Hu Shi's Speech And Speech Writing,

Hu Shi is a modern distinguished thinker, litterateur, educationalist and scholar. He participated in and took the lead in the May 4^th New Culture Campaign, and therefore was honored as "Father of Chinese Revival of Learning". He achieved some pioneering and historical contribution in the fields of literature, philosophy, history, etc. Besides, Hu Shi is an outstanding social activity participator and a celebrated lecturer. Hu Shi made a great number of lectures involved in literature, history, philosophy, religion, diplomacy, social culture, education, etc. from 1906 to 1962 in China mainland, Hong Kong, Tai Wan, Macao and some western countries as UK and America, leaving amounts of lecture full of elegant literacy, rich thought and culture, and research value. Due to his important status in contemporary lecturing history, the study of Hu Shi's lecture is of great significance to a full understanding of his thought, enrich his image and clearing up the modern lecturing history, especially the scholar's lecturing.Currently, the academia has been experiencing a peak of study of Hu Shi. However, it is a pity that there is no deeper, systematic and comprehensive study of his numerous and praised lecturing activities and lectures. Studies, even only a few, serve as a method to testify Hu Shi's thought and culture and his historical status. There is a lack of unique study of Hu Shi's lecture in terms of its contents and stylistic characteristics in the academic circles.The paper presents a systematic and comprehensive summary and comment on the contents and characteristics of Hu Shi's lectures, which, separated from his academic dissertations, are treated as a specific applied style with its creation characteristics. It is hoped that the academia could analyze aiming to promote our knowledge and understanding of Hu Shi's thought. And it is also hoped that the academia could attach importance to and make some research on the lecturing activities and lectures of modern authors and scholars, thus to clear up and substantiate the modern lecture history, improve the weakness and accelerate research work from the surface to the essence. The paper has three sections to present and analyze:Section 1: Presentation of the contents and characteristics of Hu Shi's lectures. Due to the great varieties of Hu Shi's lectures, they have not been comprehensive systematically classified and rationally recognized. Therefore, according to its contents and on the basis of seizing the larger and giving up the small and focusing on the mainstream, Hu Shi's lectures are classified into four categories as lectures on literature and arts, on culture and thoughts, on politics and diplomacy and on education, in any one of which the contents, characteristics and significance are analyzed. Then learners can catch an panorama of his lectures.Section 2: Presentation of Hu Shi's thought viewed from his lectures: Compared with written language, lecture diction, as spoken language, can only temporarily exist and the speaker has little time to think it over and over again, which can demonstrate the speaker's true inner state and his thought. Many affairs and notions, not mentioned in his books, are embodied and described in his lectures. Besides, some of his lectures and activities, which are misunderstood and misinterpreted in life, can be justified by some facts and evidences from his lecture. Therefore, the analysis of Hu Shi's lectures can clarify the characteristics of his thoughts clearly, deeply and accurately, which substantiate his image.The analysis is carried out from three angles. First, modernity of Hu Shi thought. Hu Shi's lectures show some characteristics of his thought as rationality, internationalism and retrospection. Second, national consciousness of Hu Shi's thought. Hu Shi's lectures show his confidence to our historical nation and his realization of the positive factors in the national thoughts and culture. And it shows that Hu Shi bears intense sense of national responsibility and sense of self-respect. That's why he exerts himself for our nation on the occasion of national crisis. Third, the contradiction in Hu Shi's thought. From the analysis of his lectures, it can be found that Hu Shi is a complicated individual just like the majority of the intellectuals during May Fourth campaign, which reflects the conflicts and connections between the traditional culture and modern culture. His lectures show the contradictions between his thought and the reality and the coexistence of modernity and nationality in his thought. Hu Shi's lectures is a true description of the inner world of the first awaked intellectuals when they struggle forward to break the old thought and culture rooted in their consciousness.Section 3: Analyzed the characteristics of Hu Shi's lecture dictions. Lecture diction is a kind of applied argumentative style, the purpose of which is to move and convince people by various reasoning forms and lectures. The previous statements have not touched upon how Hu Shi's lectures achieved convincing people by reasoning. In consequence, the paper discusses that from three aspects combined with some of his lectures. First, Hu Shi tried some innovative and appropriate reasoning forms like disease treating method, drama acting method and accounting method, etc., which met the psychological needs of the audience who are fond of innovating and changing. Second, he used reasoning methods just like on the scene. Motivation of the atmosphere on the scene is a key factor to the success of the lecture creation. Therefore, in his lecture dictions, Hu Shi often utilizes some familiar metaphors to approach the audience emotionally, and some passionate interlinked questions to create a pondering atmosphere, and enumerate some motivating cases and stories to adjust the scene atmosphere. Third, Hu Shi was good at utilizing the reasoning dictions full of vividness and emotion. The stress is laid on the analysis of differences of Hu Shi's lectures as a kind of applied spoken writings compared with written writings, thus to analyze its methods for reasoning and convincing people with emotional language. Hu Shi's lectures are of distinctive characteristics. They are vivid and dynamic, descriptive and lifelike, simple or superb, which deeply inspires the audience. Besides, they are told tirelessly like talking about the usual life but move the audience with true feelings.