei said: "The general secretary was so busy, but he still found time to reply to us. He replied so quickly and wrote so emotionally. As we read it, we shed tears. "Beside Weiming Lake and under the Boya Tower, the General Secretary's letter was widely read among the teachers and students of Peking University. Everyone felt cordial and deeply inspired. "This affectionate and touching letter is not only written to Professor Meng's daughter, but also to the teachers of Peking University and teachers across the country. This is the general secretary's concern for Professor Meng and his family, and it is also a letter to the teachers of Peking University, Care for teachers across the country.” These words of Fu Zengyou, professor of the Department of Eastern Languages, speak to everyone’s feelings.
Meng Erdong's touching deeds attracted great attention from General Secretary Hu Jintao. On December 8, 2005, after he learned of Meng Erdong's condition, he immediately entrusted State Councilor Chen Zhili to visit him and gave instructions. Relevant parties gave careful treatment; after that, he asked about Meng Erdong's condition many times, expressed cordial greetings to Meng Erdong, and instructed the medical staff to do their best to treat him.
On April 22, 2006, Meng Erdong, who was only 49 years old, died in Beijing due to his worsening condition and ineffective treatment. General Secretary Hu Jintao, who was visiting abroad, called specifically to express his condolences and to his relatives. Expressed condolences and personally sent wreaths.
Character Story
Meng Erdong moved into this new home of more than 90 square meters just two years ago. For more than ten years, their family of three had been living in the "Tongzi Building" on the campus of Peking University. His lover, teacher Geng Qin, said that Lao Meng has always been reluctant to leave the "Tongzi Building" because it is close to the Peking University Library and it is convenient to go there to check information.
After graduating from Anhui Suzhou Teachers College in 1980, Meng Erdong stayed at the school to teach. During this period, he was fortunate enough to study ancient literature in the Chinese Department of Peking University and began to study under Mr. Yuan Xingpei. In 1985, Meng Erdong was admitted to Mr. Yuan Xingpei's master's degree program with the first place in his professional courses. In 1988, after graduating from graduate school, Meng Erdong came to teach at the newly established Yantai University and served as the director of the ancient literature teaching and research section of the Chinese Department of Yantai University. In 1991, Meng Erdong was admitted to Mr. Yuan Xingpei's doctoral program. After graduating in 1994, he stayed at Peking University to teach in the Ancient Literature Teaching and Research Section of the Chinese Department. From 1994 to the beginning of 2001, before going to the University of Tokyo as a visiting scholar, Meng Erdong served concurrently as the academic secretary of the Chinese Traditional Culture Research Center of Peking University and was Mr. Yuan Xingpei's right-hand assistant.
Cheng Yuzhu, director of the Department of Social Sciences and professor of the Department of Chinese at Peking University, told reporters that for a long time, Meng Erdong had to complete the monograph "Admission Registration Examination Supplement", which has great historical value. I commute to get off work with the librarian almost every day, and I have become the most loyal reader of the Rare Book Room of Peking University Library. "Deng Ke Ji Kao" is a masterpiece about ancient imperial examinations written by Xu Song, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty. In 1994, Meng Erdong searched a large amount of information and found that the book contained a large number of errors. So he began to research and organize this work. It took Meng Erdong 7 years to finally complete the more than 1 million words of "Admission Registration Examination Supplement and Correction" (first, middle and second volumes, published by Beijing Yanshan Publishing House). In 2004, this monograph won the first prize of the Beijing Philosophy and Social Sciences Outstanding Achievements Award, and was highly praised by the Chinese literary and historical circles, who considered it a rare masterpiece in the Chinese literary and historical circles in recent years. . When writing this book, Meng Erdong read through all the relevant ancient books that he could collect. After a lot of painstaking research, the number of people in the imperial examination alone has increased by half compared to the original work. He put in a lot of effort, but received only 30,000 yuan in royalties. Even with this 30,000 yuan, he converted all of it into books and gave them to his teachers and students.
Mr. Yuan Xingpei said that learning is particularly about using first-hand information. Meng Erdong always started from first-hand information and has a very solid research foundation. His research results of more than 4 million words, from "General Theory of Chinese Poetics" to "Beautiful Essays handed down through the ages", from "Translation and Annotation of the Collection of Tao Yuanming" to "History of Chinese Literature", are as solid and credible as his person.
Meng Erdong is not an isolated case at Peking University. More than ten years ago, Mr. Ji Xianlin, a master of traditional Chinese culture, spent several years in the rare book room of Peking University Library in order to compile "History of Sugar".
Meng Erdong's academic spirit of being willing to sit on the bench and devote himself to learning is the inheritance and development of Peking University's glorious tradition. Seduced by the wave of fame and fortune in society, some teachers in the university are indeed busy with social activities and giving lectures outside the school to make extra money, and some teachers are keen to make money by collecting best-selling books. Due to Meng Erdong's knowledge, many places offered him high remuneration to give lectures, but he turned them down. His lover Geng Qin said that in all these years, Lao Meng has never received any extra payment.
Professor Zhao Weimin, director of the Journalism Center of Peking University and deputy dean of the School of Journalism and Communication, said deeply that in today's society, utilitarianism is serious and impetuousness is prevalent, but Teacher Meng is loyal to the party's education cause. , all the body and mind are devoted to teaching and scientific research, being willing to be lonely, and being dedicated and dedicated. This is a noble spirit that should be vigorously promoted.
I love books as much as my life
The largest room in Professor Meng’s house is the study room, with bookcases on the east, west and north walls. Including the collection of books in the living room, his personal collection numbered thousands of volumes. "In the 1980s, Lao Meng and I only had a monthly salary of a few dozen yuan, but the books he needed were still moved home in piles," said Professor Meng's wife, Ms. Geng. Okay, so it’s convenient for Lao Meng to collect his books.” After spending so many years together, she is most familiar with Professor Meng’s character and most supportive of his career.
The books in the study cabinet are neatly arranged in rows. Many books have covers that have been worn white, and when opened, there are notes for indexing inside. Some books without covers have been turned black from being turned over. Professor Meng’s profound literary accomplishment and foundation come from hard study day after day, year after year. During the many years he lived on the 44th floor of Peking University, Professor Meng became the "first reader" in the ancient books reading room of the school library. He holds a cup of boiling water every day, leaving early and returning late, rain or shine, for many years. It is precisely because of this solid and hard work accumulated over time that his masterpiece "Admission Registration Examination Supplement and Correction" has been widely praised as soon as it was published.
Versatile talents
Professor Meng has been deeply immersed in traditional culture for a long time. The ancient people's concept of cherishing time, "A piece of jade is not precious, but time is worth ten gold" also made him sensitive, and turned it into a language as beautiful as poetry. In the postscript of "Correction of the "Enrollment Record Examination"", he lamented: "The cold and summer come and go, and the blue lights and yellow scrolls; day after day, the spots on the temples are sparse, and I hardly dare to take half a day off." Before his illness, Professor Meng drank a lot. , few people in the Chinese department can match him. Drinking, reading, and learning all have a harmonious unity in him. From Tao Yuanming to Li Bai, there was no shortage of people in ancient times who enjoyed both wine and literature. He once annotated a collection of poems and essays by Tao Yuanming of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. He had many insights and deep emotions. It is still used as a university teaching material by Japanese friends.
There are also many pens, inks, papers and inkstones on Professor Meng’s desk. He has considerable attainments in calligraphy, and his strokes are regular and powerful, as powerful as a swimming dragon. “The words are like the person they are.” Mr. Yuan Xingpei, Dean of the School of Chinese Studies at Peking University, commented. Calligraphy practice is a required course for Professor Meng every day, and he has never stopped doing it even though he is currently ill. He was also fascinated by the art of seal cutting passed down from ancient times. "When we first got married, he played with those rocks every day." Ms. Geng said with a smile. The versatile Professor Meng exudes an air of elegance.
Open-minded and indifferent
Professor Meng usually doesn’t talk much. Because the disease compressed his vocal cords and made it difficult to speak, he seemed to speak less. But even though he is silent, there are also times when he is talkative. As soon as he talked about academic issues, his interest immediately came up.
A continuing education teacher came to Professor Meng for advice on professional issues, and he treated him warmly. From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, from ancient books to ancient people, we talked endlessly until three or four o'clock in the morning. His daughter slept next door and said to her mother the next morning: "I didn't expect that dad is not only knowledgeable, but also so eloquent!" In the impression of ordinary people, he doesn't talk much and is famous for his professional skills. His life should be very simple. It's right to be haggard. Faced with these, Professor Meng did not deliberately refute or prove anything.
When he was reading and thinking in the ancient book reading room, was he wandering between the lines of the ancient and elegant words, enjoying the divine communication with the ancients like a fish in water? Did he suddenly find himself at a certain moment in a beautiful peach blossom land, rich in spirit but not worthy of outsiders? He shuttles among the many bookshelves, and he lives in his own poetic and rich world.
On the table at the back of Professor Meng's study, there is a thick stack of paper. Stretched out, they are all Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection" copied by Professor Meng. The big black characters of Qiu Jin are so eye-catching. Professor Meng never expected that the disease would come so seriously and suddenly. His tone was calm as he described the onset of his illness. But why did he copy this "Preface to the Lanting Collection" over and over again? "The Preface to the Lanting Collection" is immortal through the ages, not only due to Wang Xizhi's unparalleled calligraphy talent, but also because it is a philosophical and beautiful article that embodies the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The life sentiments of "life and death are big things, wouldn't it be painful" are almost Causes everyone to scream. Every day after his wife goes to work and his daughter goes to school, he is the only one left in the empty home. What is Professor Meng, who usually talks very little, thinking about? Life and death are also big things. This is true. Those who have experienced it will know the taste. The loneliness and desolation of facing the pain, the compassion that is common in ancient and modern times, have no outlet or written form, but they are poured into the copying of "Preface to the Lanting Collection" over and over again. The sun shines on Professor Meng's face. He smiled.
Highly praised
Meng Erdong is a doctoral supervisor in the Ancient Literature Teaching and Research Section of the Department of Chinese at Peking University. When he teaches undergraduates at Shihezi University in Xinjiang, he devotes himself to teaching and is meticulous in preparing and teaching; He was willing to be lonely and devoted himself to his studies. In order to complete a monograph with great historical and documentary value, he worked hard for seven years and finally completed the "Supplement and Correction" of more than 1 million words; he went through three major changes in one year. Despite the torture of surgery, I still face life optimistically and positively.
Mr. Ji Xianlin once said that the most valuable thing about Chinese intellectuals is the strong spirit of patriotism, which has different manifestations in different eras. Meng Erdong concentrated all his love for the party and the people in his work. In him, we see the lofty character of a people's teacher who is indifferent to fame and fortune and selfless dedication, and we see the incomparably rich soul and noble feelings of a scholar. Meng Erdong is an outstanding representative of the intellectuals trained by the party. During his decades of studying and teaching, he harmoniously unified being a person and doing knowledge, always keeping students at heart, and practicing a ** in obscurity The value standards of Communist Party members and people's teachers have once again interpreted the true meaning of life with their own actions.
Today, as we build a harmonious socialist society, our education needs more teachers like him. When we learn from Meng Erdong, we must learn from his spirit of demanding himself according to the advanced standards of a Communist Party member and being indifferent to fame and fortune and selfless dedication to the education of the party and the people; learn from his dedication to his job, being a role model for others, and his dedication to teaching. Learn from his spirit of dedication and dedication in educating people; learn from his spirit of advocating teacher ethics, being rigorous in scholarship, persevering in the pursuit of academics, seeking truth and being pragmatic; learn from his spirit of cherishing life, perseverance, indomitable, positive and optimistic spirit to overcome diseases.
He is a model for contemporary intellectuals to learn from.
In the short film, Meng Erdong is frail but very optimistic, and his voice is hoarse but very powerful. He told everyone: "Liu Yuxi, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote two poems, 'Thousands of sails passed by the side of the sunken boat, and thousands of spring trees in front of the diseased trees.' They were written by him after he suffered major political and life setbacks. Encourage yourself to face the future and face life with an optimistic and positive attitude. I have become a "sick tree" today, but I am also full of confidence and want to be with you "towering trees". Welcome the new spring, embrace the new spring together.
Main Honors
In April 2006, Meng Erdong won the Capital Spiritual Civilization Construction Award.
In early 2007, in order to commend and publicize Meng Erdong’s advanced deeds and further improve the moral standards of teachers, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Education awarded Meng Erdong the honorary title of “National Model Teacher” and called on the country to Teachers and educators in the education system learned from Meng Erdong; the All-China Federation of Trade Unions awarded Meng Erdong the National May 1st Labor Medal; the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China posthumously awarded Meng Erdong the honorary title of "National Outstanding Communist Party Member".
On September 14, 2009, he was named one of the 100 people who have touched China since the founding of New China.
On September 25, 2019, he was selected into the personal list of "The Most Beautiful Strugglers".
External evaluation
Meng Erdong has been engaged in the study of ancient Chinese literature for a long time. It is the excellent and splendid traditional culture that has nurtured scholars like him. He has a rich inner world and upward spiritual pursuits. He treats colleagues with humility and cares for students. He always adheres to the responsibility, persistence, courage and morality that an intellectual should have, and shows extraordinary character in the ordinary.
He is a model for contemporary intellectuals to learn from.