An Interpretation Of Yan Xishan’s Diary

Yan Xishan Diary is a true record of what Yan Xishan saw,heard,thought and felt every day in the 1930 s and 1940 s.It is a diary with the main purpose of "reasoning".Yan Xishan’s Diary reflects Yan Xishan’s philosophy of life.Taking "anticipation" as his criterion for dealing with the world,he stressed that people should be able to "prepare well in advance" and have "plans" and "calculations".In the specific behavior,we should be able to achieve the "unity of knowledge and action",take "reverse self-seeking" as the way and way to realize the "unity of knowledge and action",and have the quality of "wisdom,benevolence and courage" in the process of "the unity of knowledge and action".Yan Xishan’s Diary reflects Yan Xishan’s social thoughts.In the face of the "national crisis" in modern China,he stressed the importance of construction,sought the root of China’s modern backwardness from the "long river" of history,and fully affirmed the value of Chinese traditional culture in modern Chinese society.In the aspect of social governance and social operation,it emphasizes the construction of the political team of civil servants,takes "reasonableness" as the guide for policy formulation,and emphasizes that "those in power" should be able to "know people and perform their duties well" and be able to "self-examine".And to formulate a clear "reward and punishment" system.Yan Xishan’s Diary reflects Yan Xishan’s cognition of modern "national crisis".This understanding was gradually deepened with the Japanese invasion of China.In the face of the "national crisis",Yan Xishan’s political attitude also changed from launching the "civil war" in the early stage to promoting the unity within the Kuomintang in the later period.Yan Xishan’s Diary reflects Yan Xishan’s attitude towards the Communist Party of China.Yan Xishan’s "inherent" hostility to the CPC was deeply influenced by external aggression from Soviet Russia and Japan,Soviet Russia’s "red transformation" of the Communist Party of China and its own understanding of China’s peasant uprisings in successive dynasties.It is also closely related to the gradual deepening of his consciousness of "national crisis".Yan Xishan’s Diary reflects Yan Xishan’s understanding of the importance of mobilizing the people in the War of Resistance against Japan.He stressed the need to mobilize the public,focusing on the cultivation of officers’ public awareness,strengthening the ties between the army and the people,and emphasizing the relationship between the masses and politics.Yan Xishan’s Diary reflects Yan Xishan’s understanding of the changes of modern social customs.Whether it is his understanding of "superstition" and "unbelief",or his attitude towards traditional funeral rituals,Yan Xishan is deeply influenced by Chinese traditional culture and "local flavor".He hopes to realize the unity of power and the prosperity and strength of Shanxi through the "village government construction",but he also takes a tacitattitude to the "folk belief" which still plays a role in the grass-roots society,which indirectly leads to the incompleteness of his "village government construction".Generally speaking,Yan Xishan’s Diary reflects Yan Xishan’s thoughts on the construction of modern Shanxi.The interpretation of Yan Xishan’s Diary can not only deepen our study of Yan Xishan,Yan Xishan’s thought of local governance,the course of modernization of Shanxi and the modern history of China,but also help us to deepen our understanding of the important academic value of the historical literature of "reasoning" diary.