He Bingdi

He Bingdi

He Bingdi (1917-2012.06.07) was born in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. He graduated from Tsinghua University in 1938. In 1944, he was admitted as the sixth Tsinghua student studying in the United States. At the end of 1945, he went to Columbia University to study western history. In 1952, he received a doctorate in British history from Columbia University. After that, he Bingdi gradually turned to the study of national history and made great achievements.

In 1966, he Bingdi was elected a member of Taiwan's Academia Sinica. In 1979, he Bingdi was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His representative works include "the declining population in the early Ming Dynasty and its related problems", "on the social history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties", "the cradle of the Orient" and "sixty years of reading history".

Profile

He Bingdi, a native of houxihe village, Luodian Town, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, was born in Tianjin in 1917. In 1934, he studied in the History Department of Tsinghua University in Beijing. He studied from famous professors such as Jiang Tingfu, Liu Chongxuan, Lei Haizong, Chen Yinke and Feng Youlan. After graduating from the University in 1938, he went to the rear area of Yunnan Province to serve as an assistant and teacher in the History Department of southwest United University. In 1944, he was admitted to the United States for the sixth term of the Boxer Rebellion. The next year, he went to the United States to study at Columbia University, specializing in British history and Western European history. In 1952, he was awarded a doctorate in land issues, land reform movement and land policy at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Before he got his doctorate, he went to teach at the University of British Columbia in 1948, transferred to the University of Chicago in 1963, and became professor of history of James wesfall Thompson in 1965. He retired in 1987. He was an outstanding visiting professor of history and Social Sciences at the University of California, Irvine, and retired for the second time in 1990. He Bingsong, the elder brother of his family, was the president of national Jinan University from 1935 to 1946. He also made great achievements in the field of historical research. He has written more than ten books, including the new meaning of general history, the new historiography, the law of historical research, the law of historical education, the history of western historiography, the history of medieval Europe, the first emperor of Qin, the history of modern Europe, the history of modern Europe, the origin of eastern Zhejiang School, and the debate between Cheng and Zhu Monograph, other zero scattered, more. He Bingdi died of illness in California on June 7, 2012, Western time. He was 95 years old.

classic

In the 1950s and 1960s, academician he devoted himself to the study of the population of China, the social structure and the mobility in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and also to the study of the guild hall system rialChina:AspectsofSocialMobility 1368-1911 (1962) has been regarded as the classic works by the international academic circles. The former explores a new way to reconstruct the historical reality of China's population; the latter comprehensively explores the history of China's social composition and class mobility in the five hundred years of Ming and Qing Dynasties. On the history of Chinese Guildhall (1966) is academician he's first Chinese monograph. It is proved that the founding time of the guild hall was in the Yongle period of Ming Dynasty (1403-24), which is about 140 years earlier than the 39 years of Jiajing (1560) previously mentioned by Japanese scholars. At the same time, it is also pointed out that the guild hall system actually played a role in "promoting the melting of the concept of minority areas and the emergence of the consciousness of large groups" according to the previous assertion made by scholars of various countries, especially Japanese scholars. 6、 After the 1970s, academician he's interest shifted to ancient Chinese history, especially the origin of Chinese culture: two masterpieces, the Loess and the origin of Chinese agriculture (1969) and the cradleof the East: an indigenous origin {techniqttes and ideas of Neo ethical early history China. 5000-1000b. C. (1975), all discussed the characteristics of Chinese culture in detail, and put forward the whole idea for the origin of Chinese civilization New ideas. In the 1980s, academician he made a detailed textual research and Analysis on the various reasons for the inaccuracy of ancient and modern land figures in China, and wrote a book named "textual research and evaluation of ancient and modern land figures in China" (1988). A few years later, based on this book, he wrote another book named "textual research of ancient and modern land figures in China" (1955).

Major honors

Academician he Bingdi's works are very rich and he is a great scholar in the field of history. He was elected academician of Academia Sinica in 1966, academician of American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1979, and honorary senior researcher (equivalent to academician) of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 1997. Due to his great academic contribution, he was elected president of the American Society for Asian Studies in 1975-76. He is the first Asian president of the society and the only Chinese President so far. In addition, he received honorary doctorates in law and humanities from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1975), Lawrence University (1978) and Dennison University (1988).

Writing attitude

He Bingdi's early works were mostly written in English. After his second retirement, he began to work hard in Chinese. At present, he is marching into the field of ancient ideological history. In the case of insufficient literature, he is seeking perfection and specialization, and has written several original research papers. At the same time, he also actively wrote his memoirs. With a broad vision and a sincere and cordial attitude, he expressed his own experience and reviewed the history and experience of his mind, as well as the memories of his teachers and friends.

Academic vision

He Bingdi's academic vision is extraordinary.

time

In terms of time, the Chinese history and culture from 5000 BC to the 20th century are all involved. They are widely concerned and have a vast atmosphere. The new interpretation is enough to shake the academic circles.

theme

In terms of subject matter, topic selection has always been bold in tackling key problems, and is well-known among scholars. He strongly advocates the study of major basic problems and disdains to be a second-class topic. He has shocked the academic circles with his views on the complex, important and highly related research topics, such as the origin of Chinese civilization, agriculture and crops, farming methods, social mobility in the past 500 years, population and capital accumulation, and has attracted the attention and discussion of scholars with world history vision, Most of it depends on the number of tools. " He actively absorbed the experience of studying Chinese history and culture from western history and social sciences. The two cornerstones of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Ding and mu, were given a revolutionary conclusion that they were both tax payers and had nothing to do with the actual population and land area. When he wrote "the origin of agriculture" and "THC cradle0 of the East", academician he started with basic work and "made up for" a lot of Archaeology and related natural science knowledge, which was further confirmed by a large number of archaeological materials and ancient documents. When you encounter problems in other disciplines, you will never do it behind closed doors. Instead, you are not ashamed to ask questions, and you are open-minded to consult scholars of relevant disciplines.

method

Methodologically, he never relied on isolated evidence because he had always studied fundamental subjects, especially the accumulation of argumentation. When writing studies o) the popularity of China and the ladderof success in Imperial China, I searched nearly 4000 kinds of local chronicles collected by major libraries in North America, including many rare books in the sea, and tried my best to collect nearly 100 kinds of scientific records and dental records in the same year, so as to explore related topics in a multi-dimensional way. Compared with his earlier works, his recent works seem to focus on micro textual research. However, after a thorough study, one of the characteristics of his original works is still presented, that is, the emphasis on macro general synthesis. Academician he, who is well versed in Chinese and Western learning, has been studying all over the world. He has carried forward Tsinghua University's historical style of study, which emphasized the combination of textual research and comprehensive research in the 1930s, to the extreme. He has been praised as an academic giant all over the world.

Related information

He Bingdi's evaluation of others

About Hu Shi

. While praising Hu Shi's academic achievements, he Bingdi also pointed out Hu Shi's "shortness": "I never keep a diary. There are so many ordinary days. How can I remember so much? Hu Shi is very resourceful, almost daily diary, out of the thick eight. Maybe he uses his diary as a tool, so he may not be completely reliable. " He Bingdi spoke highly of the first eight sentences of Du Fu's Qiang village, which Hu Shi wrote for him. He said that Hu Shi was very attentive in writing, good at Ci and calligraphy. This calligraphy has been hanging in he Bingdi's study. Originally, it was intended to be donated to Hu Shi Memorial Hall in Taiwan for preservation. When he's three heroes exhibition hall was built in his hometown, he donated it to his hometown.

About Wu Han

. Wu Han died in the cultural revolution because he wrote Hai Rui's dismissal. He Bingdi: This is too miserable! However, he Bingdi did not conceal his disagreement with Wu Han academically. During the Anti Japanese War, he Bingdi and Wu Han spent the hard years in Kunming. He Bingdi said that Wu Han has a deep foundation in ancient prose, especially in Zizhi Tongjian. His study of Ming history benefits from these foundations. But Wu Han didn't work hard when she was in Kunming. At that time, one of his relatives lived in the same building as Wu Han, who often played cards. He Bingdi also thinks that Wu Han should not be "flattered" too much

Chinese PinYin : He Bing Di