"Life is finite, and mediocre results are a waste of life. So my goal is to be as high quality as possible, as creative as possible. "Engaged in the compilation of ancient books for decades, Du Zexun has always maintained high requirements for himself.
Du Zexun has many identities, such as a university teacher and the director of the editorial department of the journal "Literature, History and Philosophy", but he is best known as a well-known scholar in the field of classical philology. Throwing himself into the vast ocean of ancient books, he is busy all day, and it is the norm to get off work at ten o'clock every night. The 61-year-old said: "To do a line of work, to love a line, is to be dedicated." When I got into the business of sorting out ancient books, I had to do it well. ”
In 1981, Du Zexun was admitted to the Chinese Department of Shandong University. At that time, Shandong University was full of talents, and its characteristics of running a school with a strong reputation in literature and history were prominent; the Department of Chinese was represented by Feng Yuanjun, Lu Kanru, Gao Heng, Xiao Difei, and Huang Xiaoshu, known as the "Five Mountains"; the Department of History was represented by Yang Xiangkui, Tong Shuye, Huang Yunmei, Zheng Hesheng, Zhang Weihua, Wang Zhongxun, Zhao Lisheng, and Chen Tongxie, collectively known as "Eight Horses and the Same Groove". Du Zexun is meeting such a vigorous Shandong University. "At that time, not only could you see the writings of these gentlemen in the library, sometimes you could hear them from the young teachers, and you could even see them in person and listen to their academic lectures. ”
Before going to university, Du Zexun was interested in literature and ancient books. "My father was a Chinese teacher in primary and secondary schools, and I often saw him reading. Since he was a child, after entering the Chinese Department of Shandong University, Du Zexun has been voracious in reading classical literature. Xiao Difei's "Du Fu Research", Lu Kanru and Mou Shijin's "Wenxin Carving Dragon Translation Notes", Wang Zhongju's "History of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties", Huang Yunmei, Tong Shuye, Gao Heng and other gentlemen's works, Du Zexun has read them. "When I was in college, I didn't read it all, but I read it, read the preface, and some of the text may not be understood. ”
Every Sunday during college, he would go to the bookstore. His favorite bookstore is opposite Zhongshan Park on Weisan Road, called Old Bookstore. On the second floor of the bookstore was a rare open bookshelf at that time, where you could pick and read books at will.
In addition to watching, I also buy classic works when I encounter them. "At that time, the monthly living expenses at Shandong University were 17 yuan and 5 cents, and I spent 22 yuan and 8 cents to buy a set of "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics", which was more than my monthly living expenses, and it was quite difficult to buy this set of books. Du Zexun said.
Du Zexun's embarkation on the path of studying classical texts was actually somewhat accidental. After four years of accumulation in college, his initial goal was to apply for the graduate school of Mr. Yin Huanxian, a famous ancient Chinese artist in the School of Literature of Shandong University at that time. "At that time, Mr. recruited two graduate students across the country, and one of my classmates usually studied more than Mr. Yin, and I felt that the competition was not enough, so there was still one place left, which was more difficult. So, Du Zexun decided to apply for the graduate class of the Institute of Ancient Books of Shandong University. "In 1985, the Institute of Ancient Books recruited a graduate class, a class of 10 people, and the collation of ancient books also needs to understand ancient Chinese, understand words, phonology, and exegesis, which is consistent with my love of classical literature, so I applied for the exam and was admitted. ”
When studying at the Institute of Ancient Books, Du Zexun often read the original texts with his teacher. "Reading the original texts is not about generalization, but leading you to read, such as "Book of Songs" and "Historical Records". On the one hand, I read more ancient books, and on the other hand, I strengthened my basic training. In addition, editions, bibliography, and proofreading have also become important contents of his study.
In the year of graduation, Du Zexun was given the opportunity to stay in school and became an assistant to the paleophile Mr. Wang Shaozeng. Wang Shaozeng's expertise is the very important aspects of edition, bibliography and proofreading in the study of classical documents. After graduating in June 1987, Du Zexun received his first task in September of that year - to go to Hefei to find books and classify these works with the list of works in the "Anhui Literature Bibliography".
This work was actually one of the projects of "Qing Historical Manuscripts, Art and Literary Chronicles" that Wang Shaozeng presided over at that time. In the "Qing History Manuscript" compiled during the Beiyang government, the "Qing History Manuscript Art and Literature Chronicles" part is divided into four categories, and the Qing Dynasty's writings are listed, but there are serious omissions.
When he arrived in Hefei, Du Zexun read books every day. "When I mention a few books at a time, I have to identify the age of writing, the author's age, the basic content of the book, and read it quickly, and I have to read more than 100 books for about half a month, which is also a challenge. ”
Regarding Du Zexun's performance, Wang Shao once wrote in the preface to the "Outline of Philology": "Zexun stayed in Hefei for more than ten days, according to the map, read various books in the Anhui Provincial Library and Museum, and made detailed notes. Since then, Zuo Yu has compiled "Gleanings" and served as deputy editor-in-chief, working day and night, for seven years. ”
He has devoted himself to classical philology for decades, and has presided over or participated in a number of major national and provincial ancient book compilation projects. Almost every one of these projects is protracted, ranging from a few years to a decade or even decades.
Du Zexun told reporters that he now has several big projects on hand going hand in hand. By 2024, he will have presided over the project of "General Catalogue of Qing People's Writings" for 20 years, the "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics" project for 12 years, the "General Catalogue of Chinese Ancient Books in Japan" project for five years, the "Yongle Dadian" comprehensive collection and research project for three years, and the "Shandong Library: Classics" project for two years.
After decades of hard work, these major projects are beginning to bear fruit.
The "General Catalogue of Qing People's Writings" will be published in 2023, typeset by Zhonghua Book Company, with 16 hardcover 40 volumes, a total of 25,000 pages, and a total of 3 to 400 people participated. "These people were in their twenties back then, and now they're in their forties, scattered all over the country. I found 80 people who participated in the project that year, and two of them read a book to complete the proofs. Du Zexun said.
"If you want to line up ancient books, the "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics" should be ranked first, and the "Twenty-four History" should be ranked second. Du Zexun said, "A set of wood carvings of the Commentary on the Thirteen Classics, more than 10,000 pages, there are twenty or thirty editions that need to be proofread, and each version needs to be proofread three times. In this way, according to the number of pages, "Zhou Yi Commentary" accounts for 3% of the entire "Commentary on the Thirteen Classics", and this 3% of the content will take 15 people to proofread it for a year. "All the proofreading work has to be done by a team. At present, "Zhou Yi", "Shangshu" and "Mao's Poems" have completed the proofreading work, and Du Zexun needs to be finalized word by word.
The research project of the comprehensive collection of the Yongle Canon is one of the most important projects at hand for Du Zexun. He said that the Yongle Canon is informative and instrumental, and the texts cited in it have three functions for researchers: to find ancient books that have been lost, to find early versions of hand-me-down books, and to find classified materials. "We have to take the method of demolishing the book, just like building the house according to the plan, we are now demolishing the house, in the process of demolition, we know how to glue it together, and after the demolition, the bricks, tiles, and wood are classified and put separately, so that it can return to its original elements. According to the plan, after the split, the "Yongle Canon" version of the "Book of Songs", "Historical Records", "Zhou Yi", and so on will be formed. However, due to the fact that a large number of "Yongle Canon" has disappeared, the books that have been split out are not complete, such as the 130 volumes of "Historical Records", only one or two hundred articles have been dismantled. Du Zexun said that at present, the second step of the split work has been basically completed, and the next step is to find experts in different fields for further research and collation.
In order to keep track of the progress of each project, Du Zexun's mobile phone has one group chat after another, and each project has a WeChat group of several hundred people. "My WeChat messages are often 100 a day, some can simply reply 'OK' and 'yes', and some may take screenshots and ask what this paragraph means? What should I do? I will take some time. ”
Over the course of his decades-long career, he has had a long period of dreary. Many of the major projects he participated in were scored zero in the assessment. According to the regulations, only with accurate publication results can he be scored in the assessment, and the major projects that Du Zexun participated in can only produce results after a few years and decades later. This also means that as a school teacher, Du Zexun will suffer in the evaluation of professional titles and bonuses. "Knowing that I was going to suffer, I still had patience, and I thought about it for a long time, the bottom line is not to be fired, not to fire me, not to mention the title, and it's okay if the income is low. As long as I don't get expelled, I'm going to stick to it. ”
Having sat on the cold bench himself, Du Zexun did not want young scholars to continue to suffer. "Today's young people are at a higher level than our generation at the same age, so why are we always afraid that they will not be able to rely on them and sit still? In fact, it is mainly because of the assessment. Du Zexun said that now young teachers in colleges and universities need to sign pre-employment contracts, and they will be assessed every few years, and some schools will also make it clear that they will either be promoted or leave. In such a short period of time, to produce excellent results, the situation of each discipline is different, some disciplines can enter the forefront relatively quickly, while some disciplines have a long cycle, including classical disciplines.
"The cycle of classical disciplines is long, because they need to be familiar with many original documents and materials of classical Chinese, it is difficult to understand, the digestion process is long, and it takes a long time to enter the innovation stage. As far as the growth of talents is concerned, it violates the research laws of classical disciplines. Du Zexun said.
"Talents for sorting out ancient books are like fighting a war, and they have to grow up by participating in major cultural projects, and if the road is not smooth, who wants to participate?" Du Zexun told reporters, saying that he hoped that the current young people would be able to survive the dull period. As far as young people are concerned, there are still a few who are willing to sit on the cold bench.
Although the pressure is greater, Du Zexun still feels that contemporary young scholars have a lot to do in classical philology. First of all, because with the advent of the Internet age, it is more convenient than ever to study ancient books. "With the digitization and internationalization of ancient books, you can see images of rare books collected all over the country on the Internet. It takes a long process to put these rich ancient book resources on the Internet, and a lot of manpower and material resources need to be invested. How many pages does the National Library have to put 10,000 ancient books online at a time? What a great achievement? In the past, I went to Hefei to look for books in the library, but now a big hard disk can top a small library. Du Zexun believes that the hardware conditions for young people to become talents have been improved countless times, and they can collect enough information in their limited lives, and they can do the work of their predecessors for one year or even five years a day, which is equivalent to prolonging their lives. As a result, the chances of young people surpassing their predecessors have greatly increased.
Faced with the possibility of exponential magnification and the enormous pressure that comes with it, Du Zexun feels that young scholars still need to set lofty ideals. But more importantly, we must be mentally prepared to deal with the difficulties and twists and turns in the process of struggle. "Young people should have lofty ideals, deal with the twists and turns in front of them with a normal attitude, and realize that the difficulties in front of them are inevitable. Many of our young people regard twists and turns as abnormal, which is abnormal, so it is easy to care too much about the present, and feel that I must get this in my hands, and it will be easy to be anxious, but this moment often does not determine the final victory. ”
Du Zexun believes that it is important for young people to strengthen ideal education. Ideal education is not simply to depict the beauty of ideals, but to realize that it takes hard work to realize ideals. In fact, these are all in the "Twenty-four History", which is to learn from history. However, at present, many ideal education is still mostly empty talk. When a person does not retreat when he encounters difficulties and does not stop improving, the purpose of this education is achieved. ”
This year, Du Zexun has a new identity - the director of the editorial department of the magazine "Literature, History and Philosophy".
Since its inception in 1951, Literature, History and Philosophy has always adhered to the principle of "scholars run journals and cultivate scholars". The first editor-in-chief of "Literature, History and Philosophy" was Yang Xiangkui in the "Eight Horses in the Same Slot" of Shandong University at that time. Wang Xuedian, the editor-in-chief before Du Zexun, has long been committed to the study of historical theory and historiography, as well as the study of modern Chinese academic cultural history.
Du Zexun feels that "Literature, History and Philosophy" is different from scientific research projects. "We do the project and organize a team, which itself is stable and relatively closed. The journal is always open and regularly public, so it is clear whose articles you have published? Which unit are these articles from? What issues are discussed in the articles? These are all clear at a glance. ”
The editorial work of Literature, History and Philosophy has something in common with the collation and research of ancient books. Du Zexun told reporters that "Literature, History and Philosophy" is biased towards ancient literature, ancient history, and ancient philosophy in terms of content, and will cite a large number of ancient books and documents. The quality of the editions of the ancient books cited will affect the accuracy and academic taste of the article. "I have also been an external reviewer of "Literature, History and Philosophy" before, and I am very careful about the aspect of literature citation. In addition, because the articles contained in "Literature, History and Philosophy" often involve different fields, it is necessary to find suitable experts in the expert pool to review the manuscripts, and Du Zexun also needs to deal with experts in different fields in the process of sorting out ancient books, and he has his own experience in finding experts. "Literature, History and Philosophy is an open platform, the source of manuscripts is open, and the reviewers are open, only in this way can we brainstorm and do it well. ”
Literature, History and Philosophy is the first university liberal arts journal after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it is also the longest-running comprehensive humanities and social sciences academic journal, known as the "king of journals". This also made Du Zexun feel that the burden on his shoulders was heavier. "In order to maintain the high quality and high level of "Literature, History and Philosophy", it is necessary to let people bring the most cutting-edge achievements, and to continue to do this work. ”
One of the important reasons why "Literature, History and Philosophy" has won praise from the academic community is its tradition of "supporting small people and recruiting university scholars". At the beginning of the journal, the journal had the requirement of introducing a new author as much as possible in each issue, and as a result, a large number of famous scholars published their debut novels, famous works or representative works, such as Li Zehou, Pang Pu, Li Xifan, and so on. In this regard, Du Zexun believes that supporting newcomers is the fine tradition of "Literature, History and Philosophy", and in terms of practice, it is not to take age and status, but to take the quality of the manuscript as the primary criterion for the use of the manuscript. "Han Yu said, 'There is a precedence in hearing the Tao', he is younger than me, but the level is high, according to Han Yu, he has to 'learn from him'. The same is true for the manuscript of "Literature, History and Philosophy", as long as the results are excellent, regardless of age and qualifications, how to hire them, everyone is equal in front of academics. ”
In fact, the authors of "Literature, History and Philosophy" are rapidly getting younger. Du Zexun believes that this shows the side of "Literature, History and Philosophy" that keeps pace with the times. "I think that young experts of the Mesozoic generation are very suitable for writing these creative articles, and the rejuvenation of our team of authors is also in line with the actual situation of the academic community, and it is not deliberately made. (Liang Wen)