Yuan Xingpei was born in a traditional family of scholars, and his family cultivated Yuan Xingpei's interest in classical literature. In 1953, Yuan Xingpei was admitted to the Chinese Department of Peking University. After graduating from the Chinese Department of Peking University in 1957, he stayed at the school to teach and began his teaching and scientific research career.
In the autumn of 1958, he first took his students to work-study in the Chengzi Coal Mine in Beijing. He went to the mine to dig coal three days a week and had classes for three days, which lasted for more than two months. Then he worked in Miyun Iron and Steel Commune for more than half a year, burning boilers, working as a furnace worker, carpenter, and foundry worker. In the summer of 1959, Yuan Xingpei was transferred to the Baihutou Brigade of Zhaitang Commune to work.
I returned to Peking University in March 1960. During the years after 1962 when class struggle was emphasized, Mr. Wang was regarded as a model of the “white college” in the school.
After the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, he was criticized and was sent to the "May 7th Cadre School" in Liyuzhou to work for more than a year. In a rollover accident, he fell from the embankment of Poyang Lake and almost lost his life. In the depressing atmosphere, my husband felt easily offended and at a loss what to do. "That was the most unhappy time in my life."
After the resumption of enrollment in colleges and universities in 1977, Yuan Xingpei taught courses at Peking University for undergraduates and graduate students on the history of Chinese literature, research on Chinese poetry and art, research on Tao Yuanming, research on Tang poetry, research on Li He, and research on Tang and Song poetry. Yuan Xingpei continues to explore and make progress in his teaching work and achieves good results.
Promoted to lecturer in 1979. He wrote alone "A Preliminary Exploration of the Classic of Mountains and Seas", "An Examination of Novelists in Han Calligraphy and Literature", "The Discrimination of Words and Meanings in Metaphysics of the Wei and Jin Dynasties and Ancient Chinese Literary and Art Theory" and other papers, which were published in 1979 and began to attract the attention of academic circles.
He was appointed associate professor in 1980. From 1982 to 1983, Yuan Xingpei was invited by the University of Tokyo in Japan to teach five courses including Tao Yuanming studies. In 1984, he became a distinguished professor of the Chinese Department. Obtained the qualification of doctoral supervisor in 1986.
In 1992, Yuan Xingpei concurrently served as director of the Chinese Traditional Culture Research Center at Peking University and editor-in-chief of "Chinese Studies Research". From 1992 to 1993, Yuan Xingpei served as a visiting professor in the Chinese Department of the National University of Singapore. In 1994, he served as the general consultant of the large-scale TV series "Light of Chinese Civilization" (150 episodes). In 1997, he visited Harvard University as a visiting scholar of the Harvard-Yenching Institute, and gave lectures at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Washington, Hawaii and other universities. In 1998, he was again appointed as a visiting professor at the Chinese Department of the National University of Singapore. In 1999, he became the director of the Humanities Department of Peking University.
In 2000, he served as the dean of the Institute of Chinese Studies at Peking University. In 2004, he served as a visiting professor at City University of Hong Kong. In 2005, he was recognized as a senior professor by Peking University and enjoyed the treatment of a science academician. In the same year, he was appointed as a professor by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (jointly appointed with Peking University). In addition, he has lectured at Aichi University in Japan, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Washington, Hawaii and other universities in the United States, as well as the University of Hong Kong and National Taiwan University. Member of the Standing Committee of the 8th and 9th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and member of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People's Congress. Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic League. Director of the Central Research Institute of Literature and History. Member of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council. On January 18, 2006, he was appointed director of the Central Research Institute of Literature and History. In 1953, he was admitted to Peking University and received strict academic training from then on. After graduating in 1957, he was retained by Mr. Lin Geng as a teaching assistant. In the years from 1960 to 1964, Mr. Yuan Xingpei and Mr. Chen Yixiang followed their mentor Mr. Lin Geng to edit "Reference Materials on Literary History of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties", and also participated in the editing of "Selected Poems of Chinese Dynasties" edited by Lin Geng and Feng Yuanjun. Select the work. Doing these tasks requires reading a large number of works and historical materials, which laid a good foundation for Yuan Xingpei's future research.
In 1978, Mr. Wang published an article ""Vertical Connection" and "Horizontal Connection" in Guangming Daily. The article was not long, but it was the first time that Mr. Wang publicly expressed his academic pursuits, which foreshadowed the A new beginning for Yuan Xingpei on his academic path. The article points out: The so-called "Zongtong" refers to "the study of literature, focusing on the study of the occurrence, development and decline of various phenomena, genres and schools in the history of literature; the study of the achievements of each era and writer, and their role and inspiration in the past." It strives to clarify the ins and outs of the development of literature in the past three thousand years." The so-called "Hongtong" means striving to combine literature with history, philosophy, religion, art and even natural science for research, "and strive to explore the relationship between them, the mutual influence and penetration between them, and seek for regular things." Yuan Xingpei believes that by combining "vertical" and "horizontal" to observe and study the history of literary development from a broader background, "there will definitely be many new discoveries and even open up some new subject areas."
In 1987, Yuan Xingpei's "Research on the Art of Chinese Poetry" was published. After that, a Japanese translation of the book was published in Japan, and a Korean translation of the entire book was published in South Korea. The recognition of this monograph by the academic community makes me happy. However, when talking about this book, what I often mention is the preface written by Mr. Lin Geng, which shows the spiritual connection between the two generations of scholars, especially Yuan Xingpei. Gratitude to mentors. Mr. Lin Geng said in the preface: "People's understanding may encompass the universe, or may be hidden in the tip of a needle, and they are as clear as day and night.
Xing Pei studied in many fields and was good at analysis. He made bypasses every time he touched upon something similar, so he was able to explore a variety of arts and advocate marginal studies. He considered music, painting, religion, and philosophy, and whatever he thought about, they all became footnotes to his poetry. The upper part of the book is written from the shallower to the deeper, along the waves to explore the source; the lower part is about the green mountains and the peaks. It is as if the two coordinate axes form a coordinate diagram, reflecting each other's interior and exterior. It is impossible to say that if there are several of them, the metaphor is always lame, and I don't know whether it is possible or not. For many years, I knocked on the door of my firewood when I was traveling. Every time I talked about it all day long, I was so happy that I forgot to return. It was a habit, and it was close to my nature. "In 1987, Yuan Xingpei was invited to give lectures at Aichi University in Japan. The "Introduction to Chinese Literature" published shortly thereafter was the lecture notes.
Yuan Xingpei believes that there are two methods of doing knowledge: one is to combine complex The other is to make an in-depth and detailed analysis of simple things. The teacher believes that knowledge has the same atmosphere as poetry. Solemn and magnificent, clear and elegant. If you don't force others to convince you, they will convince you. If you don't show off, you will become a traitor. "There are at least three conditions for the formation of this kind of atmosphere: the first is a dedicated attitude, being very pious and meticulous in learning; the second is a broad mind, not being limited to one's own strengths, not attacking others' weaknesses, and not being sectarian; the third is being aloof. The teacher said that scholars with the characteristics of everyone have some unique characteristics: Yuan Xingpei and his colleagues have a broad academic structure and vision, can handle both sides, and show their ability to grasp the overall situation; Yuan Xingpei and his colleagues were pioneers in their knowledge, opening up new fields, establishing new disciplines, setting examples, and setting examples for future generations. Yuan Xingpei and his colleagues all valued both knowledge and morality, and used integrity, honesty, and strength to create an image of tolerance and independence.
In 1995, the Ministry of Education asked Mr. Yuan to edit the textbook "History of Chinese Literature" for the 21st century. Yuan Xingpei invited 29 scholars from 19 universities to create a good academic atmosphere. After half a year of hard work, he completed the entire manuscript, consisting of four volumes. Yuan Xingpei positioned this book not only as a textbook, but also as an academic work, because good textbooks should reflect the latest academic results and have unique insights. Yuan Xingpei also personally wrote the general narrative, the narrative of the third volume, and two chapters of the third volume. Yuan Xingpei used the opportunity of visiting the Harvard-Yenching Institute in the United States to revise the manuscript, and worked day and night in the library of Harvard University for nearly 10 years. Four months. Yuan Xingpei traveled from China to the United States and back to China with a box of manuscripts in hand.