In fact, Qian Zhongshu and Li Ao have similarities. Both of them are extremely conceited, especially Qian Zhongshu. Qian Zhongshu is so clever that he almost forgets nothing. The whole person is like a database, which contains a lot of knowledge. He does have conceited capital. Li Ao is not to be outdone. Li Ao has a flamboyant personality and likes to call names. He wrote many articles in the process of swearing. In fact, swearing is very simple, but it is difficult to be good at it. If you want to scold a person well, you must study your opponent deeply. Li Ao has done a lot of work here, so his evaluation of others, though extreme, is by no means unreasonable. There is always something reasonable.
Both of them have perverse personalities and many enemies, which are hard for their colleagues. However, these two people are very different in treating people. Qian Zhongshu's character is low-key and introverted. Even swearing is a level. He taunts from time to time and doesn't care much about the other person's reaction. Li Ao, on the other hand, regardless of his local position, regarded it as a curse, and called names with great fanfare, which was extremely inflammatory. Although it offended a large number of people, it also won the support of many fans. Qian Zhongshu has been studying by himself, like a bookworm, while Li Ao bared his teeth, more like a social activist.
Qian Zhongshu's super memory and language talent make people feel like a camera or a memory card. When he was studying in Tsinghua, his knowledge shocked his classmates, and even the professors in the school looked askance at him and felt ashamed. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Qian Zhongshu participated in the compilation of Mao Xuan. Qian Zhongshu can still be regarded as a master teacher in a place where top translators gather in the country. Every time there is a problem, Qian Zhongshu makes a decision, and his strength can be seen.
If a person's memory is too strong and he remembers too many things, he is easily influenced by others, and Qian Zhongshu is no exception. We evaluated Qian Zhongshu as a famous writer, literary researcher and translator, but did not say that he was a thinker. For example, the famous "Guan Cone" can be regarded as a summary and interpretation of China's ancient books, which can't be completed without profound knowledge. But if you want to talk about ideological content, because it is a summary work, you don't need too much ideological content. If you want to pursue ideological content, you can explore the original.
Another particularly famous work, Fortress Besieged, is my personal favorite book, in which the portrayal of human nature is really incisive. But look at the background of this book. At that time, many novels that we thought were thoughtful were revolutions with thoughts of home and country. Fortress Besieged, on the other hand, is very different. Except for the necessary outline of the times, there is no unique ideological content of the novels of that era. Although at the end of the novel, the protagonist quarreled with his wife's family out of patriotism, it is definitely not the main line, just to highlight it? Besieged city is just an episode of the theme. Therefore, to talk about ideological content is different from the works of Lu Xun, Contradiction, Ba Jin and so on in the traditional sense.
So Li Ao's evaluation of Qian Zhongshu is reasonable. However, I think Qian Zhongshu is more academic research, and it is not objective to mix too many personal thoughts. What's more, there are specialties in the art, and Qian Zhongshu is a great scholar. Scholars mainly study the works of ancestors, and the ideological content should be properly controlled.