As a master of ancient Chinese studies, Wang Guowei finally chose to commit suicide. What is the reason?

1June 2, 927, Wang Guowei drowned himself in Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace. Wang was found to have left a note that read: For fifty years, he only owed one death. After this world change, he will never be humiliated again. When I die, I will be buried in a coffin, that is, mugwort is buried in Tsinghua. Between these words, there is too much room for future generations to daydream. For a time, the debate about the cause of Mr. Jing 'an's suicide was endless.

Wang Guowei was recognized as a master of Chinese studies during the Republic of China, but his traditional education only ended with a scholar, and the real education began with studying in Japan. From the beginning, he started with German classical philosophy and western aesthetics, and was full of distinctive spirit. Even when he talked about conservative politics, he argued from the sacredness of private property and orthodox monarch. He wrote in 1904 My View on Education: "People have life, property, reputation and freedom, which are sacred and inviolable rights. If there is infringement, it only violates a person's sacred rights, and the peace of society is in jeopardy. Therefore, some legislators have to worry about it, and some judiciaries have to punish it. "

Wang Guowei is a man with high literary attainments and ideological realm, especially his three realms of life, independent high-rise, no regrets, and suddenly looking back, he skillfully pointed out the lighthouse for many people.

He has a famous poem, "I occasionally open my eyes to see the world of mortals, but my poor body is a person in my eyes." Even if a person's ideological realm is detached, it is impossible to be truly independent to avoid the world of mortals. Some people think that Wang Guowei is a bit "stupid". He died like an old guard for the country in his heart, like a broken dream in his heart. Just like some people died for the Ming Dynasty, some people vowed to braid their hair, and some people vowed to braid their hair for the Qing Dynasty.

Liu Yu said in the article "A textual research on the cause of death of Wang Guowei" that Wang Guowei was "committed to learning, and the world changed in his later years, so that he could not continue and his spirit could not be entrusted", and "his family was poor in his later years, he was seriously ill and met the death of his beloved son", so pessimism found a dead end. Chen Yinque said: "When the value of a culture declines, people who are transformed by this culture will feel pain. The greater the expression of this culture, the more painful it will be. " The wound was deep, hardly because of suicide. "He also said:" Covering today's red is a great catastrophe that China has not seen for thousands of years. If robbed and poor, then people who are condensed by this cultural spirit will die out. Mr. Guantang had to die, so he was deeply saddened and deeply cherished by future generations. "

His suicide may be related to his personality. He lost his mother when he was a child, his family was poor, and he studied in poverty, which led to the formation of his overly pessimistic and extremely sensitive personality and eventually he was born in troubled times. It was Nietzsche and Schopenhauer's "tragic life theory" that first contacted and accepted, which caused his often lonely character.

For Mr. Wang Guowei, his love and belief in a culture is not only his identity tag, but also his lifelong pursuit and spiritual pillar of his coexistence with the world. When this culture declines, his inner pain will inevitably be vented in some way. Mr. Wang Guowei chose to commit suicide because he told the world with a firm attitude: if you can't stick to a culture, then dying for it may be the best way to reconcile with yourself!