On the campus of CUHK, Yuan Weishi has been here for half a century. The old people seem to have a regular schedule. During the nap time, the thunder can't move, so I am used to hanging up the phone at home to avoid being disturbed by the outside world. He greeted me to the living room first, and then went to the kitchen to make tea. He is wearing a dark blue zipper jacket, dark pants and a pair of polished black shoes. According to Li Shu, not long ago, the old man gave his students a lesson on "China Modern Thought" in the evening. The chair on the pulpit is a bit old and weak. Sitting and sitting, the shelf fell apart, and Mr. Yuan, who was almost 80 years old, fell to the ground. I heard that his student assistant turned pale at that time. Mr. Yuan got up by himself: "Nothing. Continue the class. "
I asked him about the fall in class. Hehaha smiled: "I'll give them the first class for undergraduates. First, I'll introduce myself and say that you are post-90s and I am post-80s!" "Face is full of old urchin's pride and satisfaction. According to the students, the big classroom is always full of students, often more than 300 people, who attend or attend teacher Yuan's class every week. Sometimes the floor of the window is full.
"Some students listened to my history class and felt very confused. They asked me, why is the history you told so different from what we learned before? ! Which version should we believe? " Yuan Weishi said.
These days, Yuan Jia's phone rings more frequently than before. Pointing to the purple basket of 99 roses on the coffee table, Yuan Weishi smiled. 193 1 year1February 15 days, born in Xingning, Guangdong. In a few days, he will be 80 years old according to the traditional customs in China. When he was born, it was 20 years since the Revolution of 1911 led by Sun Yat-sen. This century-old revolution with mixed comments and China's bumpy constitutional road became the most important academic mission of Yuan Weishi in his later years.
"I am 80 years old and everyone wants to give me a birthday. I said, it's no fun to have a birthday. Let's hold an academic seminar to discuss some issues. " As a result, some schoolmates began to prepare a seminar on "China Thought and Culture in the 20th Century". However, two weeks ago, an official of Guangdong Social Service Federation found the person in charge of Guangdong Humanities Society who organized the seminar and politely presented a document. He said that according to the regulations, national academic conferences must be reported to the Propaganda Department for approval. Because many scholars are from other places, this conference belongs to a national academic conference and should be submitted for approval in advance. Tang Tang, the head of the humanities society, said that under such circumstances, we would not hold a seminar.
Yuan Jia's living room, not big, hung up two words. One was sent by Mr. Qi Gong, and the title was Du Mu's poems. The other is the ink of Shang Tao, a Guangdong calligrapher, with the words 16 on it: space can maintain harmony, static energy can produce enlightenment, look up at the past and look down at the present.
"We are all first-class citizens, law-abiding. Since the relevant departments have said that they want to approve, this academic seminar will not be held, and it will be Yuan Weishi's birthday instead. The law does not prohibit birthday celebrations! " Yuan Weishi waved his hand.
1950, Yuan Weishi was admitted to Sun Yat-sen University to study economics. Later, he went north to Shanghai and entered the postgraduate class of political economy in Fudan Economics Department to study the political and economic theory of the big brother Soviet Union. His tutor is Professor Jiang Zehong, a famous economist.
"My master's thesis at Fudan University questioned an official view that was very popular at that time, that is,' the poverty of the proletariat'. I don't think it makes sense. The capitalist system is also improving itself in the process of development, and the wages and welfare benefits of workers have actually improved, not poverty. I spent a lot of energy looking for a lot of foreign data, including data from the United States, Britain, France and India, and finally proved this statement wrong. But my tutor kindly advised me that if you hand in this paper, you will be in trouble. Finally, I had to rewrite a question that was discussed very enthusiastically at that time, talking about the socialist political and economic system. "
On the day of 15, 120 friends will come to celebrate Yuan Lao's birthday. I asked him what he would say to his family and friends that day.
He thought about it and said.
"First of all, I want to say thank you. In my 80 years, too many people have helped me along the way. My family, friends, editors, journalists. Just say that there are more than 20 friends who help me repair my computer, including world-class experts! "
"Second, I want to say an apology. From 1949 to 1970s. In that revolutionary era, I was hurt, but I also hurt others. I am an old party member. I try my best to keep my conscience. When I was a graduate student in Fudan, I was the secretary of the Party branch in my class, and no one in the graduate class was labeled as "Rightist". On the other hand, since I was a student, I have been a cadre of all sizes in the school and participated in various political movements. I have made decisions in political movements, made speeches and hurt others. I want to apologize for this! "
"Third, I will continue to work hard. My self-feeling is that I have not yet entered old age. As we all know, most of my academic achievements are produced after retirement. I will continue to pay off my academic and ideological debts. China has experienced so many twists and turns and sufferings in modern times that he should produce great academic and ideological achievements. But not yet. This is a debt to mankind. Many scholars should consciously shoulder the task of paying off debts. In the next 10 years, I will persevere and do my bit! "
10 years, Yuan Weishi was scolded a lot. Many people (including scholars) strongly condemned his view of history, and some even called him a "traitor" and "traitor". His monographs, Thoughts and Figures in the Great Changes in the Late Qing Dynasty, Road Signs and the Torture of the Soul, and other books have aroused strong repercussions.
"In the face of abuse, my attitude has always been to laugh it off. Most of them are unreasonable. Swearing is humiliating yourself. Modern civilization is irresistible. Whose words and deeds are beneficial to society, time is a fair judge. Everyone's time is limited. I only do what I should do and continue to promote my views. "
Most of the people who came to Yuan Weishi recently are celebrating the100th anniversary of the Revolution of 1911 next year. I want to hear what he said. How to evaluate Sun Yat-sen, the father of our country? * * * or constitutional monarchy, which way is best for China? For Yuan Shikai, can it be opened on March 7th? However, history cannot be rewritten. I asked, for more than a century, China's constitutional road has been very difficult. From the late Qing Dynasty, whether it was the reform and improvement, or the conclusion of the Temporary Contract Law of the Republic of China, from the advocacy of "political discipline" by the Kuomintang to the bumpy experience of China people after 1949. Why is this?
"In the past, one of the reasons for the failure of constitutional government in China was that the middle and lower classes did not fully participate. The worldwide problem of choosing the national road stumped the elites in China. The acuteness of social contradictions forced those in power to reform. At present, not all the upper levels of government do not consider reform. As long as the whole country makes joint efforts, China society can advance and complete the transformation to a modern country. From the Opium War in 1840, China opened its doors, and it has been 170 years now. It's time for China to complete its social transformation!
Yuan Weishi wrote in an interview: "Throughout the19th century, China has been paying tuition fees. /kloc-In the 1970s of 0/9, Li Hongzhang said that' external demand is harmonious and domestic demand is reformed' ... After paying tuition for a century, we should learn this truth: modern society must be prosperous, free, democratic and legal. "
The doorbell rang, and the next person to come for an interview was a colleague of Du Nan Weekly. He was already waiting. I asked Mr. Yuan that he was a computer geek. Recently, an enthusiastic person opened a "collar" under a pseudonym? He said it did happen, and it's closed now. "I started surfing the Internet on 1999. I used e-mail and used computers for writing. The history of using computers is very long, starting from the last century. Now I check the news information online every day, and my friends will forward a lot of information to me. Tell me to climb the wall? I don't climb over the wall. I have no patience to climb over the wall! "
"I have always said that I am an unrepentant optimist. Marked by the case of Sun Zhigang in 2003 and the incident of Yan 'an farmers watching yellow discs, people's awareness of civil rights is awakening day by day, and China's constitutionalism is growing day by day. "
I stopped the interview in a hurry, and the reporter wanted to take pictures. As the sky turns dark, Mr. Yuan is very concerned about the background and light of the photo. He went downstairs with us and took everyone to the campus to take pictures. When he walks, his back is straight and his steps are big and light. A head of white hair, in the soft sunset of CUHK campus. As he walked, he told me, "When I was young, I liked running. Run 10 on the playground every day for 4000m. Later, when I was older, I changed to radio exercises and walks. On the campus of CUHK, I walk 10,000 meters every day and complete it twice, each time 1 hour. "
I had a plane to catch, and he showed me the way. When I said goodbye, I walked past the lawn of the old campus of CUHK, where stood a full-length statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was meditating. In front of Yong Fang Building, there are stone statues of people from the Republic of China, such as Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Cai Yuanpei and Tan Sitong. Not far away, it is the former residence of another historian, Chen Yinque, who has just been there. Every day, Yuan Weishi takes a walk here. The people of China are looking for a way to build their own country.