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It is like a politician saying he is offering his life to his nation or a military strongman saying he is returning the reins of the government to the people. Despite all the fine words of a dedication, he says, the book remains the author’s own. So, he says, why bother with such “ingenious disingenuousness”?*
Qian Zhongshu is one of the Western-influenced Chinese whose lives had in various ways intertwined with that of 20th-century China. Among them are men and women of ideas and letters: Chen Yinke (
), Wang Guowei (
), Liang Qichao (
), Cai Yuanpei (
), Li Dazhao (
), Yang Jiang (
), Lu Xun (
), Yan Fu (
), Hu Shi (
), Cao Yu (
), and Lao She (
); men and women of science and social science: Zhan Tianyou (
), Li Siguang (
), Qian Xuesen (
), Feng Youlan (
), Ji Xianlin (
), and Fei Xiaotong (
); and men and women of action: Liang Shuming (
), Chen Duxiu (
), He Xiangning (
), Cai Chang (
), and Zhang Shizhao (
). To the last group I add Zhou Enlai (
) and Deng Xiaoping (
). By following the practice of Qian Zhongshu in omitting a dedication, I pay tribute to these great individuals, the most shining ones China has had.