On Hu Shi's "total westernization"

In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era, the people's wisdom had not yet been opened up, and the influence of feudalism on society was y rooted. At that time, we were in a very serious situation, with internal and external problems, and in order to build a new society, we could only negate our traditional culture first, which was mostly feudal and backward thinking. I think Hu Shih's generation also understood that it was impossible for us to achieve "total westernization", and advocated this in order to better engage in theoretical battles with the stubborn conservatives and to promote the spread of Western learning more quickly.

The right attitude towards culture is to "take the best and remove the dross". But that's hard to do, and we need to work on it today. And at that time, a new society needed to be built quickly, otherwise, there was a risk of losing the country. Therefore, advocating westernization was a step, and the purpose was still to promote the further spread of Western learning. While delivering speeches abroad, Hu Shi also praised Chinese culture. At home, he was mainly critical.

The generations at the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic of China had a very deep foundation in Chinese studies, and then they went to the West to study and became great scholars. They still had a deep affection for tradition. Hu Shih's biggest research issues in his life were the Shui Jing Jing and the Dream of the Red Chamber, and he was also very much concerned about his family and his fellowship with his hometown. If one reads some reminiscence articles about Mr. Hu Shih, one will find that Hu Shih still pays great attention to one's family background, and is very attached to his family and fellow villagers, which Mr. Tang Degang has also written about in his articles. If you are interested in Mr. Hu Shi, we recommend reading some of his essays, which will inspire us a lot.