胡氏兄弟:胡绍之的“重实轻文”和胡适之的“弃农从文”

The Hu Brothers——Hu Shaozhi's “Veneration of Practical Science to the Neglect of Liberal Arts” and Hu Shizhi's “Abandoning Agronomy for Liberal Arts”

胡适的二哥胡绍之对胡适早年的学习兴趣和专业选择产生过较大影响。胡适初到上海读书时,受二哥的影响,对数学曾一度很痴迷;他赴美留学,选择康奈尔大学的农学专业,在很大程度上也是他二哥的意愿。胡适后来在"弃农从文"的过程中,还曾一度与他二哥发生过矛盾。胡适的"弃农从文",折射出社会需要和个人意愿、传统制约与创新求变、身世背景与专业认知等诸多方面的交错、纠结。了解"胡氏兄弟"的关系及胡适"弃农从文"真实背景和原因,对认识"五四"一代知识分子的价值转变与身份定位,具有重要的启示意义。

Hu Shaozhi, the second elder brother of Hu Shi, once exerted a great influence on Hu Shi＇ s early learning interest and major choice. When he went to college in Shanghai, Hu Shi became obsessed with mathematics due to the influence of Hu Shaozhi. When he went to America to study at University of CorueU, he chose agronomy as his major, which is, to a large extent, also the will of his second elder brother. In his later abandon of agronomy for liberal arts, Hu Shi once had a conflict with his second elder brother. This act of Hu Shih reflected the crisscross and entanglements between social needs and the individual will, between traditional constraints and innovation and changes, and between family background and professional cognition, etc. Exploring the relationship between the Hu brothers as well as the truth and the reason of Hu Shi＇ s abandoning agronomy for liberal arts is of important enlightenment significance for understanding the value change and identity orientation of intellectuals of the ＂May 4th＂ generation.