It's tragic to see two luminous stars of the academic world stop shining on the same day over the weekend. Surprisingly, the mourning and eulogies for Ji Xianlin and Ren Jiyu were not restricted to the academic circle.
"We are now lonely children in an era of no masters," one journalist has written in Qianjiang Evening News. The journalist is not alone. Thousands of people have permeated the Chinese media and blogs with their lavish praises. Many other commentators wondered how the vacuum created by their deaths would be filled. The Qianjiang journalist provides the answer: "But new masters will surely be born." And, she is not alone in this expectation.
We have to think of the most befitting way to respect, and uphold, the memory of Ji and Ren. Pretending to know everything we could possibly know about the two masters is certainly not one of them. Ji's achievements, for instance, were mainly in ancient Indian languages and Sanskrit literature. Ren was a giant in the field of philosophy and religion. Most of us don't understand much about these subjects.
We Chinese have always been generous in our praise of writers, poets and scholars. The fact is we're not familiar or informed of the nature of Ji's and Ren's works. We are merely fascinated with them as prolific authors.
More than their knowledge, it's their spirit and perspectives on life that is the real legacy. They lived simple lives, shying away from public glare, which is the essence of our culture. Both had the courage of their convictions and were not afraid to speak the truth. Ji was known as the "reluctant master", for he didn't see himself as a great man. Despite his profound knowledge and his high-ranking office as chief of the National Library, Ren rejected suggestions to publish a complete set of his works. "Few people would want to read it. It will be a waste of time, energy and resources", he said dismissively.
In short, the two did not fit our times, the times of rampant plagiarism and frauds - even in the hallowed field of academics. Education today has become more of a process to get a good job. We want the best of everything, and try to get them even at the cost of honesty. Values, such as trustworthiness, modesty and generosity, have given way to crass materialism.
One reason we have elevated Ji and Ren to the status of icons may be our quest for restoring the spiritual element to our lives. But, masters cannot fill the spiritual vacuum that we have unsuccessfully tried to stuff with material gains.
The two scholars have taught us that the nation needs responsible citizens as much as it needs scholars. The true value of great people is the good examples they set for people to follow, which Ji and Ren have so honorably done.
In his preface to a series of ancient Chinese teaching materials, Ren wrote: "A person has to be a responsible citizen before he becomes a so-called expert or master. As a citizen, one should not only be knowledgeable, but also be able to tell good from evil, beautiful from ugly. A good citizen must also be kind to others and uphold the truth".
That, probably, is the best legacy the great masters have left us.