Now two names are often mentioned in academic circles: Beiqian Nanrao and Nanrao Beiji. Here, "Northern Money" and "Northern Season" refer to Qian Zhongshu and Ji Xianlin in the north, and "Southern Rao" refers to Zong Yirao and others in the south.
China is a leading scholar. All three are contemporaries: Qian Zhongshu (19 10- 1998) can be said to be the eldest brother.
Ji Xianlin (19 1 1-2009) is the second brother, and he always lives in Rao (19 17-) is the third brother. The first two died today. It is no exaggeration to say that the 98-year-old Rao Lao is a pillar of China's academic circles.
Tsung i Jao, whose real name is Gu 'an, Bolian and Bozi, was born in Chaoan County, Guangdong Province, China. Famous master of Chinese studies, honorary professor of Chinese University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University, president of Xiling Printing Society. His knowledge covers almost all aspects of China studies, and he is also proficient in Sanskrit. He has published more than 80 monographs and more than 500 papers. His representative works include Dunhuang Calligraphy Series, A General Study of Yin Zhen Bu Zi, A Study of Ci Collection, Old Xiangzi's Annotation, Shirley and Xue Fanji, etc. 20 13 won the "World Contribution Award for China Studies", and Phoenix.com called it "Encyclopedia of Life Wisdom". In 20 14, he won the "Lifetime Achievement Award of Chinese Studies" in the first global Chinese Sinology Festival. He devoted himself to academic research for a long time, involving literature, history, philosophy, art and other fields. He is proficient in poetry, books, paintings and music, and has profound attainments. He also knows Chinese and Western cultures like the back of his hand. Academic circles call him "an internationally renowned sinologist",
"The pride of the whole Asian culture".
Rao Lao's life is also legendary, and his academic experience can be said to be a miracle in the cultural circle. As we all know, both Qian and Ji graduated from Tsinghua University. Later, they also studied in England and Germany and came back with famous titles. Rao Lao never went to college. He is the only person in the history of HKU who was hired as a chair without a degree, which is also a story for a while. In fact, most of Rao Lao's knowledge was acquired by self-study and family study.
It all starts with Rao's family in Chaozhou.
According to research, Rao Lao's ancestors lived in Meixian County, Guangdong Province. So from his ancestral home, he is a Hakka. But from his 12 ancestor stone to Chaozhou City to sell Hakka tofu, it gradually developed. When it comes to forgiving the older generation, it means forgiving 19. Rao Lao was the third generation of the richest man in Chaozhou when he was born. According to him, "my grandfather has four brothers, and everyone has opened a silver shop that issues money tickets." At that time, a large number of overseas remittances and domestic military salaries were transferred through Baiyin Village of the Rao family in Chaozhou, so the Rao family was the richest man in Chaozhou for two or three generations. "Rich people can easily make a playboy who is tired of playing with toys, but Rao Lao is an exception. The family of the richest man has produced a master of Chinese studies, which is a miracle in the cultural history of China. But this is traceable, because his father rap, in addition to running the family business, is also a scholar. Young Tsung i Jao grew up under the influence of family background.
Rao Lao said, "My academic development is because I have family precepts, which can be said to be family studies. I have four foundations that come directly from my family studies: one is the foundation of poetry, which I learned from my father and my family teacher. My family trained me to write poems, lyrics, parallel prose and prose since I was a child. The second is the foundation of Buddhism; The third is the basis of bibliography; The fourth is the research method of Ganjia School. " In the unrestrained learning environment, I have developed unique learning habits and methods since I was a child, which is very helpful for me to do various academic research in the future. I have cultivated these four foundations before 15 years old. In my experience, home study is a convenient way of learning, because it is very important to "enlighten" when studying. If you have family study, you can take less detours from your elders. "Family origin" means that there are many books at home and knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. This is actually a person's knowledge system. If we can expand and upgrade the existing knowledge system of our elders, the foundation of Chinese studies will be more solid. "He added," In fact, I'm not like some articles that say,' I didn't even go to primary school, and I was completely self-taught. I went to a regular junior high school. Algebra and English are very good for my future study. Teachers learn everything. The old school foundation is very important, and modern school education is also indispensable. "
Raojia had a private library building, which was the largest library in eastern Guangdong at that time. Zong I Rao has been reading and playing there since he was a child, and whether he understands it or not, he is also turning over there. So he knew the basic types of borrowing books in China very early; I am familiar with history. Plus, my parents' friends are local intellectuals, and they often sing poems and learn from each other in the back garden at home. Young Tsung i Jao grew up in such a strong family culture atmosphere. Coupled with later efforts, it achieved great success. Zong Yirao lost his father at the age of 16. As the eldest son, he wants to inherit the family business, and at the same time, he wants to finish his father's work Chaozhou Wen Lu. Maybe he lacks the genes to do business and can only inherit his father's business, but because of the unfavorable business, his family wealth is slowly dispersed in his hands.
1935, 18-year-old Tsung i Jao completed the above Chaozhou Literature and Art Annals, which enjoyed a high reputation in the cultural circles. Since then, he has gone from "Xiao Tian Lu"
Came to the outside world in the world, and was hired as a researcher at Sun Yat-sen University in his early twenties. At that time, Sun Yat-sen University had moved to Yunnan because of the Japanese invasion. On the way to Yunnan, Tsung i Jao was seriously ill and stayed in Hong Kong, which gave him the opportunity to meet scholars Wang and others who had a far-reaching influence on him later, thus formally stepping into the door of China studies. Because of the war, he lost his collection of Xiao Tianlou, but he met Fang Jiren, a Confucian businessman who strongly supported him in Hong Kong. Tsung i Jao taught in the Chinese Department of HKU from 1952 to 1968, and got to know Lin Yangshan, the minister of development department. Everybody, appreciate each other. It can be said that a swift horse finally meets Bole. This is indeed a great blessing for the academic circles in China.
Rao Lao's knowledge extends in all directions, involving almost all categories of Chinese studies, including Dunhuang studies, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Ci studies, history, archaeology, bibliography, Chu Ci studies, epigraphy, music history, Taoist history, Buddhism, ancient prose theory, poetry, Chaozhou studies and so on; In addition, he is proficient in books and paintings. Rao Lao's paintings, with their sketches of characters, obtained the manuscript of the True Story of the Tang Dynasty on the back of Dunhuang Scriptures, and developed according to it, creating a kind of sketches of Rao. Zhang Daqian once commented: "Rao's sketch, chinese odyssey. Its landscape paintings are novel and unique. "
Rao Lao's knowledge and expertise are called the last "master" in the field of "Chinese studies". From the following achievements, we can see that he really lives up to his reputation: in some fields, he occupies the position of a pioneer. He was the first person to compile Ci Catalogue and Chu Ci Catalogue, the first person to study Japanese books, the first person to study Dunhuang white paintings and calligraphy, the first person to study the connection between Li Yin and Oracle Bone Inscriptions, the first person to put forward the concept of "Maritime Silk Road", the first person to use Chu culture and Wu Yue culture as the theme names, the first person to talk about Zhu Mo stone carvings in the history of China fine arts, and the first person to push the date of Pangu map. Like Sanskrit, in order to taste the "original flavor", he just began to learn Sanskrit in his 40 s, and he studied it for decades until he could understand it.
Let's listen to Rao Lao's self-report:
"My curiosity is too strong. This thirst for knowledge conquered me and swallowed me up. I think learning is a pleasure. I study many problems, I learn one word after another ... In order to find the root of a thing, I must find the original sentence, and I must be patient in the process. I have studied some problems for more than ten years. " "Literature is the most difficult to cultivate. Nowadays, Chinese students can't write ancient Chinese and ancient poems, which is a layer behind the ancients. They can't create, only theories. They pretend to borrow foreign theories and think that what they understand is actually a misunderstanding. Nowadays, students can write a book, but they can't write an ancient poem. China's traditional culture is contained in these ancient styles. Without mastering them, there will be no breakthrough in Chinese studies.
He added, "The knowledge of the ancients, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting all have a great relationship, which is a kind of edification of traditional culture. My interest in painting and calligraphy was cultivated by my father when I was very young Nowadays, the fault of family education makes it difficult for children to accept traditional culture since childhood, and the accomplishment of Chinese studies is almost zero, which is a pity. "
Finally, he said: "My two daughters did not inherit my academic research, which I have always regretted. However, today's academic research in China has been very prosperous since the 1980s, and there are many people who really study. I'm not worried that my study will be interrupted. But scholars like me may not be there, because studying some questions that even many experts seem boring, what is it? No money to earn. " (An old man: Good sentence "No money to earn"! )
That's it, Rao Lao is satisfied with the state of "out of touch" and is not lonely. His knowledge seems to have nothing to do with the world, and his works cannot reflect the background of the times. Reading his poems and paintings is even more ancient, just like a man in Wei and Jin Dynasties. In fact, this is his pride, learning for interest and asking for the university.
Someone said, "He has three hearts. The first one is called curiosity, the second one is called childlike innocence, and the third one is called free heart. One is taller than the other." With these three hearts, Rao Lao's pursuit of wisdom is persistent, persistent and tireless.
This is the miracle of Zong Rao. Some people predict that "there will be no second master of Chinese studies like him in 50 years". Believe it.