MCLC: Nan Huaijin biography

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Nan Huaijin biography
Source: Global Times (10/11/15)
A father’s story
By Xu Ming
He was a Buddhist master, sinologist, educator, poet as well as a martial artist. An expert in many fields, he was not only a pioneer who helped bring about a renaissance in Chinese studies during the 1980s but also a key person in establishing ties between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland during the early 1990s.
Nan Huai-chin (1918-2012) was a controversial figure that received praise for his unique interpretations of Chinese classics, while also being criticized for his lack of academic discipline in interpreting said classics. For those who never had the chance to really know him, the most attractive thing about Nan is the veil of secrecy that surrounds this legendary figure even today. Seeking to peel back this veil and give readers a closer look at Nan's life, a new two volume book written by Nan's third son, Father Nan Huai-chin, hit bookshelves earlier this month.
Record of a life
Born in 1918 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, Nan received a traditional Chinese education while growing up and later lived a life that could not have been richer - he learned martial arts, joined the army, taught at a school and involved himself in business. He also traveled a lot, studying religion and delivering lectures across the nation. Proficient in Confucius, Buddhist and Taoist studies while also possessing a thorough understanding of Western culture, Nan is still highly respected in cultural circles both at home and abroad.
Although a legendary figure in China, previously no biography about Nan existed except for fragmented anecdotes from his students that only manage to capture moments of his life. In this sense, Nan Yipeng's Father Nan Huai-chin is the first work to present this famous scholar's life in its entirety.
Covering his childhood, first marriage, how he left home to study martial arts, his time in the army during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) and his contributions to rejuvenating traditional culture in Taiwan and promoting Chinese culture in the US, the book provides a window for people to learn more about Nan by exploring the different stages of his life and revealing many details for the first time ever.
"There are people who have taken the initiative to collect his [Nan's] remarks and experiences together in book form. Even those who never met my father have written books to memorialize him. But no book has covered the entirety of my father's life," Nan Yipeng wrote in the book's introduction, adding that misunderstandings about his father have appeared in the media.
The younger Nan pointed out that this was especially true after his father's death, as many people used his father's name to turn a profit on the Internet.
"The book contains some of my personal responses to some accounts [about my father] in society," Nan Yipeng told the Global Times.
He also refuses to refer to the book as a biography.
"The book is just a record of my father's life and his accomplishments for latecomers' reference," Nan Yipeng said.
A son's notes
Even three years after his father's death, Nan Yipeng couldn't stop himself from crying at a press conference held in Beijing last week as he recalled moments spent together with his father. Out of Nan's three sons, Nan Yipeng spent the most time with his father.
"I was greatly influenced by my father," said the 60-year-old, who has also dedicated himself to promoting Chinese studies.
Despite the close relationship he had with his father, Nan Yipeng admitted writing the book proved challenging.
"After 1980, I wasn't around my father that much. I heard a lot about him and visited him frequently during the more than 30 years that followed, but I did not experience many things in person. That period was the main time my father devoted himself to public welfare and opening communication with people from the mainland," Nan Yipeng told the Global Times.
"So I had to rely on the accounts of others when recording these experiences."
According to Nan Yipeng, in addition to his own experiences with his father and the stories his father told him, he turned to family friends, videos of Nan and books, articles and media reports about his father to make the book as exhaustive as possible.
"Through this book I got to see how Nan became a master of Chinese studies over the years and how he worked to spread traditional culture despite the difficulties that existed at the time. Some refuse to acknowledge Nan as a master of Chinese studies academically speaking, but no one has managed to surpass the social influence he had in promoting traditional culture," Lou Yulie, a professor of Chinese culture at Peking University, said at the press conference.
by denton.2 at osu.edu on October 16, 2015
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