Hu Shih

Hu Shih (Chinese: 胡適, 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962) was a Chinese philosopher, essayist and diplomat. Hu is widely recognized today as a key contributor to Chinese liberalism and language reform in his advocacy for the use of written vernacular Chinese. He was influential in the May Fourth Movement, one of the leaders of China's New Culture Movement, was a president of Peking University, and in 1939 was nominated for a Nobel Prize in literature. He had a wide range of interests such as literature, history, textual criticism, and pedagogy. He was also an influential redology scholar and held the famous Jiaxu manuscript (Chinese: 甲戌本; pinyin: Jiǎxū běn; Wade–Giles: Chia-hsü pen) for many years until his death.

Biography

Hu was born in Jixi County, Anhui to Hu Chuan (simplified Chinese: 胡传; traditional Chinese: 胡傳; pinyin: Hú Chuán; Wade–Giles: Hu Ch'uan) and Feng Shundi (simplified Chinese: 冯顺弟; traditional Chinese: 馮順弟; pinyin: Féng Shùndì; Wade–Giles: Feng Shun-ti). His ancestors were from Jixi, Anhui. In January 1904, his family established an arranged marriage for Hu with Chiang Tung-hsiu (Chinese: 江冬秀; pinyin: Jiāng Dōngxiù; Wade–Giles: Chiang Tung-hsiu), an illiterate girl with bound feet who was one year older than he was. The marriage took place in December 1917. Hu received his fundamental education in Jixi and Shanghai.