Mr. Ren Mingshan, the word Xinshu, is from Shuangdian, Rudong, Jiangsu. 19 13 was born, 1935 graduated from Zhijiang university. I studied under Mrs. Zhong, Xia. In his early years, he studied writing, phonology and exegesis, and later he specialized in Confucian classics. At the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, Zhijiang University moved to Shanghai, rented several rooms in the Cishu Building in the concession as classrooms, and Mr. Ren worked as a Chinese lecturer in Zhijiang.
After the July 7th Incident, my family fled from Beiping to Shanghai. My mother was afraid that I would neglect my studies, so she asked Ren to teach me Chinese through my old friend Professor Hu Lusheng, the dean of Zhijiang, to prepare for the college entrance examination.
I go to Mr. Ren's residence for one hour three times a week. At that time, Mr. Ren lived in an alley on Yidingpan Road. This alley is a row of two-story simple buildings hastily built after the war. At that time, due to the influx of refugees from the concession, the population suddenly increased, and many simple buildings called new alleys were built by real estate developers. Mr. Ren lives on the ground floor of a building.
The first time I visited Mr. Ren, I saw him wearing a robe. He is not tall, but his eyes are bright and his expression is awe-inspiring. In my contact with him, he never seems to laugh. He is not an introvert, but also very straightforward. He will never go along with others for the sake of perfunctory. He is very principled and never gossips with me in class. Although Mr. Ren is as cold as autumn frost and has strict requirements on people and himself, he has never been daunting and feels awe-inspiring. He didn't teach me for a long time, about a year, but he taught me three subjects: Shuo Wen Jie Zi, Zhuangzi and Shi Shuo Xin Yu. Shuo Wen Jie Zi is spoken word by word according to radicals. Zhuangzi used Guo Qingfan's concentrated solution. He taught internal and external articles, but miscellaneous articles didn't have time to teach. Shi Shuo Xin Yu was assigned by him to read by myself. I go to his home in Yidingpan Road for extracurricular classes three times a week, and sometimes he wants me to attend his lectures at Zhijiang University in Cishulou. Teacher Ren listened attentively and loudly. When I was in his class, although I was the only one, he explained it to me in the same loud voice.
Mr. Ren leads a simple life. His bedroom has only a few pieces of wooden furniture and an armchair for rest, and nothing else. Every time I go to his house, I find him sitting at his desk, studying tirelessly and never being idle for a moment. He often reads three gifts and so on, all of which are thread-bound books. Later, Mr. Ren made some achievements in etiquette, probably related to his hard work in his early years. There is also a small inkstone and a small cinnabar ink on the desk. When I went, he either buried himself in his studies, circled the book with a brush, or commented on his eyebrows. He writes in small font, which is beautiful and accurate. Teacher Ren taught me to read Zhuangzi. Every time I met a difficult sentence, he always explained the important notes one by one. Finally, analyze and judge, and explain to me which is unreasonable, which is puzzling and which is the most appropriate. If all the notes are inappropriate and he can't read them himself, he will take a skeptical attitude. For example, in Master of Health, he is right.
In my memory, Mr. Ren criticized me several times, but never praised me. I can't blame him for being strict. At that time, I was busy fighting against Japan and saving the country, and I didn't understand the value and significance of knowledge. So that I am often late for class with any teacher, and sometimes even absent from class. Teacher Ren was very angry and accused me of being careless. Once, because I didn't go to class, he ran to my Guba Road from Yidingpan Road and left a note saying that he couldn't wait long. He asked me why I didn't ask for leave in advance and told my mother about it. When I got home, I saw the note and was scolded by my mother. Although I was a little unhappy, I didn't apologize to him. However, many years later, every time I think of it, his thin face, two bright eyes and loud voice will appear in front of me, making me feel guilty and making me dare not slack off.
At that time, I read some left-leaning books and had little social experience, but I thought I had mastered the "progressive consciousness" and sometimes published some small articles in the newspaper. Once I selected a few articles for teacher Ren to read. He looked at it, but said coldly, "No." Then he pointed out: "It is not good for you to read your article in such a hurry." I can't help but feel that I poured cold water on it, and I think that Teacher Ren is asking too much of me. A few days later, Mr. Ren showed me his student composition paper. These students are about my age, but their writing is really good, which makes people feel fresh and relaxed. I still remember that there was an essay volume describing the lake scenery, and there was a sentence like "the distant mountains came by waves", and Mr. Ren added a little beside it to show his praise.
Before that, I didn't know what "literary spirit" was. After teacher Ren's guidance, I began to understand a little. At that time, I also asked him about Jin Shengtan's criticism of Du Fu's poems that I was reading. He told me not to read it, saying, "It's not good that the golden review split the momentum of the original text." "Qi" is a unique category in China traditional culture. In the late 1980s, I wrote that it is difficult to find a word corresponding to "Qi" in the west, but in China's cultural tradition, the concept of "Qi" exists in various fields. Long before Cao Pi put forward the concept of "literature based on qi" in Dian Lun Paper, Wang Chong had already touched on the concept of "qi" in Seven Stars. In the late 1990s, Qian Gang compiled an academic chronology for me, saying that I noticed the literary style because of my teacher's teaching. That's what I meant.
Mr. Ren had a rough life. When he opposed the Rightists, he was designated as "extreme right". On the one hand, he encouraged students to take the road of "white specialization", on the other hand, he appealed and criticized because the Longquanyao site was destroyed. From then on, he was deprived of all kinds of rights, not allowed to teach, not allowed to publish articles, and only paid more than 30 yuan a month for living expenses to work in the reference room. In order to support the whole family, he had to sell his beloved books and ancient stone tablets. Xia, Ren Zhesi and Ren's articles describe this in detail. Teacher Ren used to be Mr. Xia's high foot, and the relationship between them can be said to be a teacher and friend, with deep feelings. After the anti-rightist movement, Mr. Ren was in adversity and seriously ill, but he still studied hard. Except for the short and loose period of 196 1 year (such as Three Questions about Classic Biography for China Literature and History Series), most of his academic papers could not be published. Mr. Xia generously signed his name and published it in the newspaper, and the manuscript fee was given to Mr. Ren to subsidize his family. When the "Cultural Revolution" broke out, Mr. Xia was criticized for it many times, and the humiliation and torture suffered by the two people can be imagined. At that time, Mr. Ren had advanced liver cancer. In the autumn of the second year of the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Ren was finally depressed. Before he died, Mr. Ren said, "When I die, Mr. Xia can suffer less." I met Ren Pingxian and his wife when I went to Hangzhou in the 1990s. I once asked Brother Ren Ping to take me to his house to meet my mistress and take a photo with her as a souvenir to show my gratitude to Teacher Ren. I was over 70 years old at that time. Brother Ren Ping asked Jenny and I to sit side by side and take pictures together. After half a day of mutual concessions, I still stood behind Jenny and took a photo. This photo is included in my photo biography "Time Passing".
As the saying goes: Zhang Taiyan tastes the cloud, foreigners who are scarred hate the mirror, and those who bend hate the rope. Therefore, suggestions are often power taboos, and going straight is socially intolerable. Oh! Mr. Ren has both, so how can he not get into trouble? His professionalism is admirable. It is understandable that he should be straight with people. But sometimes I wonder, is he too persistent in treating people? I don't know whether to praise or deplore this character.
A few years ago, it was said that when Mr. Ren was the provost of a university in the early 1950s, he was bent on teaching well, being strict with himself and demanding others with the same standards. He once eavesdropped while others were in class, and found that the explanation was wrong. He couldn't help but stand up and say it out loud, which made the other party feel embarrassed.
I can understand Ren's character. I believe that in doing so, Mr. Ren has nothing to show off and belittle others. He is much kinder than those seemingly humble hypocrites. However, he was too eager for success and thoughtless.
Recently, I read Zhu Yixin's answers to questions in Innocent Hall, and talked about the issues of harmony and mediation. Innocent Church believes that people must reconcile, and self-reliance and mediation go hand in hand. He also said, "When you introduce yourself, you blame others. There are thorns everywhere." The book Answering Questions in Innocent Hall has multiple philosophies of self-cultivation, many of which are convincing, and the words quoted above are also good. The Innocent Hall is a Neo-Confucianist who seldom pays attention to or even despises people's temperament. People can't be completely shaped by the constraints of moral norms and act according to the domination of reason. People are complex, people's temperament sometimes breaks through the barriers of rationality, and people's virtue sometimes has some negative factors. Therefore, of course, people should pursue perfection, but no one can really achieve perfection. The phrase "no one is perfect" is also very clear.
Mr. Ren will inevitably suffer from the disease of "others will be blamed for his own introduction", but I think if this factor is removed and he is required to die with the world, then his integrity and professionalism will probably disappear. Because some defects are often mixed with virtue. This is produced by personality, which is difficult to decompose. If you remove this phase, usually that phase will no longer exist. This is probably one of the reasons for many troubles and tragedies in life. Mr. ren can't escape this number.