A New School In The Old School—intellectual In The Changing Era

Since stepping into the modern times, China had always suffered foreign aggression and it gradually lost rights as a sovereign state. After the middle of the 19th century, national crisis is more imminent and urgent. At the time when situation has changed greatly, modern Chinese intellectuals began to board the stage of history and devoted themselves to the career of country’s self-empowerment and wealth with their knowledge and with their understanding and judgment about the relationship between China and western countries.In 1895-1925, the era of transformation, China have appeared two generations of torchbearer.The first generation,represented by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, actively contact with western culture although they are based on imperial examination.But on the occasion of the new culture movement, these torchbearers who leading the trend was viewed as conservative and was called "new breed in the old school" by people who catch up from behind.And the second generation of enlightenment are almost Xueheng School intellectuals that have studied in Europe and the United States and they have accepted profound academic training so that they have profound cognition of western politics, economics and culture.In addition,they identify with the Greek humanism in the view of culture and disdain mechanical classicism and romanticism advocated by Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu,so the second generation of enlightenment was called "old breed of the new school".Hu Xiansu is one of the typical representatives of the second generation of enlightenment as a famous modern scientist and intellectual.He absorbs the essence of Chinese and western education and masters profound and deep knowledge.His life goes across three big transformation era of the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and the Republic and he is a typical intellectual in times of great changes.Hu Xiansu studied in Imperial University of Peking in early years and have achieved academic success. Then he studied in the United States and he was specializing in botany,which was unpopular, rather than politics,economics, engineering and other popular majors to serve for the country by what he have learned instead of gaining momentary food and clothing.In the United States,he deeply felt backwardness of Chinese science.To save the nation by technology, he took part in the Science Society of China,actively wrote articles, and become the backbone of the Science Society of China. During this period,he also got to meet a large number of elite of science and technology of China in the future. Hu Xiansu took office in the Nanjing Higher Normal School (i.e. later Southeast University,Central University) since he returned from the United States.He also co-founded the Department of biology, in Southeast University with Bing Zhi and become a generation of master of Science.Hu XianSu, a famous botanist in the modern history of China and the founder of Chinese plant taxonomy,won international fame for finding a rare species called"metasequoia".Besides, he is also a modern Chinese humanist, poet and literary critic, a former member of the Southern Society and the Science Society of China, one of the founders of the XueHeng magazine.He have had cultural debate with new culture school like Hu Shi and other scholars, opening the ethos at that time. He have took office in Nanjing Higher Normal School, National Southeast University, Peking University, Beijing Normal University and other domestic famous universities.He became the first president of National Chung Cheng University and became a councilor and academician of Academia Sinica for his prominent scientific achievements,so he is a excellent educator and scholar.He has advanced education concept, which aiming to focus on faculty and emphasize on the combination of moral education and education. He think speciality is commendable in learning but erudition is more important.Mr.Hu XianSu has remarkable achievements in scholarship and it’s recognized by the academic circle. He co-founded the biological research institute in Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan Research Institute of agriculture and forestry, Fan Memorial Institute of biology, Lushan botanical garden and other important scientific research institutions which have wide influence in the history of Chinese science.He also set up the Botanical Society of China,which provides an important base for teaching and research work of Chinese botany.At the same time, he began his collection and research of rich plant resources in China especially the plant resources in the area of Jiangsu,Zhejiang and Jiangxi province in a well-organized and planned way.He then acquire fruitful research findings and good social effect. Mr. Hu Xiansu has shaped a master image in the modern history of China for his outstanding achievements in scientific research, elegant sharp poems, essays and unique personality charm.Hu Xiansu have made outstanding contributions for the development of Chinese modern botany and culture, and his academic achievements are recognized in academic circles at home and abroad. Besides,his own profound literary attainments also get everyone’s praise at the same time. As a famous scholar who has multiple identities like a poet, scientist, literary critic, scholar, president of the university, professor, academic achievement and complexity of thought of Hu Xiansu is evident. So, research on academic achievement and thought of Hu Xiansu is particularly important.On the one hand, we can take to understand his rich academic achievements so as to inherit and enhance the heritage; on the other hand, we can learn his feeling and spirit of erudition of Chinese and western culture, concern of country and people and his persistence to the truth. Hu XianSu has rich experience in his lifetime and has took part in the Science Society of China, "Xue Heng"magazines,Tongguang school and such academic communities.He is a generation of scientific master and cultural celebrities with extensive and profound writings.He has made outstanding contributions to the modernization of science and the development of culture in China with his unique cultural ideas,creative work and proud scientific achievements. This paper attempts to deeply analyze Hu Xiansu,a representative of the"new breed of the old school", to highlight his concept of value,inherent characteristics and psychological journey as one of generation of the "May 4th" intellectuals and to understand the various effects of "transformation era" on modern Chinese intellectuals.Then we can analyze the reason why he is progressive and positively innovative in science but is conservative in culture and preserves tradition or objectes to the total Westernization. Through the analysis of his life course, we can draw the changing tracks of modern Chinese intellectuals’journey of struggle and the fate of individuals for country and people in the great era.