Hu Shi: A Biography

The first full biography of Hu Shi--the visionary reformer who modernized China and forged a historic alliance with the United States during World War II. The first comprehensive biography of one of the most influential Chinese figures of the 20th century, one whose efforts to bridge East and West at a pivotal point in world history remain both historic and controversial. Born in Shanghai, Hu Shi became a professor at Peking University in 1917 after attending Cornell and Columbia universities in the US. Almost singlehandedly, he tried to reform the rigid and tradition-bound Chinese educational system, applying progressive American ideas. He also led the push for co-education, women's rights, and, most dramatically, replacing classical Chinese characters with simplified versions. This momentous shift made literacy rates rise and made education more accessible. The New York Times hailed him as "the best of the new and old China," and his Chinese contemporaries dubbed him the "Father of the Chinese Renaissance." After Japan invaded China in 1937, Hu Shi was named Chinese ambassador to the United States--China's darkest hour.