First of all, I would like to warmly welcome new students to join the Mohongxuan Reading Club, which has added new strength.
Before applying for admission, I will"Mohongxuan Book Club Appointment"(Click to read) This is sent to everyone. Everyone should understand it, but they may not take it seriously and read it seriously. Today, I would like to take this opportunity of new students joining the club to say a few words about this.
The atmosphere for reading in our area is quite thin, so it is difficult to hold reading meetings. When I worked in South Korea and Japan, I was very impressed by their reading clubs. Many scholars will continue to participate in one or several non-utilitarian reading clubs until they are old. However, reading and reading clubs are rare in our area. There are not many that can be established and last for three to five years. Within the scope of my personal experience, our department's "Linguistics Salon", the reading club of Teacher Li Liangrong of the School of Journalism, the reading club of Teacher Zhang Sanxi of Central China Normal University, the reading club of Teacher Xu Yanping of Nanjing University, and the "Zhifei Forum" of Teacher Du Guiping of Beijing Normal University are all long-lasting, well-run, and enviable reading clubs. These teachers and classmates who have hosted and participated in reading clubs for many years should be relatively pure readers.
Premier Li Keqiang, who just passed away, also loved reading and used his position to launch the National Reading Day. Based on this alone, he can be said to be a good prime minister.
Of course, even with the advocacy of Premier Li Keqiang, the trend of reading among all people may not change much. Of course, the Mo Hongxuan Reading Club is a drop in the bucket and not worth mentioning. However, even if it does not help change the reading atmosphere in the entire society, I still hope to have a small impact on a small scale. I also think this is a better way to build an academic community of teachers and students and guide students.
The relationship between teachers and students in ancient society was similar to that of master and apprentice, and the relationship was closer. In the 1980s, when Mr. Wang Xiaodun was studying for a doctorate with Mr. Ren Bandang at Yangzhou University, he was required to study 360 days a year and only take 5 days off. Even if family members come to visit relatives, this is no exception. One day, Teacher Xiaodun was late, and Mr. Ren came over with a cane and knocked on the window, cursing, "The spring night is short and the sun is rising, and the king will not go to court early from now on." This teacher-student or mentoring relationship is similar to the master-disciple relationship in the old days.
Compared with the master-student relationship, the contemporary teacher-student relationship should be more relaxed and free. Although students choose a tutor when applying for the exam, they still go to the school first. The tutor's academic and human nature and compatibility with themselves are at best second. Moreover, mutual understanding is very limited before admission, and the truth will be known only after actual contact; students' interest in academics also needs to be tested over time. There are thousands of paths in life, and academia is only one of them. You do not necessarily have to be interested in academia. Even at the doctoral level, you still need and are allowed to find your own direction.
Besides, learning originally means self-study, self-study, and independent study, while academic research means free research and independent research. In my opinion, the most ideal teacher-student relationship or mentoring relationship is that of shepherding: the teacher is responsible for admitting students, and the students are responsible for self-study and research. After three to five years, a qualified academic paper will be handed in, and the supervisor will sign something when necessary. Normally, you don’t need to say a word, and the paper does not need to change a word. You eat your grass, I sleep under the white clouds, and we forget each other in the grassland. The teacher's guidance may not be reliable; even if it is correct guidance, it will obscure other possibilities and eliminate students' opportunities to explore and try; even if it is effective guidance, students may not be able to understand and digest it. If the teacher's guidance can balance the merits and demerits, it is already quite good. It can be seen that "herding sheep" is indeed the best way to guide students to discover themselves. It is not a derogatory term, at least for the humanities. If students want to learn from their teachers, they can read their works and participate in their courses. On the other hand, if you can't get much nutrition from his works and courses, then other guidance may not be of much benefit.
My own school days were also like this. Most of the tutors in each period did not impose any restrictions and allowed us to run wild and forage everywhere.
From this perspective, there is no need for the Mo Hongxuan Reading Club to exist. There should be no restrictions on whether or not everyone can participate.
Despite this, I still believe that the reading club is necessary and should continue to be held. Even if only one classmate participates, I will continue to persist. I have a loose personality, and sometimes I want to do something consistently for many years to show that I also have a self-disciplined side.
This is certainly due to my selfishness. People always want to realize and expand their own values and methods. As a scholar, I always hope to find a pure land to talk about knowledge outside the circle of money, positions, current affairs, wine and food, publications, projects, titles, idols, games, sports, gossip, and daily life. I also always hope to have more friends who like academics. For me, the enjoyment of book club is irreplaceable, and the joy of playing ball cannot be replaced. People often say that "obtaining the world's talents and educating them" is the unique joy of teachers. For graduate students and adults, the word "education" is too heavy, cannot be shouldered, and is not worthy of the name. To say that "education" should also be two-way education and improvement between teachers and students, that is, "teaching and mutual learning", continuous self-improvement in teaching activities is the unique benefit of teachers. In my opinion, the reading club is the best place to enjoy teaching and learn from each other. This should be an important reason why this reading club has been able to last for five or six years and often chat for four or five hours at a time. If it wasn't for this fun, I wouldn't be wasting my time. Four or five hours is enough to play two games, or to earn thousands of dollars.
Of course, there should be some benefits to you from holding a book party, at least not much harm, even if learning and academics are completely independent matters. I always emphasize that the primary purpose of going to school is not academic research, and learning and research is only second; making friends, having fun together, studying together, and spending time together are the first. Confucius placed "learning and practicing from time to time" in the first place, and "having friends come from afar" in the second place. The order was reversed. Ancient society paid attention to the five ethics. In modern society, classmates are an important part of the ethics of friends. Classmates get together every month and meet once a month to talk about knowledge and life. This is an important way to deepen friendship and strengthen team awareness. It will also be an important part of the memories of the next day. Students learn from each other, which is also an important channel for learning.
Since this is a team and team activity, to ensure its long-term normal operation, it is necessary to establish definite and clear rules, otherwise, it will be unsustainable. Of course our culture has its own strengths, characteristics or weaknesses. After I wrote the admission notice on the public account, I once said that our culture is lacking in five elements, and the deepest missing factor is the lack of love. According to my opinion, our culture also lacks team awareness, spirit, identity and belonging, lacks corresponding rules and contract awareness, and often does not know what to do and how to do it in the team. I've told the story of the red light test before. There was a similar story on the Internet. It was said that a boy was in a relationship with a foreign girlfriend abroad. When he saw that there was no car at a red light, he pulled his girlfriend and ran through it. After passing by, the foreign girlfriend said to the boy: "If you ignore the rules, what else will you not dare to do in the future?" She broke up with the boy immediately. After the boy returned to China, he got a local girlfriend and encountered a red light again. He learned the lesson from the last time. This time he held his girlfriend and waited for the red light. As a result, after crossing the road, the local girlfriend said to him: "I don't dare to cross the road when there is no one around. What else can I do in the future?" After that, he said goodbye to the boy. I hope that our small team can not only have a sense of autonomy and voluntariness, but also have a strong sense of teamwork and contract. A few days ago, when I wrote "My Twelve Points Opinions on the Public Security Administration Punishment Law", I mixed in some personal information, and proposed that "Don't do to others what others don't want; don't do to me what I don't want; do to the strong but pity the weak, compete with each other; be open and inclusive, be honest and abide by the rules" is the core of the Chinese national spirit, and the Mohongxuan Reading Club can also use this as its spirit and criterion.
In my opinion, the current teacher-student relationship is no longer or should not be the dependent master-disciple relationship, but should be a pre-written contractual relationship. This is the reason why I wrote "Mohongxuan Book Club Briefing". The teacher-student and classmate relationships are not as rigid and cold as political, legal, or commercial contracts, so I call them "little contracts." It is a contract and an agreement, and it can also be said to be a happy date for scholars. Only by abiding by this agreement, clarifying its boundaries, and accepting and recognizing the attributes of the team can the Mohongxuan Reading Club become a small team, a small academic community, and become a point in memories in the future. Once a month, regardless of whether you participate online or offline, you are required to submit a long or short reading experience or paper; regardless of your experience or paper, it should be obtained by carefully reading first-hand literature. If it is a paper, it is generally required to have three elements: title, framework, and references. It is better to have a summary and keywords, and some new ideas; unless there is a big gift or force majeure, current students are required to participate in offline gatherings, and they can be absent at most once a semester. Such requirements may be a little high, a little stressful, and may even interfere with daily life schedules and arrangements. However, I personally feel that the frequency, pressure and difficulty are quite moderate. It can effectively resist the inertia of ordinary people and exercise stress resistance without causing damage to the body and mind. What's more, there will be one adjournment each during winter and summer vacations. Science and engineering group meetings are usually held once a week. I believe that students will gradually get used to it, like it, and even become dependent on it. If you do interesting and meaningful things, the longer the time and the heavier the tasks, the less painful and tiring you will feel. On the other hand, if you don't pay some price for the things you are interested in, you cannot prove that you are really interested in it, you have real feelings for it, and you cannot reflect the special value of your choice. After the sheep run around, it may not be a bad thing to find a place to meet and brag every month.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some students are not really interested in academics and reading. They were interested in academics before applying for the exam, but later found that they were not really interested in it. This is not uncommon. The most important thing for people is to discover themselves and do what suits them. After graduation, I have an open mind whether I choose to go into business, politics, or engage in academic-related cultural and educational careers. If any student finds that he does not like or is not used to the reading club, he can apply to withdraw from the study club very calmly. Article 15 of the "Mohongxuan Book Club Brief Agreement" clearly stipulates that members can withdraw from the book club at any time. This contract is written with more care, and you may not discover the conspiracy in it. The "book club" here can refer to a monthly book club activity, or it can refer to an interpersonal relationship or "organization" consisting of a mentoring relationship, which is commonly known as a "teacher". This article is deliberately vague here. I think the word "teacher" is a bit closed and contains a certain power relationship, which is not consistent with the ideal guidance relationship, so I chose the word "book club". Correspondingly, withdrawing from the reading club has two meanings: if you feel that you do not need or do not want to participate in the monthly reading club, you can withdraw from the monthly reading club and maintain a nominal mentoring relationship; if you find that the mentor's personality, learning, or guidance are far from your expectations and are not suitable for you, you can also apply to change the mentoring relationship and find another mentor.
No matter which way, I understand and support you. No matter what the situation is, you can still ask me at any time if you have academic or life problems. I will try my best to help as long as it is legal and compliant. Marriage is a great progress of civilization, divorce is an even greater progress. A marriage relationship with only marriage and no divorce may be very harmonious, it may be just make-shift, or it may be inhumane. Because of the freedom of divorce, the constraints of marriage do not violate the principles of voluntariness, autonomy and freedom. The same is true for teacher-student relationships and other interpersonal relationships. If the mentoring relationship is maintained, I will be a signed supervisor, but the requirements for the dissertation will be the same as those of the students participating in the monthly reading club. A master's thesis requires reading at least 50 kinds of books and accumulating 300,000 words of reading notes; a doctoral thesis requires at least reading 100 kinds of books and accumulating 1 million words of reading notes. According to my understanding, a master's thesis must contain at least 3 decent C-level papers; a doctoral thesis must contain at least 5 decent C-level papers. The minimum standard is that a master's thesis contains one C-level paper, and a doctoral thesis contains three C-level papers. I have a relaxed and natural side, and I will adhere to the minimum standards when reviewing the final paper, but on the other hand, I also have my own hard bottom line. If I subjectively think that the minimum standards have not been met, then even if I emotionally want to let the paper pass, I will not be able to write it, although it will not cause any loss to me. A close friend once asked me to take care of a classmate's score. I hesitated for a long time and just gave him a B+. Everyone has a steelyard in their heart. Even if it offends others, it is difficult to force yourself. Please understand and respect this in advance, and make a choice that suits you accordingly. If you choose to terminate the mentoring relationship, you are still a student at Fudan University. From this perspective, it is still a teacher-student relationship, but there is no special emphasis on being "my" student.
Okay, I talked too much nonsense today and wasted too much time. I wish you a happy university study. Let’s start discussing!
(This is the opening statement of the Mohongxuan Reading Club in October 2023. Time: 20:00 on October 30; Location: 1101, West Main Building, Guanghua Building. There are slight discrepancies in the transcript of the memories on October 31.)
About the author
Mo Luohan, real name Luo Shuhua, family name Mo Hongxuan, alias Modu Luohan, is a professor at Fudan University and the main writer of the public account of "FD New Academic World". Main teaching and research directions: Dream of Red Mansions, famous works and civilization, academic research theories and methods, Chinese traditional culture. His books include "Two Phoenixes Protecting the Pearl: The Structure and Narration of the Dream of Red Mansions", "A Close Reading of the Red Mansions", "Mainstreams of Chinese Fiction", "The Study of Chinese Narrative", "History of Chinese Prose", "Chinese Writing Tutorial", etc. In the field of "Dream of Red Mansions", the theories of "two phoenixes protecting the pearl" and "chai and dai competing for marriage" were put forward. In the cultural field, advocating "don't do to others what others don't want you to do to them; don't do to me what you don't want others to do to you; respect the strong and pity the weak, compete with each other; be open and inclusive, be honest and abide by the rules" is the core of the Chinese national spirit.
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Machine-translated from the Chinese original 魔罗汉：放羊、离婚 与 导师研究生关系 (published 2023-11-08). WeChat original ↗