Recollections of My University Professor, Mr. Yao Gongshu 杂忆之-我的大学老师姚公书

Our head of the department, Mr. Yao, was the only full professor of the faculty. His residence was in a shared one-story cottage with an in-house toilet as its biggest advantage. Secretary of the Party lived in a single, floored, one-story house with his secretary and guards. In fact he could only use two rooms—one for his books, one for his sleep—and had to go to public toilet outside.

The Influential Background

Mr. Yao is the cadre of the Ye Jianying guidance group in 1927 and a journalist in eastern Asia after the failure of the Big Revolution. He went back to Yan’an by the end of Anti-Japanese war, and was nominated as chief editor of “People’s Daily” after liberation ranked as eight-grade cadre, only one grade lower than the top Provincial Secretary. He was demoted here to Guizhou in 1958. There you know his strong background. His treatment was more or less the same as it was in his old days! As regular teachers, the Party secretary of our department lived in tube-shaped apartments. Each family had two rooms to share with their next generation. New assistances, however, had to share one room among three, and had to use the so called “family room” to cope with the visit of their spouses.

The Friendly Red Professor

Unlike the unacceptable right wing Mr. Zhang, Mr. Yao was a “red” professor. “Red” means he took urgent action to join the Party in 1957. We used to take “urgent action” as such actions as running onto the rostrum and slapping in the right wing’s face, which, however, did not take place on Mr. Yao.

A friendly man of cautious and modesty

He would serve all the new teachers with homemade cuisine, talk about their work plans and advisers and ask about their families and hobbies. To give lessons was not easy in those days. A new teacher had to attend lessons with students, to tutor students, and to report to advisers about his study and work regularly before all his work had been approved by his adviser. After the approval, he could prepare the draft of his own lecture. Crew of teaching and research office then censor the draft and evaluate the trial lecture of this new teacher. After passed the evaluation, he could fully prepare his lessons. However, the final edition of the preparation needed to be reviewed and checked for mistakes once more by his adviser. One had to pass all these steps to get access to give lessons. Some teachers had spent several years managing food supply, without being able to start their trial lessons.

Despite the position of department head, Mr. Yao seldom appeared in front of the students. He would prepare a few pages of paper with neat and orderly handwritings; read them word after word, without any verbiage when he had to make a speech. Life experiences from the old society and shock on thoughts in the ideological reforming movements had restrained hearts of those teachers who were afraid of delivering old thoughts to the new generation, and had formed the atmosphere of overcautious and serious, which could hardly be understood by youths nowadays. One would certainly suffer for one’s reckless complains.

Mr. Yao was slim and tall. Two deep wrinkles went down around his mouth.

He wore a pair of hawksbill framed glasses all year round, but would have changed them into another pair when giving lectures. That was troublesome. Mr. Yao was careful about his appearance, according to the young teachers, that his hair was always smooth, and his mustache oiled with brilliantine. During the few hours meeting of the department, he would have spit into his own handkerchief, instead of into the spittoon. He had folded his saliva in the handkerchief again and again until the end of the meeting, and brought it back home and washed it for next usage. We use tissue paper now. But in those days when even our lecture notes were mimeographed on cranked rough fiber paper, how can one expect spit tissue!

I had been in Mr. Yao’s home once and found one room filled with thread-bound book. The series of “Twenty-Six Histories” would have filled the room up. Without any room on bookshelves, books were piled on tables and chairs, even on bed. Some books were not put back on shelf on time because Mr. Yao had just looked them up. For a specialist on Historical Geography, it could take a lifetime to read, illustrate and sketch from the geographical records of each dynasty. I myself have the reduced “Twenty-Five Histories”, not heavy at all, which is useless because you cannot even read it with magnifying lenses. I use the modern edition—thirteen huge books--for occasional checking and most of the time for decorating.

The wages of professors were as high as seven or eight workers put together in old days. After visiting Mr. Yao’s study, however, I found that professors had no enjoyment but buying books, turning them into essays and lectures, to exchange for the position of professor. The bitterness behind the title was hard to understand.

Mr. Yao had been an assistant for ten years, and it was said that he regretted it. The Forth-Grade Professor was only the start line for full professors; however most people had ended their career up here. Historical Geography studies changes of national boundaries and river migrations among dynasties. There were only three specialists working in this field: Mr. Tan Qihai from Fudan University, Mr. Shi Nianhai from Northwest University, and Mr. Yao. In fact Mr. Yao had started earlier than the other two, but had got surpassed by them because he was unwilling to release his research findings easily.

Why wouldn’t Mr. Yao publish his findings easily?

He’d rather had knowledge sunk in his brain than to write them into books. One of the erudite provosts of Peking University, who had been provost for many years, had refused to publish any of his works when he was alive. His students had summarized his works into a thin book and published it only after he passed away. “To expound ideas in writing” was sacred to intellectuals of this kind. People like us rather not to follow. We prefer to make up our works. We cut and pasted from newspapers with scissors earlier, and cut and paste from flash memory with mouse nowadays. Even worse, some pay for the right of signature without the least concern about the work itself. Me? I do not care whether my works are of high quality or not. I just write. I’d rather express than doing more research. I am way much lower than Mr. Yao in spirit.

Professors like Congfucius, who do not write books, do the teaching.

Thanks to his students, the summarized book of his teaching “The Analects of Confucius” had gained him high reputation and had significantly influenced the later generations. During our four years study, Mr. Yao had only taught us once. It was on the first semester of Grade Four, he took hours from “Selected Readings of Historical Masterpiece” class, and taught us “Yu Gong” from “Lieh Tzu”. The note we used was originally copied from “Loose-Leaf Literature Selections of China”, to which he explained word by word. He had corrected over thirty mistakes in annotation one after another, according to my count. To me, the most impressive one was “South of Mountain is Yang, and South of River is Yin”. The “Loose-Leaf Selection”, however, had completely reversed the meaning of original text.

At that time, in our mind, Zhonghua Book Company was headquarters in publishing houses of classical works. It was impossible for them to make so many mistakes on one single book. After that class I realized that one cannot blindly trust books. Instead of following other’s opinions around, we should run the width of current opinions, even doubt and question them when it comes to writing articles.

Without the spirit of doubt, without the courage of “harmony in diversity”, how could science possibly be improved? How could theories be renewed?

How could history be proved to be related to the truth? Of course it is possible losing many opportunities of publishing articles, for sticking to these thoughts would offend several elites. But it doesn’t matter. I insist to follow my heart. It is more terrible to have your article drawled back from world class magazines, to be criticized in office, or even to have your title cancelled. Mr. Yao did not talk much, but talked brilliantly. This class had not only taught us how to do research, but also taught us how to behave beyond speaking. This is how a class should be given; this is professor’s capacity.

It had always been a mystery to me why Mr. Yao, being top of the specialist of the field, and so knowledgeable, did not open his own lessons?

Had he given lessons of Historical Geography from the very beginning to the very end, that after several rounds could we summarize a mature work in the Historical Geography field. Thus History Department of our school could be one of the big three with Fudan University and Northwest University of the field. （Mr. Shi had transferred to ShanXi Normal School later.）

Anyway, Mr. Yao did not do it. What left behind was only the legend. No one knows how deep and wide he was. What a shame.

Original post written by @hqy: 杂忆之-------我的大学老师姚公书|@hqy 二哥贺汪泽新作/月旦评
Translator: @freesia205

姚老先生，我们的系主任，唯一的一名正教授。住在两家一栋的平房里，最高的待遇就是家里有个厕所。党委书记一个人一栋平房，秘书、保卫人员都住里面，其实，他就两间房，一间装书，一间睡觉，方便还得上公厕。最高的待遇就是有地板。别以为他是大老粗，他是27年叶剑英教导团的干部，大革命失败后流落南洋当记者，抗日之后回延安，解放后任工人日报总编辑，干部八级，比省一书记只低一级，58年下放来贵州的。这就知道他有点来头吧，当年的待遇也不过如此！系总支书记这个级别的和普通老师一样，住筒子间，不过他们有两间，不必和子女挤在一起。新来的助教就没这么幸运了，三人一间，配偶来了，还得挟着铺盖卷进探亲房。

张教授是遭人唾弃的右派教授，姚先生可不是，他是红色教授。所谓红色，就是57年反右火线入的党。我们想像中的“火线”，一定要冲上主席台，煽右派几个耳光那种。其实不至于，姚先生为人谨慎谦和，待人友善。新来老师报到后，他都要以家宴相招待，他问问各人的家境，自己的爱好，然后谈他的工作安排，由那一位老师指导。当年的讲台不是那么好上的，先跟班听课，做辅导老师，定期向指导老师汇报进修情况。指导老师认为可以了，试写讲稿，审看之后在教研室试讲通过了，才全面备课，指导老师再全面审改提出意见，才算你获得上讲台的资格。有的老师来了，管了几年伙食就离开了，连教研室的门都没进。

姚教授虽说是系主任，在学生面前，很少露面，必须他表态的时候，拿出两三张誉写得恭恭正正的稿纸，一字一句照着读，不会多说一句话。今天的青年很难意会当年老师的拘谨严肃的气氛和心态了，因为他们是旧社会过来的，在思想改造的运动中受到冲激，生怕自己的旧思想污染新一代，事事提防，处处小心。如果口无遮拦，怨气外泄，有够你吃的苦头就是了。

姚教授是个高个子，清瘦，嘴角两边有两条深沟。终年戴着一副玳瑁边的眼镜，上讲台又得换一副，这样换来换去，确实添了很多麻烦。据年轻老师说，姚先生很讲究，头发要梳顺溜，两瓣胡子还要搽上发油。系里开会，不过个把钟头，他要咳嗽，没吐到痰盂里，用一块方手巾包着，咳几次，包几块，塞进衣兜里，带回去洗，下次再用。今天用纸巾，当年哪里有？连讲义都是五颜六色的粗纤维纸油印的，还奢望什么口水纸！

我去过一次老先生家，有一间房尽是线装书，二十六史就可堆一屋。书架堆不完，桌子、椅子、床上尽是，有的也是查考后来不及上架的。搞历史地理的，涉及各朝各代，光地理志，一册一册去读，去分析,并绘出图来，就够你辛苦一辈子。我也有二十五史，缩印百衲本，一只手就拎走了。其实，没什么用，用放大镜都看不清楚，要读还得现代排印本，偶尔核对一下资料还可以，这十三大本也就装装门面而已。

以前教授工资高，一个教授抵得上七八个工人。看了姚教授的书房后，我深有感慨：发觉教授也没什么高享受，钱变书，书变论文，变讲稿，才辛苦换来一个头衔，风风光光背后的辛酸常人是感觉不出来的。

听说姚教授为当了十年助教而耿耿于怀，四级教授也是正教授的起点档次，绝大多数也就到此止步了。历史地理学研究历代疆域变动，水系走向之类的学问。当时全国只有复旦的谭其骧，西北大学的史念海，再有就是我们的姚先生了。其实，姚先生比他们两家起步早，只是先生不轻易公布自己的成果，被他们反超了。

为什么姚老先生不轻言著书立说呢？情愿知识烂在肚子里，也不肯吐出来写成一本著作。北大教务长，不是饱学之士不足以服众，可有一位长年担任教务长的先生，生前不出一本书，连小文章都很少写。身后门生弟子为他整理薄薄的一本，如在生前也出不成。这样的知识分子把“立言”看得太神圣了。我们这辈人就做不到这点，宁愿东抄西凑，早年是报纸十剪刀，现在是鼠标十u盘，更恶劣的将钱打到掮客的账上，只要你署上我的名，怎么做都可以。我自己也是,发表得出来，写；发表不出来，也写；知识烂在抽屉里，可以；烂在肚子里，不行！比起姚老教授，精神境界就差了一个档次。

不著书，就上课罗！孔子不著书，他上了课，弟子整理出来一本《论语》，不同样声名若日月，名垂后世？姚教授，四年为我们只上过一次课，讲《列子》的《愚公移山》。在大四上学期，借史学名著选读的课时，用的是中华活页文选的底本，原原本本印成讲义，他一个一个字地讲，注释中的错误一个接一个地纠正。我数了一下，有三十多处。其中印象最深的是“山南为阳，水南为阴”，活页文选恰恰弄反了。当时，我们认为，中华书局还了得，古典读物重镇，出个活页文选还有这多错？自此之后，我知道，读书不能完全迷信书本；写文章，照着说的不写，接着说的少写，反着说的才多写。没有质疑的精神，没有“和而不同”的勇气，科学怎么进步？理论怎么创新？历史怎么接近真实？当然，这样做，不免得罪大佬、权威，会失掉很多发表文章的机会！这又有什么呢？捂着良心说话做事，吃饭香，睡觉踏实。世界权威杂志撤稿了，单位点名了，职称取消了，多难受！姚教授，不鸣则已，一鸣惊人！四年上这一次课，不只以实际行动告诉我们如何读书做学问，更以无声的语言告诉我们如何做人！

课，就应该这样上！这才是教授的本事！

既然姚教授这么有才，在本专业全国屈指可数，为什么不开课？我始终弄不明白。如果姚教授从头至尾开一门历史地理课，讲两三轮，整理一下，不就是一本很成熟的著作？我们历史系在历史地理领域，不就与复旦、西北大学（后来史念海调陕西师大了）鼎足而三了？可他就是不开，让我们只听到关于他的传说，却测不到他的底，真是可惜！

译者：@freesia205，五年加拿大生活经验，翻译爱好者。空闲时间为周一到周六晚上。