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Qian Zhongshu
1910-1998
Qian Zhongshu died at the end of December 1998.
The author of Guanzhui bian (Limited Essays on Ideas and
Letters), the author of a single great novel such as Wei cheng
(Fortress Besieged) is no longer with us. Those who had the
good fortune to meet him, to be invíted to his bome in Beijing,
to meet his extraordinary wife Yang jiang (who translated
Cervantes' masterpiece into Chinese), to converse with him, as I
was able on several occasione, sadly participates in tbc
bereavement at the loss of a major personality from the 20th
century cultural scene. Speaking of him with Italian friends, I
often used to compare his erudition with that of a Giambattista
Vico or a Benedetto Croce; speaking of him instead with Chinese
friends, I used to say that Qian reminded me of the more famous
scholars of the Hanxue, although with a modern wit and
sense of humour to boot. There is no doubt that be was the most
complete and profound Chinese scholar of the 20th century.
He had a perfect knowledge of French, German
and English, languages that he spoke fluently, and had a reading
knowledge of Italian, Spanish and the ancient classical western
languages. Qian Zhongshu was not a pure philologist or linguist:
he used languages to roam at bis ease through most of western
literature and philosophic thought. Years back, in a short review
of his Guanzhui bian, I pointed out that be cited some
seventy or so Italian authors, from the stil novo poets of
the 14th century up to the contemporary writers. His work was not
dedicated to Italian literature, but his knowledge of a good part
of it was merely a means for carrying out bis rescarch. Some
fifteen years or so ago, not knowing how to thank him for the
numerous Chinese books be made me a present of each time I met
him, I asked him what he would like me to send him from Italy.
His reply was: "I would like to read Boiardo's Orlando
innamorato". The following year, at his home, he showed
me the Italian edition I had sent him - each page was crammed
with his notes in Chinese characters. Today, in Italy Boiardo's
work is read only by a small number of specialists.
His novel Wei cheng, published in 1947
and translated into the principal European languages, is partly
autobiographic and, above all, a satire on many Chinese
intellectuals of the first half of the 20th century. His foreign
literature studies allows him to place, side by side, metaphors
and literary figures of the West in order to facilitate a modern
reinterpretation of traditional Chinese works. Guanzhui bian, written
in classical Chinese language, is not easy to read, but its style
is always aesthetically appealing and elegant.
Soon after 1949 he became a member of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences and, in the late ‘seventies,
became one of the Vice Presidents of the Chinese Academy of
Social Sciences. During the "cultural revolution" he
was persecuted and sent to a re-education camp together with his
wife Yang jiang, who later narrated their vicissitudes during
that difficult period in her book Ganxiao liuji (Six
Chapters from my Life 'Down under').
He attended the 26th Conference of Chinese
Studies (Ortisei, September 3-9, 1978) and his masterly
communication on the subject of 'Classical Literary Scholarship
in Modern China' was one of the most highly appreciated by all
the other participants. This marked the beginning of a friendship
that I considered an honour and which allowed me to meet him on
several occasions in China, and to engage in pleasant learned
conversation. I did not know which to admire more - his vast
erudition or his great humility - the humility typical of a man
who knows much and does not need to show off his knowledge.
China has lost an outstanding figure. […]
I have lost a distinguished teacher and sincere friend.
Lionello Lanciotti, in
"East and West", 48(1998), fasc. 3-4, Roma, IsIAO, p.
477-478
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