Hu Shih
Hu Shih | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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胡適 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hu in 1960 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese Ambassador to the United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 29 October 1938 – 1 September 1942 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Wang Zhengting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wei Tao-ming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chancellor of Peking University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1946–1948 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President of Academia Sinica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1957–1962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Zhu Jiahua | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wang Shijie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 17 December 1891 Shanghai, Qing China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 24 February 1962 (aged 70) Taipei County, Taiwan, Republic of China | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Known for | Chinese liberalism and language reform | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 胡適 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 胡适 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hu Shih (Chinese: 胡適; 17 December 1891 – 24 February 1962) was a Chinese academic, writer, and politician. Hu contributed to Chinese liberalism and language reform, and was a leading advocate for the use of written vernacular Chinese. He participated in the May Fourth Movement and China's New Culture Movement. He was a president of Peking University and Academia Sinica.
Hu was the editor of the Free China Journal, which was shut down for criticizing Chiang Kai-shek. In 1919, he also criticized Li Dazhao. Hu advocated that the world adopt Western-style democracy. Moreover, Hu criticized Sun Yat-sen's claim that people are incapable of self-rule. Hu criticized the Nationalist government for betraying the ideal of Constitutionalism in The Outline of National Reconstruction.
Hu wrote many essays questioning the political legitimacy of Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party. Specifically, Hu said that the autocratic dictatorship system of the CCP was "un-Chinese" and against history. In the 1950s, Mao and the Chinese Communist Party launched a campaign criticizing Hu Shih's thoughts. After Mao's passing, Hu's reputation recovered. He is now known for his influential contribution to Chinese politics and academia.